It’s Hard to Say Goodbye

The Owl House, from creator Dana Terrace.

Today is the end of something special between my 12-year-old daughter and me. We discovered a show a few years ago that spoke to us both. Profoundly, the program openly talked about regret and joy, inclusion and rejection, and perseverance. It also had magic, talking animals, and dimensional traveling. Some of those things are recognizably human, and some are not. The magic is fun, but the show's humanity is better; it is honest about adolescent fear, love, pain, and hope; the characters openly talked about how they felt to us, the audience. That is important for young people: talk about your feelings. It is the thing I want my daughter to do the most: talk to your mom and me about how you feel. We're always looking for something to encourage that in our daughter.

The show is called "The Owl House." Tonight, the last episode will air. It comes on at 9:45PM, which is a late time to air the final episode of a series that received such high praise and love from its viewers. I've read some articles, and there is some controversy around the show's cancelation. It's run for only 3 seasons, and this final season is only 3 episodes. There's a lot to the inner workings between corporations and artists that I want to avoid getting into. However, I would like to personally thank creator Dana Terrace. Dana, I'm sure you won't read this, but if you do, thank you. "The Owl House" has been a wonderful gift to my daughter and me.

So without much fanfare, the last episode airs late tonight. Regardless of its quiet departure, we will stay up to watch it. The final season feels rushed, and because of that, there's little opportunity for the show to talk about its own feelings, as it did in seasons 1 and 2. Tonight, we hope that the characters find a way to say goodbye to us, the community, instead of falling into the trap of tying up loose ends for the sake of corporate interests and an unanticipated early exit. My daughter and I will unpack our feelings over the next week. We will discuss what the show meant to us and what we should watch together next.

So often, a parent watches their children in deep thought and says to themselves, "What's going on in there? How can I help? What can I do?" I'm glad there is something that encouraged my daughter to talk about her anxieties, ambitions, and beliefs. It's hard being a kid. The more things that encourage adolescents to talk about their feelings, the better I feel as a parent because it's hard being a parent too. We need positive influences to embolden our youth to communicate.

So I hope more shows like "The Owl House" make their way to kids like mine, who see a character they admire braving the choppy waters of honest dialogue. We will miss Luz, Amity, Hooty, King, Eda, Willow, Gus, and Camila. We will miss the magic, weird creatures, brilliant colors, and brave choices. Dana Terrace, if you see this, you did great.