I haven’t written about The Owl House for a couple of weeks now. Don’t worry - I’m fine, but the show’s current hiatus and lack of weekly episodes has made fawning over its world, characters, and narrative a little less enduring. Despite this, the fandom remains dedicated, with my social media feeds flooded with all manner of fanart, discussions, and theories surrounding where Luz Noceda and company could go next. I’ve even got a Discord where me and a couple of friends just gay out about Lumity a few times a day, because of course we do.
Despite its hiatus, recent weeks have brought The Owl House back into conversation as it became clear how little time the show has left to further explore its narrative ambition and wrap up the respective arcs of major characters. Creator Dana Terrace recently addressed this on Twitter, working out that there’s only six or so hours of remaining material left when you factor in the second half of season two and the trio of shorts that will make up the third and final one.
While I’m not going to make any inaccurate predictions, speculation online seems to suggest that the third season was cut short and rewritten due to budget constraints related to the pandemic. It’s impossible to confirm any of this, but given animation budgets for such shows can stem from Disney’s theme park revenue and they’ve all been shuttered for months, it makes sense that cuts would be made to shows like The Owl House to salvage the bottom line. Disney still has billions to play around with though, which makes decisions like this even more heartbreaking to witness. Just don’t give ScarJo her millions and make gay shows instead, it’s a worthwhile compromise I promise.
Fans have been ravenous in their support for the show, with YouTuber Rebecca Rose organising a campaign that ended up trending on Twitter across several territories, cementing demand for additional episodes, comics, and other supplemental material as the mid-season finale aired. As a fan and critic watching from the sidelines it was overwhelming to witness, and it’s only the second time I’ve been ingrained in a fandom and had the ability to watch as they communicate with creators and craft a legacy for The Owl House in real time. The story hasn’t even reached its conclusion yet and they’re asking for more, knowing this world and its characters are deserving of a finale that isn’t underwritten or truncated due to powers outside of the control of those passionately piecing it together. Who can blame them I suppose? This show has pushed boundaries for queer representation and allowed for deeper, more inclusive discussion in the medium thanks to a queer heroine, a non-binary character, and LGBTQ+ themes that are both deliberate and understated in their execution.
While I have full confidence that Dana Terrace and the team working on the show will execute upon the remaining six hours with some wonderful moments, I can’t imagine it’s easy to wrap up a show entirely with just six hours worth of episodes remaining, especially if this runtime is significantly lower than initially planned. The best animated shows, whether it be Avatar: The Last Airbender, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, or Steven Universe, ensure that characters have enough time to be developed, establishing relationships and pushing the wider narrative forward in a way that feels satisfying and fully realised. Bumps on the road will emerge during the production process, but the majority of modern shows have a number of set episodes to explore alongside relative foresight towards whether or not it will be renewed for an additional season. I’m unsure The Owl House had that privilege, and fans must now remedy with the fact that a landmark show like this won’t receive the closure it deserves.
The best approach is to treat the upcoming trio of shorts set to make up the entirety of season 3 as a selection of films, albeit not as long. I wouldn’t be surprised if they adopt a three act structure to tell a large, singular narrative focusing on the heroes, villains, and everything in between before concluding things for good. That is, if Disney hasn’t taken notice of fan outcry and stepped in to revive the series, or at least acknowledge that demand is far more substantial that it could have previously imagined. I’m serious, you can’t buy official The Owl House merch or anything, and the same is true for similar modern hits like Amphibia. The only way for fans to show their support is to make a polite stink on social media, write letters, or stream the show online. Beyond this, we’re powerless, but this fandom has taught me never to underestimate what they’re capable of.
I’m sure The Owl House’s remaining episodes and shorts will be tremendous, but it’s still being cut short, and I feel bad for the fans, animators, writers, and so many others who wanted it to be something more.