Willow, the series; streaming on Disney+

[Bolt]

I have a feeling they're gonna double down on a second season for this show..

[Big s]

5 hours ago, Bolt said:

I have a feeling they're gonna double down on a second season for this show..

If they do, I really hope they can learn from their mistakes and make a better show. I’m still watching this season, but out of nostalgia. I unfortunately wouldn’t be sad if it got cancelled. I really feel disappointed that I feel that way

[Bolt]

I can relate 100%. Nostalgia is carrying this one for me. Not much else. 

[Thom]

This last episode was surprising in that, In my humble opinion, it was so good! Very character driven and well written. So far the best episode to date. If all of them had been done as good as this one, I'd give the entire season an 8/10 rather than the 5/10 I'd give it right now. I'm really hoping they'll hold to this level until the finale.

Which might just be the next episode.(?)

[Bolt]

The last episode was definitely less goofy. Things are looking to get interesting now.

[Duke Togo]

It was a better episode.

Spoiler

Julian Glover showing up and dropping a Last Crusade reference (and maybe Star Wars?) was a treat. And Elora has gone from a strawberry blonde to a red head? Did I miss that last episode, or did they just make the change between episodes?

 

[Thom]

28 minutes ago, Duke Togo said:

It was a better episode.

  Hide contents

Julian Glover showing up and dropping a Last Crusade reference (and maybe Star Wars?) was a treat. And Elora has gone from a strawberry blonde to a red head? Did I miss that last episode, or did they just make the change between episodes?

 

Noticed that too...

Spoiler

Baby Elora was also a redhead, though a baby's hair can change from lighter to darker. I wonder if part of keeping her hidden was keeping her hair lighter and it has just faded out as she was away..? Or perhaps as she is coming into her powers? Don't know, but I do like redheads.🥰

 

 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2023 by Thom

[Bolt]

That's funny. I wondered the same thing..

Spoiler

About the hair color. It was noticeably redder. Maybe as her powers develop..? It's obvious brother is now "turned to the dark side" and everything that girl was saying to him was a dead giveaway that she was only there to corrupt him. Aren't young royalty taut this stuff , along with sword play? 

Ah well. This series's is really meant for light viewing . The last episode was definitely the most serious, that's got something to do with why it was better, IMO. I'm not looking for too serious. But it's mostly been just about slap stick goofy, until now..

[Mog]

Could have swore that

Spoiler

Elora got a strand of red hair after performing the exorcism on Flash Thompson.

Also, yes, the modern speech is very jarring, but I’ll admit to laughing

Spoiler

at the literal trolling at the end of one of the eps (with that first kiss moment).

 

[Thom]

16 hours ago, Bolt said:

That's funny. I wondered the same thing..

  Hide contents

About the hair color. It was noticeably redder. Maybe as her powers develop..? It's obvious brother is now "turned to the dark side" and everything that girl was saying to him was a dead giveaway that she was only there to corrupt him. Aren't young royalty taut this stuff , along with sword play? 

 

Spoiler

He was also trapped there without any water (or food) than what was in that 'fountain.' And we know that water was tainted.

 

[technoblue]

With regard to Elora’s hair…

Spoiler

It was bleached blonde by the woman who took her in to hide her away as Brunhilde. Willow asks her about it in episode 4 (I think?) and she gives a bit of backstory about how the hair goop, when applied, had an awful stench.

But I think you guys may be onto something about how Elora’s natural red color is quickly returning the stronger she gets with magic. Although, over time her color would have gone back to red too and they were traveling the shattered sea for a while in the latest episode. So who knows?

As for the new girl in the latest episode…

Spoiler

I am wondering if she is a new manifestation of the Crone/Bavmorda or just the darkness that is within Airk himself? Hard to say, but if that whole bit with the new girl was metaphor for Airk’s own struggle and he has become the new manifestation of the Crone… well, that would make for a very interesting conflict at this part of the story, IMO.

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by technoblue

[Thom]

10 hours ago, technoblue said:

With regard to Elora’s hair…

  Hide contents

It was bleached blonde by the woman who took her in to hide her away as Brunhilde. Willow asks her about it in episode 4 (I think?) and she gives a bit of backstory about how the hair goop, when applied, had an awful stench.

