It can be argued that there is a lot that happens in "Warlock", but most of it is just interstitial things that serve to move the overall season forward. Sure, there is the part where Bandon finally revives the Warlock Lord, but that's mostly left to leave a vague cliffhanger at the end more than anything, and the scene only helps to transition the season into its final act by having the main villain finally appear. It will be from there where the show will have to deliver, having spent most of the time building him up. "Warlock" is not a bad episode by any stretch, but much of it is character work that is laid down in this hour will hopefully be a good foundation as the season reaches its big climax.
One the huge issues I had with season two of Shannara was the Leigh story, and it continues to somewhat falter. There was some of the usual attempt at Thrones-esque court intrigue, but many of the characters involved in the court are rather boring. Queen Tamlin is not as powerful as a schemer as the show would like you to think and completely pales in comparison to Game of Thrones' Cersei Lannister or even Reign's Catherine di Medici. She eventually meets her end by this episode, after Riga and the Crimson show up and ruin her daughter's wedding; if anything it seems rather a weak turn for Leigh in general, if not her rule, if the Crimson can simply walk into a kingdom with little effort. I can't quite seem to parse what the show ultimately wanted to do with Queen Tamlin, as the constant back and forth between shrewd queen and someone who had no choice in her matter made her characterization felt inconsistent at times. Whereas sometime it seemed she held all the power in her court, it only needed a single sentence to turn her afraid of the consequences of her past actions. I suppose she was always in over her head, though the show failed at times to show those quieter moments. At least her final scenes gave her back some sense of agency as she robbed Riga of the opportunity to properly execute her in front of her subjects.
Leigh also acts as a mirror of season one's Arborlon in a sense. The Warlock Lord is hoping to come to Leigh to corrupt Heaven's Well, an interesting parallel to the evils the Ellcrys holds back in Arborlon. Running from that comparison, it stands to reason that Princess Lyria is supposed to act almost as plot device as Amberle did. The unfortunate fact is that Lyria - up until now - still only works as a plot device. One of my main concerns was that Lyria had lacked much agency throughout the season and it seems to continue through "Warlock" and likely will remain so (though I hope otherwise). Whereas Amberle was still ultimately integral as a plot device at the end of the first season, the show explored her character and gave her agency, so that her final sacrifice in the season one finale felt earned. In the case of Lyria, she feels less like a person - and now with her large stone necklace - and rather more of a prop that has to be carted around until some final confrontation dictates her use (or as Cogline would prefer, that she avoid it altogether). It remains a bit frustrating that Lyria simply exists to be a confused bystander to events that involve her.
It creates an interesting contrast seeing as Mareth, another new character introduced in season two, has so much more agency in her storyline in her search for Allanon and ultimately taking on his role in the future. I didn't particularly like the execution of Mareth entering Allanon's dream state, only to ultimately end up being a short trip in which Allanon was never in any danger of dying anyway, and the real reason was for him to speak to his former mentor just so he could be corrected on the matter of Bandon vs. Mareth. But the fact that she takes action to move forward even when surrounded by other powerful figures feels already leagues ahead from what Princess Lyria is subjected to.
Again, the idea of legacy and heritage is at the forefront with Mareth and Allanon as the two come closer as the show seems to signal that Allanon's time is at an end and that she will have to take up his mantle. At the same time, with Ander's untimely death, it also puts her in a position of being the next ruler of Arborlon, which actually feels like an interesting development, as the show seems intent on shedding away the older generation and paving the way for the new. Although it might be hard to imagine the show trading Allanon for Mareth, the show has proved it has the right stuff to see it forward, if it comes to that.
Miscellaneous thoughts:
- I found it a rather bold move for Ander to basically be killed off in little to no fanfare, and then discarded like that. I guess they really were trying hard to mimic as much of the Red Wedding as they could.
- Not much movement really with Wil or Eretria, as this is the first time I'm even mentioning them, but the fact that Allanon and Mareth basically held most of the episode together is an interesting one at that.
- I feel like I should be surprised the Warlock Lord looks like evil-Allanon, but to be fair, Bandon used his blood that he took from the cut he made with the Warlock Lord's sword, so it stands to reason the blood caused him to return in the guise of Allanon.
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