SEPARATE TIDES

and we're back! much like in the world of The Owl House, it's been about a week and a half since last time, which i definitely for sure planned, ha ha ha. a few days off turned into a few more than i wanted, but i can also look at the silver lining here and say that in the meantime, the series finale aired. as it stands, The Owl House is a complete object (although i'd absolutely love to see more of this world one day), and without tipping my hand too much, i can say that i quite enjoyed how they wrapped things up. the finale delivered on what i was looking for and made it much easier to fully recommend this series without having to wonder if the landing might be compromised. from here on out, i write these overviews knowing how this whole thing shakes out, and i know i consider the whole thing very good, which is a nice reaffirmation to have when you're already neck-deep in recapping the entire show.

speaking of the ending, now might be a good time to take a step back and start digging into the circumstances of how The Owl House came to a bit of an untimely conclusion. i wasn't watching the show yet at the time, but in the real world, the gap between seasons was a full 10 months, thanks to the real-world pandemic acting as a major barrier for production. when the release date was finally announced, along with the above poster (absolutely gorgeous and befitting of the darker turn this season will be taking, by the way), it also came with the announcement that the show had been greenlit for a third season... consisting of only three double-length specials, as opposed to the roughly 20-episode batches that had been doled out so far.

the situation around this truncated ending has been quite the messy issue. at the very least, we've always known this blindsided the creative team a little bit - according to Dana Terrace, the decision came in before season 1 had even finished airing, and it came down to a specific executive who decided The Owl House just didn't fit Disney's brand. no further elaboration. many have speculated that it has something to do with the show's LGBTQ+ characters, and while at first Dana Terrace extended good faith and de-emphasized this angle as a potential reason, real-world circumstances like Disney's entanglement with Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill have made it harder to rule out as an option. from a more business-minded perspective, you could also say The Owl House, with its highly serialized 22-minute episodes, doesn't play as well in reruns as other Disney properties, which can be a major deciding factor given the declining state of linear television.

as i said in the introduction to these overviews, i think the answer comes down to both of these things, and probably of dozens of other factors, and probably also things we'll never know because it came down to one anonymous person's short-sighted decision. whatever the case, this decision really does hang over the show's head for the rest of its run. i (and my ever-helpful friends with better research skills than me) haven't been able to pin down a direct source on where this knowledge starts actively shaping the creative process, but even from the start, there's a certain sense that The Owl House is running on borrowed time. and yet, despite these unfortunate restrictions, that pressure winds up creating an absolutely fantastic season of television anyways, and with some context laid out for how the show is put together, i think it's time to start actually talking about it again.

right off the bat, Separate Tides delivers on a lot of those fun shifts in the status quo we've been seeing, as Luz finds herself doing her best Azura impression on a mission to capture a wanted demon, which ends up being pretty pathetically easy. she recounts in a video message to her mother - fun way of contextualizing a bit of a recap - that things have been a little tough in the interim since we last saw her. not only is Luz struggling with the emotional consequences of cutting off her access to the human realm, but it's also impacted Eda, since her business revolved around selling human wares. it's a nice touch to see not just the immediate thematic elements of regret, but also the practical ways in which living at the Owl House has changed.

and the changes just keep coming, because with her open assistance in Eda's escape, Lilith has no Emperor's Coven to turn to and is currently staying at the Owl House, solemnly trading in her goth attire for an adorable low-battery shirt to reflect her literal and emotional lack of strength. indeed, with both Clawthorne sisters deprived of their magic, our core cast has resorted to taking on all sorts of odd gigs to keep things afloat - 'This week, we're bounty hunters. Next week, we could be anything.' the incoming knowledge that this show's days are numbered means that we don't wind up sticking with this premise of rotating jobs for too long, but much like in the first season premiere, i can see the show this could have been in a different context and i do think it's a fun launch pad for the season.

