‘Willow’ Episode 4 Spoiler Review
Image Source: Softonic
Welcome back to the world of WillThe misfits have arrived at Nockmaar, Queen Bavmorda’s castle, thankfully in enough time to help save Graydon, who has been infected with the evil magic of the Crone. Upon entering, Kit hears her mother’s voice, Sorsha, who reminds her that Bavmorda, albeit pure evil, is still her grandmother, and her blood runs through Kit’s veins. But she also reminds her that she (Sorsha) stood with Willow against Bavmorda and prevented the demise of baby Elora Danan.
Willow explains to the group that the Order of the Wyrm practiced taboo magic against nature. However, he knew where they could find a spell to help remove the dark magic from Graydon, the Malatrium. He also tells the group not to go into the high tower, so, of course, someone is going to go to the tower.
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Willow clearly states that he’s not up to his full strength to cast the purgation spell alone, but in nearly every episode, he casts one spell and is rendered useless. What will happen in the second half of the series when the fellowship needs him to launch more than one spell?
He splits the group up to search for ingredients or to keep watch, and they find out that Nockmaar is full of secrets and tricks. Willow and Elora stay behind to mix the ingredients for the spell. Each character is individually impacted by a vision of sorts, with Jade seeing her deceased family and General Kael, Kit seeing Bavmorda’s rise, and Boorman driven to madness with his quest for the Lux Arcana and the Kymerian Cuirass.
Image Source: IMDb
Kit’s angsty teenager schtick is growing tiresome and, quite frankly, takes away from the story. Her disdain for Elora comes across as just straight-up mean, but Elora is clearly tired of it and is beginning to hold her own, despite still not feeling entirely confident in her sorcery skills.
As the spell comes together, and they begin the ritual, Graydon becomes possessed with the voices of Airk, Mims, and Madmartigan solely for the purpose of throwing off Willow and Elora’s concentration so that the spell will fail. The spell seemingly works, and Elora and Graydon head to the high tower with Jade, Kit, and Boorman close behind.
Grayson reveals that the purgation spell did not work, and he’s still filled with the Crone’s magic. We also find out that Willow’s role in the demise of Bavmorda was clearly exaggerated, with Bavmorda actually being defeated by being distracted by Willow’s disappearing pig spell (of course, in that case, it was baby Elora disappearing). Finally, Boorman, Kit, and Jade show up, with Kit finally telling Elora that the growing spell she was trying to cast in the woods before she was kidnapped was successful. This gives Elora the final boost of confidence that she needs to cast the purgation spell.
While Willow and Elora gather the ingredients for the spell, they realize they need to have Essence of Nightshade. In this episode, we recognize Elora, a skilled baker, comes into play more than once, and baking is essentially alchemy. She was training to be a sorceress this entire time, just in a similar way.
We finally get to see where Airk is and what kind of situation he’s been in since he’s gone MIA since his kidnapping. Did they torture him? Brainwash him? Infect him with the evil magic? We know he’s in the Immemorial City, but Airk’s cell is located in an ancient ruin that was clearly part of a fallen civilization. Also, who left his cell open?
Willow’s plot progress remains slow and chaotic, so hopefully, it will find its footing in the second half of the season. The modernized script sometimes helps but also hinders because it is a fantasy, where the point is to not be fully modernized but to be able to escape. That being said, Boorman still has the best one-liners in the series.
This time, the end credits featured a piano version of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun,” performed by Nouela. Again, as I said in the episode 3 review, the producers’ use of haunting remakes to set the tone has been a fantastic choice.
Still waiting on Christian Slater to arrive…
Rating: 6/10
Catch new episodes of Willow Wednesdays on Disney+.
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