Disney's LGBTQ-Inclusive 'The Owl House' Comes To An End

WARNING: Major spoilers for The Owl House series finale below.

The Owl House may have come to an end, but it did so in a way that promises a meaningful impact for fans that saw it through — especially LGBTQ+ kids.

The Disney animated series, which began airing in early 2020, followed 14-year-old Luz after she stumbled into a portal to a Demon Realm and decided to become a witch. From the very beginning, it centered around the ideas of found family and the importance of staying true to yourself — even if who you are is a little weird.

Frequently praised for its LGBTQ+ representation, it was a rare children’s show — and unprecedented Disney show — that saw its protagonist casually end up dating a crush of the same gender. Other characters throughout the series fell in various place on the sexuality and gender spectrums, with a narrative that embraced those differences with an emphasis on presenting them as normal parts of who these characters are.

It was announced that a shortened third season would be the final entry into the world of The Owl House before season two had even come to a close — something creator Dana Terrace previously said she believes was due to some executives feeling it didn’t fit the Disney “brand.”

Although fans of all ages were devastated to see it go, the series wrapped up in a way that side-stepped some of the traps too many shows with LGBTQ+ characters fall into, including having a queer character (in this case, Luz) die.

Part of the finale sees Luz and her friends trying to befriend one of their pseudo-foes, the Collector, by showing them some of their past adventures and relate to them as outcasts. They make progress, but the real Big Bad, Emperor Belos, still poses a threat, and Luz ends up sacrificing herself to protect the Collector when Belos targets them.

But after she says her goodbyes, and her friends fail to revive her, Luz comes back to life with the help of her friend King's Titan father, trapped in a place called the In-Between. His gratitude to her for caring about his son helps her overcoming some lingering anxieties, and he returns her to her friends to help defeat Belos once and for all.

Luz gets her happy ending -- including getting the girl -- while the narrative stays true to its original themes and drives home the importance of standing up for yourself and the people you care about, no matter the odds stacked against you.