Things Only Adults Notice In The Owl House

Much of "The Owl House" centers around Luz accepting her quirks as things to be proud of, rather than ashamed. As a nerdy girl with a predilection for the macabre, she faces bullying and pressure to conform. Early on, her mother Camila seems to also want Luz to be more "normal." But we learn later that her feelings are more complicated than they seem.

In the Season 3 episode "Thanks to Them," we learn that Camila was also bullied for being nerdy as a kid, and that she never fully grew out of it. Gus discovers a science fiction novel in Camila's basement entitled "Cosmic Frontier." Though it was apparently published in the 1990s, it's clearly meant as an homage to older sci-fi franchises from the '60s and '70s. The story of human space travelers trying to find their way home specifically evokes the original "Battlestar Galactica," an early hub of sci-fi fandom. There are numerous nods to "Star Trek" as well. Captain Avery seems like a clear parallel for Captain Kirk, and Chief Engineer O'Bailey is an obvious reference to the Enterprise's Scottish engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott. 

These are more than clever references, though. By invoking "Star Trek," the show that practically created modern fandom as we know it, "The Owl House" engages with all the ways nerd culture has evolved over the years. This show has always been in conversation with fan culture, and making Luz's mom a Trekkie fits perfectly within that metatextual layer.