What is this show, man? I just need to know. What is this show?
It’s time for another review of Willow, the TV series on Disney Plus from Lucasfilm, and we’re looking at the penultimate episode, Episode 7, “Beyond the Shattered Sea.” And I enjoyed this episode. The roller coaster of what this show wants to be is just unreal.
You’re still getting all the stuff where they’re very contemporary with their speech and whatnot. These aren’t things that bother me. They do, but they don’t. Everybody of a certain age knows what kind of show they’re in. All the Gen Z-ers don’t. They’re in a completely different show.
Right Where We Left Off
The episode picks up right where we left off, with Kit under the water. This time Airk himself has gone into the water. He’s gone into the pool in the Immemorial City, and he sees his sister. They reach out, they’re about to touch hands, and that’s when she gets pulled out. She freaks out. She’s like, I saw Airk in there. It’s a whole thing.
When they arrive at the shoreline of the Shattered Sea, it’s that scene we’ve all seen before. I think I had it up on one of the screens last week. They’re all looking out into the sea and it’s just them standing there, one of the promotional images from the very beginning. What you get is this idea that they have to go through to the other side. So they start their journey.
The Fisherman, the Mudmander and a Mission Nobody Remembers
It takes them a while to get to that cabin, and while they’re there they meet this guy, Zeb. He’s super weird. He’s got a fishing sort of thing going, he wants to cook for them, the whole bit. And he’s got the mudmander, Kenneth, hooked up to this sled wagon, a wagon on giant, you know, sled whatevers, and I guess it carries them across.
Then he tells them a story. He was once an adventurer. The first story, I believe, is probably the truth, and then he kind of goes in and out. The princess of Cashmere was kidnapped, and he and his companions were sent to rescue her. Apparently they all got lost at some point, or at least they kept wandering the Shattered Sea, never finding her, and forgetting why they were there to begin with. He says our mission was to get her, our mission was to do this, our mission was to stop this evil, and all these things.
Graydon Picks Up the Flute
Finally the Gales attack. They were originally going to offer to buy the stupid wagon, and dude was like, well, I’ve got to go off to dinner, and this and that. Then the vulture chick shows up, they’re all running, they get on the thing, and you see them burst out the side of the wall. And it’s Graydon driving. I’m like, who’s this guy? Graydon’s coming into his own, hardcore.
As they’re going, Elora and Willow are both trying to shoot at them. You also see the Lich riding on something, heading toward them. And the next thing you know, Graydon, on instinct, grabs his flute, goes boom, and shoots this purple energy, and it obliterates the vulture chick. So I’m like, oh. Okay.
Then the Lich manages to get onto the wagon. Elora goes to hit him, and the Lich grabs her by the wrist and shows her things, briefly. There’s a vision of someone who looks like an old, dead woman. It may be a representation of the Crone. The Lich is the guy with the thing on his face, so that wasn’t him. So she now has information, they manage to throw him off the wagon, and they get away.
Everybody Trains, and Boorman Isn’t Boorman
They stop at one of these little islands, and Elora’s like, get up, it’s time to train. Let’s do it. Willow teaches her some quick defensive words. Kit and Jade are watching, and Kit’s like, hey, get up, we’re going to train too. She’s not the only one who’s got to be ready for what’s coming. And don’t you dare hold back. So you’ve got Elora and Willow training, you’ve got Jade and Kit training, this whole set of events going on.
Meanwhile, Boorman is trying to figure out what’s wrong with him. I guess he thought, in his mind, I’m special, I’m this, I’m that. Then the moment came to try to activate the Cuirass and it didn’t work. So he’s upset, he’s not happy, he feels like he’s not special, and he’s very depressed. You do not get the normal Boorman we’ve had this entire series.
Willow and Graydon have a quick conversation. Willow says that was kind of interesting, what you did before, and Graydon’s like, yeah, I know, it was more instinct. Graydon’s essentially got the makings of a sorcerer. He’s ready. Willow even says these wands and talismans are things we use to channel and focus our energy through. So Graydon, out of instinct, is using his flute to channel his magical power.
Lili Was Dirty From the Minute She Showed Up
Then there’s Lili, or the girl who says she’s Lili, who, by the way, if you couldn’t tell, I’ve always known was dirty. The minute she showed up I’m like, okay. Come to find out, she reveals she’s the one who brought Airk there. And Airk freaks out and does what every smart adventurer should do. He runs. There’s a problem, you run. He ran twice. He couldn’t get away anyway.
Over the Edge
They keep riding this thing, and eventually they’re like, we’ve been going for days, weeks, maybe even months, who knows. So it’s been a protracted amount of time they’ve been out on the Shattered Sea.
One of the nights they stop to rest, Graydon asks for a moment alone with Kenneth. Come to find out, I guess Kenneth was getting sick and Graydon didn’t want him to die, so Graydon releases him. Now they’re stuck there, and everyone’s freaking out.
Willow has had one of his vision dreams, where he believes he saw Mims, and Mims is under attack. She’s hurt. He’s like, I have to go home. I shouldn’t have come. I’m not ready to do this. And they’re like, we need you. You can’t help her if you leave. Then this thing with Graydon happens, and Elora has to be the one to remind him: you said when we cross it, we cross it. We continue on foot.
So they go, and they eventually arrive at what looks like the edge of the world. The entire thing falls off, and there’s water spewing over the edge. They’re upset, they’re angry, he’s like, I was wrong, what are we going to do. Elora’s the one pushing them forward, and then Kit joins her. They look at each other, because they know what has to happen. They both make the decision, they hug, and she says, let’s do it together.
And I’m like, oh my God, they’re going over the side. They’re going over the side. They’re going over the side. Sure enough, they went over the side. You don’t see any of the rest of the party again for the rest of the episode.
The Immemorial City, and That Song
They land in what looks like a pool. They climb up, and they’re on the same edge Airk was on a couple of episodes back, if you remember, when he tried to run away, or tried to see how far out the desert went, and it looped him right back to this hill. That’s where they are, on the hill overlooking the Immemorial City.
They go down, and sure enough, they get to the pool, the door opens, and out comes a pretty good looking Airk in a black leather outfit with his hair cut.
I told Mrs. Know-It-All, this show, if nothing else, is going to have an amazing soundtrack, because the song they play there is just awesome. I didn’t want to get demonetized, so I didn’t play it in the video, but I’m telling you, you need to check out this song. It’s amazing.
The Verdict
Willow Episode 7, “Beyond the Shattered Sea,” lands at a begrudging 8.5 out of 10 on the Know-It-All Index.
I feel like I should penalize the show for giving me a good episode after two really crap ones. But I did enjoy it, even with the out-of-context speech and the references and whatever else. They say “crap” and different things like that, very modern talk from the Gen Z people and younger, and all the older folks don’t talk this way.
I say begrudging because I’m like, why are y’all fools trying to sit here and give me something good toward the end of this thing? So help me, the final episode better be amazing.
I watched this at five in the morning, way early, and I was so mad that I didn’t do the review until later. I had only just finished it when I posted it, because I was so pissed off at this entire episode.
Go see it for yourself, then tell me what you thought of the episode and what you’ve thought of the show overall. We’re going to talk more about that next week with the final episode. The conversation lives in the comments on the video above.