in-between the bounty hunting and video messages, though, we also have another meta-textual element to talk about - the intro sequence has been updated! i will admit that i find season 1's rapid-fire cast showcase to be a little more charming, but the fact that they'd go through the trouble of an update at all is very fun. we get an emphasis on Luz's recent level-up to cape-wearing status, some new sunset hues painted over the flying sequence at the end, but most inticingly, the 'three cards' section in the middle have been swapped out entirely. where once we saw the 'main' Hexside students, we now see representatives of the Emperor's Coven, giving us a look at how Lilith has changed, a hint that Kikimora might have a much angrier side than we've seen before, and our first glimpse under that mystery figure's mask. much like in the first season, these are exciting hints of what's to come, and capping them off with a shot of Belos emphasizes that we're now dealing with a show that has a capital-B-G Bad Guy.

Belos's increased presence extends to the world of the show itself, too, as a new statue of him looms over the town square, and he's deployed everything from armed guards to Coven recruiters for Eda to very civilly kick over. evidently, even if we've established that the people of Bonesborough aren't narcs, they aren't exactly pushing back on this tightened grip either, and they're not afraid to let Eda know that without her magic, she's lost a pretty major bargaining chip. Lilith, likewise, no longer has the backing of the Emperor's Coven to gain anything out of Belos's authority, and in having her posters replaced, we get our first introduction to the mysterious masked figure as the new face of the empire - the Golden Guard. despite not seeing him much at all in the first season, Lilith has history with him and quite frankly a hilarious amount of pettiness for a literal teenager, describing him as a brat who receives special treatment due to his prodigal talents for magic.

with her friends struggling to make things work in a town that increasingly has no qualms about treating them as outsiders, Luz suggests going after a huge job as a confidence booster, but Eda insists they're not ready for the kind of swashbuckling Luz is suggesting. while chasing down another easy target through the market, Luz overhears her mentor talking about the hardships of making ends meet, and if i hadn't already talked enough throughout the last season of how Eda has slowly developed an incredibly strong maternal instinct, this scene puts that throughline front and center. she's literally talking about skipping out on her liquor (the apple blood is definitely liquor. roll with it.) to make sure Luz has her favorite foods, also noting in the process that humans literally can't digest a lot of food in the Boiling Isles. if that's not absolute mom behavior, what is?

Luz, with the terminal protagonist syndrome she's always had, feels especially responsible for putting the entire Owl House family in this position, and while at first she laments that she can't change the past, she and King quickly decide to go behind Eda's back to take on the sea-faring Selkidomus hunt. even if it's coming from a bit of guilt-clouded judgment, it really is a nice contrast to see how much initiative she's started taking as she grows accustomed to the demon realm. unfortunately - in a very nicely framed shot, i should add - the captain of the hunt is revealed to be in some form of cahoots with the Golden Guard, and we once again get some of that stained glass Belos seems to love so much when he closes a window on the ship.

meanwhile, we get a look into the Owl House as the Clawthornes return home. as Eda puts it, she might be lacking in her magic, but she's still proficient in potions, and she invites Lilith on a mission to earn some extra cash after getting snubbed at the market. for as much as this scene centers on setting up Lilith's B-plot, it's also our first major glimpse into the dynamic between the sisters this season. Eda relishes in telling Lilith to 'have fun wallowing in self-pity and feeling bad for cursing me', but she's also still keeping her in the loop about things and ultimately letting her stay under her roof now that they're both outcasts from society. i highlighted before when they worked well as a team, and now we're seeing in action that, yeah, the imperialism really was the hurdle there. once she had nothing to lose and didn't have Belos's lies as a motivating factor, there was nothing stopping Lilith from taking very real action to right her wrongs, and Eda's willing to hold it over her head playfully, but things seem, for the most part, amicable.

