Thanks To ThemThe Owl House : Season 3 Episode 1 ((LINK))
According to show creator Dana Terrace, production for the final season was anticipated for a full 20-episode season. However, despite the popularity of the series, The Walt Disney Company would cut short the third season down into three 44-minute episodes. Terrace would not say that Disney had cut the show due to the show's LGBTQ+ content, despite the show being banned in several countries for that reason, saying in a Reddit AMA that "While we have had issues airing in a few countries (and are just straight up banned in a few more) I'm not gonna assume bad faith against the people I work with in LA." She would instead say that "At the end of the day, there are a few business people who oversee what fits into the Disney brand and one day one of those guys decided [The Owl House] didn't fit that 'brand'... The story is serialized (BARELY compared to any average anime lmao), our audience skews older, and that just didn't fit this one guy's tastes. That's it! Ain't that wild?" Terrace would also say that she would have no say about the show's cut in production.[4][5]
Thanks to ThemThe Owl House : Season 3 Episode 1
Fan response to the cutting of the episodes was extremely negative, with many starting campaigns and petitions to try and get Disney to reverse the decision and air a full season. However, Terrace expressed that the decision "was set in stone" and that she could do nothing about it.[6]
Starting with this episode, season 2 composer Brad Breeck worked alongside Andrew Smith on the show's score.[8] Breeck released the score for "Thanks to Them" on his YouTube account as a one-hour video, with "chapters" dividing each individual track.[8]
In November 2019, ahead of the series premiere, the series was renewed for a second season,[6] which premiered on June 12, 2021.[3][7] In May 2021, ahead of the second season premiere, the series was renewed for a third season consisting of three specials,[3] later announced to be the final season of the series,[7][8] with Terrace later stating that this was because the series "did not fit the Disney brand".[9] The first episode of the final season premiered on October 15, 2022, with the series finale set to air on April 8, 2023.[10][11]
Spencer Wan served as the animation supervisor during season one.[27] Disney initially refused for the series to have an in-house animator, feeling Wan may not meet their "overseas pipeline", but he was eventually hired.[27] Kofi Fiagome serves as animation supervisor for season two.[27] Terrace also provided rough animation for three season 2 episodes.[28]
In October 2021, in an AMA on Reddit, Terrace explained the series was cut short not because of its ratings or the COVID-19 pandemic, but rather because executives at The Walt Disney Company believed that it did not fit "into the Disney brand." She stated that this was the case due to the serialized nature of the show and an audience that "skews older," rather than due to its LGBTQ+ representation, saying that she would not "assume bad faith" against those she works with in Burbank. Terrace also noted that due to the pandemic, budgets were constrained and episodes were cut, further adding that she was not allowed to present a case for a fourth season. However, Terrace said that she believed there was a future for the show if Disney Branded Television had "different people in charge."[9][37]
The entire first season was added to Disney+ in the United States on October 30, 2020.[57] In the U.S., the first five episodes of the second season were added to Disney+ on July 21, 2021,[58][59] while episodes six through ten were added on August 18.[60]
On September 2, 2020, during a Reddit AMA, Dana Terrace confirmed that Amity intended to be a lesbian and that Luz is bisexual.[69] The two girls represent Disney's second animated LGBTQ+ characters after Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland in Gravity Falls, and the first to be unambiguously portrayed as such.[68] In the episode "Understanding Willow", one of the main characters (Willow Park) is shown to have two dads.[70] Some noted that the beginning of the show's second season, which began airing in 2021, continued to build out the relationship between Amity and Luz, with Luz reciprocating Amity's feelings at the end of "Escaping Expulsion" and both blushing at each other. Others praised Amity's character evolving outside her "relationship with Luz."[23]
On July 10, 2021, the episode "Through the Looking Glass Ruins" premiered, which focused heavily on Gus' development as a character and how much he's grown since his last major appearance.[73] However, the episode received significant attention and press over Luz and Amity's growing relationship and its ending, in which Amity kisses Luz on the cheek.[74][40] The episode "Eda's Requiem" features a character named Raine Whispers, who uses they/them pronouns and is voiced by transgender and non-binary actor Avi Roque.[75][76] Raine is both Disney TVA's and Disney's first transgender and/or non-binary character.[77][78] Roque said that the character is based on their own experience, with the character's skin color reflecting their actual skin color, praised the show as normalizing queer identity, and said it was an honor to voice Raine.[40] In the episode, Eda Clawthorne is shown to have romantic feelings for Raine. The subsequent episode, "Knock, Knock, Knockin' on Hooty's Door", reveals that Eda and Raine were formerly dating, before breaking up due to Raine beginning work in the coven system.[79][40] The episode also has Luz and Amity asking each other out and officially becoming a couple.[80] GLAAD praised the episode, saying they were excited to see a "wonderful and affirming message" from the series.[81] Jade King of TheGamer praised the series for having a fictional universe where queer characters can "learn to love themselves without the fear of ridicule", comparing it to the similar approaches in Steven Universe and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, noting the relationship between Luz and Amity.[82] In March 2022, Lilith, Eda's older sister, was confirmed to be aromantic and asexual during a charity Livestream, via an in-character letter read by the character's voice actress Cissy Jones.[83][84][85] Jade King of TheGamer noted that Cissy Jones said that her letter during a charity stream saying that Lilith didn't have any romantic attractions was "basically canon", further confirming those identities.[86] On May 21, 2022, the penultimate episode of season two "Clouds on the Horizon" aired, in which Luz and Amity share a kiss on the lips.[87] A promotional video released on September 25, 2022, depicted Luz in a new outfit with a pin on her beanie, picturing the bisexual flag. On October 15, 2022, the first The Owl House special "Thanks to Them" has Luz come out to her mother as bisexual.[88] The special also reveals that Vee's campmate Masha is non-binary as they use they/them pronouns in their nameplate and their nails are painted in the colors of the non-binary pride flag.[89][90][91] 041b061a72