The Shannara Chronicles 2x06 "Crimson" - the end to the season's second act doesn't mask poor plotting, sadly

"Crimson" almost feels like an episode that was partially stitched together, held only together by the show making a point of telling us in no uncertain terms in the final minutes that this is the second act of the season. There's a lot of talk about destiny and fate, but poorly executed. It's usually part and parcel in a genre like fantasy, especially when talking about the hero's journey style of adventure. Part of what makes it feel discomforting to me when I watch this theme being trotted out is that it is a theme that attempts to rob certain characters of their self-determination or progress, because it's down to simple "it was fate, nothing more", without exploring the facets of fate vs. free-will, or something in-between. "Fate waits for no man", as Wil puts it; more like a word we just repeat to sound deep, or in character because of the fantasy setting, unfortunately. It's in the execution of it that bothers me, especially in "Crimson", or perhaps everytime it's used in Shannara. Although it means that the inevitable will happen (which is not the problem itself), it leaves very little leeway for characters or the world at large to change or make something for themselves if mostly everything is predetermined. Again, this is a scripted TV show, so forgive the metaphysical crisis I'm having.

On the subject of "Crimson", it is struck by some fairly poor pacing and plotting. For instance, whereas Valcaa (Riga's lieutenant) is captured by Jax in the previous episode, the Crimson easily break him out, with only a word of dialogue from one of Tamlin's guards (I assume he is the captain of the guard, though either unnamed or uninteresting and uninvolved enough to remember). This development barely lasts a few scenes from the previous episode to the current to have much impact. It forces much of the Leigh storyline in this episode to have its big scenes, while the parts inbetween are filled in by exposition instead of visual storytelling, which is a shame. Although I don't particularly like the Leigh story this season, it was usually just a matter of the subject at hand, but now the poor pacing I found in Shannara season one seems to have reared its ugly head as well.

Jax is hired again by Tamlin to hunt down Valcaa and Riga, but there's no real substance or real subtext in the scenes where Tamlin acts on the Crimson. It's almost as if the show decides she has to be a complete cypher to see if she really has changed sides or not. Not that pissing off a homicidal warlord to crash your daughter's wedding is a good idea, even if you don't like your choice of groom any more. The fights with Jax, Valcaa, and Riga are serviceable but they exist almost to show action than anything else and give Jax something to do that he probably would've done already - which makes the scene where Jax and Tamlin speak on the subject feel particularly worthless.

The final scene in "Crimson" is clearly an homage to one of TV's more recent infamous scene by playing to the major beats. But the problem is the danger doesn't feel as insidious or calculated as the Red Wedding ever was. This is a bold, brash, and loud attempt at one. Riga reveals himself at the heart of the wedding, and then Crimson men just instantly spill out from the stands in full uniform, making the suspension of disbelief a little hard to bear. And as violent as it will get, it's Ander who probably gets murdered (of course the show leaves his fate uncertain for now), though the show hasn't put much work in making us care for Ander as much as say Wil, Eretria, Allanon, or even Mareth and Jax.

Wil and Mareth's journey to Shadyvale continue into this episode, though like last episode's review argued, having an episode devoted to this would have been better. The continual talk of fate, fate, and fate, really only affected this story, as it places the idea of fate against the fear of causality. But the show can't seem to confirm if the vault truly existed to take a Shannara and druid back in time as a hiding place for the skull, or just a pocket reality that exists solely as a prison of sorts. The show didn't have to dive into either subject in depth, but it never took a stance on the subject. Perhaps it's left vague enough to allow some leeway into how the world all connects in the case of Wil and his family. By the end, it's really just left to Flick to die because the show - through Allanon - implies it's his fate to be sacrificed, just like it was Shae's to become a hero. Unfortunately it leaves untouched the subject of whether or not Shae's madness later in life and death were also part of his fate, or because of his denial of it. That would at least provide for some interesting ideas to work from.

Of course, by the end of "Crimson", the show would prefer to just leave us with a world on the brink of true misery and despair as it shows all the heroes set on the backfoot - like any good end of a second act. Bandon has the skull and races away with it, Allanon is slowly dying probably because the prison affected his ties to magic, and Ander is likely dead along with any hopes for an alliance between Arborlon and Leigh. The only problem is for much of the latter, they didn't feel like earned defeats. Perhaps it was fate for much of the characters that the story just threw defeat at them because that's what was needed at this part of the story, instead of showing us their villains really are just that capable of tearing them down.

