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ordinaryschmuck · 2 years

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What I Thought About "Thanks to Them"

Salutations, random people on the internet who are already scrolling past this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

When it was announced that The Owl House's third season would get cut short to three hour-long specials, the fans fought as hard as they could to rectify this insane mistake. And...I really hate how I wasn't surprised.

I've seen this before. There have been many instances when a studio decided on something fans didn't like, and those fans did everything they could to fight back against it. The problem is that the fans rarely win, and it'll take a gosh dang miracle to make a studio change its mind about something. Studios don't care about how badly the fans want something or about a creator's vision. All studios care about is how much money they can make off a product. And it seemed The Owl House didn't have as big of a number as Disney's other shows at the time. It's an unfortunate pill to swallow, but that doesn't mean the situation is hopeless.

There are competent writers out there that, when given restraint, try to roll with the punches and still push out something amazing. Believe it or not, what happened to The Owl House is the best-case scenario, as the writers were told ahead of time what their situation would be, giving them the chance to adjust and make as satisfying of an ending as possible. And if you ask me, I have absolute faith that they'll be able to pull it off. The Owl House isn't my favorite show at the moment for nothing. The writers are outstanding, and the final product of Season Two proves that they know how to tell an overarching story while still giving the characters and the audience the time they need to breathe. The question is, did "Thanks to Them" reinforce this faith? Well, let's find out together, shall we?

SPOILERS BELOW

WHAT I LIKED

Starting Where the Last Season Ended: This was the best decision. The events of the finale are too big of a thing to gloss over immediately by starting with a time skip of them already working hard on getting home. Continuing the story right after the last season left things off works because the characters are allowed some time to establish this new normal and get started on their mission. While putting out some...issues.

Luz and Hunter’s Guilt: I'm still a little iffy on Hunter's guilt, mainly because I don't see him as the victim here, but I understand what Luz's going through. What happened isn't her fault either, as Belos could have tricked anyone instead of her, but I can see how she can believe it's her fault. Even though it could have been anyone else, Luz is still the one Belos tricked in the end, and her pain of knowing that she inadvertently caused so much damage is well within reason. So I'm glad Luz has Hunter with her to share some of the pain. If you think these two were siblings before, you'll get a kick at watching them bond over shared fears and anxieties, being each other's support and reassurance that things are going to be ok. Luz adds more to that last part (because, of course, she does), but it's still sweet seeing them go through this together. It makes their relationship grow stronger and more compelling, and I hope we get just the briefest moments between these two in the future. And I'll go over each character individually, but there are just a few things I want to get out of the way first.

Starting with a character who deserves way more love.

Camila: IF I SEE ONE MORE MOTHER F**KER CALLING CAMILA A BAD MOM AFTER THIS, I'M GOING TO LOSE IT!

Let me break down what this woman does for the dumb dumbs in the back:

Upon seeing these four new kids without a home or anywhere else to go, she doesn't hesitate to insist that they can live with her and Luz until they find a way back. Even if she doesn't entirely understand how they function and is a little freaked out by certain antics.

When Luz came out to her, Camila pulled her and Amity in for a loving hug, and Camila started to wear a pride pin throughout the rest of the special, an extra cherry on that sweet sundae.

Upon seeing Vee in her new form, Camila ran toward her daughter with just as much pride as she did when Luz came out.

She looked at Luz's quirkiness and antics with pride, and if anybody had the AUDACITY to call her daughter a freak, Camila was more than ready to throw hands.

Once she finds out that Luz is planning on staying in the human realm, which is what Camila wanted once she realizes where Luz was during the summer, Camila refuses to let that happen. Back in "Yesterday's Lie," Camila didn't know the context of why Luz wanted to stay. Now, she does. The context has been living with her for months. And they helped her understand why Luz loves the Boiling Isles so much and how it's more of a home than the Human Realm.

The woman even jumped into a dirty graveyard pond to save our precious boy Hunter!

The one misstep she might have made was going through her daughter's journal, but, like...what parent hasn't done that? If you think your secrets are safe, they're not. And they never will be. Just accept that right now.

Is Camila a perfect mom? No. No parent is perfect, as there will be mistakes no matter how good you try to be. And if your takeaway from "Thanks to Them" is still about how Camila's a bad mom, despite all the kind-hearted things she does for her baby and her friends, you're an idiot. There's no other way around it. You are an idiot who doesn't understand good parenting if it slaps you in the face. And I'm only partially joking about that.

