Owl House Spoiler Recap: Reaching Out

This week’s episode of The Owl House titled “Reaching Out” was complicated and beautiful. The truth about what happened to Luz’s father was revealed while Amity confronted her own dad about his neglect.

“Reaching Out” might be the hardest episode for me to review. It is tough to put into words how good this episode is without writing a 20-page essay breaking down each and every aspect of this entry. It’s not just about Luz and Amity, but also about the Blight twins and their trauma. There’s Eda and her search for answers about Raine and the Day of Unity. Every single character contributes to the layers of this episode. Yet, it doesn’t feel overstuffed. It’s so wonderfully balanced and well written. A lot of the narrative is presented in visual storytelling. “Reaching Out” is a standout episode of The Owl House.

I think this episode was hard to write about too because it made me feel like Luz in a lot of ways. I really wanted to avoid writing this one. Distractions are a very real way to avoid processing grief. Luz was not subtle in her actions, immediately making every person ask if she was okay. I understand that feeling so well.

Losing someone important to you can make you rethink everything. There is very real guilt that goes through your mind. What if I did something different? What if I saw them one more time? Why didn’t I go on one more trip to see that person? Why didn’t I call more? Why didn’t I message him? It’s totally normal to think these things when you lose someone.

I go through all of these motions constantly, because my eighteen-year-old nephew passed away suddenly two years ago. My sister’s family lives a state away, and I immediately regretted every single time I had to put off a trip and didn’t go see them. I could have had one more visit with my nephew, told him I loved him over and over, told him to drive safe and don’t speed too fast, anything that could have saved his life.

But I didn’t. I live with that guilt every single day.

That’s what I thought when Luz attacked the Abomaton with the siren on its head. Sirens means police officers on the scene of the accident, the officers who come to your door with bad news, the ambulances who take people away where you might not ever see them again. Sirens mean pain and that had to be a triggering response for Luz. She even yells, “Get out of my head,” more than likely the thoughts coming to the surface from the day her father passed away. I remember that 4am phone call when my own mom called me from my sister’s house and hearing the faint sirens in the background.

Luz tries to avoid her emotional issues by distracting herself away from the day. As the title “Reaching Out” says, she’s crying for help in her own Luz way. Luckily, she doesn’t have to face it alone. Her found family can tell there is a problem. She’s acting out and even lying to Amity. It causes everyone to be concerned.

In a very mature moment, I like that Luz was aware of her behavior. When she tells Amity about her father, she flat out says it’s no excuse for lying and hurting Amity. Do you know how much recognition that takes? Heck, most adults don’t have that kind of awareness! That is such an important lesson to teach to a young audience. Trauma does not make bad behavior okay.

I feel like I’m floundering here. I feel like I should have more to say. But it’s hard to put into words Luz’s side of the story because it brought up a lot of fresh, painful memories for me. It’s such a beautiful story. I adored them going back to the Grom tree again because that’s such an important location for Luz and Amity as a couple. I wish I could be more eloquent about this episode, but honestly, it took me about three days to get this far.

The best kind of art should make you feel things. “Reaching Out” made me feel a lot of strong emotions. Thank you, Dana Terrace, cast, and crew for it.

Amity’s story was equally as powerful in “Reaching Out.” I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it a million more times before the show is finished that Amity is the best-written character on this show. Amity not only realizes that she is in a toxic home environment, but she also looks at her abusers and says “No more.” Amity’s parents are not winning any parent of the year awards anytime soon. Odalia is manipulative and Alador gets distracted with his work to the point of neglect. Amity explains clearly to her father what he’s done wrong and makes him listen. This is so incredibly brave. It’s not an easy path she’s chosen. She’s still a kid. It’s not like she can bounce to go live in the Owl House with Luz, Eda, King, and Hooty. Her parents still have the power to have her brought back

So, she and her twin siblings work with what they have. Amity might not be able to change her mother right away, but her father seems much more open to listening once she finally gets his attention. This little shift is what is needed to start a new path for him. He sees that he’s hurt her and says he will work on Odalia too. This is a very big moment for the family as a whole. If Alador can change, there is hope for Odalia to shift her behavior as well.

Good for Amity for setting boundaries with her father too. Just because he’s starting to change, doesn’t mean he’s forgiven and gets to hug his daughter. She’s right to set boundaries. Also, she doesn’t have to accept any apology from him or her mother if she doesn’t want to. This is such an important thing to teach an all-ages audience. Children have the right to boundaries and who is within their physical space.

Edric and Emira are really fascinating this week! I’ve wanted the twins separated for adventures to get to know them more as individuals and this is exactly what I wanted to see. Twice now, Emira has taken care of Amity. A common and sad role that many oldest children have is being a second parent to their younger siblings. She probably had to step in many times to raise Amity because of Odalia and Alador’s neglect. It makes me wonder if she had to learn healing magic out of necessity. She’s even voiced her fear of being stuck with her twin forever.

But it’s Edric’s story that’s truly heartbreaking. We’re used to seeing their parents affecting Amity. Edric is just as hurt and neglected. He has no self-worth outside of his twin sister. Way back in season one during Grom, Edric admitted his fear of being alone. He’s very comfortable working with his twin. The moment he’s on his own though, he has no confidence in himself.

This is very much a reflection of the Blight parents. Edric thrives under Eda as she supports his hobbies in different kinds of magic. He’s a very talented witch! He simply needs some direction given to him.

I will say that unlike Odalia in his own way, Alador does care for his children even if he is not the best at expressing it. In this society, Covens are a way to success. He wants Amity to be successful. Then when Warden Wrath is attacking, he protects Amity first, removing her from the fight. These are acts of love. But even as acts of love, they’re not acts of trust or respect. Alador didn’t have the respect to listen to his daughter’s wishes. Because of his absence, he doesn’t know Amity’s skills and thus cannot trust her in a fight until she shows her strength. Alador is a very complicated character. He very much loves his children, but his faults are very apparent as well.

We also get a hint at what might be coming during the Day of Unity. It seems like Belos is trying to erase all magic entirely. The Coven System makes more sense. Perhaps the coven brands on their arms drain the witch’s magic to help power whatever the heck Belos has up his sleeve. This might also be the reason why glyph magic is so important in the series. If all the witches are drained of their magic, the only way to fight Belos might be with glyph magic.

Some random thoughts to round out Reaching Out:

-I love Ed and Em’s real looks.

-I love the guitar power ballads in this episode with all the brawl montages.

-Y’all Amity and Luz are super cute together. Just the little things like Luz screaming that Amity is so pretty in her disguise or their little blushes and everything. I love them!

-Edric calls Eda “Miss Eda” because he is a sweet boy!

-In Amity’s photo of her father, you can see Eda and Raine together in the background of it. My shipper heart hurts!

-Harpy Eda, my beloved!

-Eda and Alador knowing each other really make me want a prequel series about all of their lives.

I know that this review for “Reaching Out” is all over the place. It really was a struggle to write it. The episode brought up never-ending emotions inside of me in a way I wasn’t expecting. It’s a good thing, though. While I miss him, I love thinking about my nephew. If The Owl House did that, then it’s a very good episode.