Ellcrys, episode 10 recap

The finale!

Our trio are still in Safehold. Amberle meets the voice she’s heard for years, and TADA it’s herself. #meta

#twinning

 Meanwhile Wil uses the stones to heal Eretria. Frankly this is better than his dodgy af herbal healer efforts that mostly get his patient's stoned (ha!).

Eretria comes back to life all, where's my bff? She opens the Bloodfire again. (Hella nice of her considering this thing is vampiric and she's already bled to death once today.)

Amberle is stuck listening to the tree talk about letting go of Wil and her feelings and why TF is this show anti-relationships? When Amberle points out she's not big on dying, her doppelganger's like, okay if you don’t self-sacrifice EVERYONE DIES. Nice one, tree biatch. Real nice.

Amberle returns to her friends and tells them the last leaf fell and Demongate has begun.

In case anyone isn't clear on what the demon army is planning.

Allanon lets King Ander know what’s the haps with Amberle (easy to forget they're waiting for her to bring back the seed, with so much going on).

Our trio are on the move through the tunnels, chased by the gnomes who've woken up from their siesta. Top tip: Carrying flaming torches isn't stealth 101.

On the elf front, the king explains the sitch to the elves, and it kinda looks like he’s playing Dungeons & Dragons.

Now is NOT the time to game.

The Scooby Gang open a gate and I always get worried at the sight of gates in tunnels… Yes, as predicted, Eretria decides to stay on one side of the gate to slow down the gnomes. She tells Amberle we all have our part to play. SUCH an accidental burn after Amberle refused to give herself up to the nutty tree (pause to appreciate the word play).

I appreciate Eretria’s grand gesture, but she’s tiny and the gnomes are enormous, so all she had to do was close the gate till only she could fit through the gap lying down flat and that would have bought enough time. But hey, go the heroic self-sacrifice for dramatic effect.

Wil and Amberle steal troll horses and make a break for it.

Back at Palace Elf, Catania is visiting her unbalanced bf in the dungeons, bringing food for Bandon, saying it's the King's orders. Really? I doubt Anders paused in the middle of battle prep to check on  the catering for that weird orphan kid who rocked up a few weeks ago, got possessed, and tried to assassinate him.

I dig that Catania is still into Bandon, but is he really not possessed anymore? Shouldn't she think with her brain instead of her- 

AHEM. Anyway, Bandon fake-attacks Catania (hope it’s fake) to draw the guard in. They score the keys and Catania totes plans to Bonny & Clyde it with her bae, till the guard pushes her aside and Bandon SNAPS at the sight of his lover being attacked.

He beats the poor guard to death, offering the excuse, "he shouldn't have touched you". Catania realizes there's the slight-est chance she made a bad judgment call...

When your relationship has a body count.
#goodbyefacelessextra

Amberle and Wil ride through the forest and MTV goes suddenly music video on the scene with a catchy electro-infused soundtrack. 

At the palace, Commander Tilton and King Ander make out pre-war on a Romeo and Juliet balcony. He mentions they were supposed to get married way back when, and this is worrying… an OTP rarely survives the season finale if they become uber-romantic. #fingerscrossed

The demon army is on the move and wow do they wear a lot of armor. Unfortunately they’re between our hero pair and the Ellcrys.

Amberle and Wil decide to wait for dark. She takes him to her fave make out spot. Almost a romantic getaway if it wasn’t a hole in the ground and the world wasn’t ending.

When Wil says “we made it” I call jinx. Amberle tries to tell him she scored "tree" on the careers aptitude test, but has sex with him instead. (Solid choice.)

Just when you thought Wil was going to make it
through the finale without taking his shirt off...

We hear a downer rally speech from the demon lord. (Themes: death, hate, elves suck, destroy.) 

Next Druid Allanon speaks to the elven army, followed by King Ander. Cue sweeping music, even though Ander's speech is, again, a tad depressing: he always talks about failing and dying…! #selfsacrificeisnotamotivator

At night, the elves and the demons come face to face in the forest. This battle scene reminds me of the first episode, when the elven guys and Amberle race to see who will protect the tree. Nice visual reference to the pilot.

