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As we approached the midseason finale of The Owl House I did not expect to get the episode we got this week. A relatively grounded episode gave us a big long awaited reunion, emotional heartbreak and left us still looking towards an unknown future. Will Luz be able to hold onto both aspects of her life as she’s come to know it? Can she return home to her mom and still retain her magical abilities and the bonds and connections she formed with her chosen family and girlfriend in the Demon Realm? After so many episodes with lots of information thrown at us, pushing the mythology further and further, we got one big answer, who was the imposter Luz we saw in the Human Realm.
The episode began in the human realm, a location we’ve not spent all that much time in over the first season and first half of the second season. Doppelganger Luz clears off her desk, getting rid of things her mother, Camila, is surprised she’s getting rid of. They spot a bunny caught in a trap and her mother sets it free, vowing to get to the bottom of who is setting the traps. Back inside, Doppelganger Luz reflects on starting a new life. When she looks back in the mirror she’s startled by the real Luz, looking back as her reflection, who shouts at her.
Using Edas apocalypse supplies, Luz was able to build a portal according to Philip’s specifications. The final ingredient is Titan blood, which Amity was able to procure after her face off with Hunter. Luz says if Belos wants to get to the human realm he’ll have to beat her to it. She rips off a finger from the glove and adheres it to the contraption they built. Eda begins peddling a bike which powers the machine. The contraption suddenly shifts into a door, but is noticeably different from the other door we’ve seen. Luz puts on her cape, ties a rope to herself and instructs Eda to pull her back if it looks like the door is about to close. Eda wishes her good luck. Luz pulls Eda, King and Hooty into a big hug.
Luz jumps through the door and comes through the other side, floating on the surface of a body of water. When she comes to, she sees she’s in a cave-like location with mysterious boxes floating around her. She wonders if she did something wrong and tries to call out to Eda and the others. Another box rises out of the water and Luz picks it up and looks in it. She suddenly finds herself in the reflection of a window of the Owl House and spots Eda, King and Hooty. King worries about Luz and Eda says they have to trust her.
Luz pulls herself away from the box and comes back into the cave room. She wonders aloud if she could find Amity’s window and a box begins to float up. Luz then pushes the box back down realizing she’s there to see her mother. She calls out her mother’s name to try to get a box to appear. She spots a box floating way up high that responds to Camila’s name and Luz goes to use an ice glyph to bring her up higher. The glyph fails, and she decides to jump onto floating boxes to get herself to the box she wants. As she floats up, the room suddenly rotates and she falls off a box, bringing her to the box she wanted, now at ground level.
She peers into the box and appears inside a phone attached to speakers. She realizes she’s in her kitchen and spots her mother dancing as she pulls something out of the refrigerator. Luz calls out to her mother when Doppelganger Luz walks into the room. Horrified, she watches and then pulls herself away from the box.
Luz tries to tell the box to follow the Doppelganger but the box doesn’t respond. She tries to calm herself down. Suddenly another box appears and she peers into it. We see Luz looking at the Doppelganger we saw in the opening scene. The Doppelganger realizes Luz is from the demon realm and tells Luz she’ll never go back there. The Doppelganger’s eyes blink side to side and she reaches for a bat. Luz’s mother calls out to her after hearing her scream to make sure everything is okay. The real Luz responds to her mother saying she saw a spoiler for an anime.
The Doppelganger flees out the window and runs to the abandoned house. Real Luz appears in a mirror on the floor. Doppelganger Luz cries out that she’s going to have to run again. She accidentally triggers a trap set in the room and falls to the ground, revealing her true form. Luz tells the creature she just wants to figure out what’s happening. Luz asks if she’s from the Boiling Isles and the Doppelganger says her name is “Number Fi–” before catching herself. She then says her name is Vee. Luz walks Vee through how to free herself from the trap. Vee thanks Luz and Luz then asks why she’s pretending to be her. Vee tells Luz she’s looking for a place to belong. She knew Liz was missing and her mother was kind so she stayed with her. She tells Luz she’ll leave if she wants her to.
Luz realizes they’re actually helping each other. She was worried her mother thought she was missing but because Vee is there, she hasn’t. She tells Vee she can keep filling in for her until she can find a way to come home and tell her all about the demon realm. Then they can work to help Vee find a home. Vee says she uses magic to transform into Luz but she just used the rest of it up. Luz thinks of a plan to try and find if Eda left some magic things in the human realm. As Vee leaves the abandoned house, a hidden camera has been recording everything. Uh oh…
In Gravesfield, they go to a cafe where Eda was caught making a ruckus as reported in the paper. Luz suggests Vee ask if there are any leftover enchanted pastries. Vee enters the store asks the girl at the register if any magical old ladies left any enchanted items behind. The cashier grows frustrated and asks if she’s friends with the witch obsessed guy who keeps leaving pamphlets. Vee tells her no and points to a picture of Eda among a group of other banned people from the premise. She tells Vee that the woman did something strange to the croissants. Vee goes out back and sniffs the air, searching for magic. They come upon a group of rats with glowing red eyes. Vee flees the alley telling Luz she doesn’t like confrontation.
