History WesternAnimation / TheOwlHouse

** During the TitleSequence, the section with Luz flying on Owlbert is incredibly fluid.

* AnimationEvolution: Season 1's animation was already amazingly smooth due to the fact that a lot of the animation was done in-house. But season 2 amps this up with even smoother animation that wouldn't be off-putting on a Disney Film, more detailed shading, and darker and broader colors being used. You can definitely see the evolution by looking at the intros.

* ApocalypseHow: Belos originally intended the Day of Unity to result in a Class 3. However, the outcome of the season 2 finale "King's Tide" results in a class 2 as confirmed in the episode "For the Future."
* ArcVillainess: Lilith seems to be the primary antagonist for most of the first season, then Emperor Belos takes on a more active role.

** The color pallette of the second season in general seems to utilize darker colors and shadows than the first.

* BigBad: Emperor Belos, ruler of the Boiling Isles. It was through his violent conquering and subjugation of the Isles that led to the outlaw of Wild Magic and decree that no witch outside of himself and his personal Emperor's Coven are allowed to practice all fields of magic at once, keeping the Isles' citizens weak and limited to ensure they wouldn't rise up against him, as well as hoarding all the powerful magical artifacts of the Isles for himself.
* BigShadowLittleCreature: King's introduction. There are quaking footsteps and a big monstrous shadow is cast on the wall... then the diminutive King emerges, wearing bath towels and clutching a rubber duck.

** Luz squeals, "¡Ay, qué lindo!" ("So cute!") when she locks eyes on King for the first time.

** Similarly "Them's the Breaks, Kid" is a cute mostly stakes free story of how Eda and Raine first met sandwiched between the highly emotional "Reaching Out" where Luz deals with being stuck on the Boiling Isles on [[spoiler:the anniversary of her father's death]], and the absolutely horrifying "Hollow Mind" where [[spoiler:Luz and Hunter learn the truth about Belos and just ''how'' [[FinalSolution evil]] he [[WitchHunter truly]] is]].

*** Lastly, there's [[spoiler: Philip Whitebane aka Emperor Belos, who centuries ago tried to save his brother Caleb from witchkind only to find out that Caleb left willingly and began a relationship with a witch named Evelyn, enraged Philip murdered Caleb and dedicated his life to exterminating witch and demon kind for "stealing" Caleb from him, taking the moniker of Belos and corrupting the once peaceful and friendly natives of the boiling isles in the process to rationalize his actions and support his delusion that he's the hero destined to vanquish the supposed "evil monsters", suppressing any guilt he had about killing Caleb and turning the Boiling Isles into a hellhole instead of admitting that he was wrong about everything, turning Philip into a decaying monster until his own death]].
* CerebusSyndrome: Season 1 is mostly a comedic, lighthearted MonsterOfTheWeek kind of show with some overarching elements here and there. Season 2 is a lot more dramatic and serialized, putting more emphasis on emotions and action.

** The season 1 credits consist of several {{Match Cut}}s of Luz traversing through several landmarks of the Boiling Isles before meeting back at the Owl House with Eda and King. Luz's expressions and actions change to match the scenery.
** The season 2 credits have various stylized paintings of the characters.

* FireIceLightning, Three of the four glyphs are fire, ice, and light.

** In season 2, the first letter of each episode also spells out a message, "[[spoiler:seek the key, fear the lock]]".

* GreatOffscreenWar: It's slowly revealed in seasons 2 and 3 that [[spoiler:in the early history of the Demon Realm, there was a great war between the godlike RealityWarper Collectors, who travel from planet to planet to collect its inhabitants, destroying them if they try to resist, and the Titans, similarly godlike beings whose magic naturally counters Collectors. The outcome of this war is unclear, but it left the world littered with the corpses of titans, and only a single known survivor of each species, the Collector and King]].
* GreaterScopeVillain: Subverted. At first, Emperor Belos claims the Titan itself is this, with Belos acting as a servant of its will -- but it turns out [[spoiler:this is a total lie, and Belos has no connection to it]]. Season 2 reveals that Belos is working with an entity known as the Collector, who appears to have their own agenda -- [[spoiler:but then it turns out the Collector is just a small child (albeit with incredible magic power) who Belos has been manipulating. In the end, Belos himself is the only real villain, if anything the closest the show has to this are the Archivists who are responible for the the death of the Titan, but have no impact on the actual story as well as the town of Gravesfeild, Connecticut whose culture over the centuries created Belos and lead to a lot of Luz's personal challenges]].