Miscellaneous thoughts:

• Not much to say about Eretria, who only really has a scene or two. It's unclear if she just sucked up the mordwraith or someone reached in while she was killing it - probably the latter though.
• Again, I really want to stress I wish the Leigh storyline was more interesting but it really feels like there's never really any depth there except possibly in the set and costume design. If it's trying to ape Game of Thrones' King's Landing kind of court intrigue, it's failing pretty badly.

The Shannara Chronicles 2x05 "Paranor" - the past is what matters, and always a strong theme in Shannara

Legacy is a recurring theme in Shannara, as the show takes place in that moment in time where everything seems to be the effect of some cause years ago. But that is how history works, even after the world has been destroyed in nuclear fire. Although prior to "Paranor", much of the season's musings and talks about the past have been mostly talk and mysterious second meanings, this episode forces its characters to confront their pasts in real and tangible ways. In many ways, this is the best of Shannara when its characters confront the past - whether they be real, imagined, or through time travel.

After reaching Paranor, Bandon is trapped by Allanon into a prison in the hopes of keeping him contained forever. But Bandon's contingency by infecting Flick is what leads to Wil and Mareth disobeying Allanon to retrieve the Warlock Lord's skull. Allanon himself denied himself that he could be Mareth's father, but the results say otherwise when access to the skull definitely requires a druid and a Shannara. I had some reservations about the show sidelining Allanon again during the start of the season, but having Mareth at Wil's side makes the decision to do so easier to swallow as Malese Jow shares as much chemistry with Austin Butler as he does with Manu Bennett. Part of it is how the show wants to present itself - beautiful young people adventuring in a dangerous, fantasy world - but part of it is also that theme of legacy in this show. It's probably not by simple choice or need for bombast (or more beautiful people sitting near a watering hole looking more beautiful) to have Wil and Mareth travel back and meet a young Shae Ohmsford, nor is it an accident for Wil to have so much influence in his past as he searches for the skull. Given how much more of this season is about Wil trying to reconcile what he knew about his father's memory and legacy, there is bound some substantial developments in the future.

Eretria's past also surfaces as we learn that Cogline is also a druid, mirroring Wil and Allanon's roles of protector and ward. Whereas Wil is a descendant of a legendary hero, Eretria on the other hand is almost a dark mirror of Wil, with her fate more tied into the realm of demons as part of her family history. It's also with Eretria and Cogline that the show returns to the small glimpses its post-apocalyptic setting since the premiere, something that was sorely missing and almost felt that, in my opinion, was nearly excised at the expense of the show's overall increase in quality. There's something odd but settling seeing Cogline having set up a prison for a wraith by mashing together druidic magic and good old fashioned jail bars coursing with electricity. In any case, it will be interesting to see as the show continues not only to divide Eretria from Wil, but starts to cause them to diverge in completely opposite ways.

Jax, meanwhile, has remained somewhat nebulous, though we learn his bounty hunting career and his old soldier days are more connected than expected. It's a little odd for him to hold a particular connection to one soldier under his command (unless he's dropping off his gains to other widows of the border legion), but it drives home the point nonetheless. It's only when the Crimson arrive and kill a little boy (a little too cartoonishly evil even for justifiable fanatics like the Crimson) that forces Jax to rethink his worldview. For Jax, the intrusion of the Crimson into his memory of what I assume are better times and better friends eventually drive him to draw a line in the sand against the Crimson than to merely use them as a means to an end. On the flip side, Queen Tamlin is the one character who doesn't really have much in the way of active development. Her legacy is just as important as a major political player in the world, but at an individual level, much of what we learn about her is simply told to us. If it's not from Lyria or Tamlin's her words herself, it is from the words of Bandon or Cogline, repeating the course of the last war and her decisions. Whereas Jax receives the less wordy explanations interspersed by vague flashes or the past, Tamlin is the one that feels like we're reading a history textbook, having facts recited to us.

