A Halloween adventure kicks off the third season of The Owl House

Still determined to get back to the Boiling Isles, Luz and Co. face a familiar foe. 
By: Jonathon Chiu

From left to right: Amity Blight (Mae Whitman), Luz Noceda (Sarah Nicole-Robles), and Hunter (Zeno Robinson). Image Credit: Disney Channel.

  After months on hiatus, The Owl House had a new episode, titled Thanks to Them, released on October 15th and follows in the aftermath of the second season, which saw Luz Noceda (Sarah Nicole-Robles) and her cohorts be defeated and forced out of The Boiling Isles by Emperor Belos, also known as Phillip Wittebane (Matthew Rhys) and The Collector (Fryda Wolff).
   The series, created by Dana Terrace, follows Luz, a self-confident teen, who stumbles across the Boiling Isles and decides to become a witch under Eda Clawthorne (Wendie Malick), also known as The Owl Lady. 
   The Owl House has also become known for its widespread representation of the LGBTQ+ community, with Luz being revealed to be bisexual and having a girlfriend, Amity Blight (Mae Whitman). Alex Hirsch, the creator of Gravity Falls and a voice actor on The Owl House, has also congratulated the show and its creator for “providing the LGBTQ+ Disney story he couldn’t.” This representation is continued in this episode with Luz wearing a bisexual pin on her beanie as well as there being a nonbinary character present in the episode.
    The episode takes place during Halloween and analyzes how Luz feels guilty for leading Belos to The Collector and imperiling the Boiling Isles. In the end, Luz is reminded by her mother, Camila (Elizabeth Grullon) and by her friends, about how much she has helped those around her, restoring her resolve.
   The episode also follows another character, Hunter (Zeno Robinson), who used to be under Belos’s influence as the Golden Guard. Hunter begins the episode being afraid that the others will be afraid of him being a grimwalker - a clone of a deceased person, in this case Belos’s brother, Caleb. During the episode, Hunter, through his various friendships with Luz and others, becomes more comfortable and happy with who he is, taking on a more cheerful personality outside of Belos’s influence.
   Additionally, the episode builds onto previous lore seen in the series, with more information being presented about the Wittebane brothers and how they fell out after discovering the Boiling Isles. There is also the presentation of foreshadowing and dramatic irony, as Belos, who followed Luz and her friends into the human realm and has absorbed various wildlife, causes affected beings to grow horns, with these horns being seen on Hunter following his possession, to which the others are not aware of until later in the episode. The episode also leans into its halloween setting by creating various eerie and suspenseful settings and tones using dark lighting and color palette as well as music.
   All things considered, this episode is a solid continuation of the story that continues to flesh out the vibrant and lore-filled world Dana Terrace and her team have created while tackling feelings such as guilt and belonging as well as building on the LGBTQ+ representation that the series has become known for. 
   The Owl House can be streamed on Disney+ and will have a new episode released on January 21st, with the series finale being released in April 2023.