The Owl House Is Back With A New Season!

The Owl House Season 2, Episode 1 Review

Dana Terrace, you are a lifesaver! Just when the second season of Amphibia ended with the episode that rocked the Internet, The Owl House geared up for it’s second season. For those unfamiliar, The Owl House follows Luz Noceda, a 14-year-old human girl who finds herself in the demon world. There, she lives in the titular Owl House as she trains to become a Witch under the powerful outlaw Witch, Eda the Owl Lady. That’s how the series started, anyway. However, as the first season ended, things shifted dramatically.

Eda was constantly hunted by the enigmatic ruler of the Isles, Emperor Belos, for refusing to join a Coven and for her portal to Earth. Thanks to her own sister, Lillith, Eda was captured and sentenced to death. Luz battled the Emperor and managed to rescue Eda and Lillith, but in the process, she had to destroy the portal to Earth to keep it out of Belos’ hands. In addition, due to a curse Lillith placed on Eda, the two could no longer use magic. As a result, the season premiere, “Separate Tides” sees us deal with the new status quo. And my God, is it good!

Struggling to Make a Living

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The episode starts off with a humorous call-back to the series premiere before Luz recaps the events of “Young Blood, Old Souls.” Now that Eda can’t sell more human junk, the Owl House residents have to take up odd jobs to make ends meet; as of now, they’re working as bounty hunters. Yet the show makes it clear that things aren’t looking good for anyone.

Firstly, we see Eda and Lilith trying to come to terms that they can’t use magic like other Witches anymore. As a result, any respect they had is all but gone; I’m not even sure if Eda’s wanted anymore! To make matters worse, the two have to spend their meager money to provide for Luz, as there isn’t much food on the Boiling Isles her body can digest. In other words, times are tough, and its taking a toll on everyone.

The episode sees the members of the Owl House cope with the loss of income and their main provider’s handicap in their own way. Eda resorts to stealing, like she would. Lilith has an identity crisis whilst simultaneously trying to prove her worth to everyone, leading to a fight with flaming bees and an odd friendship with Hooty. And Luz? Luz handles things her way: by doing something reckless.

A Newer, Slightly More Serious Luz

At her core, Luz remains the same bright and optimistic person she was in the series premiere. As the episode continues, though, we see that part of that may be a façade. Nearly losing her mentor and losing her only means to return to Earth took a major toll on her mind. Thus, when she decides to head out to sea cosplaying as a Team Aqua grunt to catch the biggest bounty she can find, she only brings King to help her. Other than that, she’s alone.

This isn’t the first time Luz has done something dangerous on her own. However, this time it’s not about her being naïve and reckless, but her trying to keep her found family safe. In the episode’s climax, Luz and Eda have an argument over why the former did this behind her back. Luz frustratingly admits that she blames herself for the state Eda’s in. As a result, she’s starting to push her loved ones away to protect them.

This reversal of ways of thinking wasn’t lost on me, and I hope that other fans would recognize it, as well. Luz starts to become a loner like Eda, but thankfully, Eda talks some sense into her as she reminds her ward how she got her to open up to others. She even managed to start mending her relationship with her sister. In other words, Luz brought out the best in the Owl House residents. By the end of the episode, the two reconcile with what happened, and they find some resources that will keep them financially secure for a while.

I LOVE THE GOLDEN GUARD

There’s one other thing that merits discussion about this episode, and it’s Belos’ new right-hand man, that guy in the owl mask that got everybody talking. We finally know what to call him: the Golden Guard! According to Lilith, he’s a teen prodigy whose already made it into the Emperor’s Coven. With her gone, it’s likely that he’s now in charge, making him one of the main antagonists of the series.

I will be blunt: I LOVE THE GOLDEN GUARD! He’s voiced by an up-and-coming young voice actor by the name of Zeno Robinson. Disney fans may recognize him as the voice of Remy on their other cartoon, Big City Greens, while anime fans may know as Goh in the Pokémon franchise, Hawks from My Hero Academia, and more. In short, he’s someone to watch out for, and it’s clear he’s giving it his all as the Golden Guard.

In contrast to the no-nonsense Lilith and the menacing Belos, the Golden Guard is very much affably evil. He’s goofy, energetic, and a jokester who spends his time onscreen trolling Luz, Eda, and King. Despite his laidback attitude, though, he makes it clear why Belos trusts him so much. He manages to effortlessly curb-stomp Eda and Luz, the latter of whom demonstrates throughout the episode how skilled she’s gotten at glyph magic. In the end, the only reason the group even gets home is because he let them do so. In other words, this guy’s trouble.

The Owl House Off to A Great S2

To sum up my thoughts and feelings, The Owl House is already off to a great second season. It doesn’t waste any time with bringing us up to speed on the new status quo, it builds on the world of the show with a new threat, and has the characters deal with recent events in a meaningful and realistic fashion. It also makes clear that it’s not going to be as light-hearted as Season One.

The first season was meant to build up the world of the show. Now that that’s done, Dana and her team look ready to give us the meat of the story. And given how the final shot of the episode ends with Belos standing next to a repaired door to Earth, things are going to be big.

If you haven’t already watched The Owl House, then now’s the perfect time to get caught up with it. The entire first seasons’ on Disney+, and I cannot recommend it enough. Go watch it, you guys! It’s worth your time.

I Give “Separate Tides” a 4/5

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