#i can probably write an entire essay about how much i love youth dramas

[dramashii]

Category: Youth Cdramas

Shining For One Thing | Our Secret | Lovely Us | A River Runs Through It | Time and Him are Just Right | Le Coup de Foudre | When I Fly Towards You | When We Were Young

[jeremys-blogs]

The Owl House: Season One Overview

When Owl House first crept onto my radar, back when the first teaser trailer came out, I admittedly didn't think much of it. I thought it had a neat aesthetic and I was confident it would have its appeal, but at the time I just felt that it was one of those shows I might watch once or twice, like, but then not think about again. Then new information started coming my way, most notably that Alex Hirsch, the creator of my all-time favourite Disney show was going to be one of the voices. Now that definitely caught my interest, even more so when I started seeing other notable names attached to the project, like the always-awesome Wendie Malick. So I decided then and there that this was starting to shape up as something special, and that I was going to keep a close eye on it. And I'm definitely glad I did, because the Owl House has proven itself to be a true gem of a cartoon, with characters, animation and stories that haven't engaged and enthralled me this much since the days of Gravity Falls, and that's saying something. With its first season over, and having thoroughly impressed me in doing so, I decided it might be worth me saying just how well this show has fared thus far.

Now, the story of a youth who goes to a magical world and overcomes dangers and adventure is by no means a new idea in fiction. Heck, Disney themselves did that exact premise not so long before Owl House, with Amphibia. But I've always been of the belief that just because an idea is old doesn't meant it can't still be good if you do something interesting with it. Maybe put a new spin on it or explore the idea in ways others haven't. Does Owl House do this? Yes, I'd say it does. We've all heard of magical worlds, but probably not one made from the corpse of an ancient titan. We've all seen stories of witches, but likely not an entire race of them who do magic in the way these ones do. We've seen schools of magic, but again it isn't probably not the kind we see here, if only because of how casual everyone is about danger. There's lots of things here in the Owl House that has been done before, but interesting twists coupled with bizarre and unfamiliar character and background designs certainly help to make it stand out. In fact, I'd call this the least conventional conventional fantasy story ever put out there, if that actually makes any sense. Probably not, but hey, it's the best way I can think to describe it.

Characters are, as always, the biggest draw of any show for me, and luckily the Owl House has a plethora of great ones to offer me. Luz is a fine central heroine and immediately endeared herself to me in her first appearance with her wide-eyed enthusiasm and boundless love for both life in general and the fantastic in particular. However, what I loved about her introduction is that they made it clear that she has a lot of learning to do before her story is finished. She may be the typical oddball who doesn't fit in with her world, but the show doesn't shy away from the fact that she was a disruptive and often dangerous influence back there, particularly to the other kids. And in the episodes following that we see her make mistakes that get others in a lot of bad situations. Normally this would put me off a character pretty quickly, but the show remedies this well by not only having Luz be a very caring and well-meaning person, but also showing her be willing to do whatever it takes to make up for the errors she makes. And that, coupled with her general energy and optimism, makes her a very likeable main character for the show.

Eda and King, voiced by the aforementioned Wendie Malick and Alex Hirsch respectively, also do a great job of impressing me as characters. Firstly, we have Eda, an "outcast and proud of it" type of mentor with a rebellious streak that dwarfs even that which Luz herself had back in the human world. Now, having a mentor who's on the bad side of the law isn't new, but Malick brings a really fun energy to this character, with her snark being easily one of the most entertaining things about the show overall. But she gives her greater depth beyond just being a sarcastic mentor, as Eda is shown to be someone with her own struggles, her own pains, that draw you in and fascinate you in a way you might never have expected from her time in just that first episode. King likewise proves to be a character with many layers to him. Introduced as a demon who has fallen from power and constantly trying to regain that position, he often proves to be a great source of comedy, but also shows himself as capable of warming up to Luz and others and being genuinely caring towards them. These two have both proved to be great otherworldly characters, and ideal companions for Luz during her time in the Boiling Isles.

