When the air date for the second episode of season three of The Owl House was announced on Dec. 7 by the Disney Animation Promos Twitter, I was shocked. It would only be a little over a month before we got to see the continuation of the show’s wild events on Jan. 21, 2023. I knew that the final two episodes would be coming in 2023, but I hadn’t anticipated the next episode to be coming so soon after the previous one. Especially since it felt like I hadn’t fully gotten over the heart-wrenching events of “Thanks to Them.” But I was glad to see what would occur in “For the Future” and what the characters would face as they returned to the Demon Realm. This time I was only somewhat prepared to be emotionally devasted. It was a slight improvement, but kind of a cold comfort.

Just like with the previous episode, there were some sneak peeks released prior to its airing. On Jan. 2, the Disney Channel YouTube channel released a video to promote the upcoming programming for 2023, including new seasons and episodes of current shows and brand-new shows. The Owl House was one of the many shows that were featured in the video. But unlike last time, I actually watched the sneak peeks. Partially because I was having more difficulty avoiding them than I did last time, but mostly because I was too curious. I really wanted to see what the preview of “For the Future” we were given contained and try to figure out what might happen in the episode.

But not long after, on Jan. 5, the entire episode was leaked on iTunes Canada and reuploaded on social media. This was rather frustrating for me as it meant that spoilers were going to be everywhere and it would be difficult to avoid them. Despite my curiosity over what happened in the episode, I wanted to respect Dana Terrance and the rest of The Owl House team by watching “For the Future” when it came out properly. The day the episode came out, I was rather anxious going in, both because of what bits of the leak I had unintentionally witnessed, but also because of a trailer Disney released about a week before the episode came out. It gave some answers as to what would happen in the episode but was devastating in its own right in what it showed.

Just like the previous episode, “For the Future” begins with the ending of “King’s Tide” with King using his powers to send Luz and her friends into the Human World. But this time we get to see what happened afterward in the Demon Realm. The Collector celebrates his freedom and asks King about the game The Owl House, which King had made up. Lilith and Hooty try to defend King only to be turned into puppets. Eda then flies up to attack and is accosted by The Collector. Eda appears to go into her full Owl Beast form before it cuts away to the title screen, which ominously shows the owl logo in the colors of The Collector.

Luz, her friends, and her mother Camilla then arrive in the Demon Realm and set out to find answers as to what is going on and try to find Belos. They soon find Bonesborough and witness as The Collector and King play a game of pretend with puppet versions of several residents of Bonesborough including one of Willow’s dads, which greatly distresses her. The group is about to head to The Collector’s palace when they encounter some Hexside students who guide them to Hexside where the school’s students have been hiding out from The Collector.

When The Collector and King return to The Collector’s palace, The Collector goes to bed and King leaves to visit Eda. Eda, unbeknownst to The Collector, is no longer in her Owl Beast form. The two sneak out with puppet Hooty and visit a depuppetified Lilith out in the woods. The three then begin planning how they will stay low and eventually take down The Collector.

Belos, meanwhile, is skulking around and looking for a new body to possess to keep his from falling apart. All the while, he is haunted by the image of his brother, Caleb, whom he killed. Belos gets desperate and sneaks into The Collector’s palace. He then possesses puppet Raine Whispers and begins to manipulate The Collector into thinking that King will betray him. The Collector uses his powers to overhear the conversation between King, Eda, and Lilith and believes that Belos is right.

When Luz and crew arrive in Hexside, they reunite with several of their classmates but are soon imprisoned by mean girl Boscha and minor antagonist Kikimora in the detention pit. The group is separated but they all manage to escape eventually. After a pep talk from Camilla Luz realizes her deepest wish is to just be herself, and her Palisman finally begins to hatch and take shape.

Luz and Camilla reunite with everyone else and they draw a special teleportation glyph that will take them to the skull of the Titan so they can confront The Collector. Once they arrive, Luz’s Palisman finishes forming. There’s a fun wink to the audience as the ideas Luz’s friends come up with for what the Palisman will be exactly are among the many ideas that fans had when theorizing about Luz’s Palisman. Luz reveals that her Palisman, Stringbean, is a snake shifter that can change her form to reflect Luz’s adaptable nature. The episode closes with The Collector observing the group’s arrival and planning to act against them.

“For The Future” was fantastic to watch. There were so many jaw-dropping moments that had me screaming at my TV. It was great to see the plot point of Luz’s Palisman finally get resolved—and in an amazing way. This episode also gave us a bunch of lore on The Collector and the nature of his powers and past. It was so exciting to learn more about the show’s world and I can’t wait to try to come up with theories on everything.

I’m not sure if I would say it was as agonizing as “Thanks To Them” as I think the two episodes destroyed me emotionally in different ways. But “For The Future” definitely had fewer moments that felt like a punch in the gut. It was also great to see some of the characters address their issues like Luz’s feelings that she only causes problems and her friend Willow’s belief that she always has to be the dependable one at the cost of being vulnerable herself.

This is the second-to-last episode of The Owl House and I know that I am going to be devastated when it finally ends. It may be a great ending, but it will be at least a bit bittersweet as I would have loved it if Disney had let the show continue on longer. But I am excited about what the team of The Owl House has in store and I’m sure they won’t let us down.

The first two seasons and the first episode of season three of The Owl House are available on Disney+.