S01.E03: The Battle of the Slaughtered Lamb

[Mr. Sparkle]

The heroes are hunted by dark disciples.

Streaming on Disney+ December 7th. 

[AnimeMania]

The heroes are hunted by dark disciples.

Streaming on Disney+ December 7th. 
 

[thuganomics85]

Waited for the end credits to be sure and, yep, that was totally Hannah Waddingham as that Hubert character.  I know it's common for British performers especially to take on roles that might arguably be "below them", but it was still weird seeing an Emmy winner like her in an "one and done" role like that.  Maybe she just wanted something to do before she gets back to Ted Lasso?

At least we got a few fight sequences here.  The first was one solid, but the second one just had to go down the path of the screen being too dark that I could barely see anything (at least they kindly had Jade lose her helmet in the first round so that I could always know who she was at least.)

Bummed about Silas getting killed.

Erin Kellyman and Ralph Ineson were able to make Ballantine's death feel somewhat impactful despite the limited screen time.

Still find myself liking Boorman more than I thought I would.

Willow finally busts out some magic, but it looks like it makes him weaker any time he uses it, so I'm guessing that's why he (and everyone else) really needs Elora to start mastering her skills soon.

Graydon has now been infected?

Episode literally ended with a cover of Metallica's "Enter the Sandman."  I guess between that and the dialogue, I guess I just have to accept that this is going to be a fantasy world with a more modern feel to it.  For better or worse.

[MissLucas]

Well, that escalated quickly as they say. Seeing Hannah Waddingham made me excited, then worried (because I realized she could not join the quest as a regular since AFC Richmond hasn't changed hands AFAIK), and then sad. Did not expect them to kill off four characters with speaking parts in one go - two of them regulars (until now).

At least they made a point that the stakes are really high, yet some of the dialogue is still too flippant. Elora rolling her eyes at Graydon being the one to untie her and being all sarcastic was just not fitting the character or situation. 

Also good: Kit finally being brought down a peg by Jade admitting the truth about her swordwomanship skills. Speaking of Jade: girl had quite the episode, pissing off her BFF and then having to kill her mentor. Someone get her a blanket and a hot mug of cocoa!

The opening riff of 'Enter Sandman' certainly fit the final shot and made for a powerful ending - not sure the rest was necessary, I would have preferred a switch to a generic end credit score but that's not how this show rolls.

Edited December 7, 2022 by MissLucas

[Bort]

Still some pacing problems, like what was the point of the homestead in the middle of the woods inhabited by a couple people who looked like they walked out of 1860s Texas and were killed off ten minutes later.

But at least it did pick up in the middle, and them ending up at Nockmaar (Bavmorda’s castle) at the end looks promising.

[Athena5217]

Did the people who did the lighting for Game of Thrones join the Willow crew? I couldn’t see much during the storm scene, and nothing takes me out of a show like squinting at the screen.

Elora is a idiot for telling those women who she is. Did it not occur to her that might not be safe?

[Mr. Sparkle]

I think the best way to describe this is "generic." There's nothing here we haven't seen before. 

The scene between Jade and Ballantine at the end was touching. Those actors are above the rest of the cast. 

I liked Silas, so of course he's killed as a plot point to get Willow to use magic. If Willow had used this magic before, they wouldn't have been in that situation, but I digress... 

[raven]

8 hours ago, Athena5217 said:

I couldn’t see much during the storm scene, and nothing takes me out of a show like squinting at the screen.

I was thinking the same thing - why so damn dark??

This was better than the last two but the tonal shifts are jarring (tell jokes! nope, here's some death for you!).  I re-watched the movie and the tones sort of match the movie but the movie had a kind of charm that the show lacks.  Maybe because Willow was younger and trying to do the right thing in difficult circumstances in the movie.  It doesn't help that he's actively avoiding using magic in the show, which probably would have saved his friend.  It is an interesting twist and at least an explanation that he gets debilitated after using it.  

The smoke show was - what?  That helped the bad guys get Elora away.  LOL.  

I like Boorman (is that Not-Madmartigan's name?) and Graydon (I think? almost-married dude).  Hope Graydon doesn't go evil.  I was sorry to lose Silas.  Couldn't we have lost Kit instead?

33 minutes ago, Superclam said:

The scene between Jade and Ballantine at the end was touching. Those actors are above the rest of the cast. 

Yeah, that was emotional.   At least Ballantine got an emotional sendoff, unlike White Haired Soldier Guy who started the quest and was killed the first day.  

I liked Willow more in this one.  I can identify with being old and cranky.  He's gotta step up his game though.

[Bort]

1 hour ago, raven said:

Couldn't we have lost Kit instead?

Every episode so far has Kit being obnoxious. Is it some sort of writers challenge? It really never occurred to her that Jade always let her win? She may not dress like a spoiled pampered princess, but she still is one. And she has absolutely no self awareness about it.

[raven]

8 hours ago, kariyaki said:

Every episode so far has Kit being obnoxious. Is it some sort of writers challenge? It really never occurred to her that Jade always let her win? She may not dress like a spoiled pampered princess, but she still is one. And she has absolutely no self awareness about it.

She was obnoxious with Boorman as well.  She wants to know about her father so he's explaining the McGuffin that MM is off looking for but she's bored and rude about Boorman's name.  Shut up, Kit.

I did appreciate seeing a R.O.U.S. 🐀

[MissLucas]

Maybe the writing for Kit is an attempt to subvert the tomboy/fighter princess trope? They are normally likeable positive characters - here we get the obnoxious and annoying variation. Well, until she gets her redemption arc at least. Still, I wish they had given her at least one redeeming feature to make the wait a bit more bearable. 

[Abra]

Aw, Silas. When he was all "I will cut you!" to Boorman I thought we definitely need more Silas on the show, and then...

