Things Only Adults Notice In The Owl House

"The Owl House" follows Luz Noceda (Sarah-Nicole Robles), a fantasy-obsessed teenager sent to a disciplinary summer camp by her concerned mom. Her plans change dramatically when she accidentally stumbles upon a portal to another world. There, Luz meets Edalyn Clawthorne, the Owl Lady (Wendie Malick), a rebellious witch on the run from the law. She also meets Eda's companion demon, King (Alex Hirsch), and promptly befriends them both.

Through some serious persuasion, Luz convinces Eda to teach her magic. This is unprecedented — as Luz is told over and over again, humans can't do magic. But Luz is determined to prove everyone wrong. As the series winds on, Luz befriends other teen witches, establishes a rivalry with a powerful peer, and becomes a pillar in Eda's tiny inner circle. 

Although "The Owl House" is aimed at kids, there are several moments aimed at any adults who might be watching along. These are the things only adults notice in "The Owl House," from its Bob Dylan references to the Emperor's eye-popping topiary.

When Luz meets Eda in "The Owl House, she's shocked to discover she's a witch — and she's even more surprised to learn that Eda is a wanted criminal. A prison guard attempts to arrest Eda at her market stand, stating that she is wanted for "misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors." He attempts to take Eda and Luz to the Conformatorium, which is this realm's version of a high-security penitentiary. Eda isn't so easily arrested, though, and she and Luz make a narrow escape.

Eventually, they do end up at the Conformatorium, in order to retrieve a crown belonging to King. There, they encounter Warden Wrath, whose design is eerily similar to a historical plague doctor. Although cultural opinion on plague doctors varies, they are often seen as omens of death and disease. In "The Owl House," predatory Warden Wrath won't take "no" for an answer when Eda rejects him. He might not be unpleasant because of his association with bubonic plague, but he definitely inspires the same sort of unease. Adults who grasp the association will be extra creeped out.

For centuries, self-proclaimed healers sold "snake oil" that claimed to solve any number of health problems. The term has since become synonymous with treatments that aren't scientifically backed and might provide a placebo effect, but not much else. "The Owl House" puts its own twist on this bizarre tidbit of medical history that adults are sure to chuckle at.

After agreeing to take Luz on as an apprentice, Eda reveals that her magical practice is less education-focused and more centered on, well, making money. She shows Luz a few of the items she sells in her various "businesses," including a bottle of snake oil. "No one wants an unoiled snake," Eda proclaims, which paints a funny picture audience members of any age can enjoy. However, adults who've heard the term used more sneeringly will get an extra laugh out of it. It's a clever literalization of a common phrase, and it establishes Eda as a bit of a con woman. Of course she sells snake oil.

"The Owl House" isn't afraid to satirize society — just look at the way it critiques the economic strictures of the modern world. Eda's multiple small businesses reflect the difficulties of surviving in a "gig economy," and episodes like Season 1's "Once Upon a Swap" focus on how ridiculous consumerism can be. In the latter episode, Eda, King and Luz all swap bodies to prove who has the hardest life. Of course, shenanigans ensue, but when Luz-as-Eda accidentally breaks a lamp and uses magic to fix it, she creates a multi-light fixture with real human legs. Picture a more grotesque version of the infamous leg lamp from "A Christmas Story."

Immediately, a customer runs up and calls the lamp "unnecessarily extravagant" ... then purchases it. After it sells, Luz starts using magic on all the "human collectibles" in Eda's booth, and customers swarm. The commentary is razor-sharp: The more absurd an item is, the more people want it — which "The Owl House" suggests isn't necessarily a good thing.

After Luz enlists King to help her write a book for a contest in Season 1's "Sense and Insensitivity," the pair discover they don't see eye to eye on the creative process. To make matters worse, King decides to take all the credit for their shared work and becomes a best-selling author. Immediately, his publisher begins pushing him to write a new book, and the quality diminishes significantly. "The Owl House" uses this plot line to comment on the predatory nature of certain industries, and also call out the dangers of creative burnout. When Luz confronts the publisher for his borderline abusive behavior, it's a win for creative professionals everywhere.

The serious undertones of this plot are likely lost on kids watching "The Owl House," but adults in the audience — especially any working in a field like publishing — will be struck by how well the series handles these topics. Not only does this episode tackle plagiarism, it also examines how talented people can be mined for content, then left to rot if they can't keep up with unceasing demand.

"The Owl House" is all about magic and witchcraft, but it doesn't ignore the controversial real-life history of these subjects. In fact, it satirizes witch hunts, with Eda commenting at one point that "witches eating babies is so 1693" — a.k.a., when the Salem Witch Trials were happening. Later, when Luz goes on a field trip to the Emperor's castle, she sees a painting that depicts several witches dancing around a fire at night. This is exactly the kind of imagery used to persecute women for allegedly cavorting with the devil.