Regardless, whenever Shannara leans heavily on the past and thoughts of legacy, it generally shines brighter. "Paranor" is a strong showing as it brings to surface a lot of the mystery of the characters and the world, and the way both are influenced by the recent and distant past. In a sense (though I haven't read the books), Shannara is a show about a generation of people and how they want to forge a future, but with a past that sometimes keeps them from doing so. Whether it is some family pedigree, or some ancient and malevolent evil, they are all sort of the same. Sometimes a little too similar.

Miscellaneous thoughts:

• Not simply interesting to learn that Cogline is a druid, but he's definitely a different kind of druid. He has this affinity for technology and/or electricity that was hinted at in the premiere, and even his magic attacks have this electrical feel to them. This is even before his steampunk-esque getup.
• I'm not entirely one for time-travel stories (you'd have to best 12 Monkeys), so I feel like Wil and Mareth in past-Shadyvale feels more like idyllic-dream-world-unforunately-invaded-by-wraiths as a prison for the skull than an actual time machine. But we shall find out.
• I liked the framing of Allanon and Bandon on opposite sides behind the cage, as if they were the angel and devil speaking into Wil's ears.
• I'm not entirely a fan of the episode hanging on that cliffhanger despite the fact that the remainder of the season is being aired two episodes at a time. The Shadyvale jaunt could definitely have been a single episode if planned for.

Arrow 6x06 "Promises Kept", baggage left behind

There's a lingering finality the events of "Promises Kept" are working towards, especially in the case of John Diggle's tenure as the Green Arrow. Given that there is one more episode before the universe wide "Crisis on Earth-X" crossover and that Amell will be back in the Green Arrow costume (which makes it easier to explain to non-viewers for Arrow and newcomers), it signals a close to the first stretch of season six. Unfortunately for anyone who keeps a close watch on Arrow, some of these things are just inevitable, but that doesn't mean there wasn't worthwhile developments in this episode. 

With both Diggle and Slade taking on prominent roles in this episode, there is this sense that their journeys have taken them to unfortunate turning points. Diggle must finally confront his pride as the tremor from his injuries flare up again. For Diggle, he had to face the truth that he cannot continue his facade or reliance on the designer steroid at the expense of his pride. It's played fairly deftly as Diggle and the audience discover the twist that Dragon is behind both the potential cure for Diggle but also problems for Star City, and to watch as Diggle eventually relents and gains some perspective from his actual family and his crimefighting one. The simplicity in having Diggle ask for forgiveness in the final scene, and that forgiveness was easily given and not needed to be wrenched out from team was heartwarming to see.

Slade on the other hand, traces a similar path to Diggle as he attempts to win back the love of his son by joining the Jackals and following along with their plans. It is by the end that he also faces the truth that his son is the twisted image of his father when Joe/Kane who wants nothing more than his father's approval even if it mean outright, homicidal mimicry in his childhood years. Watching as Slade unfolds because of the mirakuru (and appearance of mirakuru-Shado) and subsequent abandonment was also a delight to see, helping to tie those events back into the tapestry of the show and its strong sense of time. There's an out for the writers and for Slade as he departs in search of Joe/Kane, and the son Grant which he never knew about as it seems the fate of Deathstoke's TV adaptation is up in the air much like it was for Deadshot.

Oliver again sits firmly in the background as a support character for Slade, but also obtains more clarity and certainty as he concludes he has made the right choice to abandon his masked vigilante life for raising his son. It's in that denouement that part of him is glad in some way that he will not end up as Slade and his son did. The ongoing arc for Oliver does help reinforce that taking on William and abandoning the Green Arrow persona is not just a lark and is treated with proper weight and care. For those keeping score though for the weeks ahead, it means is that for whatever reason for Oliver to return will have to be informed by both his previous and current worldviews, which will be fascinating to see how it will unfold in the weeks to come. His return as Green Arrow will have to be earned.

Miscellaneous thoughts:

• Although David Ramsey and Manu Bennett can definitely sell their lead roles on this episode, I found Liam Hall's Joe a little lacking. Not entirely his fault when he has not much material to work with whereas the other two have years of depth to draw from.
• Despite it being the obvious shot to see, the one with Oliver's eye blacked out by the lighting with Joe/Kane trots out the literal eye-for-an-eye line is superb.
• Speaking of Oliver, he gets to take on more of the visually interesting action by going to town on random henchmen in some extended action sequences, so I'm glad they haven't disappeared yet.