* HalloweenEpisode: The first season 3 episode, "Thanks to Them", was released in October and a good chunk of the story takes place on Halloween.

* HealTheCutie: [[{{Determinator}} Try as she does to power through it all]], [[spoiler:the [[TraumaCongaLine combination]] of her DarkAndTroubledPast, Belos' machinations, and the Collector's takeover of the Boiling Isles eventually become too much for Luz's psyche to handle, [[BreakTheCutie reducing her to a gutted shadow of who she once was]]. The main subplot of Season 3 follows her mental and emotional recovery through heart-to-hearts with her mother and friends, her BigDamnReunion with Eda and King, and her role in the Collector's HeelFaceTurn, capped off by [[BigGood the Titan]] clearing any doubts she has left when they meet in limbo and [[CameBackStrong reviving her with the power to get rid of Belos for good]]. [[EarnYourHappyEnding By the end of the series, she is happier and more confident than ever before.]]]]

* KarmaHoudini: Other than a series of mishaps that happen here and there, Boscha hardly gets any repercussions for her mistreatment of [[spoiler:Amity's true friends]] Luz and Willow.

** After living with King and Eda for quite some time, she becomes quite close with King to the point that he openly calls her his sister and she in turn sees him as a little brother. [[spoiler:Before forcing her back through the portal in a HeroicSacrifice, King sadly tells Luz he was happy to have her as a big sister]].
** [[spoiler:In season three, following Hunter's HeelFaceTurn and the two becoming each other's confidants, Luz declares him to be family, causing Hunter to [[CatharticCrying break down in tears]]]].

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Luz' hometown is named Gravesfield, presumably derived from "Field of graves", aka. a burial ground. Since American towns tend to be named after their most notable feature, Gravesfield was apparently known to be a place with a pretty big or otherwise important graveyard. [[spoiler:In "Thanks to Them", the final battletakes place in what appears to be this graveyard, which is ancient and long since flooded]].

* NonHeteronormativeSociety: WordOfGod has said that discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals is effectively non-existent in the Isles. The openly non-binary Raine was even able to rise up to become the Bard Coven head in season 2, a very prestigious position.
* NoSavingThrow: Discussed. The Season 1 finale says that [[TakenForGranite magic that turns the target to stone]] can't be blocked or defended against in any way. If someone gets turned into a statue, they're stuck. [[spoiler:This is what Emperor Belos intends to do with Eda to MakeAnExampleOfThem in the Season 1 finale. He almost succeeds, but triggering Lilith's MistreatmentInducedBetrayal allows Eda to escape with some help from Luz and her friends.]]

** [[Characters/TheOwlHouseEmperorBelos Emperor Belos]] is implied to be one. He claims his oppressive autocracy is a NecessaryEvil to protect the Boiling Isles' denizens from the alleged dangers of wild magic, and that he's the enforcement of the Titan's will, but the series has been gradually dropping increasing hints that he's a power-hungry liar. [[spoiler:The truth of him is revealed in "Hollow Mind", and it's pretty horrific]].

