The final battle to save the Four Lands commences!
What They Say:
Ellcrys – Wil and Amberle try to reach the Ellcrys, and Allanon and Ander lead the Elvin army against the Dagda Mor.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The season draws to a close with this episode and it’s been a very fun ride, though one that has had areas that feel like they were significantly shortened in ways that lowers their value. The time with Allanon and Ander is a big part of that as it’s been a subplot element that didn’t get the time it needed to resonate and feel weighty, resulting in what feels like a very fast move against the Dagda Mor with a combined army with the gnomes. Thankfully, I’ve really enjoyed just about everything else, including the regularly complained about Bandon storyline, as the main trio and their adventures have hit the right spot for me. More so since Cephalo finally exited things. So with the season drawing to a close I’m definitely finding myself already missing it because it offered up some really enjoyable fantasy material set in a future time.
Amberle’s time in the other state is nicely done here as she deals with the Ellcrys that was always in her mind all these years and discovers that she’s the seed for the next version, though that’s not something that she wants to some degree. Surviving the Bloodfire and reuniting with Wil and Eretria works nicely to reinforce the bond that they now have and what they have to do to get back home in order to make sure that the Four Lands aren’t doomed. It’s a good balance in setting things in motion here for a hard and fast escape while at the time seeing that Allanon and Ander are having to hold firm against the Dagda Mor that will be raging hard across the lands while also attempting to stop Amberle from sealing them once again. It’s a simple enough setup but it’s the cast that sells it in its own way as there’s a good sense of intensity about them in understanding the stakes.
The first half of the episode is mostly about setting things into the right places so that it can have enough tension in the second half as it comes together. With Eretria buying Amberle and Wil time to make it back, since she views herself as expendable compared to what Amberle is, there are some good travel scenes that the two get to deal in as the visuals of the landscape there are just magnificent and the show really does capitalize on it. Running that alongside the Dagda Mor and his army moving closer to Arborlon adds to it all in a good way. We also get some really good/disturbing material with Bandon as well as he’s making his escape from captivity, presumably still controlled on some level by the Dagda Mor, and it takes a brutal turn as he uses Catania to get what he needs and shows her just how far he’ll go. Her reactions are spot on with what she sees and it should pretty much break any sort of connection between the two, all things considered.
That said, having Wil and Amberle take a detour to some nookie time is just terrible. While I get the whole hiding out because the Dagda Mor are all over the place thing, they had just spent time talking about how critical it was to get back. But hey, MTV rules and all that. I can only imagine Allanon smacking them both in making them wait longer so they can spend this time getting close. Again, I get the point of hiding out considering what’s roaming the countryside, but it just figures into the network mentality in such a bad way – and I say that even as I actually enjoy the sequence since I like both actors and how they’re handling their characters. But going from this to seeing the demon horde and the way Allanon and Ander are rallying the elves and gnomes to fight just reinforces the oddness of what Wil and Amberle are up to. It does, at least, have a purpose in the end.
The scale of the battle is well represented as it works a big feeling to a lot of it, but it also keeps it pretty small and personal as well. Some of it is Wil and Amberle getting caught up in it, but there’s also a sequence with Ander going to stop the demon that has his brother’s sword. That it’s actually his brother that has been demon possessed is a nice little twist, though he gets to do some real damage before Ander brings closure to that storyline for himself. We also get some solidly good time with Wil getting better at using the Elfstones to fight, taking out a number of demons, but also showing that he’s not master class at it, especially when he ends up across from the Dagda Mor. This at least gives Allanon a foe to go toe to toe with in terms of skill, power, and experience with a lengthy history between them.
The final battle itself has all the right stakes as it becomes even more personal with Amberle revealing to Wil the truth of her being the seed at the same time that the Dagda Mor arrives, kicking Allanon across the floor as well. I do like that his plays out right in that Wil does his best but falters while Allanon performs the finishing blow to the Dagda Mor, all while Amberle makes her way into the Ellcrys in order to give it life again and draw in all the demons once more. Granted, she’ll live a long time as the tree from here on out, but we know that someone else will have to take on the role someday just like she had to here. It’s the kind of twist to things that provides some real stakes and commitment by the character that works for me in a proper fantasy form. And that they don’t undercut it here with her being miraculously saved just adds all the more to it.
In Summary:
With a brief epilogue that mostly just has Allanon working through most of the main cast and catching us up to the fallout from the end of the battle, Shannara provides some solid closure to most of the arcs in its own way while showing how the sacrifices and more are giving them material to move forward with while not being bound to it in a way that’s just dragging it all back to where it was. Considering the amount of material out there it’s obvious there’s plenty more they can do with this in moving forward into any second season that comes. This first season had its pacing problems to be sure and there are areas that really bothered a lot of people, but for me, the Shannara Chronicles just clicked very, very, well with its escapist fantasy elements combined with great visuals and locations. I really liked the cast, the look of it all, and how it played out. I’m definitely up for more of this.
Grade: B+
