Editor’s Note: The following contains The Owl House Season 3 spoilers.Luz Noceda (Sarah-Nicole Robles) has been through a titan’s share of struggles throughoutThe Owl House.She made friends in an unknown Demon Realm fought a tyrannical overlord, nearly died, and got thrown out of said world just as a cosmic being of unknown power took control. These experiences left the Luz returning to Connecticut a very different person than the one who first stepped foot on the boiling isles.CreatorDana Terraceand her team put Luz in more of a position to look inward and outward in the start to Season 3 “Thanks to Them.” There, Luz falls back into more of her habits in moments of grief and then sees what she’s gained from being herself.
Luz’s Video Diaries Effectively Showcase How She’s Changed
Luz’s mother, Camilla (Elizabeth Grullon), uncovers recordings Luz made since she moved to Connecticut as a young kid so Camilla’s husband, Manny, could get better treatment. The recordings show how Luz became infatuated with the Azura novels, the the first of which was the last gift her dad gave her before he died. That sequence adds a heartbreaking detail about the escapism that Luz has been drawn to in witches and magic. Now, we know it comes from a connection to her dad. They then show a recording from right before Luz leaves to go to the Boiling Isles. She talks about how Camilla saw her report card and how she needs to apply herself at school. Then, Luz discusses how much she’s learned about her fandom - sowing stitches for a baby griffen model, learning witch language, sitting still enough to attract animals. Luz then admits it won’t help on the SATs and that her mom is struggling after Manny’s funeral so she plans to knock out her book report for her mother - ending the diary saying, “Mom, you won’t ever have to worry about me again.” Camilla nearly leaves before watching a sullen Luz admit that she plans to tell her friends she’s staying in the human realm permanently.
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The book report mentioned is the one Luz finished that featured live runaway snakes and got Camilla to suggest going to “Reality Check Camp.” These videos showcase Luz’s passion but also her empathy. She acknowledges that the family moved across the country for her dad and later how she worked so hard to create a good book report to make her mom proud. The before-and-after demon realm message and her negative headspace shows responses Luz has to stages of grief: overworking to not be a burden or taking all of the blame for past failures upon herself.
Neurodivergence in The Owl House
Terrace recently spokeabout wanting to delve into neurodivergence this season. Luz thinks differently and its clear how frustrated she gets when people don’t understand her excitement over fantasy. Not everyone has the same connection to the Azura series as Luz does, especially as it connects to her grief. Even so, no one really tries to understand Luz except Camilla - the person who has rolled with Luz’s oddness and unique look at the world. In an earlier dream sequence, Camilla remembers multiple times when other parents mocked Luz for showing off snake skin and acting out in a play tryouts. Camilla admires her daughter and defends her. Camila only pushes to send Luz to the camp to help her fit in when she feels she has no where else to turn. She sees Luz’s struggles as a young woman seeing her father getting sick and how much Luz accommodated for Manny. Camilla sees Luz as someone who wants to be a loving daughter, girlfriend, and human being. Camilla’s kindness shines through and uplifts her talented daughter.
This is not the first time Luz has felt like she needs to go it alone to help her friends. Luz felt guilty about Eda (Wendie Malick) losing her powers and blamed herself because she believed if she never went to the Boiling Isles, Eda would have been fine. So, she jumped onto a boat crew without asking questions to hunt down the giant Selkidomus for cash. After jumping into certain danger, Eda swoops in to rescue and correct Luz. Eda reminds Luz, her protégé, that Luz helped King (Alex Hirsch) when she barely knew him. She helped Eda reconnect with her sister. Oh, and she saved Eda from being petrified. Eda then proclaims, “So, unfortunately, my life is pretty great because I’m friends with Luz the human.”
When the Going Gets Tough, Luz Has Eda
Luz had Eda in that moment to pull Luz out of that shell. Luz’s kindness throughout the isles helped people, from mending Amity (Mae Whitman) and Willow’s (Tati Gabrielle) relationship to helping Eda care a little bit more about the world around her. She somehow has a habit of detaching herself from recognizing the seemingly small good deeds she does and instead blames herself when things go wrong. However, Eda remains right there to remind Luz of everything she’s done.
Season 3 Sees Luz Once Again Keeping Secrets
Flashfoward to Connecticut, with Camilla taking Luz and her friends in for three months. Three months have passed and Luz seems different from our first encounters. Even from the start of the last season, Luz is once again keeping secrets, mulling over when to tell the hexquad about her past unknowingly helping a young Belos (Matthew Rhys). She’s struggling to even get a full night of sleep, reminded of the past by a light that looks like the emblem of The Collector (Fryda Wolff). On top of that, Luz can see that Amity, Willow, and Gus (Isaac Ryan Brown) are all isolated from their families and the world they know. Hunter (Zeno Robinson) is away from the Emperor’s Coven, but seemingly distraught. She says so herself in an outburst at school, “They should hate his guts, and it would be better if he literally never existed.”
Luz falls into a similar pitfall, but this time, even darker. And, with seemingly no way to get back to the Demon Realm, Luz is in every sense of the word trapped. Months away with no luck or portal magic have put Luz in a dower state and she just does not want to make anyone else feel worst. Again, she forgets how she’s helped her friends - she saved Amity and Hunter from abusive homes for Titan’s sake. Still, Luz being home means she feels like she’s letting two sides of her life down. She feels guilty still for leaving Camilla and for putting her friends and all the witches in danger. Luz says it herself in class, “who cares about the ripple effect?”
Camilla Understands Why Luz Wants to Escape
Well, the people around her certainly care. Camilla has a heartfelt conversation with Luz one of those sleepless nights. Camila - a Latina woman in a mostly white Connecticut town - understands why Luz wanted to escape and even gives her advice. Keep in mind, Luz expects Camilla to be as angry as she was in “Yesterday’s Lie” - when Camilla begged Luz to promise to come back to the human realm. Rather, Camilla has seen that Luz has been through a lot and knows her daughter will use her creativity and knowledge to make things right.
Kindness Does Not Stop With Camilla
Luz listens to Hunter when he feels Belos returns. She even goes the extra mile to make Hunter feel safe, calling him “family” and comforting him. Luz also tries to hug a Belos-possessed Hunter rather than play into Belos’ game. She just genuinely tries to help and keep her family and friends safe.
That kindness evolves when her newfound family stands by her. Camilla vows to venture into the unknown demon realm to be with Luz and help her. Amity says how she knows Luz will always fight for them. She then tells Luz, “I know the future’s scary and I don’t know what the future holds, but it would be so cool if you were a part of that.” That line is nearly word-for-word howLuz asked Amity to be her girlfriend, a fantastic callback to that episode and to the amount of time Luz has helped others.
As for the last part, Hunter describes the Belos portion of this best: “He tricks people. If it weren’t you, it would’ve been someone else and then there’d be no one left to fight back.” Luz gets grifted by a man who spent thousands of years tricking people. Again, Hunter sees the kindness and work Luz has put in and, like Amity and Camilla, sees that Luz will do anything for her people.
“Thanks to Them” had so much to grapple with to get our heroes back to the demon realm, but Terrace and her team - as usual - find more than enough time to creatively add layers and depth to Luz the human. The episode explores why she jumps into her fantasies and even her tendency to blame herself rather than seeing the big picture. Luz’s kindness outweighs any mistakes she has made so far andThe Owl Houseloves finding new ways to uplift its awesome lead.