And like any truly great ensemble piece, Owl House provides plenty of other wonderful characters to enjoy over the course of the show. Hootly, the titular Owl House himself, is a truly entertaining comic relief character, and Hirsch, who voices him as well as King, clearly has a lot of fun in bringing just general random comedy into the mix. Luz's friends at school, Willow and Gus, are as endearing as her, proving supportive and just generally likeable kids that it's always a pleasure to see, with Willow in particular having some real standout moments in the show. And then we have Amity Blight, and here's a character who really does showcase a lot of what makes this story wonderful. Someone who appears as one thing, in this case a quintessential school bully character, and then gets revealed to have far more to her than we might have ever expected. And her growing close relationship to Luz has shown to be one of the most interesting things about the Owl House thus far, at least to me. I could probably write a whole essay on that relationship, and trust me, I have plans to, but for now just know that she, along with the rest of the recurring cast, have shown themselves to be a real delight to watch.

The stories in this show, in a similar vein to Gravity Falls, follow a sort of quasi-serialized format. There will definitely be hints of something larger and ominous building up in the background, with reference and mentions of things happening that we never get to see, but for the most part the show largely seems content to have episodic stories. But there will be interconnectedness there too, as some episodes will come about as a direct result of things established in prior episodes, such as Willow's past friendship to Amity, or Eda trying to get Luz enrolled at Hexside. And I've always had a fondness for that kind of storytelling. Sure, fully serialized stories that tell big, sweeping epics are all well and good, but smaller and more self-contained outings have always just appealed to me more, especially since it always seems that Owl House has character interactions be at the forefront of its priorities. I could honestly just watch an episode of three or more of these recurring characters just hanging out and talking to each other and be completely satisfied with it. But of course, there's the big end-of-season arc, and without spoiling things it definitely upped the seriousness, drama and stakes of the show. There had been risk and danger before, but that finale absolutely took it to eleven, which was fine for me, given how the rest of the show had been.

The Owl House, like any genuinely great show, has a number of themes and big ideas it wants to explore, and above all there seems to be the recurring idea of the individual vs society. Who a person is and what they want to do vs the needs of everyone and needing to be more like the rest of the group. And what strikes me as interesting about this show's take on it is that it doesn't seem to want to demonize one side or another. Throughout the story we're shown both the ups and downs of both sides, and Luz herself even states in the episode "Covention" that she wants to make up her own mind rather than simply blindly follow Eda's stance on individualism as the true right way, which is a nice change of pace for shows like this. The coven system, for instance, restricts all but specific types of magic in those who join, yet by refusing to join Eda has been driven to outcast status, often struggling to get the things she needs, like her elixir. Luz is a free spirit who is drawn to Eda's wildcard mentoring, yet also has a desire to learn from the structured style of Hexside. Granted, the finale does put the society side in a far more negative light, but the show did try a more nuanced approach to the argument than I was expecting, which I really do admire about it.

Overall, I'd say the Owl House is off to a fantastic start. Is it good enough to usurp Gravity Falls as my personal favourite Disney show? Well, it's still a bit early to make that decision, as well as a bit unfair. The show isn't finished yet, so it's entirely possible that the second season might not live up to the standard set by the first. But, as far as that first season goes, I'd say I'm pretty hopeful about it. The characters, the world, the stories it's given me have been hugely engaging so far, and as long as the people making it stick to those things that made this show good in their second year, I have every confidence that they can make it just as good, if not better. It's a fantasy show that does a lot to veer away from what a lot of other stories in that genre typically try to do. It's characters are layered and grow with every passing episode, and by the time this season was over I was even tempted to call some of this cast among the best characters any Disney property has ever shown me, which is some pretty high praise. A first impressions go, the Owl House has definitely done a fine job, and I thoroughly look forward to seeing what Dana Terrace and the rest of the crew do when it eventually returns to us 🥰