Arrow 6x05 "Deathstroke Returns" - Orange and Black is the New Black

Despite being featured in the episode, Deathstroke himself ends up sharing a good amount of "Deathstroke Returns" with Dinah Drake. Both Slade and Dinah end up finding themselves dealing with their pasts as the episode unfolds. Although Slade Wilson's story is a fairly standard one with the obvious last-minute evil son reveal, the more interesting development is the reveal and unmasking of Vigilante. Though the identity of Vigilante has been kept hush for the entirety of a season, the reveal (though probably deflating to those hoping for some next level metanarrative or left field reveal like Tommy Merlyn), I would argue helps flesh out Dinah by giving her some much needed complexity.

Dinah Drake was introduced in the middle of season five, so although she now finds herself as an important figure in Team Arrow, she did not have the benefit of a season's worth of involvement and screentime, and even then my memory tells me it was rather lacking. Curtis brought up the lead behind Diggle and Felicity (and Thea) in screentime while Rene was present from the start of season five, and similarly Artemis was at least partly involved in Prometheus' schemes after her departure from Team Arrow. In hindsight, it seems more like Dinah's inclusion was a way to address a Green Arrow sans Black Canary team more than anything else. Aside from the episode devoted to her backstory and subsequent recruitment into Team Arrow, Dinah had mostly been relegated to the inside woman in SCPD, as well as appearing together with the team in confrontations. Her promotion within the SCPD between seasons feels like a natural progression of her character, but hadn't provided much to work with until now.

With the reveal that Vigilante is Dinah's former undercover partner, it gives Dinah more material to work with. Since her past prior to the Vigilante reveal was mostly resolved in a single episode, it made Dinah feel more like a blank slate, or at least someone that had overcome all their past demons in season five's "Second Chances". By bringing back her partner, Vincent Sobel, both as the identity of Vigilante as well revealing he is a metahuman, the show signals that it wishes to make Dinah and the team's struggles with Vigilante more interesting. By having her partner survive his death and becoming a tough to kill threat, it's possible to take that to interesting situations with Dinah and the team, as they navigate how to deal with both with Vigilante and the man that is (or was, or still is) Vincent Sobel. The final scene with Dinah at the Channel 52 building says a lot; she carries a belief her partner is still present and not simply the gun-totting lunatic that is Vigilante, and that is going to cause tension as she wants to reconcile the past man and the present criminal.

Again, it brings together the fact that though Arrow remains centered on Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, the consistency the show has found in the strength of its ensemble in the writing and performances - especially by finally providing Dinah some interesting character development - the marked increase in quality in the past few years has shined. It's something that hopefully the sister show The Flash can try to achieve as it has stumbled lately.

As for Slade and Oliver's adventure, it pits the two men together again with a similar goal, but different circumstances. With Oliver learning that Slade's son is now behind the gang called the Jackals and the audience (and eventually Oliver) learning that he is in some ways a mirror of his father, there will be some kind of self-examination into what Oliver is before he eventually takes on the mantle of Green Arrow again. It's likely that the only way to alter any promise made to William will be as Oliver navigating the problem in front of him. Slade Wilson will have to try to reconcile his own past with his son's present, and it will be interesting to see in the weeks to come.

 

Miscellaneous thoughts:

• Once again, this season does not fail to deliver with their fight choreography and insistence to have long, single-take action scenes. Part of me is hoping this will simply continue through the season as the cast and crew become more confident. Even if you assume the Helix fight scene in the last episode consisted of well-placed cuts.
• The FBI investigation is still trailing along slowly, so part of me wonders how much of a threat can they be when it finally comes to a head.
• I am not an expert at Australian/New Zealander culture by any means but there were some comments on the Internet that liked the authenticity in the Slade Wilson flashbacks.

The Shannara Chronicles 2x04 "Dweller" - family woes abound on a detour through the season

According to "Dweller", family issues will mess everyone up, and that's pretty much the gist of this episode. As the adventurers take a necessary detour after the events of "Graymark", many of the cast try to come to terms with many issues of family that have shaped them. It's a similar play on themes found in "Graymark" but with a different focus as the episode explores the world and its characters through this particular lens. It's a particularly interesting move after exploring the pasts of some of their characters,it focuses on the characters that were left somewhat untouched or behind in "Graymark". 

