The Owl House has so much ground to cover in its remaining episodes and trio of specials. Disney’s sudden cancellation of the show means that so many character arcs and storylines need to be concluded in a fraction of the time. Part of me was worried that the arrival of Season 2B would see it bogged down with wholesome shenanigans instead of jumping aboard the narrative train and going full steam ahead.
I was a fool. Follies At The Coven Day Parade is a strong return for the series and a confident declaration of what’s to come. We waste no time picking up the pieces from Yesterday’s Lie and arranging them towards the future in a way that sets up multiple new storylines and teases a wider conspiracy that will likely act as a natural finish line for the entire season. Things are heating up, and I’m totally not ready for the emotional ride.
Luz has returned from her brief journey to the human world, the consequences of leaving her mother behind once again weighing heavy on her mind. The episode opens with an adorable collection of clips captured on her smartphone that try in vain to show how The Boiling Isles isn’t that much of an eternal deathmatch. Unfortunately we’re met with a skinless Hooty, angry Boscha, and an assortment of other horrors that do nothing to prove our heroine’s point. She’s lost, burdened by the guilt of both eventually returning to the human world and making it clear to her friends that she can’t be here forever.
That’s the central crux of the entire episode, Luz finding distractions to pull her away from confronting her own internal struggle. Coincidentally, the Coven Day Parade is right around the corner and offers a perfect way to involve herself in a complicated scheme instead of dealing with icky emotions. It’s especially juicy when Raine Whispers re-enters the fray, who we last saw being kidnapped by associates of Emperor Belos and taken into their service. Given Eda’s history with the non-binary bard, it doesn’t take long for her chaotic witchery to give way to emotional vulnerability, with her doing everything in her power to save them.
Luz, Hooty, Eda, and King build a float to take part in the parade, rigging the entire thing to open up an opportunity to capture Raine and Kikimora, the latter losing confidence in her abilities and seeking to abandon the Emperor’s Coven. Things go off without a hitch, although dialogue throughout hints that something much deeper hides beneath the surface, and that The Boiling Isles will soon be thrown into a dilemma that will see the very fabric of magical usage placed on the line. That and the whole situation is an excellent set piece, showcasing parts of the Bonesborough rooftops and alleyways we’ve not seen before.
It’s a cute and unexpected return for Avi Roque’s character who I honestly thought wouldn’t resurface so soon, but now it seems they will play a major part in Emperor Belos’ Day Of Unity, a major event which will undoubtedly see heroes go up against villains as the big bad seeks to activate his portal and breach upon the human world. That’s my guess anyway, the show’s shortened length means that all previous assumptions have now been thrown asunder, leading fans to form new theories and ponder exactly what’s to come.
Raine’s return was welcome though, and they’ve clearly been brainwashed to distance themselves from Eda and those who would seek to help them. It’s heartbreaking to see them push their ex-girlfriend away, not even reciprocating a desperate hug meant to express a feeling of safety. Things are going to get angsty for these two, and it’s refreshing to see two of the show’s older characters being given equal narrative weight to Luz and Amity. Speaking of, goodness me has The Owl House already doubled down on the gayness.
There’s an adorable scene outside Hexside where Amity refers to Luz as a ‘Sweet Potato’ in Spanish before unveiling she’s also learning Spanish for her girlfriend. Then we even get a kiss, cementing that the remainder of season two won’t be afraid to show that these witches are gay, and it’s absolutely good for them. It’s deliberate too, with multiple characters taking every opportunity to label Luz and Amity as girlfriends with no other way of interpreting how they see one another. Their romance is saccharine to the extreme, but there’s a handful of scenes that also highlight the nuance between these two characters.
Amity wants to help Luz return home, even if it means confronting the reality of losing her girlfriend forever. Much of the episode follows her as she’s eager to watch a clip from Luz’s phone but with a fear of breaching her privacy. She confides in Willow, a friend she pushed away years ago due to her own hubris and now seeks to repair broken bonds, even if the journey will be far from easy. I’d love to see more of this dynamic, and smaller arcs like this are ones I’m afraid will be lost as a consequence of how little time the show has left.
We’ll have to wait and see, but even this episode was juggling so many threads despite executing on all of them with applaudable grace. Time will tell if that momentum can be maintained, but knowing the parameters the production crew is working within, I imagine they intend for the big moments to hit hard with creative storytelling while leaving smaller moments on the cutting room floor out of necessity. Either way, Season 2B is off to a tremendous start and is clearly setting the stage for something much grander.
It’s also now canon that Amity is a skater chick. Nobody can take that fact away from me.
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