Luz spots a group of kids playing with Eda’s cards. Eda must have left them in the human realm but Vee doesn’t smell any magic still. Luz suggests they ask the kids where they got them from. Maybe another deck will still have some magic left in it. Luz warns her about approaching high schoolers but Vee seems to have struck a bond with this group of kids at camp. The girl gives Vee a reading before telling her she got them at the historical society across the road. Vee gets spooked hearing her fortune about her time being almost out and that trying to run from her past will catch up to her.
Vee enters the historical society and a man greets her and asks if she’s there to get cards. He says they’ve been popular with high school kids lately. He tells Vee an old lady was trying to dump them in the river, but instead he offered her money for them. The curator found it weird that she insisted on snails as payment. He tells Vee he’ll go get her a deck but it’ll be a few minutes and that she should go have a look around the museum.
Luz tries to cheer Vee up and tells her that they’re the same for wanting to run away from home. Vee says they’re not alike because Luz has a mom who loves her, a home and a life. Luz had it good and she still chose to run away. Vee didn’t have that choice. She tells Luz her real name is Number Five and that she’s a basilisk.
Vee tells Luz that her kind went extinct years ago but they were brought back because the Emperor wanted to know how basilisk drained magic. Some of them escaped but she knew it was only a matter of time before Belos caught them again. She spotted Luz and realized there was possibly a way out. She slipped into the human realm and came across her mother. Vee didn’t mean to keep impersonating Luz but Camila was so nice to her. She resents Luz for running away but she also thanks her for giving her this new life, so she feels confused.
Suddenly Vee catches a scent. She stumbles upon a room with surveillance set up and images of Eda and Vee among others. Vee attempts to flee the room realizing she’s been watched the whole time but gets caught in a trap. She drops the mirror with Luz and it shatters. Luz appears in another reflection and Vee begins to transform into her full Basilisk form and freaks out being caged up again.
The curator of the historical society walks in. He’s amazed his traps worked and that he caught a demon. He says he ran into another one of her kind years ago and shows a picture of Eda in full beast form. He realized demons were real and claims they’re from Mars and are trying to build a time machine. Close but not at all buddy!!! He plans on posting his videos on Mew-Tube and finally get his account verified. He tells Vee to get comfortable because she’ll be in a cage for the rest of her life.
The curator exits the room and Luz tells Vee they can get out. She tells Luz to just go back to the Demon Realm because he’s seen her Luz form and will tell Camila the truth. Luz tells her to not give up so quickly but Vee tells Luz she’s just being realistic and shatters the reflection. The box disintegrates in Luz’s hands. She regroups again, and calls out her mother’s name.
Back in the kitchen, Camila has taken the box of Luz’s things out of the trash. Luz once again appears in her phone screen and Camila spots her. She thinks she didn’t hear her phone ring and asks Luz what’s wrong. Luz tells her mom that she knows who is setting up the traps and that they’re hurting her friend. Luz then says she has to tell her the truth, beginning with the Boiling Isles.
Camila arrives at the historical society. She tells Luz she didn’t have to make such an elaborate story to just to have her pick her and her friend up. She tells Luz she’ll play along and asks the curator if she can see the “demon”. The curator asks how she knows and if she’s with the government. He agrees to show her. They enter the room and Camila asks if it’s an escape room or if he’s into LARP.
The curator begins to tell Camila about the town’s history. In the 1600s it was a peaceful colony but then tragedy struck. Two brothers were lured into a realm of evil by a witch and were never seen again (hmm). He says people don’t think magic and other worldly creatures exist but now he has proof, revealing Vee in the cage. Camila initially thinks it’s a costume but slowly grows unsure. The curator shows her the video of Vee from earlier when she got caught in the trap. Camila tells Luz she doesn’t like the game they’re playing anymore, but Luz insists it’s not a game. Camila becomes a little upset that Vee was living with her the whole time, but Luz insists she’s not bad and that Camila has to help her.
The curator returns in his battle costume and tells her he’s about to begin his live dissection. Camila tells him to stop because the president just called but then runs out of a creative way to continue the ruse. She tells him she’s taking the innocent child with her and that he will never bother them again. He protests but Camila tells him she’ll tell the police he’s been setting up illegal traps and cameras on private property. Camila ties him up and puts him inside the cage and walks Vee out to her car in the rain. Camila tells Vee the curator could use some good self reflection.
At home, Camila and Vee get out of the car and Luz appears in the reflection of the rain. She tells Vee she’s so happy she’s okay. Vee thanks Camila and Camila tells Vee that she has a place with her as long as she needs. Camila hands Vee the deck of cards still full of magic from the historical society. Vee begins to eat the magic cards and heads inside the house.