With Wil, we are shown glimpses of the past and more concrete evidence of what his father, Shae Shannara, left behind in his son. I much prefer the flashback method for this form of character exploration and exposition but it has never been a necessary format; sometimes a well delivered monologue and some priming is all you need. It almost makes the titular dweller (an amped up giant spider that feeds on fear) seem like an almost perfunctory and mechanical element. It exists almost solely to show us the last moments Wil and Shae had before becoming obliterated with almost no fanfare by the Elfstones.

The detour into the dweller caves proves to be more interesting when Wil attempts to pair off Allanon and Mareth who spend the course of the episode sparring; Mareth says she doesn't need a father and merely a teacher to hone her magic, meanwhile Allanon refuses to accept the fact he could've even fathered a child. The episode finally allows the audience to delve into the real reason for Mareth to seek out Allanon, and it helps to give some much needed depth for Mareth. It may prove likely she might fall under the sway of Bandon, which would provide both Mareth and Allanon interesting avenues for character development. For Allanon, it seems that extreme overbearing care (Bandon) or absolute negligence (Mareth) might prove to be equally problematic.

As for the characters in Leigh, there is some talk about Queen Tamlin's early days and the problems left to her by her mother's untimely death. This does help explain her a few things including her need to ally herself with the Crimson, as well as explaining the state of the human kingdom under her rule from allying with the warlock lord. Lyria is still a bit of a blank slate though she does gain some more agency with the help of Eretria and finds her way out from her mother's thumb. Lastly, with Ander, though Edain was not family but a close friend, he has to deal with the betrayal nonetheless while trying to investigate Tamlin's links to the Crimson.

For Bandon, it is an interesting trip down memory lane as he takes Flick to his childhood home, now inhabited by another family who strangely could not care less about the legacy of his cursed home, but care enough to hate magic users and the ills they have told they bring to the world. Regardless, there is a small wrinkle in the world building that is much appreciated more often than not. It is simple to see some kind of peasant simplicity to the unnamed elven family, and their superstitious views behind magic informed by ignorance, amplified by Crimson propaganda. That is the way the show seems to draw the scene with Bandon and Flick at the dinner table, though it is Bandon who finds an another meaning and takes it too far, murdering the young elven boy in front of his parents and Flick.

Miscellaneous thoughts:

• I would think as an execution method, throwing someone down a dam would work but I sort of wished the would-be victims fell and cracked their skull on the rocks before plummeting to the watery depths. Perhaps I've simply watched too many movies where a dive into the water means survival.
• Part of the show is begging for a kind of training montage with Allanon, Wil, and Mareth.
• Part of me wishes also the actual dweller was a more conscious threat for Allanon, Wil and Mareth, and not simply a one-act obstacle. There were many things that could be mined from its use, one being seeing both Allanon's and Mareth's most painful moments to help flesh out character.

Arrow 6x04 "Reversal" tells us that even when things change, some things stay the same, and hopefully for the better

 

With "Reversal", this current stretch of Arrow has now moved into fairly familiar territory as it begins the Cayden James story arc in earnest. It's familiar as it evokes some of the tropes that fans had bemoaned and expressed strong dislike for even as the show executed other aspects to more praise. Much of it lies firmly in the realm of 1) relationship drama as a byproduct of the Oliver-Felicity relationship, and 2) placing Felicity as an active protagonist - or rather active and necessary - especially by means of having her to be the team member to square off against another hacker-like antagonist. I would argue that although the execution to these aspects has never been Arrow's stronger suits, "Reversal" proves that the matter is all in the execution, and not the simple inclusion of those tropes.

Unlike previous attempts for Felicity to square off simply against a hacker or a firewall, Cayden James works almost as a worthy and equally capable antagonist. For those unfamiliar with Michael Emerson's body of work in the last few years, he played Harold Finch in Person of Interest, essentially mastering the art of playing against a computer screen in most of his scenes and playing a hacker that had a stronger grasp on his humanity. Cayden James feels almost like a dark mirror for Person of Interest's Harold Finch, as Emerson channels that strong intensity that fans might recognize more in Lost's Benjamin Linus. As "Reversal" communicates, Cayden James is no simple obstacle that is immediately trounced by Felicity, meaning he will return in future episodes to further his plan. The fact that his ploy to lure Team Arrow into The Vault was simply so he could have Felicity enact his plans for him (and thus remain hidden) proves that like Adrian Chase of the previous season, Cayden James is making moves behind the scene that will hopefully culminate in a fruitful and interesting climax for Team Arrow to try to overcome.