** "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS2E3EchoesOfThePast Echoes of the Past]]" sees King come to terms with his DelusionsOfGrandeur and realize that he was never the king of demons after Eda reveals how she found him and raised him. As Luz tries to comfort him on the beach, he tearfully confesses that he feels lost and "can't tell what's real and what's fake".
** In "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS2E10YesterdaysLie Yesterday's Lie]]", Luz tries to create a portal door and accidentally finds herself in the In-Between Realm, using only reflective surfaces to spy and communicate with others in both the Demon and Human Realms. It's through a phone screen that Luz tells her mother Camilla that she is trapped in the Demon Realm and that the version of Luz living in the Human Realm for some time is actually a basilisk. Due to the danger at hand, Camilla decides to thwart a museum curator's plans to dissect Vee (the basilisk) and rescues her. Once they get home and the headlight-lit raindrops allow Luz to communicate with her mother on a full-body level, Camilla bursts into [[CatharticCrying cathartic tears]] as she confesses that she's really scared for her daughter.
--->'''Camilla:''' I'm trying to hold it together. I really am. But I have never been this scared before. The Demon Realm? Magic? H-how are you going to get back here? Is this the only way I can touch you?
** Throughout "[[Recap/TheOwlHouseS3E2ForTheFuture For the Future]]", Willow tries to be strong for her friends as they try to find a way to the Archive House, only to have her plant magic grow out of control as a result. At Hexside, the situation worsens when Willow is confronted by Boscha, who then throws her down the detention pit. Due to her self-consciousness and repression affecting her magic, vines begin growing and encasing Gus and Hunter. She tries to fix the problem before she starts to succumb to her own self-doubt (and the vines sprouting from that doubt). As she derides herself, Hunter saves her and he and Gus tell her that ItsOkayToCry. Willow then bursts into tears as she confesses that she misses her dads.

** Lilith breaks Belos' nose when meeting his younger self during the StableTimeLoop, leaving a scar on his face that becomes the focal point of his GlamourFailure in the present.

[[caption-width-right:310:[-''"So you have a different way of doing things, a different way of seeing things. That might make you weird, but it also makes you awesome, don't you see? Because us weirdos have to stick together. And nobody should be punished for who they are!"''-] [[note]]From left to right: [[EquippableAlly Owlbert]], [[AscendedFangirl Luz]], [[CoolPeopleRebelAgainstAuthority Eda,]] and [[TheNapoleon King]]. In the background: [[GeniusLoci Hooty]].[[/note]]]]

* GreaterScopeVillain: Subverted. At first, Emperor Belos claims the Titan itself is this, with Belos acting as a servant of its will -- but it turns out [[spoiler:this is a total lie, and Belos has no connection to it]]. Season 2 reveals that Belos is working with an entity known as the Collector, who appears to have their own agenda -- [[spoiler:but then it turns out the Collector is just a small child (albeit with incredible magic power) who Belos has been manipulating. In the end, Belos himself is the only real villain]].

* PoorCommunicationKills: The Hexside gang's character arcs have them [[SecretKeeper keeping secrets from each other]] to their own psychological detriment.
** While granted she was blackmailed into doing so, Amity never told Willow that she was forced to end their childhood friendship by her AbusiveParents. While she regretted it and Luz gets her to come around, Willow still resents Amity for the incident until the truth comes out in "Understanding Willow".
** During the first half of Season 2, Luz and Amity struggle to admit their love for each other, resulting in some awkwardness. They eventually come out in "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door" and become a couple.
** [[spoiler:After {{The Reveal}}s in "Hollow Mind", Luz and Hunter agree to keep each other's secrets--the former about her role in Belos' EvilPlan and the latter about his nature as the latest of Belos' Grimwalkers. However, their fears of how the others will react prove unfounded: when [[VillainRevealsTheSecret Belos spills the beans himself]] at the climax of "Thanks to Them", only Willow is taken aback (and briefly) to learn what Hunter is, and since Belos ''tricked'' Luz into helping him, no one holds it against her. Amity thereafter tells Luz to never keep secrets again, since all it did was make her more miserable.]]
*** [[spoiler:Gus reveals in "For the Future" that [[SecretSecretKeeper he learned Hunter was a Grimwalker upon attacking Belos' mind in "King's Tide", but he, too, kept quiet about it]] for fear of causing his friend further distress. Hunter is more or less unfazed, the subject being all but a moot point by then.]]
** [[spoiler:Willow gets this in "For the Future" as her insecurities catch up with her and she fets about the fate of her fathers (whom the Collector captured and puppetized). Failing to admit how she feels her plant magic to go out of control until Hunter gets her to open up.]]

