A true chosen one of the Ellcrys.
What They Say:
Changeling – When Amberle embarks on a deadly task to prove her worth to the Ellcrys, the Dagda Mor sends the Changeling, an ancient, shape-shifting Demon, to kill her and anyone in its way.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Shannara has managed to hit a pretty good sweet spot for me with what it does even while I get the criticisms I see others leveling against it. Having spent my time with really bad fantasy material in the 80’s and even worse material in syndication in the 90’s, I’ve actually been glad that most have avoided trying to capitalize on Lord of the Rings in TV and movie form for the most part. With the quest side of things set up previously and some of the foundations made clear so that it can move forward, Shannara covered a whole lot of ground in its first three episodes, more than most would try to do which I think left some people feeling a little overwhelmed by it,.
With the quest in hand in regards to the Ellcrys and a way to give it a new life, the initial focus is on Amberle having to survive a journey within the Ellcrys first as it’s a task only the Chosen can do. This provides for another look at the surreal future that’s at stake, but also something that feels like it’s a look at the past as well with how the world was after everything ended. It’s a familiar kind of mental journey that she has to face as the Ellcrys looks into her to see if she can really be who is needed, to be worthy, but it’s nicely executed as it lets Amberle stand tall in the end and face the fears and worries that she has. While she’s been a confident person from what we’ve seen of her prior to becoming one of the Chosen, she’s now going to have to move to the next level in a big way by going into the world at large.
With the seed that they need in hand and the path to the Bloodfire laid bare to her, it’s now a matter of actually finding the proper way there as the location is not something that’s actually on the map in the Codex. It’s good to see decisive plans put forward in how to achieve the goal, though some still don’t have much belief in all this magic and what Allanon has to say. I do like that they put a few people together to go with the core group at least, heading off soon to meet with an adventurer/scout that’s very familiar with the outside world, while also spending a little time with Amberle pushing Wil away as much as she can after some of the visions she had in the Ellcrys. They work through some basics at a good pace in the first half to get the show moving into the true quest phase and while it’s a bit by the numbers, especially for old fantasy hands, I like how the actors bring it to life and the continued strong production design for this world.
With all of this in the mix, the show goes for a fun action piece in the middle when Eretria makes her way into the palace in order to get the Elfstones for Cephalo. While this leads to Wil being kissed into sleepytime once again, it lets a couple of different things come into play. Eretria gets to work some decent action overall in her attempt to escape that’s very fun in its choreography as she moves through the various halls and chambers before being caught. With the Dagda Mor minion working in the mix as well to take advantage of it that adds an extra layer of fun. But the big part is a further confirmation of Bandon and what he’s capable of with his ability to see people’s deaths. While he gets a vision before it all goes down, he ends up being instrumental in saving that same life, showing that what he sees is not set in stone and can be changed.
All of this works to funnel us towards the final obstacle to be dealt with in getting the mission underway, the mysterious assassin. With a little help from Bandon as his skill is revealed to be a bit more than we thought at first, they’re able to figure out what it is that’s targeting Amberle and raising a body count along the way. Naturally, it all works to draw in Eretria for some help and a chance at redemption that will place her within the group that’s about to get underway. Again, it’s all very familiar if you’ve read any amount of fantasy and most adventure based stories themselves in bringing together a group for a quest, but it does it quite well and I find the cast charming and fun to watch since it works things well with the younger members and the more established older actors. There’s a good blending to them within this setting and the pace at which it moves definitely works well for me. While it did take four episodes to really get the quest underway, it established a whole lot of what’s going on and really made this feel like an engaging world. It’s been time very well spent as part of a larger story.
In Summary:
The Shannara Chronicles hits familiar material here once again but it’s the execution that just sells it on me in a big way. I’m really liking the younger actors and the kind of naive and innocent aspects about them, especially in contrast to the other older characters and far more established actors. It’s amusing to watch how the various visions are being adjusted by reality and how things are unfolding as opposed to the interpretations that they have. This is a solid episode that I can imagine others grading lower because it takes a longer route to get where it wants to get to, but I really enjoyed the pacing and what it did to flesh out the characters and give us more time with them all and how they interact with each other. I can’t wait to see where the rest of this season is going to go.
Grade: B+