really, Lilith does fit in well in the Owl House, because just like Luz, she feels a heavy responsibility to make things right for Eda, and turns to the idea of making a scrying potion to look in on the inner workings of Belos's castle. with everyone else out on adventures, it ends up being Hooty who butts in, eager to become besties with Lilith by way of adorable nicknames and finding out her old co-workers' crushes. Lulu - sorry, Lilith - rejects the house demon's assistance, and as he says, 'a good friend would respect her wishes, but a better friend would help no matter what'. Hooty's always been an odd one to place in terms of how he fits into the Owl House's tight-knit found family, and he's only gotten odder with the recent revelation of how actually, genuinely strong he is, but i like this thread a lot. it's fun. let Hooty make friends.

out in the Boiling Seas, Luz has donned her best sailor gear, and both she and King end up fitting right in as pirates, by putting in the work as a crewmate and voicing genre-appropriate demands for crackers, respectively. we get a lot of fun glyph usage as Luz helps manage the ship, showcasing just how adept she's gotten with her magic, whether it's rappelling off the side of the ship with vines or throwing fire glyphs into the engine. Captain Salty quickly accepts her as a respected member of his crew, although it's hard to read in the moment whether he means that or if this is perhaps part of that side-deal with the Golden Guard. thanks to an unfortunate tussle with some very fun wildlife (love the parrot with an entire hand for a head), it winds up being King who sees through this trap first, discovering that the ship is an imperial vessel and getting locked away by the Golden Guard himself.

back in the other poorly advised guilt-driven quest to do something nice for Eda, Lilith is toughing it out in the woods searching for 'fire bee honey', quickly discovering that the beasts are far too hot to handle without ice magic. she asks herself 'Who am I without magic, without a Coven?', and you really do get the sense that, guilt aside, this is the first time Lilith has really had to think about herself and her place in the world in years. the Emperor's Coven provided a clear role in life and kept her moving in circles around naive goals in a way that actively put self-reflection at arm's length. the new lack of power is definitely a major factor, but i get the feeling that this kind of reckoning with who she really is at this point in her life would be coming, magic or no magic.

and then Hooty Digletts his way into the scene, offering his help! Lilith's rejections - funny as they might be, watching the show's previous biggest antagonist go off about he's 'just some kind of weird... BIRD-WORM' - actually do seem to get to Hooty for once, which feels pretty pointed given how he usually takes everyone's criticism with a sort of oblivious smile. it's always fun when you can cut through to the core of an oddballl like Hooty and see where there is some emotion under all the quirkiness. he accepts, at least for now, that Lilith wants to be left alone, leaving her to her own devices to go beat up a bunch of bees with a stick.

on the high seas, Salty and crew finally have a run-in with the Selkidomus, and i have to say it's a creature design that i really enjoy! there's not necessarily a ton of seals or walruses in archetypical monster design, so a giant one that can also shoot out a volley of spines is pretty unique to see. Luz onces again proves herself to be increasingly proficient with her glyphs, managing to stun and wrangle the sea monster, but an attack from a mysterious 'ghost pirate' leaves the whole crew disoriented and their bounty once again running free. with the delightful idea to make an ice platform and just fire blast backwards to turn it into a makeshift boat, Luz goes after the thief and, after accidentally losing the crew's payment to the tides, pieces together immediately that the mysterious specter is just Eda in disguise. side bar: Eda did not have to dress as a pirate at all for this scam to work, i don't think? she just wanted to. nobody NEEDED fun pirate clothes this episode, but they got them anyways. good for both of them. what a bunch of dorks.

unfortunately, before they have time to catch up, the Golden Guard arrives, making a suitably dramatic entrance by forming a giant fist out of the waters that slams him down onto the beach. given he's about to remind us all that the Boiling Seas are, in fact, boiling, it's a pretty intense statement to make, but it fits him. as of right now, it's hard to really get a good read on him. he does come off as a bit of a brat, like Lilith said, having a certain air of regal authority to him, but he's not above having a little laugh and the way he divvies out punishments feels equal parts detached and smug. i mean, hey, if you're going to wear an expressionless mask, it's going to give you a certain mysterious vibe no matter what.

