The temptation of Eretria.
What They Say:
Utopia – Wil and Amberle search for Eretria, who has been kidnapped by elf hunters; Eretria finds a secret settlement of humans.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Shannara shifted to a story of the week design the last time around with the elf hunters and I’ll admit I was a bit ambivalent about them. It’s standard fare fantasy stuff as you get characters moving through their storyline and it expands the world and our knowledge of it fairly well, but it just wasn’t compelling. What I did like was seeing the movements made among those back at Arborlon with Eventine and his sons with the way things get shaken up there with all that the Changeling was getting involved with. You almost wish it had worked a slower plot overall over the course of the season rather than rushing through it, but it’s probably for the best. And there is something to be said for a show that doesn’t drag things out too much as I spent far too many years with too many shows that were just serialized exercises in slow progress.
The cold open here takes an interesting turn as the elf hunters are moving through the woods to their next destination but are taking a stop at a human settlement that’s in the midst of troll territory for some reason. Eretria’s in a rough place considering the wound that she has and her fate changes quickly here as initially she was going to be sold off elsewhere but has now been sold to a man named Tye from this settlement called Utopia. It’s all so quick and fast and without any real context that it just feels out of place, especially since there’s a little more old world material in the mix than we’ve been used to in general. It’s no surprise that there are strains of it that would continue to be used after the dark times, but it’s certainly more openly used in this series and sometimes it can be off-putting. And there are a lot of artifacts in Utopia.
While Eretria goes through the experience there and how they’re not what they seem, we also get to see what Amberle and Wil are up to. And part of that is just making it clear that they both will get Eretria back and that both of them have the hots for each other and are ready to consummate it. What interrupts them is none other than Cephalo as he’s been tracking them and has ended up caught in a troll trap. Unfortunately, neither of them can trust him but they need him to try and find Eretria. Frankly, Cephalo is a character that needs to be offed once and for all as he’s just not that engaging nor a character that adds anything to the show. I get why the pair are working with him at the moment, and are at least smart enough to not trust him, but you also know that their level of non-trust is far more trusting than most others.
The first half works these two arcs pretty well while also introducing guns to the storyline as Tye in Utopia has one. Events at Arborlon have a few things going on as well with Allanon working to convince Bandon that he needs to accept that he’s on the path to being a druid. Bandon wants nothing to do with that but Allanon makes it clear that Bandon doesn’t have a choice if he wants to live. Allanon also gets a bit forceful with the new king that’s looking to abdicate quickly as it’s not what he wanted either after his father died. There’s some familiar aspects to what he’s facing since there’s immense pressure from both father and brother as to what he has to live up to and that’s not something that many can do easily or without a whole lot of alcohol to cope with it. It’s not given a ton of time but enough to nudge both storylines forward so that they can become more as time goes on.
As we get to know more of Utopia in the second half, just as Amberle and Wil arrive and ditch Cephalo to rescue her, it’s definitely interesting – and certainly gears more towards the MTV crowd perception. Tye has a lot to show Eretria as he wants her to be a part of this and has bigger plans for her and is showing her all the little tricks of the trade that they have. That includes party lights, some actual video material of old Star Trek episodes where Spock is booed for being an elf, and party music that allows them all to get groovy with. While I can enjoy this and like that aspect of it in the show, I totally get the fans of the older original books where there was none of this and it was more traditional fantasy. I believe later books applied more truths of the “old” world in it, so there is reason to bring it here since it would have been a true part of it, but it’s a disconnect for some book readers I suspect. Coming into this having no read the books I’m definitely enjoying it since it fits in with a lot of campaigns that I used to play. It’s also really fun to see with how seductive it all is for Eretria considering her rough upbringing.
In Summary:
Shannara works a familiar arc overall with what it does as there are obvious secrets in Utopia and we see the temptation that Eretria has to deal with before realizing where she really needs to be. There’s some mild tension that we get between Wil and Amberle that’s natural since they don’t truly know each other at this stage yet are hugely attracted to each other. I rather liked all the old time elements of Utopia, though I suspect it would have been better off later in a second or third season before embracing this much of it. It’s a decent enough diversion that has me hopeful we’ll get more meaningful material going into the final two episodes of the season. What this episode did was to make me like Eretria more than I did before as she shows some different sides of herself and gives in for a bit to the temptation of what she sees there. I know that in some way I shouldn’t be enjoying this show as much as I am but it’s just hitting all the right notes for me and leaves me wanting more and looking forward to it each week.
Grade: B
