What’s up my know-it-alls!? It’s time for us to go on a brand new adventure, and that adventure is the new Disney Plus series Willow. So if you’re sitting down, I hope you’re ready, because here we go.
Man, that was so much fun. We started watching it this morning and had some internet issues, so unfortunately I had to watch a little later than normal. But I’m excited. I’m very, very thrilled. If you get an opportunity, don’t miss our Know-It-All Files on the 1988 Willow film. I’d love it if you watched that first, kind of as a primer.
Sorsha’s Flashback, and Madmartigan’s Kids
The episode starts with Sorsha. For those of you who don’t remember, Sorsha is the daughter of Bavmorda. She was the one who turned after she met Madmartigan, started seeing her mother being evil, and really understood how bad things were getting in the original film. She gives us a flashback of the events, some bullets from the film, and then you’re thrown right into meeting some young people.
You get to meet Kit and Airk. These are Madmartigan’s kids, and they are absolutely his children. The first time you see Kit, she’s up on a cliff fighting with Jade, who’s both her girlfriend and her guardian. Jade is training to be a knight in the Shining Legion. Airk, by the way, is named after Airk from the movie, so that’s fun.
So they’re practicing, only to find out Airk is himself snuggling, if you will, with a young lady he calls Dove. She’s the muffin girl, the girl who works baking in the kitchens. And Airk is that guy. He’s known for throwing his affection at the young ladies in the kingdom, so everyone’s trying to warn Dove away from getting enthralled with him, as it were. But he’s talking very much like he’s serious. He’s funny too, because he’s dressed almost like he’s ready to go out to the club, seriously, and it’s a fantasy thing, so I’m like, okay.
That’s the one thing I did say, and I told Mrs. Know-It-All this. I feel like all the older actors are behaving as if they’re in a period piece. They’re doing the things they’re supposed to do, they’re talking a certain way. All the younger actors almost feel like they’re slipping into modern day ways of talking. I don’t bump on it. It’s just something where I went, oh, okay, it’s a choice.
Ban the Magic, Hide the Girl
They make a decision in this series immediately, and you find it out in the exposition dump at the very beginning. Apparently Willow had some dream, and in the dream he saw the end of all things. So they decided, for everyone’s safety, they were going to ban magic and put a barrier up around Tir Asleen. They also said they were going to hide Elora Danan, even from herself.
This is a writing thing you do when you’re faced with, I have too much backstory that I have to deal with. Star Trek: Discovery goes hundreds of years into the future, there is no canon to speak of, and they can make up anything they want. Same idea here. They’ve said, okay, cool, Elora Danan, we had all this obligation of the prophecy that hasn’t been fulfilled yet.
The other thing is they’re borrowing heavily. There was a book series, called something like the Shadow War, or the shadows of something or other, that came out after the original movie, I’m assuming. I said this in my 1988 Willow review: I very much believe Disney’s taking the same idea they did for Star Wars and saying, this stuff is legend, maybe it happened, whatever, we may borrow from it. I think they’re borrowing heavily from that book series. I never read those books, but before I jumped into all this I wanted to make sure I understood the context of some things, and I’ve read a pretty detailed synopsis of that series. It feels like a lot of the elements, like Willow having a dream and the end of all things, are being borrowed from it.
So again, we have no clue where she is. You also start to learn that Madmartigan isn’t there anymore. You don’t know if he’s dead or what happened. You do find out in a little bit, but in the very beginning you don’t really know that much.
A Wedding Dinner Nobody Wanted
Then Sorsha begins hearing whispers, and the whispers are saying the word that’s the very title of the episode, “The Gales.” So clearly we’re going to get something having to do with that.
You also find out Sorsha has betrothed her daughter Kit to the prince of Galladoorn. It’s a way of merging the realm together. Right now you’ve had independent kingdoms, Galladoorn and Tir Asleen, and there are some others, I guess, further away. They’re independent kingdoms, but they’re all one realm, and this marriage is going to link those two up.
Meanwhile Jade has her own side story. Ballantine, who’s the head of the guard, and one of the elites who’s training all the swordsmen have put her name in, and they’ve made a special exception. She’ll end up being the first woman to join the Shining Legion. Well, she didn’t know how to tell her girlfriend Kit about that, and it tears her apart. How do you even talk about this whole thing? It’s classic, especially because Kit’s about to have to get married anyway. So everybody is completely inconvenienced.