he matter-of-factedly says that Luz will have to keep working as a sailor to pay off her debts, and that Eda's going to be brought back into custody for stealing from an imperial vessel. as she notes to Luz, '[Belos's ships] are the only ones worth robbing' - this show's not going to take a hard swerve into paying close attention to the socioeconomics of Belos's empire, but given this episode's whole premise is based on working odd gigs to keep food around and how the show hasn't been above a jab at capitalistic tendencies before, i do feel like this line is barbed in a way i like, showing how imperialists have consolidated the wealth of the Isles so tightly. the Golden Guard's aloof vibes only get stronger when he's confronted about why the empire is so concerned with a peaceful creature like the Selkidomus, noting that Belos ordered him to slay one. the show doesn't really put too fine a point on this being sinister, or use it to imply any sort of decency behind the mask - it's all just kind of busywork to him, which, in its own way, is one of the creepiest ways to feel about this gruesome task.

a brief skirmish shows that, even with Luz's strength with her glyphs, the Golden Guard is a pretty formidable opponent, dodging around and using his staff (take notice: same uniquely red magic Belos has been wielding) to scoop up the earth and almost toss his foes into the boiling waters of the demon realm. he backs away from that grisly threat, though, and ultimately ends up delegating his job to Luz and Eda, sounding a little too cheerful to 'help' by shaping a sword out of flesh and bone for them. again, he's hard to get a read on, and i like it - Lilith, as an antagonist under the empire, had some very particular baggage as someone who clawed her way to the top, and the Golden Guard, so far, almost has the exact opposite vibe, like he's so used to preferential treatment that this is all just kind of beneath him. as if his strength wasn't enough leverage, he also threatens to drown King, which quickly gets Luz to steel herself for going and killing the Selkidomus despite Eda's protests.

and, all the while, Lilith is still trying to fight flaming bees with a stick! it is going about as well as you would expect! when the chips are down, she does finally admit this isn't something she can handle alone, and Hooty emerges triumphantly to wrangle the hive, leaving Lilith to do some adorable clapping. relatively light as this B-plot might be, i do still wind up liking it - on both sides of this episode, we're looking at people close to Eda who are taking the guilt of her current predicament and walling themselves off to try and find solutions. with Lilith, for the time being, seemingly a primary cast member within the household now, it's smart to set her and Luz's struggles as parallels here.

Luz, on the other hand, needs a bit more talking to before she can come to terms with what she's feeling. when she insists on needing to follow the Golden Guard's whims and needing to do it alone, Eda's quick to throw her 'us weirdos have to stick together' mantra back at her and Luz finally directly admits that she feels responsible for all the hardships they've been going through lately, taking a rather dramatic plunge into the Selkidomus's den to deal with it.

before she can go through with it, though - and she does actually get pretty close to slaying the creature, all things considered - Eda swings in and hits us with this emotionally-charged response to Luz's self-sacrifical mindset.

and Luz cries a little, and maybe i cry a little too. honestly, this scene really does hit all the right notes - we're getting some fun contrast with the largely isolated events of the first season's premiere and it's a real showcase for both Sarah-Nicole Robles and Wendie Malick's vocal performances, showing how they've really come to inhabit these roles. it's the choice of the word 'unfortunately' here that gets me, i think, because it encapsulates that Luz doesn't get to pick and choose when her found family is going to extend this kind of unconditional acceptance to her. i've been in the kind of headspace Luz is in here, so having such a direct rebuttal from her mentor that she not only fits in here, but that they're both better off for having each other around - themes we've seen develop over the course of the series so far - really taps into a lot of emotional ley lines of this show at once.