But I think you guys may be onto something about how Elora’s natural red color is quickly returning the stronger she gets with magic. Although, over time her color would have gone back to red too and they were traveling the shattered sea for a while in the latest episode. So who knows?

As for the new girl in the latest episode…

  Hide contents

I am wondering if she is a new manifestation of the Crone/Bavmorda or just the darkness that is within Airk himself? Hard to say, but if that whole bit with the new girl was metaphor for Airk’s own struggle and he has become the new manifestation of the Crone… well, that would make for a very interesting conflict at this part of the story, IMO.

 

Thanks about the hair, I had forgotten that part.

And,

Spoiler

I'm thinking she is the Crone, but if it turns out she was only his imagination, that would be pretty good.

 

[Duke Togo]

Disappointed in this season. This is not what I wanted from this show at all. No desire for the final part of the story.

[Thom]

No, the season did not run as much as stumble, but I felt the last two episodes really pulled it out.  Some of that schticky humor returned, but it was balanced out well enough by the plot, the action and nice fight scenes. Not the best, but more than good enough. And after seeing Kit in that armor, I'm up for season 2!

And the last scene puts a whole new spin on that part about Elora having to die in order for good to win.

Spoiler

If there is a season two, which I hope there is, it'll probably be about Elora being turned to the dark side. Too bad she doesn't know yet that they are lying about having cookies...

 

 

[Bolt]

There will be a season 2 & 3. Based on the books sitting on the shelf at the end.

Spoiler

So they won the battle, but not the war. They rescued the brother but lost the other prince.. 

The series was..good enough. Nothing great, but i check in with season 2.

[Big s]

1 hour ago, Bolt said:

There will be a season 2 & 3. Based on the books sitting on the shelf at the end.

  Hide contents

So they won the battle, but not the war. They rescued the brother but lost the other prince.. 

The series was..good enough. Nothing great, but i check in with season 2.

Have they confirmed a season 2. The viewership was really low on this one and the reviews weren’t so great. I kinda hope there is a second season in hopes for the show putting out more good episodes, but this season wasn’t very good overall unfortunately 

[Thom]

I need another season
 

Spoiler

just to see more of Kit in that armor!

 

Edited January 12, 2023 by Thom

[technoblue]

^ Same.

The (first?) season stuck its landing and was a fun ride overall, but I would happily come back for more story if we get it. All the in-your-face camp, rough transitions, and inconsistent pacing was easy for me to set aside given the high points. As for other, spoilery thoughts.. 

Spoiler

I’m going to need a moment to wrap my head around the notion that a magical Shai-Hulud lives in the center of this world. I hope this gets more exposition in the future. 

The final battle was cool and seeing the crone (in her different forms) and a possessed Airk was a good way to up the stakes for the party. Again, the only way I can think to do it better offhand would be to fix the pacing and make the possessed Airk parts last more than one episode.

Prince Graydon getting zapped was unexpected. I almost think it would have been better to hold his reveal until the beginning of next season and just tease the embattled Elora on that dark future landscape but that’s a minor nitpick.

 

[Mog]

Are we sure

Spoiler

that’s not just the Wyrm trying to tempt Graydon (hiding behind the physical appearance of Elora)?

For all we know Willow’s vision could be of Wyrm-Elora (and not the real one) dying at the end. 🤷‍♂️

 

[Thom]

7 hours ago, Mog said:

Are we sure

  Hide contents

that’s not just the Wyrm trying to tempt Graydon (hiding behind the physical appearance of Elora)?

For all we know Willow’s vision could be of Wyrm-Elora (and not the real one) dying at the end. 🤷‍♂️

 

Good point! Here's hoping

Spoiler

there'll be  a season two to answer it!

 

[Bolt]

7 hours ago, Mog said:

Are we sure

  Reveal hidden contents

that’s not just the Wyrm trying to tempt Graydon (hiding behind the physical appearance of Elora)?

For all we know Willow’s vision could be of Wyrm-Elora (and not the real one) dying at the end. 🤷‍♂️

 

That's what I assumed . How could it be any other way..?

[Thom]

1 hour ago, Bolt said:

That's what I assumed . How could it be any other way..?