You’ve got this dinner, and at this dinner you get to meet the prince of Galladoorn. I was going to say he’s a pretty cool guy, but no. The prince is very well read, and other than that he’s kind of, dare I say, for those of you who are in the know, foppish. I mean he’s one of those princes who’s aloof. That’s got nothing to do with gender or any of those things, and some people might interpret foppish as gay. I’m talking about his behavior: I’m a prince, and whatever. Anyway, he seems to be very well read, he understands languages, and that’s going to come in handy a little bit later.
So he’s just trying to be at this wedding dinner, so to speak, because they’re basically marrying off Kit. And Kit has this blow up, because Jade just told her she’s leaving and she’s being forced to get married. She calls everybody out and embarrasses herself. The queen is very upset. After sending both kids to bed with no supper, she ends up going down to the dungeon and has a conversation with someone. We don’t know who that person is yet, but it’s clearly someone who understands a little bit of what’s going on in the world.
The Gales Come In on the Fog
As the night progresses, suddenly a fog rolls in, and on the heels of this fog are some characters. These are the Gales. There’s this giant monster looking dude with a spiked cage around his head. There’s a chick who flies and transforms into a vulture thing, and she’s the one who actually starts the attack, because she’s grabbing sentries right off the ramparts and just dropping them. So it’s like, oh my gosh. Meanwhile there’s another guy who’s a lich. I got 99 problems but a lich ain’t one, unless you’re the Willow show.
Everyone seems very well trained in attacking. But for a castle that’s got guards and everything else, I want to say they’re using the fog as an excuse for why certain things are happening. There aren’t a whole lot of people involved in this battle. This is supposed to be a battle, and you see maybe a half dozen people running around at any given time. For something that’s supposed to feel very big, it’s scaled a little small for me.
Earlier, by the way, you found out that Kit was actually going to leave. She was running away, and that’s sort of what began a lot of this, because then the first guy falls out of the sky and that’s how the whole thing explodes off.
When the smoke clears, the fog if you will, Airk is missing. The prince, who’s been watching everything out the window from upstairs in his room, says it seemed like once they got him, everything went away. I believe they got what they wanted.
A Fellowship, If You Will
So immediately they put together a fellowship, if you will, to leave the barrier and go find a sorcerer, because the only way to deal with this magic issue is with magic. There’s only one sorcerer left, because they’ve banned magic, and that’s the High Aldwin, also known as Willow. Come on, kids.
So that’s what they do. The prince ends up going along because his dad is basically like, look man, you want to become a man, you get on that road and you go find your princess. The prince has something to prove anyway. Jade has been tasked with Kit’s defense and protecting her. Everybody’s ready to go, and they go.
While they’re on the way, before they’ve even arrived at the barrier, Dove has followed them. She has declared her love, because unbeknownst to everybody else, Airk gave her a keepsake and has basically asked her, kind of impromptu, to marry him. He’s taking the relationship very seriously. So she’s like, I can cook. And the leader of the party is like, all right, listen, we can’t do anything until the morning, we’ll wait till morning. Really this is a very clever way of saying, go make dinner, let everybody see your value. And she does that.
Oh, and you find out during the big fight that Boorman was the guy in the dungeon. Boorman got released to fight, and he’s got this massive cleaver sword. Dude, cosplayers are going to lose their minds over this sword. I expect to see nothing but a whole bunch of people dressed like this at the next Dragon Con.
The Barrier, and the Thing to Hang On To
They move forward and eventually arrive at the actual barrier. Before they cross it, you get a little bit of exposition dump where they explain why the barrier is there. Apparently Cherlindrea and Fin Raziel, the two sorceresses from the movie, put it up as a way to protect the realm. Everybody thought it was, we’re going to protect from this and that. No. It’s literally protecting Elora Danan. But they don’t know where Elora Danan is.
Meanwhile Dove leaves early, and she ends up getting to this gorge where she finds a tree has fallen, and she manages to get across it. Everyone else arrives at the keep, the Mother’s Gate, and they go through and find out everyone’s gone. No guards, nothing. There’s blood writing on the wall, and the prince can read it. It’s basically warding them off and warning them against the coming of some giant Wyrm. It’s a dark prophecy thing, the kind of thing evil people write on walls to be scary and creepy.
