The Owl House is proving to be too good for Disney

owl houseThe past few episodes have showcased the series at its best. As the unfortunate Luz finds her way home and also tries to fulfill the almighty Emperor Belos’ plan, she grapples with her own feelings about being torn between two worlds. It’s the perfect blend of world-building plot and character-focused downtime to balance the overarching plot.

But even though the series was at its best, the fact that the final two episodes featured a series of major revelations in a row is bittersweet. With only four episodes left of this season – and only a brief third season to come – it’s clear the creator Dana Terrace and the rest of the owl house the team is working within the framework assigned to them. It’s still very satisfying, but the program and the team behind it deserve so much more.

[Ed. note: This article contains major spoilers for the most recent episodes of The Owl House.]

Image: Disney

In “Hollow Mind”, Luz and Hunter (Zeno Robinson) – the docile grandson of Emperor Belos – find themselves trapped in Belos’ scene. While trying to escape, Luz also decides to explore his memories and find out his motives, while Hunter passionately insists that Belos is kind. They come across a small, childish Belos, whom Luz originally wanted to protect. But as they delve deeper into Belos’ dark and twisted mind, it becomes clear his true intentions are evil – he’s actually a human witch hunter, the very human Luz filmed. Go back in time to find in the hope that he can lead her to Home. Belos worked with a shadowy spirit known as the Collector, and somehow survived for hundreds of years to carry out his master plan to kill all the witches and demons in the Boiling Isles. And on top of that, Hunter isn’t actually his nephew, but what he calls “Grimwalker,” created in the form of one of Belos’ first companions all these years ago. this.

If that weren’t enough, the next episode sees Luz and the Demon King (Alex Hirsch) travel to a remote part of the Boiling Islands, where they meet a distant race of Titan Hunters who are convinced that the King is the one of them. long-lost descendants. As it turns out, King isn’t a Titan Hunter – he’s actually the last Titan, fearsome demonic creatures that roamed Boiling Island centuries ago, creatures the aforementioned Collector wants. remove. That was a different story, but each revelation was carefully prepared in advance. The King reveal builds on previous instances where we see him searching for his family, while the true nature of Belos and the Hunter is foretold by their inability to cast spells. traditional art.

Image: Disney

But with only a handful of episodes left in this season – and only season 3 cut back after this one – wrapping it all up seems impossible. Terrace and the rest of the crew defied all odds, crafting a satisfying and enjoyable story despite the limited scope assigned to them; they’ve proven that they can pull off the unbelievable, and can thread the needle to a happy ending. And yet, it can also be a lot thanif Disney hadn’t decided to cancel the show before it really had a chance.

In general, Disney Channel’s animated shows tend to run for fewer seasons than other shows on the network. Take Adventure Time and Steven Universefor example, reaching 283 and 160 episodes respectively (excluding respective spinoff series), and compare them with popular Disney Channel shows like Gravity reduction (41 episodes) and Star vs. the Forces of Evil (77 episodes). That’s not to say you can’t create a satisfying animated show with a smaller number of episodes; it can, and certainly two Disney Channel examples speak for themselves. But it makes it clear that owl house which already works under more limited narrative support – made even shorter by the fact that it won’t have a full third season.

Terrace previously provided some insight into why owl house hasn’t been refreshed for the entire third season, which stems from an annoyingly simple reason that has nothing to do with reviews (all good) or viewership (also good): Someone decided determined that the show did not align with Disney’s trademark.

“At the end of the day, there were a few business people overseeing what was right for the Disney brand and one day one of those people decided TOH wasn’t right for the brand,” Terrace wrote in a blog post. Reddit thread AMA. “The story is serialized (VERY SURPRISE compared to any average anime lmao), our audience is skewed towards older, and that doesn’t suit this guy’s tastes. That’s it! That’s not wild? Really grinding my teeth, boiling my brain, kicking my shins, all that. It sucks but it still is. ”

Image: Disney

Revealing the program as late as Steven Universe What it did in its final season didn’t just come from the hard work of relevant commercials; had definitely moments along the way where it seems Steven Universe may not get the chance to tell its full story. But it needs the network that allows the program a chance to get there. owl houseThe most recent revelations are astounding – but imagine what they would be like if there was a little more time to stew. Hunter, for example, is only really introduced this season, and the reveal of what he’s really about blends in among other big Belos revelations. It still works – it works great – but it’s hard to shake the fact that Disney doesn’t want it to work at all.

owl house is brilliant. It’s sharp and funny, with evocative and engaging world-building characters. It’s funny and hilarious and great animation. It amassed an avid fan base and rave reviews, and it became a major milestone for Representative LGBTQ in animation all ages. It’s bigger than the normal Disney Channel animated series and better. And if Disney just had a little more faith (trust and pixie dust, etc.), then owl house there may be time it’s worth it.

The first season of owl house, as well as episodes 1 through 16 of season 2, available on Disney Plus. New episodes premiere Saturdays at 9 a.m. EDT on Disney Channel.