While Season 1 of The Owl House, it was mostly focused on ground-laying in retrospect. With all of the characters properly introduced, Season 2 ups the ante in a big way, making for a season that is better than the first in pretty much every way... except for one.
Season 2 focuses a lot more on the overarching plot compared to the first. Emperor Belos, the show's main antagonist, is trying to start a Day Of Unity that could destroy the Boiling Isles, so the main cast has to try and stop it, all the while learning the truth about Belos's origins. While I found that the Day Of Unity was a bit vague for much of the season, all of the big flashbacks and loredumps are well-executed, Belos's iron grip on the Boiling Isles makes for an imposing antagonist, and the final stretch of episodes is especially intense. But what I especially liked about Season 2 was the fact that it made sure to give every single major character a story arc, all of which are compelling and flesh them out. Luz is trying to get home while also dealing with if she wants to go home, King is trying to find his father and figure out his origins, Eda is grappling with her curse and past, Amity is trying to break out of her parents' control and start a relationship with Luz, and so on and so forth. While I don't find the Belos stuff all that amazing, it's the abundance of character drama that really spices up the show.
Season 2 also introduces a whole bunch of new characters, and they're all fantastic. The highlight is obviously Hunter, Belos's adorably dorky Golden Guard who gets an incredibly enjoyable redemption arc even by redemption arc standards. But there's also Raine, a great nonbinary character with a strong dynamic with Eda, and Vee, Luz's surprisingly adorable doppleganger who I really wanted to see more of. However, there's one weak part of The Owl House that hasn't really been fixed, and that's the pacing. Just like in Season 1, with such a large cast, characters get written out for several episodes at a time, but it's even worse this time since the writers have a bit of a time limit. Disney cancelled the show (because of course they did), so it really felt like Terrace and the crew were trying to cover all of the ground. I think they did the best they could, but when every single episode has to some some massive plot development (especially in the final third), it just gets way too overwhelming.
Highlights:
Knock, Knock, Knockin' On Hooty's Door: Do I... like Hooty? I thought he was the most annoying thing in Season 1 but he really won me over in this episode. Not only did he make this probably the show's funniest outing so far ("DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER"), but he somehow managed to single-handedly progress all three of the major character arcs. King has superpowers, Eda's backstory is revealed, Eda makes peace with her Owl Beast, and probably best of all, LUMITY IS CANON. What a fantastic episode.
Yesterday's Lie: This episode was a long-time coming and it absolutely lived up to the build-up. The whole final scene where Luz briefly manages to reunite with her mom before they get torn apart again was a fantastic payoff. But the real surprise was Vee, who ended up being utterly adorable and lovable.
Reaching Out: This was probably the most emotional episode of the series for me, the whole sequence where Luz tells Amity about her dad's death was so well-executed. The cherry blossom visuals, the way it takes a realistic look at Luz being away from home, the way it tackles grief, it's a really impactful scene. It was also nice to see Amity managed to slightly bond with her own father.
Hollow Mind: I think we need a name for episodes like Hollow Mind and The Massacre At Hawkins Lab, relentless loredumps that completely flood you with world-shattering new information that dramatically changes the cast. While Hunter being a Grimwalker and Belos being Phillip was pretty strongly hinted at in previous episodes, what really hit about Hollow Mind was the fallout of that reveal. Luz and Hunter are both visibly shaken up by the ending (with the latter straight-up running off), and Belos seems incredibly pissed at them for going into his mind. Also, the Collector is literally just Dimentio from Super Paper Mario and that's awesome.
Clouds On The Horizon: Befitting the penultimate episode of a very packed season, Clouds On The Horizon has a lot going on. Alador turns against his wife and joins the heroes, Odelia is actively collaborating with Belos, Eda gets a sigil, and Luz gets captured. But none of that matters much since LUZ AND AMITY KISSED AAAAAAAA.
King's Tide: Here's another trope we need a name for: The penultimate finale of a cartoon being the biggest downer ending in the series. Amphibia had True Colors, Avatar had Crossroads Of Destiny, Korra had Venom Of The Red Lotus, She-Ra had Destiny, and now, The Owl House has King's Tide. This episode was particularly dark, between Phillip's monster form, the Draining Spell, and literally everything about the Collector. It leaves a lot hanging too, with Luz and her friends on Earth in a cliffhanger very similar to the aforementioned True Colors, Raine fainting, Eda losing her arm, Alador's fate being unknown, and the Collector doing something to the Boiling Isles.
Overall, while it still suffers from pacing issues, Season 2 of The Owl House is a fairly great improvement on the first. The character work is stronger, the episode quality is higher, the plot is more ambitious, and the final stretch is fantastic.
4/5 Stars