I think it could go either way. There was that moment...

Spoiler

...where Elora looked back just as they were leaving. It was that look the hero gets when they've been teased by the dark side. A little foreshadowing that maybe she succumbs, and the reason why she has to die for the world to survive is because she's the bad guy. Or get's close to that anyway.

 

[Duke Togo]

The show has been canceled.

[mechaninac]

 

[Mog]

Guess the Wyrm wins. 😉

[mechaninac]

5 minutes ago, Mog said:

Guess the Wyrm wins. 😉

I'd hazard to say that fans of the now classic movie -- its characters, story, and quality -- are the true winners.

[Roy Focker]

It was okay.  A big departure in tone but wasn't horrible.  Maybe they can give Warrick a non-masked speaking role in one of many Star Wars tv shows.

[jenius]

There was buzz about how it wouldn't be renewed before the finale aired so I would have been much more surprised if it did go on. I don't think I could have convinced my wife to give a second season a chance.

[Seto Kaiba]

Well, that was predictable.

 

[technoblue]

6 hours ago, Duke Togo said:

The show has been canceled.

That stinks. I enjoyed the first season. I guess Disney+ gets to join Netflix and Amazon in the burn your audience tier of buffoonery. If I had HBO Max, I would have more choice words…

Favorites of mine that ended too early: The OA (Netflix), The Dark Crystal (Netflix), The Tick (Amazon), Paper Girls (Amazon), and Three Pines (Amazon) — all got the axe too early.

Some decent shows with shoehorned endings like Willow: Warrior Nun, Stargirl, Carnival Row.

*sigh* Oh well.

[Duke Togo]

9 hours ago, technoblue said:

That stinks. I enjoyed the first season. I guess Disney+ gets to join Netflix and Amazon in the burn your audience tier of buffoonery. If I had HBO Max, I would have more choice words…

They're canceling shows that don't do well. Television networks have been doing this for decades.

Would Willow have been given a second shot if it was part of a franchise like Marvel or Star Wars? Maybe, but it's not.

Edited March 16, 2023 by Duke Togo

[technoblue]

16 minutes ago, Duke Togo said:

They're canceling shows that don't do well. Television networks have been doing this for decades.

We’ll have to agree to disagree on this point since most streaming data is held in confidence. I would say they’re cancelling shows that don’t perform better or on par with shows like Stranger Things or Cobra Kai. There’s no room for risk or creativity. Comparing streaming to network television…man…it was supposed to be different.

20 minutes ago, Duke Togo said:

Would Willow have been given a second shot if it was part of a franchise like Marvel or Star Wars? Maybe, but it's not.

This I can agree with. Big franchises have built-in audiences and there’s less risk to bring these to screen. However, then the audience gets bored by the repetitive content. Rock meet hard place.

[Convectuoso]

10 hours ago, technoblue said:

That stinks. I enjoyed the first season. I guess Disney+ gets to join Netflix and Amazon in the burn your audience tier of buffoonery. If I had HBO Max, I would have more choice words…

Favorites of mine that ended too early: The OA (Netflix), The Dark Crystal (Netflix), The Tick (Amazon), Paper Girls (Amazon), and Three Pines (Amazon) — all got the axe too early.

Some decent shows with shoehorned endings like Willow: Warrior Nun, Stargirl, Carnival Row.

*sigh* Oh well.

The Dark Crystal was great. I wish it would have had a proper finale.

 

[pengbuzz]

Next franchise for them to vandalize adapt: Voyagers!

[Thom]

That's disappointing, but not a surprise, sadly. It was 'ho-hum' for most of it's run, but those last few episodes were really good, IMO. It was a bit of a slog for what I felt was a good pay-out. Was really hoping to see more!

And yes, Netflix is cancelling too many good shows. Stranger Things or Cobra Kai are your Top Tier shows, but that doesn't mean you should cancel mid-level performers. I was really liking Warrior Nun and Paper Girls, Wynx Saga. Again, not the Top Tier, but they were entertaining and I was liking their stories.

I think anyone with a show on Netflix should plan on one season, open strong, finish it out even stronger and don't worry about a second season. A number of these shows I would have been alright with ending early if they had not left their main characters literally in limbo!