The Owl House is proving itself to be too good for Disney

The Owl House’s past few episodes have showcased the series at its best. As plucky misfit Luz searches for a way home and also tries to get to the bottom of all-powerful Emperor Belos’ plans, she grapples with her own emotions about being torn between two worlds. It’s the perfect blend of world-building backstory and character-focused downtime to balance out the overarching plot.

Even though it’s been its most successful season, it is disappointingly sad that there were two episodes with big reveal back-toback. With only four episodes left of this season — and only a tiny abridged third season on the horizon — it’s clear that creator Dana Terrace and the rest of The Owl HouseTeam are following the guidelines given to them. It’s still deeply satisfying, but the show and the team behind it deserve 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) — Emperor Belos’ dutiful nephew — find themselves trapped in Belos’ mindscape. Luz decides to look into his past and discover his motives while Hunter insists Belos is good-hearted, but he also tries to escape. Luz and Hunter stumble upon a tiny, innocent Belos who Luz first wants to save. But as they delve deeper into Belos’ dark and twisted mind, it becomes evident that his true intentions are evil — he is actually a human witch hunter, the very same human that Luz went back in time to find in hopes that he could lead her home. Belos is a shadowy spirit called the Collector and has survived hundreds of years to execute his master plan for the murder of all witches and demons of the Boiling Islands. And to top that all off, Hunter isn’t actually his nephew, but something he refers to as a “Grimwalker,” made in the appearance of one of Belos’ first companions all those years ago.

If that wasn’t enough, the very next episode sees Luz and baby demon King (Alex Hirsch) headed off to a distant part of the Boiling Isles, where they meet a remote clan of Titan Hunters who are convinced that King is one of their long-lost descendants. As it turns out, King isn’t a Titan Hunter — he’s actually the last Titan, the giant fearsome demonic creatures who roamed the Boiling Isles centuries ago, creatures that the aforementioned Collector wants to eliminate. It’s whammy after whammy, but each of the revelations has been carefully seeded beforehand. The King reveal builds on previous instances where we saw him search for his family, while Belos and Hunter’s true nature was foreshadowed by their inability to wield magical traditionally.

Image: Disney

But with only a handful of episodes left this season — and only an abridged season 3 after this one — wrapping them all up seems near impossible. Terrace and the rest of the crew have already defied odds, crafting a gratifying and interesting narrative despite the limited scope handed to them; they’ve proved that they can pull off the unbelievable, and can likely thread the needle to a satisfying ending. It could be even more. MoreIt would not have happened if Disney didn’t decide to sabotage the show before it had a chance.

The average length of Disney Channel’s animated series is shorter than other networks. You can take Adventure Time Steven UniverseFor instance, the amounted to 283 episodes and 160 episodes, respectively, not including spinoffs. Compare them with popular Disney Channel shows such as Gravity Falls(31/41) Star vs. The Forces of Evil (77 episodes). That isn’t to say that you can’t make a satisfying animated show with a smaller episode count; it’s doable, and certainly those two Disney Channel examples already speak to that. However, it is clear that The Owl House was already operating under a more restrained storytelling allowance — made even shorter by the fact that it won’t be getting a full third season.

Terrace provided some insights into the reasons why Terrace was created. The Owl House wasn’t renewed for a full third season, which boiled down to a frustratingly simple reason that had nothing to do with reviews (all good) or viewership (also good): Someone decided that the show didn’t fit Disney’s brand.

“At the end of the day, there are a few business people who oversee what fits into the Disney brand and one day one of those guys decided TOH didn’t fit that brand,” wrote Terrace in a Reddit AMA thread. “The story is serialized (BARELY compared to any average anime lmao), our audience skews older, and that just didn’t fit this one guy’s tastes. That’s it! Ain’t that wild? It grinds my stomach, boils and kicks me in the shins. It sucks but it is what it is.”

Image: Disney

Late-show surprise like Steven Universe did in its final season doesn’t just come from the hard work of the creatives involved; there were certainly moments along the way where it seemed like Steven UniverseThe show might never get to tell all of its story. However, it is up to the network to allow the show to reach that level. The Owl House’s most recent reveals are amazing — but imagine what they could’ve been like with a little more time to stew. Hunter was introduced only this season. The revelation of who Hunter really is happens in the middle of other major Belos revelations. It still works — it works very well — but it’s just hard to shake the fact that Disney doesn’t want it to work at all.

The Owl HouseIt is amazing. It’s sharp and funny, with evocative world-building and compelling characters. It’s funny and heartful and gorgeously animated. It’s garnered a passionate fan base and rave reviews, and it became a milestone of LGBTQ representation in all-ages animation. It’s more grown-up than the average Disney Channel animated series, and for the better. It would be great if Disney could have a little more faith, trust, and pixie powder, etc.Then The Owl HouseIt could get the attention it needs.

Season one of The Owl HouseYou can access the entire season 2 series, including episodes 1-16 on Disney Plus. On Saturdays, new episodes air on Disney Channel at 9:00 AM EDT.