Alright, now that I've got that rant out of the way, let's keep things chugging along.

The Montages: There are two prominent montages in this special, the first showing us what Luz and Co. have been up to the past few months and the second detailing the antics Vee and Luz's friends went through in finding the secrets of the puzzle they found. And this was another perfect decision on the writer's part. The Owl House's third season has a similar plot to Amphibia's, only that the writers are working with a third (Ha) of the run-time that Matt Braly and his team did. This means they'll have to speedrun through the same story beats Amphibia had while still providing a satisfying final product. So, seeing the characters adjust to the new environment is relegated to montages instead of dedicating entire episodes (and wasting time) of them going on a wacky adventure in the human realm. And I'm ok with that. This idea of keeping things moving forward but delivering the briefest of cute character moments makes The Owl House more different (and better) than Amphibia. While Amphibia will grind its stories and narratives to a halt so we can have a filler episode dedicated to stuff like Sprig being a superhero, The Owl House keeps things going while working these character moments in with the story. It's a reason why I think people get too bent out of shape when shows don't have filler episodes anymore. Yeah, I get that some of them can be fun when done right, but that doesn't mean characters can't grow without them. Maybe Luz coming out to her mom or the characters meeting giraffes would have made great episodes, but I'm not losing sleep over getting a few seconds instead. Besides, while "Thanks to Them" is still continuing the story, that doesn't mean it can't stand out on its own as something spectacular.

Or should I say spooktacular...?

It’s a Halloween Special: And I love that. I love that despite the writers having less time, they still went out of their way to deliver the one holiday special this series is perfect for while continuing the story. They just added the fun, filler-like stuff with it (see what I mean?). As for how well it works as a Halloween special...it's pretty good. Some solid imagery feeds into the spooky season with some creepy stuff that should be enough to scare the kids watching. Heck, maybe some adults might get creeped out given some body horror that happens later...and yes, we'll get into that...but first, let's talk about something wholesome.

I need something wholesome.

OH, MY GOODNESS, DO I NEED SOMETHING WHOLESOME!

The Kids Learning Spanish: You'll do.

This was sweet, by the way. It shows us just how much these kids care about Luz and Camila by putting in the effort to speak a language that they mastered. It's a small thing, but it fills up my heart.

(Also, that demonic Duolingo is perfect as an in-joke for the fandom. If you know, you know)

They Painted Hooty on the Door: This, on the other hand, is both funny and kind of tragic. Like, the kids miss the Boiling Isles so much that a reference to Hooty gives them comfort.

Hooty!

Man, they really need to find a way to get back home...

The Kids Finding a Way to Get Back Home: Oh...that was fast. But not too convenient. It's heavily implied that the house the kids set themselves up in used to belong to Philip and Caleb (or something like that), so it's not too hard to believe that the kids find their first real clue there.

As for the others leaving Luz out on the search, this does bring up my friend's complaint about how Luz doesn't have much agency as her friends. And, yeah, I can see that frustration. Luz doesn't get to do much in this special, with the most crucial story-driven moments going to the others. Luz is the main protagonist, and she should be able to do more than...relatively nothing. However, it does make sense in context. Luz is currently not in the right mindset and is going through a lot, so her friends are doing their part to chase a lead, wanting to surprise Luz with a win instead of letting her down with another failure. It's her friends' way of paying back all the kindness Luz has done for them by going just as above and beyond as she would in completing a task. It has the unfortunate side effect of letting Luz have little importance, but I wouldn't call it bad writing. Just...a slight mishandling of characters.

Besides, while Luz doesn't do much to advance the story, she adds a lot when it comes to character development.

Luz: This is the most development Luz has gotten through the whole series. Luz is weighed down by her guilt over accidentally helping Belos to the point where she believes things would be better if she never existed. That...hurts. It hurts a lot to see Luz think this way. And it hurts even more to see her heart not being in it when acting like her usual self. When Luz smiles, it never reaches her eyes. When she says something lighthearted and goofy, it almost sounds as if she's empty inside. This experience changed her, and it makes sense. To Luz, she caused so much damage that is unable to fix it for months. It makes sense why she's so emotionally numb throughout the special because...how would you react to all that? Something tells me it wouldn't be great.

