Who is Hunter shipped with?

As an avid fan and content creator in The Owl House community, one relationship I‘ve seen capture fans‘ imagination lately is the potential romantic dynamic between Hunter and Willow Park. Known by the ship name "Huntlow" to fans, analysis of both fan-fiction trends and subreddit activity shows it gaining traction as the most supported Hunter ship.

The Enemies to Friends Trope Causes Fans to Rally Behind Huntlow

Early in TOH‘s second season, Hunter was introduced as a formidable antagonist serving Emperor Belos. He frequently clashed with series‘ protagonist Luz and her friends, which includes Willow. But after a few revelatory episodes highlighting Hunter‘s backstory and inner turmoil, we witnessed him break free from Belos‘ brainwashing.

Willow played a pivotal role in this arc, as her memories with Hunter from youth helped ground him when he was at his most vulnerable. Their childhood friendship thus rekindled as weeks passed, with Hunter even helping Willow face her bullies. This satisfying enemies-to-friends transition, commonly found in adventure series like TOH, caused many fans to become invested in Huntlow‘s potential.

Analyzing Hunter‘s Reactions to Willow Provide Telling Hints of His Feelings

As mentioned earlier, the evolution of Hunter and Willow‘s relationship endeared them to fans. And for those shipping Huntlow, there have been a few moments that hinted at an added layer of romantic tension between the two characters.

The most obvious comes from Hunter himself – whenever he interacts with or even thinks of Willow, he blushes profoundly. Hunter is usually stoic and composed in most situations on the show. But Willow eliciting such a reaction from him clearly demonstrates he feels something deeper and more vulnerable.

Another example comes from the season 2 episode "Clouds on the Horizon." When trapped in an illusion curse, Hunter‘s greatest fear is revealed – a scenario where he fails to protect Willow. Hunter opens himself up here by admitting how much he cares about her well-being. While he phrases it platonically, fans saw this is as a strong foundation for a crush.

Hunter blushing as he reunites with Willow

Demographic Data Supports the Popularity Behind Huntlow in the Fandom

To supplement this anecdotal evidence with some statistics – according to aggregate sites like FanFiction.net and Archive of Our Own (AO3), stories about Huntlow exponentially grew throughout 2022 and now dominate the Hunter romantic pairing tag.

I compiled data tracking the popularity of Huntlow fanfics versus Hunter‘s other potential ships month-over-month below:

As the table shows, Huntlow went from a small handful of fanfics to dominating the category, while other Hunter ships saw only modest growth. This signals how the pairing has resonated with fans, likely due to the factors explored earlier.

Slash Ships Like Guster Tap Into Wider Fandom Trends

Though they hasn‘t achieved the same popularity as Huntlow, the Hunter ships Guster (Hunter x Gus) and Goldric (Hunter x Edric) do have devoted followings. The connecting thread between them is they are both same-gender or "slash" pairings, which have been surging in popularity across adventure/fantasy media fandoms.

For example, ships like Klance (Keith/Lance) from Voltron or Destiel (Dean/Castiel) from Supernatural attracted huge fanbases despite never becoming canon. So Guster and Goldric work off precedents like this – fans taking an interest in underdeveloped male characters and wanting to envision romance opportunities for them.

There‘s also specific angles for why Guster and Goldric have appealed to Hunter shippers:

• Guster: showcases an interesting dynamic pairing a naive new witch (Gus) with a jaded one (Hunter). Age gap makes for comedy.
• Goldric: the appeal of a forbidden enemies-to-lovers story is enticing. Edric helping "redeem" Hunter through romance is a common fanfic theme.

So while Huntlow has ran away with the momentum amongst most TOH fans, these niche Hunter ships have found pockets of support in wider fandom culture trends.

Closing Thoughts on Hunter‘s Shipping Prospects

As TOH heads into its third and final season, the showrunners left fans hanging regarding definitive romance. However, I think they‘ve planted the seeds between Hunter and Willow that could naturally flourish into a meaningful relationship. One that affirms the connections characters forge in times of crisis.

As a fan and content creator though, I‘m also open to being surprised! Maybe we‘ll get a sudden twist and Hunter will end up with Edric or someone totally new. Those curveballs keep fandom life exciting. But Huntlow will always hold a special place for helping TOH viewers see the human side of an unexpected hero like Hunter.