Battle of the Slaughtered Lamb
Kit interrupts Boorman’s story to say that she doesn’t want to hear it. Boorman is taken aback by her reaction and decides to end the story.
The group soon realizes that Elora has been taken, and the group head out to try and find her. Ballantine, who has tied up Elora to the back of his horse, is found by Jade. Knowing he’s not himself, she tries to stop him before they fight but Willow arrives and puts a stop to this. That is until a whole bunch of soldiers appear and help out Ballantine. Willow eventually gets involved and tries to use his magic but it’s not enough, Elora is taken away and they all disappear. ..
As the caravan ride on, a big storm in the distance begins brewing, with the Crone’s voice on the wind. It seems the Crone is going to banish Elora rather than kill her, but of course that’s not going to be so easy. When we cut back to Elora, she cuts loose from Ballantine’s horse and runs, heading into the woods alone late at night.
Elora, a young woman who has been on the run from her own people for months, arrives at a strange hut in the middle of nowhere. The hut is run by Hubert and Anne, two hunters who act like men - with gruff voices and manspreading - but Elora can’t help but feel that they’re not really human. ..
Elora quickly tells them her true royal name and even shows them the mark, prompting the pair to decide to serve by her side. Good thing they don’t decide to betray her, right? ..
Hubert is stabbed by Ballantine and as a result, Elora and Anna rush through the woods and try to escape. However, Anne is also chopped down (off-screen so she may actually still be alive.)
The caravan comes unstuck, prompting the group to split up. Our villainous Kit heads off alongside equally villainous Boorman while the others head in the other direction. The pair end up wandering through a graveyard, with the secret of the Cuirass all Kit’s really interested in. It’s worth pointing out that she hasn’t once expressed genuine concern for her brother or anyone else beyond Jade.
Meanwhile, Willow’s group find themselves face to face with Ballantine and the other possessed soldiers. Jade fights Ballantine off, but they soon all end up in the graveyard from before, with Kit bursting through the rocks and joining the fight. And just in time too, given it appears Wererats have arrived just as the Boorman claimed earlier in the episode!
Willow and Silas end up getting stabbed and Silas passes away, prompting Willow to get involved and use his magic to ward off their foes. Unfortunately, Graydon has actually been stabbed in the skirmish and it appears he’s on the verge of being turned. As they continue on, Nockmaar happens to be in the distance, and the episode ends with an absolutely atrocious female vocal version of Enter Sandman by Metallica. That pretty much sums up this show so far: it’s a mess.
The Episode Review
The ending vocal is perhaps fitting given what we’ve seen from this below-average-at-best fantasy fare so far. Women acting like men, complete with manspreading, arrogance and gruff voices, diminishes the true virtues women have and I’m not quite sure why those hunters were made that way. ..
Willow’s characters lack depth and compelling characterisation, compared to other NPCs in video games. ..
The showrunners have made it clear that they want to create a world where Willow is the only one who can save it and there are no other characters that the audience can invest in. This leaves her as a one-dimensional protagonist, which is frustrating because she’s an interesting character with potential.
As the weeks go by, Willow has quite the mountain to climb and episodes like this do the show absolutely no favours to draw fans back in.