Luz tells her mom how awesome she was and thanks her for being so cool about everything she told her about and just witnessed. Camila begins crying and tells Luz she’s trying to hold it together, but she’s never been this scared before, overwhelmed about magic and the demon realm. She wonders how Luz will be able to come home or if this projection will be the only way she can touch her. Luz tells her mom that she needs a little more time and that she promises she will make a working portal. Camila comments about how much she’s matured. Luz tells her mom that choosing to stay was the best decision she made. Camila then becomes upset hearing her say she chose to stay in the demon realm. She grows more upset, asking if Luz hated living with her that much.
Luz suddenly feels the rope begin tugging on her waist, signaling the door is closing. She says she needs more time. As Luz gets pulled away, Camila promises Luz that things will be different and that Luz has to promise she’ll stay for good once she returns home. Camila says she didn’t mean to push Luz away. Camila begins crying, begging Luz to promise her. Luz tells her it was never her fault as to why she left, and then promises her mother. Luz vanishes and Camila is left alone crying in the rain.
As Luz is being pulled out of the portal, she calls out to her mom. Eda, King and Hooty pull Luz out of the portal just in time as it begins closing, vanishing into thin air. Eda tells Luz in no time they’ll have a real working portal, now with all the knowledge that they have learned. Holding back the heartbreaking truth of her time in the portal, Luz stares into the distance. Eda, King and Hooty laugh, unaware of the reality of everything Luz just went through and promised.
I’m glad we got the truth about who was impersonating Luz in the Human Realm. The midseason finale episode was a great place to have the reveal. I didn’t expect to get the full truth about who was impersonating her, but I’m glad we learned the truth! Vee was a great character, and her ties to Belos were fascinating. I loved how her appearance in the Human Realm really helped Luz out in the end, and wasn’t maliciously intended.
It was heartbreaking seeing Camila go through all the emotions at the end. She was being as strong as she could, even though anyone would struggle knowing the reality of the truth. Especially that your child is trapped elsewhere and there’s nothing you can do for them. Plus the emotional place she had to go when Luz told her she chose to stay in the Demon Realm. It made her question her role as a parent, as we saw when she begged Luz to stay home forever once she returned and that things will change. Still, it was really great seeing Camila as a quick thinker and was able to rescue Vee and show the Curator a thing or two. I can see now where Luz got it from!
I wonder if we’ll see the curator again. He knows the truth now, well some of the truth since his theory was way off!. Could the story the curator told Camila about two brothers being tricked by witches and never seen again be about Philip and… Belos? Maybe they aren’t the same person as I suspected earlier? Or could they still be one in the same, with a secondary mysterious character still out there we haven’t seen or heard of yet? Hopefully we get more answers about this in the second half!
I may have missed the information, but how did Vee just manage to slip into the Human Realm? Did she sneak in through Eda’s door? Or did she use magic or some other entry way? Could this be important to how Luz returns home? Or did I just miss something that will have nothing to do with it in the end. Hah!
I also wonder what went “wrong” with the door that they created. It was successful in that Luz was able to contact her mother in the Human Realm, but she was not able to fully step foot in it. What makes the door Eda had so special? Has anyone else ever been to this floating box cave? Was this what Philip was talking about when he left the instructions? There were many boxes. Do they stay there once called upon or are they just all the possible windows Luz could use to reach others in her life? I hope we learn more about the place. It was a beautiful sequence of animation seeing Luz float to the surface of the water and also the way the dark starry, space like boxes appeared on screen.
There is still so much left to explore! Raine is still out there captured, under some spell cast by Kikimora. Will Kikimora’s attempts to overshadow Hunter help or mess things up more? King still hasn’t found out more about his father. Eda made that deal with the Owl Beast in order to get it to agree to turning into Harpy Eda to save herself, King and Amity. Hunter is still out there with the broken Key. Is the Titan Blood still left inside of it enough to allow Belos to open the door? Who is Belos still!?
Will we get more of Gus and Willow in the second half? Will Luz be able to see her mother again before building the final portal home? How will Luz break the news that she promised her mother she’d return home for good? Will her relationship with Amity survive? Will Amity feel betrayed after putting so much of herself into being a good girlfriend to Luz? What’s going to happen with the abomination army information they built which Belos forced them to give to him in order for everyday people to not have protection? Will we see Lilith or their mother again soon and have a Lulu and Hootcifer reunion?
See! There is so much left hanging! I expected some of these things to be touched on, but we have to save some things for the eventual season finale! All of these pieces still have to fit into the story and I am so excited for the day the series returns for the second half so we can see how it all plays out. This first half of the season has been incredible. Week after week I was impressed with how much information we received over the course of 10 episodes, how much they pushed the story forward, challenging both the viewers and the characters, and how much Dana and the rest of the creative team have truly put into this season. You can feel their love and passion for the audience and each character they’ve created in this ever expanding universe.
This October will see the return of Amphibia and the new series The Ghost and Molly McGee so it’s likely we won’t see new episodes of The Owl House for a while, but hopefully new episodes return sooner than later! I’ll be back to discuss more whenever that may be!
The first half of The Owl House Season 2 can be streamed on Disney Now and Disney+. The second half of the season will return at a later date.
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