It was close to midnight on March 8, when I heard news on “The Owl House” finale. It was the news I had been dreading.

I was on YouTube when I saw that one of my favorite channels, The Roundtable, had posted a new video. They make videos on cartoon shows, and have been covering “The Owl House” lately, so I was curious as to what this one would be about.

The video was titled “The Owl House Ends In ONE MONTH,” and instantly got my attention. Upon watching it, the host said that The Owl House’s final episode, “Watching and Dreaming,” would be airing in exactly one month on April 8.

I was dreading this, one of my favorite shows was finally ending. It hurt to think about because the show was so good and was ending too soon by Disney. The news hurt even more when I read a comment on a different video, talking about the end of “The Owl House,” and making a connection between the titles of season three’s episodes. In the previous two seasons, the first letter of each episode would spell out a secret message. But for season three, when you put the episode titles together, it gives you, “thanks for watching.” One final sign of gratitude from Dana Terrance and the rest of “The Owl House” crew. It was almost enough to make me cry.

A final trailer for the episode was released on March 21, and it made me even more anxious for what we would be in store for. What did The Collector have planned? Was Belos finally going to be defeated and utterly destroyed for his crimes? Would everyone get the happy ending they deserved? I couldn’t wait to find out.

The premiere began with a montage of scenes from previous episodes with a message of thanks for watching the show. It was a bittersweet feeling to know that this was it for The Owl House, and the crew still wanted to let us, the viewers, know that they appreciated us for sticking with them through everything to the end. I wish more shows did that with their finales.

The episode opened with all of Luz’s friends and mom being ensnared in The Collector’s magic before Luz awakens to find herself in the Emperor’s Castle, dressed as main villain, Belos. As she wanders around, Luz is accosted by her friends, who all blame her for ruining their lives and attack her. Luz soon realizes that this is all a dream and wakes herself up with a light glyph. She finds Eda and King nearby also trapped in dreams, and after waking them up, they all share a tearful reunion.

The Collector is upset by this, but is persuaded by Belos, and is still possessing Raine Whispers to go play some other games with the three. While The Collector is busy playing games and getting frustrated that Luz, Eda, and King aren’t playing along with how he likes, Belos sneaks away to his castle.

Raine manages to eject Belos from themself, and Belos moves to try and possess the heart of the Titan, the deceased being that makes up the setting of the Boiling Islands, with Raine trying to stop them.

Luz connects with a frustrated Collector, who expresses that they’ve always been tricked and betrayed by everyone they’ve tried to befriend. Luz, Eda, and King take The Collector to some of their favorite places to show how they became friends but as they do, Belos manages to take over the Titan’s heart and begins spreading his goopy essence everywhere to take fully control and kill everyone.

The Collector tries to make peace with Belos after learning about the benefits of treating others with kindness from Luz, but Belos immediately goes on the attack and Luz takes the hit for The Collector and actually dies. She finds herself in the in between realm where she meets the spirit of the Titan, King’s father. He gives her the power she will need to defeat Belos and resurrects her. Luz reappears with an awesome new Titan-witch design, and together with Eda and King, they engage Belos in battle.

Meanwhile, The Collector rushes back to his palace to rescue the puppet citizens in the archives. He works to keep the entire structure from falling as Luz’s friends and mother, who all had already been there, save everyone inside.

Luz, Eda, and King make their way to the Titan’s heart, as the only way for them to defeats Belos will be to detach him from it. They meet up with Raine and attack Belos. Luz grabs Belos and musters all of her borrowed power to rip out Belos in a fantastic shot. Every bit of the Belos goo across the Boiling Islands disintegrates, leaving only a dissolving Belos that gets melting by the boiling rain and trampled on by Eda, King, and Raine.

The Collector frees everyone he turned into puppets and Luz is reunited with all of her loved ones. There’s a time skip a few years into the future with a now 18-year-old Luz preparing to go to college in the Demon Realm. Over the credits, we see how the Boiling Islands have been restored and how all our beloved characters are doing now.

Everyone Luz loves throws a surprise party for her to make up for her missing her Quinceañera and The Collector even shows up with a dazzling display of shooting stars across the night sky. The episode ends with everyone saying The Owl House’s iconic “byyyyyeee!” to The Collector and by extension, us the viewers.

This finale was amazing. It was so cathartic to see Belos finally get his just desserts for all the horrors he had inflicted upon everyone. There was no better end for him then to simply melt away completely helpless. I was so happy to see the ending with everyone doing well and happy. It leaves so much potential for what everyone could do with their lives and I’m excited to see all the amazing content that I know will be coming from The Owl House fandom. Even now, with the show over, we can keep it going in our own ways and hearts.

The Owl House has been a truly special show to me. It’s been a way for me to connect with other people online and have something for us to talk about, laugh at, theorize about, and cry over. It’s also been a big help in getting me through the challenges that the pandemic and school have brought on me.

This is the end of another great show, and it feels like the end of an era in Disney shows as the company moves on to other, newer shows. I believe that it’ll be a while before we see another show like The Owl House. I do mourn the fact that The Owl House has ended, and prematurely at that. But I would never want to take away from the incredible effort the show’s team put in to give us such a brilliant work. I will always love The Owl House no matter what comes next. Thank you, Owl House, for everything. Byyyyyeee!

All three seasons are currently available on Disney+.