Although "Reversal" trades in some Oliver-Felicity relationship strife, it appears as fairly benign and overcome with little melodrama. Since much of it involves Alena and Helix from the last season, Felicity eventually takes it on as a personal crusade. As the title of the episode implies, much of the actions that Felicity is chastised for in "Reversal" are the same things that much of Oliver's behaviours and actions in seasons three and four are repeated. By the end of the episode, the couple manage to learn from the perspective of their past mistakes. It is an interesting aspect of the show to (temporarily) remove Oliver from much of the active plot. He acts more like a recurring side character at this point while the show focuses on the rest of the ensemble, and because of his level of disconnect, he is allowed to dispense wisdom that other characters usually heap upon him; it almost provides a certain clarity for Oliver Queen to be removed from the Green Arrow. Though Oliver is slightly more active in this episode by acting essentially as Overwatch, throughout the episode Oliver is played with a certain energy and anxiousness that makes it feel like he can't divorce himself from his vigilante life.

If "Reversal" is any indication for the trajectory of the season, it feels as though Arrow will present a stronger showing and execution for some of the more maligned aspects of the show.

Miscellaneous thoughts:

• Thoroughly love Katie Cassidy's Black Siren as it gives her much more exciting material to work with. I understand the constraints back in the earlier seasons but even when she was made Black Canary, she felt underused.
• No, seriously, the scene where she confronts the victim in the parking lot and muses over her shoes is hilariously evil villain-y but is played to perfection.
• Many other unintentionally funny moments like Wild Dog's comments made the episode seem awkwardly like a comedy.

The Shannara Chronicles 2x03 "Graymark" - Adventurers Reassemble!

There is no doubt that I will be happy to see what happens after "Graymark." With this episode, there seems to be a doubling of efforts to send our adventurers on their way to Paranor for what seems to be a final showdown of everyone involved. Although "Graymark" acts almost as a transitional episode, it does so in a strong, simple story that takes advantages of the strengths of what The Shannara Chronicles has learned in the last season. There's a hope in me that some of the structural strengths found in this episode continue through the rest of the season as it provides a strong reminder of what episodic television can do. It's one of the other things I've bemoaned about the show during its first season and witnessing "Graymark" makes me happy that I've stuck with the show to see it improve; part of the fear I had coming into the second season was that it would inherit some of the poor pacing and structure that had been present in the first season.

"Graymark" acts as a fantastic self-contained story, likely due to Javier Grillo-Marxuach involved in writing the episode. Part of the main conceit is quite simply to have the gang break Allanon out of Graymark - which looks a bit like a Cold War-era Soviet fortress complete what looks like appropriated symbolism that the Crimson could have taken on. It could be very well the opposite, that the Crimson has used what looks like a red eagle in a Soviet bloc-style design; the hammer and sickle being the only thing missing from it. Regardless, the jailbreak conceit of the episode takes up much of the proceedings, having everyone involved contribute to breaking both in and out of the fortress.

There is a strong notion of the past catching up with all of the characters in this episode, as everyone seems to have some troubled past that they can't seem to shake. For most, the recent past is more than enough to have turned Jax into a bounty hunter, and Riga and the men of the Crimson towards their anti-magic stance. Riga and Jax especially, their problems lie with the demon invasion of the Dagda Mor and the damage it did to what seemed like background characters as Wil and Amberle completed their mission in Arborlon to restore the Ellcrys. Interestingly, one of the two men finds meaning in the chaos and horror that ensued while the other loses theirs, allowing some additional depth in the world that Shannara has created. It's also what helps make Jax's sudden turn away from simple mercenary to regain some purpose feel satisfying despite an obvious signaling he would eventually find himself alongside Will and his friends.

The reunion with Wil and Eretria itself feels well deserved, as the two actors communicate a great relief between two characters who have been through much and separated by a gulf that is a year of remorse. It's between those two we learn though Wil and Eretria eventually forged new lives after the events of the first season, they never felt completely satisfied in what they had created, with Wil using revealing that he used the Elfstones for understandably selfish reasons, furthering his self-harm. It's with the two reunited in this episode that forms much of the emotional core of the episode, though Wil and Allanon's eventual sit-downs will likely prove just as powerful. On a similar note, it is Allanon who reveals to Wil his regrets at how he handled Bandon last season, and the reason why the two men are in their current predicaments.

