User Reviews

The second episode is better than the first, although there aren't a lot of big changes between them. The bad CGI from the first one isn't spotted here, but the questionable decisions the characters make is. The two main things, that bothered me is the fact, that Eredin is a gossiper, who can't keep himself from revealing secrets, that shake up and destabilize the entire kingdom just because he got laid. And the second thing is, that Balor is more concerned with two surviving clan warriors, than with the starving people, who could riot against the ruling council.

Despite all that, the episode isn't as bad and if also turn a blind eye to some cliché scenes you could say, that it is pretty solid.

A slight step down from the first episode, but still good. The main problem is of course the extremely fast pacing. In the span of 40 minutes, the group of protagonists goes from 3 to 6! And not only that, but the 3 new characters just kinda of appear lol, they come out of nowhere. Now, I understand that this show is only 4 episodes, so the storytelling needs to be fast, but this was still pretty goofy.

Most of the episode was quite good though. The forbidden gay lovers trope is kind of played out in fiction, but I don't have a problem with it yet. The empress (forgot her name) getting someone to spy on balon is an intriguing plotline. Speaking of balon, where was he? It felt like he was barely in this episode.

On the side of the protagonists, most of it was pretty good too. Unfortunately, scian is sick so she barely had any screentime, but at least the other characters were good. I liked the nightmare sequences. We learn that both main characters went through some serious trauma. F'jall watched his brother die, and éile was forced to burn innocent people alive. Jeez, that was disturbing.

This episode had less action than the first, but when it did happen it was great. The first action scene in the barn was genuinely intense, and I wasn't sure how the characters were gonna get out alive. I also wanna mention about that scene that I LOVE that the soldiers didn't just charge in like mindless idiots. These soldiers were actually smart and knew they didn't stand a chance against the protagonists lol. Instead, they tried to burn them alive, which was smart but it didn't work.

Balon's one great scene was when he kills a couple children in order to obtain the chaos magic, but it isn't enough. He still has to sacrifice something important to him, and I wonder what that'll be. For now, it seems like balon is only in it for himself, and he doesn't love anyone. So I'm truly perplexed as to what he can sacrifice.

F'jall also learns that the empress murdered his sister! I can't wait to see what their confrontation is like. Clearly, the empress still loves him, since she wanted his bounty cleared. But I doubt f'jall still has any affection for her after what she did...

Lastly, the main characters attempt to infiltrate the castle by jumping from monolith to monolith. It doesn't work, and they get teleported to another world, where they stumble upon a horrifying monster. Great cgi, by the way. I can't wait to see how they deal with that creature.

Overall, this episode was slighter weaker than the first. It had higher highs, but lower lows. Also, I unironically hope that they continue the trend of having some character deliver a cringeworthy barrage of f-bombs every episode. I honestly can't believe those were actual pieces of dialogue that got implemented into the show. To be honest, if someone told me they dropped the show simply because of that, it would be valid. Solid 7 out of 10.

If you thought the first episode felt kinda rushed and some events a bit too convenient, it only gets worse in ep 2. It starts off okay, good fight scene, things look up. And then things start going downhill as two major contrivances pop up. The clan gang, in the middle of the forest, just happen to meet a dude who joins them and leads them to people who do an insane exposition dump. Less than a paragraph of dialogue between them and the three are now six. I had to rewind because I thought I missed a scene but that's how quickly it happened. But that's a common theme in this show. It moves quickly like you're watching a recap.

Two episodes in and I'm still loving this show! As this review and my previous one both report, I view this show through the lense of Dungeons and Dragons.

-Eile/Lark is clearly a Rogue, but *flavored* as a Bard.

-Fjall is a Berserker Barbarian. Fairly obvious.

-Scian is a Battle Master Fighter.

-Meldof is a Vengeance Paladin, with possible levels in Hexblade Warlock, depending on whether her hammer *actually* talks to her.

-And while we haven't seen much from the new guy (Callem? Calen? Something like that) the fact that he introduced himself as "Brother Death" is the most D&D edge lord thing to say. 😆

I think that's part of where the hate for this show must be coming from--because it's dark and gritty, people assume it must be "mature", "serious" and the like. Which, if that's what one is expecting, I could see how a Dwarf who talks to her hammer and "Brother Death" might pull them out of their immersion.

But if you can get out of that mindset, what you find is a straightforward, fun adventure full of interesting characters traversing a dark and twisted fantasy world in a quest for justice and retribution. The fight scene at the bank was EXTREMELY impressive--imagine the heroes actually using TACTICS to combat a numerically-superior foe. And then for Scian to receive a nearly fatal injury that forces them to divert from their quest, as a DIRECT RESULT of the Lark's character flaw, is refreshingly good writing!

It really is a shame to see this show not getting the recognition it deserves due to an (albeit rightly) angry Fandom... And unfortunately, the fact the the arguably main character is a black woman probably doesn't help either... Which is sad.

I will certainly keep doing my part in helping to give this show the recognition it deserves, and I will be recommending it to everyone I think will appreciate it.