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The Owl House Season 2 Is Kind Of Perfect

The Owl HouseThe Owl House

The Owl House Only Got Better With A 2nd Season

My biases for Owl House on the table: I was so excited about everything I’d heard coming out of the show that I’d seen so many spoilers before I sat down to review the first three episodes of the second season. There would have to have been a tremendous blunder in the opener for me to not approach this with a mountain of enthusiasm.

Thankfully, they didn’t make a misstep. Still riding a haze of fanboy energy, I’m having trouble thinking of anything the show’s doing wrong—and it would take me considerable nitpicking to come up with something I didn’t like. 

So, if you were debating watching this show, read no further. Go start wherever you left off, or right at the beginning—and delight in what’s shaping up to be the best new cartoon of this fresh decade.

For those wanting more insight than that, however, read on and enjoy.

Do Not Miss Out On This Fantastic Fantasy Series

Let’s start with the spoiler I shouldn’t know—but it was hard to avoid the collective shouts of joy rippling through the internet. I’m referring to “Lumity” or the pairing of Luz Noceda and Amity Blight. A pairing heavily hinted at in the first season, but it was up in the air if it would play out before the series finale. Well, it does happen, and it’s adorable and endearing and—from the few clips I’ve seen—is being handled better than most romantic relationships in any media franchise. I mean that for not just cartoons, and not just shows for children—I mean this is being handled better than most shows handle them, period

The Owl House Has Such A Well-Done Romance

But, again, that’s not even in the first three episodes. No, what’s in the first few episodes is stunningly cohesive and instantly impactful character development and energetic relationship dynamics between literally everyone in the main cast. If I broke down every little moment that makes these characters feel not only real but friends/family with each other, you would be reading a document the length of a small novel. So, to pick just one brilliant and understatedly majestic type of interaction, Luz and Eda have multiple moments where you feel the care and love they have for each other. That Eda spends her money on the few foods that Luz can eat (to Eda’s detriment) is an organic and realistic depiction of what loved ones will do for each other in dire times. 

And this topic lets me flow into how incredible the voice acting work is. Sometimes Luz and Amity do sound a little older than they’re meant to be, but the actresses are delivering each line with skill and a deliberate understanding of their characters. And, again, I could rave about so many great moments between them—and pretty much everything Wendie Malick is doing as Eda—but I want to give credit to a particularly strong scene perhaps not getting as much attention: when King learns the truth of his heritage. His scenes of emotional anguish are cuttingAlex Hirsch turns what could’ve been a joke character into a nuanced member of the “found family” that’s existence cements the heart of this show.

Not A Single Character Is Wasted In This Season

And, honestly, if The Owl House just had the writing and characters it did, it would be enough. But they flexed with the animation. It’s gotten even better than it already was. The expressive facial reactions (always watch Lilith when someone is discussing learning or knowledge), the fluid uses of magic and general combat, and some wild set pieces involving Hooty show that the staff are always improving everywhere they can. The drawn background details of episodes are mind-boggling; they give the Boiling Isles and especially the titular Owl House a sense of realism, and occasionally comedy. This show has a level of detail that implies the world, characters, and magic were planned way more than most full-length novels would bother.

To wrap up, this show has become a masterpiece. The second season is already better than the first and is shaping up to be another entry in the list of greatest cartoons. Never have I seen a show that works so hard to have dynamic, lovable, engaging, varied, and inclusive characters in every scene it can. Never have I witnessed such a cast then all cohesively exist in an astonishingly vibrant fantasy world that doesn’t feel like any other. The Owl House deserves all the hype it’s getting, and then more. It deserves praise and accolades, and the viewership of all who love good fantasy storytelling.        


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