That scene between Jade and Ballantine was well done - emotionally speaking. Technically could we please SEE what the hell is going on during night/darker scenes?! Anyway, I will miss Ralph Ineson's voice too, it's beautiful.

I was worried Hubert and Anne were going to try to hurt Elora for some reason until they fell all over themselves to join her because she's The Grand Empress or whatever. I guess we know what it's like to be a celebrity in Willow World. I imagine it's quite jarring for poor Elora, going from amazing muffins to this.

I'm taking the kids' ages to be around 16/17 based on Sorsha saying something about 200 moons in the first episode. I'd put Jade and Graydon to be a bit older? Their attitudes track, I guess.

The modern songs over the end credits is really not doing it for me. I'm not a fan of James Newtown Howard's music, but the end credits seem like a great opportunity for him to try to get his James Horner on.

[nodorothyparker]

Man, Metallica's having a pretty good resurgence as the soundtrack to modern fantasy/genre. First they get "Master of Puppets" into Stranger Things, an instrumental version of "Nothing Else Matters" in Wednesday, and now a decent ending cover of "Enter Sandman" as we get our first look at what I think was supposed to be Nockmaar, original recipe Bavmorda's old stronghold. 

 I get that the scene of Elora stumbling into what felt like an entirely different show of a 19th century female lumberjack camp was supposed to be a clue as to what the average random people outside the Tir Asleen court or Willow's Nelwyns had heard about the original Elora Danan prophecy and where their allegiances would lie. But as both women quickly wound up dead because Elora crossed their path, it ended up feeling pretty pointless beyond saddling her with guilt about getting people killed. Still. You found out all of about 5 minutes ago that you're the mythical child of prophecy whose birth led to a continent wide hunt for you, got almost immediately kidnapped over it, and the first thing you do upon meeting new people is blurt out the entire story and all the surrounding drama over it without at least coming up for air first to determine whether they're safe or not? 

Kit feels like one of those messy characters who we're supposed to see come together eventually but that doesn't make her any easier to take until she does. It's proving to be a pretty consistent character trait that she doesn't really think outside of her own perspective at all. Just as she was stunned to realize maybe Graydon wasn't burning to marry her either, it never once occurred to her that a member of her mother's court might be letting her win. Graydon checks the bookish nonbadass fighter character slot of this saga, so I assume we're about to see some counter to the blood poison thing that he apparently got nicked with. 

Sorry to see Silas go. His actor was actually turning in a more consistent performance than Warwick Davis has been managing. i get that Davis has been saddled with the bulk of the exposition and long drawn out nonsensical and sometimes contradictory prophecy, but the characterization has felt pretty uneven. Still, at least we finally get some kind of explanation that magic is incredibly draining to him and that's why we've seen so precious little of it. 

Jade and Ballantine at the end were lovely and gave the show a bit of emotional weight that it's mostly been lacking, all high pitched talk of standard fantasy apocalypse aside.

[Cranberry]

I caught up on the first three episodes last night. I agree with the criticism that it's fairly generic fantasy, although the fuckboy brother being the damsel in distress and the princess wanting another girl instead of the guy she's supposed to marry for duty is different and fun. The modern American accents/speech bothered me for a minute, but I got over it. I think the production value is fine; the scenery is very pretty (and I have seen much worse; I watch shows on The CW, haha). My main issue is that it feels like the party should be moving with a greater sense of urgency rather than making all these stops, and also the characters all need to stop walking around yelling Elora's name really loud.

I actually like Kit. Yes, she's a cocky little shit who's never had a day of actual hardship in her life (until now, I guess), but people are calling her on it and her worldview is being shaken a bit (learning she's not the amazing fighter she thought she was, that guys don't want to marry her just because of who she is, and that the "muffin girl" really is more powerful and important than her). I'd be annoyed if she'd been proven right or her attitude had been rewarded at any point, but that hasn't happened. I think she'll have to get over herself pretty soon.

I really liked Silas and I'm sad to see him go. Even though he was only in a couple episodes, he managed to make me care about him. I can't really say the same for Jade's mentor figure. Both actors did great with what they were given, but it felt too early in the show for the "girl has to kill her beloved mentor" thing to hit with any real impact. It's like the show is rushing some things and dragging other things out... just pacing issues, I guess. I'm still enjoying it well enough, so I'll finish out the season.

[Good Queen Jane]

I was very glad to read that others had a problem with the lighting in this episode. I thought it was just my ancient eyes giving out. I have no idea what happened with Boorman when he was below ground or what happened in the fight until it was over. Why do directors do that? Are they trying to save money on the sets or what?

[Bort]

I didn’t have any problem seeing anything in the dark scenes. But I try and make sure I watch stuff in low ambient light. If the room is too bright, glare makes it hard to see.

[Tachi Rocinante]

So what did Boorman find?  A scroll container?

I honestly thought that Willow was faking the sorcerer shtick.

And yes, it is kinda generic, but remember, the original source material came out in 1988.

[Cranberry]

He found the Lux Arcana, the "key" that activates the Kymerian Cuirass.

Quote

Ten thousand years (and three weeks) ago in the capital of Kymeria -- akin to Valyria in this world -- there was a game of thrones. The heir, Thuul, was seen as weak by his brother, Tiberius. So, the sibling launched a siege, and Thuul was losing. Luckily, Queen Mother Annabelle was "a fey of the grove" and could make armor. She made Thuul a cuirass, or chest plate, of "pure chromium." She then used a magical artifact, called the Lux Arcana, to activate the armor. Thuul was, according to Boorman, able to stand against his brother's army while wearing it. Yet, what really makes it special is that Sorsha found old scrolls discussing the object. She and Madmartigan believed it would be able to better protect Elora Danan from the ancient evil coming for her, known only as the Withered Crone.