So much prefer when this gully was full of blindfolded
hot elven guys. #thegoodolddays

Lots of soldiers die while Amberle and Wil try to reach the tree. The battle scenes are pretty cool if you're into action sequences.

Wil kills a demon with his stones that unfortunately don't come with a dim switch, so it's like a beacon. Soon they’re surrounded. Luckily Allanon and the gnome Slanter rock up, and Allanon tells them off for being late. Clearly he knows the Princess will be sacrificing herself. So sad.

The demons are now in the palace and omfg it's not pretty.

Worst gatecrashers.

Battle report: Everyone still fighting. Not sure where the spotlights are coming from, but yeah, the UFO-style lighting looks dramatic and let's us see what's the haps, so no complaints.

PLOT TWIST—Prince Arion is here, demonized! A shocked Commander Tilton lowers her guard, as you would if your dead lover appeared in front of you. She scores a sword through the gut. Noooooo! King Ander is forced to kill his bro because watching Arion get murdered once wasn’t enough :(

Desperate to reach the Ellcrys, Wil and Amberle run through the battlefield #intense 

Wil kills a demon with the stones, but draws the attention of our super-villain the Dagda Mor. Luckily Druid Allanon is there to take on the demon in an epic showdown, so Wil and Amberle make a break for the tree.

I wanna fight with light!

Amberle finally fills Wil in on becoming the Ellcrys, something she failed to mention on her Tinder profile.

Their heartbreaking makeout moment is broken up by Allanon getting thrown into the room by the Dagda Mor. Amberle heads into the tree while Wil holds off the demon with the stones. He’s about to run out of magic juice when Allanon gets up, takes out his cool unfolding druid sword, and chops off the Dagda Mor's head.

Okay so Amberle is inside the tree, and I think that's the reason the demon army disintegrates/disappear suddenly, but the way it was filmed/edited made it seem like they faded out because the demon leader lost his head—which would render her sacrifice pretty pointless.

Moving on, the troublemaking tree comes magically back to life. Ta da.

Feel your pain Wil. This tree cult sucks.

We cut to Wil in the near future trying to talk to Amberle through the Ellcrys. Wil accuses Allanon of lying to them/hiding the truth, and Allanon is all, oh it wouldn’t have helped. 

TOTALLY DISAGREE BTW. Wil is right to be pd-off with the sketchy druid. People who know they'll be (figuratively) dead within a month don't plan a future together.

In a low blow Allanon tries the “your father would have been proud” line. 

At least Catania made it through alive. She dreams about Bandon being lost in the dark. Allanon consoles her by saying they both failed him. AHHHH, no Allanon, she's just a girl in love. You're a druid who SUXXXXX at being a mentor.

Next Allanon goes to see the lonely elf king, who says Prince Arion's body is missing (hello season 2 appearance). King Ander is mourning Amberle too, even though technically she's in the backyard living an alternative lifestyle. Suddenly I'm reminded of my earlier shipping of these two, and I'm back on the boat #andernon

Cut to a mysterious hooded figure, revealed to be Bandon, who is now an incredibly sexy demon dude.

Wil leaves, but shakes hands and thanks Allanon before bailing. “I sense that our journey has just begin” says Allanon, who obviously knows the show has been renewed. Apparently more evil is coming. 

For those wondering, Wil’s off to save Eretria because we’ll need a new female lead for season 2 since our old lead is a tree.

Cut to Eretria, still alive, in human form, and not remorseful (therefore doing better than the rest of the main female characters). She faces the troll leader, gasping, “it’s you”.

And that's a (season) wrap x

MY THOUGHTS

*Bandon and Catania didn't get enough screen time the whole season. Since he's going to be the Big Bad now, he deserved more character development.

*The whole show is written to ship Wil and Amberle, and now in the final episode, we're supposed to back pedal and suddenly ship Wil and Eretria for season two.

*Eretria was my least fave character and had way too much screentime.

*Spin it how you like, Allanon is manipulative af.