This special also gave us more insight into Luz's life before the Boiling Isles. We get to see how isolated she feels, how miserable she is being in a world that doesn't understand her, and even why she loves The Good Witch Azura. We get bits and pieces of that in the past, but this is the first time it's a central focus, and that's great. We know a lot about Luz's friends and family but don't know much about her. So to finally get something about Luz is spectacular. If you ask me, having her go through the most development is a fair trade to her not having much agency in the first part of a three-part finale (besides, we've got two more parts to go through).

Although, she's not the only one going through a lot this special.

Hunter: Next to Luz, Hunter might be the one who grew the most in "Thanks to Them." He gets a hobby that allows him to find some self-expression, finds a book series that gives him comfort over his anxieties, and ends up crying tears of joy when he realizes he's part of a kind, loving family. Again, "Thanks to Them" worked all these great character moments into the story while still moving things along. Seriously, take notes, Amphibia writers!

Jokes aside, it is great to see Hunter happy for the majority of an episode for once. After everything he went through (and will soon go through. We'll get to that), it warms the heart to see my boy just loving life and getting everything he could have ever hoped for...This is why it does serious emotional damage to see it soon crumble to an end. And we'll get to that...but can we go through some more nice stuff first? Please?

Cosmic Frontier: Sure, why not?

I like Cosmic Wonder primarily for the help it gives Hunter and his issues, but it's also amazing how it gives him and Gus something to bond over. It adds more to that brotherly bond they've got going on, which is sweet to see.

Also...those books obviously belonged to Camila. The way she reacted to them and the fact that she got bullied in school over something is all the proof I need. And that's also sweet because it means she's as much of a nerd as Luz, even though she has bad memories of expressing it. Plus, now that we know that Luz's father is the one that gave Luz her first Azura book, a fact that breaks my heart as much as it makes it whole, that might hint at how Camila and Manny met. The boxes in the closet imply they went to conventions together, even saving old cosplays they've made. Really shows you how much Luz takes after her folks, thus warming the heart up in the process.

Masha: Do you want to know what else warms the heart? The Owl House continuing to excel at having such casual LGBTQA+ representation.

Here, we have a character that's non-binary but embraces feminity. There's an incorrect stipulation that to be non-binary means to not conform to either male or female genders, but (as far as I can tell) that's not true. Being non-binary means that you don't identify as either male or female. How you choose to express that is up to you. But if a man can wear makeup and have long hair but still identify as male or a woman can choose to wear no makeup and shave her head but still identify as female, why can't a non-binary individual choose to wear pride nails and wear long dresses?

For The Owl House to allow a group of people to feel that seen is fantastic, and I hope this series will be remembered for years because of that reason alone.

And, hey, it looks like they might be a potential crush for Vee. Isn't that just cute...Oh, yeah, VEE!

Vee: I'm surprised with how well Vee fits into the group. She doesn't do much, but she adds a lot of cuteness and charm, and I love that there are zero issues with the fact that she's a basilisk. She's just a part of the gang, and there are no questions or hesitations about it. And that's nice. It's great to see Vee happy and loved after all the crap she went through before meeting Camila. Also...at least someone had a happy ending...unlike others...But I'm not getting into that yet! There's still the, uh, um...OH! I know!

The Tale of Brothers Whittebane: They just...put it all out there. That's the story of Caleb, Philip, and Evelyn (who's obviously a Clawthorne. I mean, come on). This story is everything we could really need to know, and it's told uniquely by having it be a sort of puppet show. Any blanks in the story we might have can only be confirmed through the background paintings found in "Hollow Mind," which the Tale of Brothers Wittebane in "Thanks to Them" adds clarity towards. Would a flashback episode work better? Most certainly, yes. But, as I've said, the writers have no choice but to speedrun through these story beats while making it serviceable. And that's what this is: Serviceable. I would love to know more, but I'm fine with where we're at.

Belos–NO! No, come on, there's gotta be something else!

Uh...Luz making a light glyph? That was cool and effectively gave me goosebumps.

"Shmuck--"

Um, uh, Luz's journal entries are neat! It's probably the best scene in the entire series, showing us exactly the kind of person Luz is and the heartbreak she learned to deal with!

"Schmuck."

And how about Luz and Amity going as Azura and Hecate?! That's something I've always wanted to see, and I got it! And I bet it made you all happy, right--

"SCHMUCK!"

...

"It's time."

...*Sighs* Yeah...yeah, let's get into it.

Belos Possessed Hunter: This...might be the worst thing Belos has ever done. And that's saying something.