And when they do finally cross, they discover muffin girl is there. She managed to make it across. Now, what’s important about that: when muffin girl got across the gorge, she was right in front of the barrier, and she passed through it effortlessly. So why do they need a Mother’s Gate if people can pass through the barrier effortlessly? Hang on to that.
Boorman, the Bone Reavers, and the Reveal
When they get out, they’re on horses, they find muffin girl, they put her on a horse, and their leader gets killed. This guy who’s been sent out with them just unceremoniously gets killed. So they have to book it. They’re heading as fast as they can, and Boorman happens to be shouting something as he approaches this ledge, and he and his horse run right over it. Everybody else sees it, they all go into the water, and their horses manage to swim the rest of the way.
The Bone Reavers all apparently have something going on with Boorman. They recognize him. They call him by name. They thought he was dead. You find out later that Boorman was Madmartigan’s squire, and that piece of information is going to come in a lot handier a little bit later.
Finally they arrive at the Nelwyn village, or what’s left of it. It looks like it’s been abandoned for a long, long time. Somebody shows up and says he’s Willow, and they’re like, no you’re not. And then Willow actually shows up. He introduces himself, and then he walks past everyone and goes straight to muffin girl. He touches her arm, and just like that, the tattoo shows up. She’s Elora Danan. Oh yeah. Big reveal.
Episode Two Opens on the Line That Hurt
Now we roll right into episode two, “The High Aldwin.” We’ve established a lot of what we needed to establish to get to this point. They’re at Willow’s village, but the village is gone. Willow has brought everybody underground.
This episode actually starts with a flashback to a younger Willow and a younger Sorsha. He’s telling her it’s getting almost time, we need to start training her. And Sorsha’s like, look, we beat the big bad. To avoid what you saw, why don’t we just ban magic? The barrier is going to protect us. Nobody has to learn anything. It’ll die away. It’s gone. And he’s like, you don’t seem to understand. If you think this darkness is just going to go away, you’re wrong.
She says, who’s going to train her anyway? Cherlindrea is gone. Fin Raziel’s gone. He says, I’ll train her. And then Sorsha says something really hurtful, and I don’t understand why she said it. I’m hoping we get some reveal later that she knows something. She says, I love you, you’re the bravest person I ever met, you will never be a great sorcerer.
That really hurt me. I was like, bro, that’s rough, man.
The Crone Sounds Like Bavmorda
Back in the present, you see Elora still taking it all in. The Nelwyns have all moved below ground. Mims, Willow’s daughter, all grown up, introduces herself to Elora, and again, it’s all very overwhelming. This is probably the most Willow moment, in terms of feeling like something you’ve felt before. He’s the High Aldwin now. He’s replaced the guy from the beginning of the first movie. He tries to explain, you’ve got to learn all this stuff, and she’s like, I don’t want to learn this, I don’t want this.
Way back at Tir Asleen, there’s Ballantine, the head of the guards. Ballantine was injured in that big fight with the Gales, and he’s been infected. Sorsha calls him over and sends him out to go find them. The woman who watches over the maids asks, did you tell him who she is? And Sorsha’s like, no. He leaves with a group of others.
Now we cut back to the Gales, who are reporting back to the Crone. All we hear is the Crone’s voice. Sidebar: I believe, 100 percent, we’re going to find out this Crone is the spirit, or the evil, or the power of the magic that possessed and had control of Bavmorda, if it isn’t Bavmorda herself. The person doing the voice of the Crone is leaning heavy into the Bavmorda sound. Her diction, everything, her voice in general sounds like Bavmorda. We don’t see anybody’s face, just a voice. But she also mentions that Elora Danan still has the power to destroy her, and Elora Danan’s only purpose was to destroy the darkness, the evil, which at the time was Bavmorda.
So a lot is happening in terms of the story nuggets they’re dropping. But overall I’m still really excited for the direction I see this thing heading in.
You Need Me to Save Airk, and I Need You to Save the World
They do the finger test at the village, and unfortunately poor Elora doesn’t pass it. She’s really upset, she runs away, and everyone’s looking for her. Kit decides, I’m leaving, I’m going to do my own thing, and Kit goes off.