This isn't the only way "The Owl House" interacts with stereotypes about witches. Eda herself flies in the face of most of them, while Luz confronts in-world ideas about what a witch can be, as a human who learns to use magic. Furthermore, the magic system in "The Owl House" is a lot less rooted in dancing with demons in the woods than it is in the realities of our own world. Hexside students follow specific tracks to learn and use certain types of magic, and though some are able to join the Emperor's Coven and use any kind of magic they want, many are not. Just as the series mocks predatory industries and the gig economy, it also examines problematic fantasy lore and the real-world impact of witch trials.

Like many fantasy stories aimed at younger audiences, "The Owl House" explores a lot of its more serious themes through analogy and metaphor. One such example is Eda's curse, which can be read in a number of different ways. Perhaps most notably, Eda's condition parallels real-world chronic health conditions and STIs.

While Eda is unable to find a way to permanently cure her curse, she emphasizes repeatedly that she can manage it with the help of her potions. Combined with a recurring storyline in the early parts of the show in which Eda tries to figure out who "gave" her the malady, this curse specifically sounds a lot like an STI. Eda's family treats her curse like an all-consuming thing, and it's clearly stigmatized in the world of the Boiling Isles. But she shows repeatedly that it can be managed, and that it doesn't define her. 

Of course, the analogy doesn't map perfectly, since it's Eda's sister Lilith who curses her in the first place. It might make more sense, then, to interpret Eda's curse as a broader metaphor for chronic illness. Numerous viewers have discussed this reading at length, analyzing how Eda's struggle to accept her condition mirrors the journey many people in the real world experience. Of course, for younger fans, the curse likely reads as just a curse.

Luz is a quirky, lovable, and generally optimistic protagonist. However, as the story continues, there are numerous clues that Luz isn't nearly as happy as she seems. In the "Owl House" Season 2 episode "Reaching Out," Luz tells Amity that it's the anniversary of her father's death. Being away from her mom on this day is particularly hard, but Luz downplays her grief. "It happened, like, a long time ago, and it's, like, totally not an issue anymore," she says. Clearly that's not true, but Luz refuses to accept the validity of her own feelings. Later on, in Season 3, Luz shows an incredible amount of guilt over what's happened to Eda, King, and her other friends. She blames herself, even though it's clearly not her fault and no one else holds her accountable.

These moments can be read as signs of what's sometimes called "smiling depression." Luz doesn't want to burden other people with her feelings, despite the fact that her loved ones clearly want to help her. "She's so determined to make herself sad," Camila says of Luz in the Season 3 episode "For the Future." Luz's story is all about learning to love yourself, but doing so isn't always easy. Fortunately, she has a great support network to help her.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

In the Season 3 episode "For the Future," Luz and the crew return to Hexside to find it ruled by queen mean girl Boscha. In one scene, Jerbo asks Boscha to organize a group to keep track of supplies and perishables, saying that it would stop students fighting over food. A disguised Kikimora argues against this move, however. "This would take valuable resources away from your guard," she says. "You don't want to be collected like the others, do you?" Boscha finds the argument persuasive and denies Jerbo's request.

This could be read as just a passing line, but in a show with as much subversive rhetoric as "The Owl House," it feels more pointed. Specifically, it can be interpreted as a jab at the United States military spending budget. Historically, the U.S. has spent an enormous amount of money on its military — more than the nine next-highest countries combined, as of 2022 (per the Institute for Policy Studies). This spending has often been criticized as exorbitant, especially in light of healthcare issues, widespread hunger, and the ongoing climate crisis (per Scientific American).

In a show that's commented on everything from institutional corruption to pyramid schemes, it isn't hard to imagine this is an intentional dig. Kikimora's role in Boscha's "court" also seems like a direct allusion to the Wormtongue character from "The Lord of the Rings." Of course, younger audiences aren't likely to get that joke.

It's no secret that "The Owl House" has been groundbreaking for LGBTQ+ representation in children's animation. Luz and Amity's intertwined coming-of-age arcs are central to why the show works so well, and they're far from the only LGBTQ+ representation on the screen. But the show's queerness goes beyond a couple sweet canonical relationships. The overriding message of "The Owl House" — that all people are worthy of celebration and joy — echoes the same idea.

To be fair, this theme goes far beyond LGBTQ+ issues. In the very first episode, when Luz is locked up in the Conformatorium, there are lines about how being a "weirdo" is a good thing. But even these more general messages of acceptance are often queer-coded. Take Season 1's "The First Day," in which Luz fights for her right to party and study all forms of magic at Hexside, rather than just one. When her wish is granted, her uniform turns from one drab color into a literal rainbow. This colorful symbolism is also present in the larger coven system, which was created by Belos as a way to weaken witches and isolate them from one another. And of course, we can't leave out Luz's love of shipping and fanfiction, both of which have long, storied histories in the queer community.