Hunter was finally happy and at peace with everything. He had friends who loved him, interests that gave him something to hold on to, and a family that accepted him. The sad part is that the stuff that made Hunter happy only led to his own downfall. His love of sewing caused a hole for Belos to sneak his slimy self into. His admiration for Cosmic Frontier led to him staying behind and finding Belos in the first place. It is beyond twisted and could potentially lead Hunter to think he's not allowed to be happy if this is where it gets him. Sure, we got a cool fight scene and some decent body horror as Belos took over, but it will never change how this is an experience that will scar Hunter far more on the inside than the out. Especially considering...

Flapjack’s Death: This stings.

No, screw that. This shatters.

Flapjack, the first good thing to ever happen to Hunter and what kickstarted him learning to be loved, is...gone. He's gone, and it's all for the pettiest of reasons: Belos' resentment towards a witch his brother fell in love with. Sure, he hates magic and palismans in general, but he clearly specified that he was doing it because of how Flapjack reminded Belos of Evelyn. And he did it while using Hunter's body as a vessel, adding more damage to the poor boy.

But, if there's one good thing to take away from this, Flapjack died on his own terms. Belos cracked him, and it was unlikely Flapjack would survive anyway, but in his last moments, he spent them saving Hunter one final time. It's not the sendoff we wanted Flapjack to have, but this showcase of true loyalty proves how endearing he can be and how badly he'll be missed.

RIP, you little rascal.

...Thankfully, it doesn't take long before tragedy fades and hope rises.

The Truth Comes Out: And everything is fine.

I'm not shocked that Belos tried to throw in one last manipulation by telling the truth to Luz's friends about the mistake that she made. Nor am I surprised that their reaction was to be stunned at first, but they were quick to get over it, reassuring Luz that there's nothing to be worried about and ashamed of. And you have no idea how much relief I felt when that happened.

Lesser shows would have taken the opportunity to milk this drama far more than what it's worth, having Luz constantly blame herself while others refuse to look at her the right way ever again. Meanwhile, the writers of The Owl House said, "F**k that!" and gave Luz the instant reassurance she'll need. I'm sure she's not totally over her guilt and that we'll get bits and pieces of it in parts two and three, but I'm glad that the writers gave us all the drama they could about Luz keeping her mistake a secret without it feeling like it overstayed its welcome. It's another case of phenomenal writing in this series that was more than welcome.

(Also, Amity echoing back the words Luz said when confessing to her is beyond adorable, and I will hear nothing of the contrary)

But while this wasn't much of a surprise, what definitely was is...

Camila Deciding to Go With: I mean...yeah.

A part of me thought this might happen, but I did not expect it to come true. Still, I'm excited. I cannot wait to see Camila join the fight and kick some butt in the Boiling Isles...That or die/sacrifice herself to save her baby...I mean, if Camila's the only thing keeping Luz in the Human Realm, her death would give Luz the excuse she needs to stay in the Boiling Isles forever with her new family and home...I'm not saying I want this to happen, but it's even more of a possibility now than ever.

And I'm gonna hate myself for calling it...

WHAT I DISLIKED

Get the f**k out of here--YOU ARE NOT NEEDED!

...No, really, you're not needed. I took the one complaint I had (Luz not doing much) and weaved it into the likes so I could rationalize why it still works even though it rubbed me (and others) the wrong way.

What did you expect me to do? Break the flow so I can do something that's not necessary? What am I, an Amphibia writer?

...People probably think I hate Amphibia due to me ragging on it even though I gave it a B- in my final verdict review. The truth is, I do like Amphibia. It's funny, Anne's character development is ten times better than Luz's, and this is a show that knows how to stick the landing when it comes to its finales. My problems are that certain ideas and decisions weren't executed well, with the primary issue being how poorly it mixed episodic storytelling with a serialized one. Other than that, it's pretty good. Check it out.

...What were we talking about? Oh, right! "Thanks to Them!"

Yeah, this is an A+ for sure.

IN CONCLUSION

"Thanks to Them" is better than anything that came out of the series so far. It proves that Season Three is going for the "less is more" approach, giving the fans everything they could want and ask for but not letting it distract from the few narratives left established. There's a voice in my brain telling me that parts two and three of this final season might not live up to expectations, but it is outclassed by the part of me that is reassured by how astonishing this season will be. I have high hopes for the future. And it's all thanks to the writers who really do know how to roll with the punches.

#the owl house #the owl house season 3 #the owl house spoilers #camila noceda #luz noceda #toh hunter #toh flapjack #toh vee #vee noceda #emperor belos #the owl house reviews #what i thought about

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