Other thoughts:

• Once again, the plotlines in Leigh are kind of in a holding pattern for now, which is fine because Wil and Allanon's quest to stop the warlock lord is much more interesting unless things change. Especially if Tamlin and the Crimson seem tied somehow.
• With Mareth being able to sense Allanon - or his staff at least - it somewhat does make that claim that she is Allanon's daughter that much stronger
• I do wonder what other magic relics Riga holds in his safe, unless they've all be taken by Mareth.
• I'm not a book reader, but it seems like an interesting concept for what seems like this world's rendition of a vampire to also be magic immune. Certainly helps explain why Allanon was so quickly dispatched in Leigh.

The Shannara Chronicles 2x02 - "Wraith" sends its characters on search for their purpose

At the risk of repeating myself, part of the charm of The Shannara Chronicles is seeing the evolution of a certain style of adventure show set in the context of this era of TV. For myself, there's always some lingering hope that having the show's disparate principal characters come together and head out on their journey together, so it's a bit of a shame to see that as the story starts to develop in that direction, decisions are made to once again divide them. It was one of the things I bemoaned in the first season, especially with the need to quickly separate Allanon from Will, Amberle and Eretria's travels. Near the end of "Wraith", the show begins to signal a grand showdown in the future, but for now, it seems the intervening episodes will quickly involve everyone in the act of reassembling the party. Fortunately they are all drawn to Allanon as a device, but it begs to wonder if that means Allanon himself will be a minor player in the episodes to come.

A lot is spoken about purpose in this episode, and much of the runtime is spent on giving the characters a clear path towards something, especially for those seemingly bereft of one since the events of the first season. Will, especially, is the one who learns of his father's madness was a result not from the price magic exacts from its user, but from an abandonment of purpose. It's an interesting choice, but it lacks any substance behind it when Will has witnessed time and again the opposite - that to him, using magic has always exacted a personal price. By the end though, a purpose is given as Will will have to ally with Allanon's daughter to help rescue his uncle from Bandon's clutches. It's the pairing of Will with Mareth that makes the proceedings interesting, pitting someone wary of using their magic and someone who is on the search to master the art, with the both of them inextricably tied to one man.

Though Eretria never forgets her mission to find Will, she is conveniently sidetracked as the bounty hunter Jax absconds with Lyria after murdering a band of rovers singlehandedly. It's oddly convenient and again, made me hopeful it would band much of the cast back together but it's quickly pulled apart again as Allanon is kidnapped by Riga - who also conveniently strolls into the stables of the human kingdom without anyone batting an eye. It's likely we'll see Lyria again after she summons enough courage to follow Eretria again on her search for Will, though it will likely mean that her mother will have need of Jax again. Lyria on the other hand, I'm a bit more wary about, as the worn-old trope of royalty that wants to mingle with the lower classes seems overplayed. It could be that Lyria just does not seem to display as much agency as the other characters that would ultimately make her interesting, though I do hope for more.

Ander has always been a more interesting character, even though he also falls into the worn-old trope of royalty that shirks responsibility until it is thrust upon them in a moment of utter despair. Perhaps because he's a more familiar face with more history and charisma, that helps carry the character into more interesting heights. There's a kind of underdog feeling to his participation in the show as he now finds himself under attack from all sides and needing to learn quick to keep from going under. Ander is mostly in a holding pattern in "Wraith" as he's mostly reacting to Tamlin's agenda, but will likely have to react as the Crimson threat intensifies and he discovers agents working against him in his own entourage.

• Somewhat sad to see Catania to get murdered, likely to spur Ander getting some motivation and acting as a spark for some political intrigue by the elves, humans, the other races, and the Crimson. Not sure how I felt about pairing the two characters together since it seems the show decided to pair them off in the year between, then quickly killed it off just as it had begun to show.
• Interesting to see where they go if they decided to show the face of Will's father, or if that appearance is fleeting and will never really be followed up on.
• Bandon is interesting as he still has some humanity in him for someone who seems like someone who's about the summon the apocalypse.