Then you get this moment where Willow is up above ground, searching, and he goes by his old house. It’s the rundown remnants of his old place, and you see this really great moment with Kiaya, his wife, and you see his daughter rescue the little baby. All these moments.
Then we cut to the river, and Elora’s standing there, and that’s where Willow shows up. She’s very much, what’s going on, what do we do, what’s happening. All she wants to do is save Airk. And he’s like, look, you need me to save Airk, and I need you to save the world, so we need to work together. That’s how this thing begins.
So they all set off together as a group, heading west, because apparently in order to find Airk and fight this whole thing, they have to go to the Immemorial City. A lot of fun names in this show. Which means they have to cross what’s called the Shattered Sea, or something to that effect, and Boorman’s like, yeah, that’s not going to happen.
Meanwhile, while they’re on the road, Ballantine’s tracking them. He manages to track them all the way to Willow’s old village, where he sees Mims. Mims tries to send them off the trail. One of his guys says he’s found wagon tracks, Ballantine turns like he’s going to face Mims, and Mims is gone. They’re hiding underground, as the Nelwyns should. Good for you. Good girl, listening to your dad.
The Only Person Who Doesn’t Believe Is You
This is where Boorman reveals that he was Madmartigan’s squire. He basically says, yeah, I know exactly where he went. He and I went in search of the Kymerian Cuirass, which is supposed to be some sort of armor, a breastplate. And by the way, Elora Danan is the last of the Kymerians. That’s why she’s the heir apparent, the empress, all that stuff.
On the way, the prince sees Elora having a hard time, because Willow’s trying to teach her and she can’t even pronounce the words right. Remember, the prince is really good with all the words and all the word play. So he’s trying to offer her help, and she’s like, I don’t know, everyone hates me. And then he has this really great moment where he goes, what are you talking about? Kit’s jealous. Jade is duty bound. Boorman’s hanging out to see what you’re made of. The only person who doesn’t seem to believe there’s something special is you.
That really hits her hard, and she redoubles her efforts to start learning the magic words a little better. He does offer to help, because he’s really good at linguistics and arcana and all that stuff.
Willow’s upset. He talks to his buddy who’s with him, another Nelwyn, and he’s like, I think we need to go. And the Nelwyn’s like, you’ve got to be patient, bro. Trust me, I want to go back too, I don’t want to be here, but you’ve got to be patient, you’ve got to let her do this thing.
She Has to Die
And then you find out what Willow’s dream really is. It’s more than a portent of bad things coming. In Willow’s dream, Elora Danan has to die in order to save the world.
Now we’re into the story. Now we’re into the fullness of this prophecy and all these things. I like that they’re going that route. It was a little stutter steppy for me in the first episode, but I feel like we’re getting much more focused on our journey now in the second. I can’t wait for the third.
That night, while all that’s happening, Kit goes over to Boorman and says, I need you to tell me everything about my father and everything you know about the Kymerian Cuirass.
Elora wakes up in the morning and gets real angry, because the sproutling hasn’t grown. She’s so upset that she pounds her fists into the ground. She’s about to start trying the words again, even more forcefully, when bam, Ballantine shows up and knocks her out. Ballantine has her. The dark Crone has Elora. It’s looking bad, man.
And then, right before the credits hit, they push in on the place where she was angry against the ground. He’d told her it was going to be a sprout this big. What grows is a sapling, with fruit, the whole bit. And you’re like, oh, okay. The spark’s not gone.
There you go, now you know, and if knowing is half the battle you’re halfway to being a know-it-all yourself.
The Verdict
Willow Episode 1, “The Gales,” gets a 7.5 out of 10 on the Know-It-All Index, and Episode 2, “The High Aldwin,” gets an 8 out of 10.
On the first one: it’s not a great episode. It isn’t a bad one either. This is essentially a setting up episode, an establishing episode, and it’s setting up a whole lot of things. So seven and a half, and we’re going to put that right there.
The second is a better episode. I’m giving it an eight, flat out. Good job. It was awesome setting the stage, and I’m expecting great things from the third episode.
Tell me what you think of the show, and tell me if you’re going to keep watching it. The conversation lives in the comments on the video above. Never forget, everyone loves a know-it-all.