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Belos [[SanitySlippage figuratively]] and [[BodyHorror literally]] comes undone throughout the last four episodes after his EvilPlan is turned against him by Luz and then thwarted by King and The Collector. In a weakened state, he [[DemonicPossession possesses]] various wildlife, then Hunter, then Raine, and finally The Titan itself in a last-ditch attempt to finish what he started, all while being [[HauntingTheGuilty haunted by ghosts/visions of]] [[SiblingMurder his brother Caleb]] [[ExpendableClone and the past Grimwalkers]]. [[AllForNothing He still fails]], leading to his UndignifiedDeath at the hands of Luz, Eda, King, and Raine.]]

** [[spoiler:After all else fails to avert the Day of Unity, King turns to The Collector for help and offers to play a game which requires everyone's survival. The Collector agrees and King frees him, enabling the entity to make the Boiling Isles his playground after stopping the draining spell. In the process, The Collector saves the Hexsquad from a raging Belos and seemingly kills the latter for double-crossing him.]]

* VillainousRescue: [[spoiler:Terra saves Luz and Amity from Kikimora's hand dragon, but only because the emperor has some plans for Luz, which require her to be alive and well.]]

* AntiEscapismAesop: Downplayed in an "all things in moderation" sense. On the one hand, Luz's behavior at the beginning of the series was both legitimately disruptive and in desperate need of a reality check, while [[spoiler:both Belos and the Collector are in part motivated by the desire to drag the entire world into their delusions rather than face reality]]. On the other hand, Luz's love of ''The Good Witch Azura'' is treated as perfectly healthy and good for her given that [[spoiler:it both gave her an outlet to process her grief over her father's death and formed the CommonalityConnection that led to her and Amity falling in love]]. This is even reflected in the ending of the series where Luz [[spoiler:is able to freely travel between the human and demon realms rather than having to choose one over the other]], showing that she's achieved balance betwen the fantasy and reality in her life.

%% * PotemkinVillage: [[spoiler:To lure Eda into a trap, a demon spruces up a run-down village and castle and uses magical puppets to capture Luz to use as bait via a fake quest]].

%%zce* QueerColors: These are frequently seen during important moments in [[spoiler:Luz and Amity's relationship.]]

** It' also {{Subverted}} with [[spoiler:Philip Wittebane, the human who visited the Boiling Isles before Luz and who apparently invented the portal door. When Luz manages to meet him through through a Time Pool to travel to the 'Deadwardian Era' he explored the isles in, it's apparent that he somehow lost the portal door, which a young Eda would later literally trip over by complete accident centuries later, but he also isn't ''actively seeking'' to go back to Earth either, willingly staying in the Boiling Isles in order to seek out 'the Collector' for some mysterious goal separate from building another portal door. It is later revealed that Philip [[TwoAliasesOneCharacter would eventually adopt the identity of]] '[[TheHeavy Emperor Belos]]', having extended his lifespan through absorbing Palisman essence to live to the modern day in order to enact his plans of [[FinalSolution killing every witch and demon on the Boiling Isles]] during the Day of Unity. It's implied that Belos' attempts to have his coven capture the wild Witch Eda was from her utilisation of the portal door, so that Philip could secure his exit from the realm ''immediately'' once he'd activated the Draining Spell at the appointed time, but since the spell required a specific situation that was several months away, he wasn't pushing hard to reclaim the portal door until they got closer to the due day]].

** Bipedal demons are essentially witches in all but name. They walk on two legs, and have a bile sac that allows them to perform magic like witches. Unlike witches, they are [[LittleBitBeastly distinctly non-human]], and some may have natural abilities in addition to magic. [[MonsterMouth Warden Wrath]], [[BodyMotifs Kikimora]], [[PigMan Tibbles]], and [[HornedHumanoid Selene]] the oracle track student are both in this category.