with things cleared up, Eda resolves to find a peaceful solution that doesn't involve murdering innocent wildlife to get the Golden Guard off their backs. once they spot an adorable baby Selkidomus with a glowing headstalk (note to all writers: include cute baby versions of your monsters, always), Luz asks Eda if she wants to put her first glyph into action, and the two use some clever shadow puppetry and plant props to convince the Guard that they've decapitated the monster. in true Inscrutable Masked Weirdo fashion, the Golden Guard is killing time outside the cave toying with King's cage, and his main concern is that Luz dragging what he believes to be a severed head is just 'gross'.

evidently, that gross factor is what saves our heroes, because the Guard wants nothing more to do with this task and very quickly hands King back over and heads out, capping off his first appearance by warning that 'the Emperor is not a merciful man' before launching into pretty much the same playful 'BYEEE!' we heard out of Eda earlier. back in the cave, Eda is just as enamored with the humble light glyph as her student once was, and warns the Selkidomuses (Selkidomi?) to head further out to sea to avoid any more imperial wrath.

the mama Selkidomus, pleased with Luz and Eda's benevolence, rewards them with what Eda wholeheartedly describes, with perhaps more joy in her voice than we've ever heard before, as 'the treasure of the sea' - a big pile of vomit! this is selkigris, and both its gross nature and incredible monetary value are directly based on the real-world ambergris produced by whales. just a fun biology fact to tide you over while Luz gets thrown into a big pile of gross ocean wax that King finds a skull in.

back at the Owl House, Lilith tends to Hooty's wounds and apologizes for her stubbornness, and while at first she plays things rather cold, she does grant the house demon the new nickname of 'Hootsifer', and without giving too much away, i'm delighted to clue you in that Lilith and Hooty being new best buddies isn't some kind of one-off gag for the sake of this episode. this show, especially going into season two, is not immune to continuity, and that applies to these dorks too! luckily, Luz, Eda, and King arrive home just in time for the completion of Lilith's scrying potion, which gives us our promised glimpse into Belos's castle... full of inept imperial guards. just guys being bros.

she's a little quick to take credit for this lack of organization, but Lilith has a point when Luz asks her what this really means for any of them - for all the tightening grip we've seen throughout this season premiere, the actual individuals making up the Emperor's Coven are pretty directionless. as their former commander herself says, our favorite fugitives are, on some level, still free to 'pull whatever pranks your heart desires'.

while this might leave Eda in a good enough mood to promise take-out and Hooty shenanigans, what our heroes miss is... well, i'm not sure if they miss it or if this last bit is non-diegetic, for our sake. we get a glimpse at a few walls deeper into the castle, where Belos is putting what look to be some close-to-finishing touches on reparing the portal door, looking noticeably worse for wear with a wild head of hair as he dons his mask and turns to the camera to end this episode with a chilling 'Knock knock, human.'. once again, we are in capital-B-G Bad Guy territory now, and this season premiere isn't shy about keeping those wheels turning.

and, just like with the opening sequence, we've also swapped out our end credits! i was a big fan of the stroll through the Boiling Isles for season one, but given how different this season's credits are, it's hard to say which is qualitatively better. it's a lot more stylized, giving me some slight JoJo's Bizarre Adventure vibes with its carved tableaus, and it grants us more clues as to where this season is going, with both another glimpse at the Golden Guard's face and a shot of King sitting on a beach next to a carving that resembles him. enticing threads to tug on, and we'll be seeing both these aspects surface sooner than you might think.

Separate Tides is, honestly, a pretty great way to start this season off. all at once, we're getting a start to Lilith's stay in the Owl House and a re-examination of how Luz's has been going so far. on some level, it might suffer from the same isolated feeling as A Lying Witch and a Warden, but whereas that episode was putting in a lot of effort to establish broad character strokes, this one gets to reap the rewards of how much we know about these people so far. knowing that the end is very much in sight for The Owl House might put a certain sense of urgency over the whole thing, but even working at such a tight pace, this show takes the time to dig into its characters, to channel that rapidly changing plot into a satisfying look into our cast's inner lives, to how people react to big changes.

next time on The Owl House - Luz gets expelled from magic school!