*The female characters get so shafted. I know it's based on a book series but I definitely think Commander Tilton should have been allowed to live. The series was written a long time ago, and I think a few adjustments, in terms of key characters and gender, is permissible.

*Great costuming. Although next season maybe wardrobe will concede corsets aren't the best post-Apocalyptic battlewear for women...

*Interested to see more gnome storylines/gnome culture.

*Our heroine is stuck being a tree. And saying it's a choice is ridiculous, since every living being on the planet would have died if she didn't. Soooo not a choice.  #shegotplayed

*I really like the camera work.

*And the set designs! The elven aesthetic is beautiful.

*The demon horde really do look scary/creepy.

*Wil is my fave character, a great fish-out-of-water lead. Probably also because he gets to grow. I like the original king too.

*The storyline suffered a little from following the source material so here's hoping in season two the plot branches out (pun intended).

*I hope season two's baddies are more three dimensional and less uber-bad. I like 'em a little gray.

*Appreciated the antagonistic and short-sighted elven characters early on, like the heir, and the grumpy commander who travelled with our heroes for a while, and the councillor who tried to kickstart a coup. Their intolerance made the problems between the races seem believable and borderline insurmountable.

*Fusing a futuristic  setting and a fantasy one is not easy but they did it well.

Safehold, episode 9 recap

Back on the road to Safehold, our trio decides using a tunnel beneath a river that hasn’t had any maintenance since the Apocalypse is a great idea. Quick question: Did they eat any mushrooms on their journey through the forest?

At druid Allanon’s request, Padawan Bandon is trying to spy on the Big Baddie using supernatural Google map. Things get tetchy. #trustissues The older mentor/rebellious youth dynamic is strong with this one...

Amberle, Wil, and Eretria are now in the tunnels, continuing on their path of terrible decision making. At this point Amberle thinks splitting up is a good idea. It’s like watching a post-Apocalyptic Blair Witch Project.

Back at Camp Elf, a council member throws a hissy fit over the appointment of the new king who, let’s face it, was livin' large/partying hard Entourage-style a few weeks ago. 

In the tunnels Amberle is busy discovering a lair of sleeping gnomes ALONE while Wil apologizes to Eretria who gets deep about her boyfriend of 5 minutes at the human settlement, and her faux father betraying her numerous times before saving her, um, once. This bonding scene feels weirdly forced.

Amberle reappears and shows them the writing on the wall—literally. It’s Eretria’s tattoo!

When you find out that one-off design is a total rip-off.

The three of them shimmy along an overhead pipe to bypass sleeping gnomes. Wil drops his stones and I think it’s meant to be tense but hello, this is Wil, the resident hottie. No CSI audition reel death scene here.

New Elf king Ander decides to send Commander Tilton off to win over the gnomes. Political talk, but thankfully just when I’m getting bored Diana agrees to the mission. (Yes, he calls his ex by her first name, awww.)

Having crossed the river, our intrepid trio climbs a reall-y long ladder that should take them to Safehold. Eretria says, “this is it,” in case anyone was wondering.

The elves are training for war and our OTP that never got enough screen time, Bandon and Catania, are watching. King Ander gives an inspiring speech. Sidenote: Is it me or is Bandon super-buff for a guy who mostly spent his time chained up or unconscious?

Ander chooses Bandon to demo-fight, but the poor guy has flashes of the evil demon dude and nearly kills the king. Druid Allanon stops him, and convinces the king to ignore the assassination attempt, using the Supernatural Possession defense.

In the tunnels, Eretria’s eyes glow and she has a vision. We’re reminded she’s the vessel, and her blood is the key. Amberle is all NO WAY I totes had the same vision. *visionbuddies  

Amberle wants to know how plot holes are magically getting fixed (pun intended) but Eretria is clueless about that too.

Her tattoo spreads and soon she looks like she got inked with a subway map. Following the directions, they see a light show, and am I the only one who thought underground rave?

Flashback to XOXO when they try to break
into the music festival through the sewers.

On the elf front, after her boyfriend Bandon’s faux pas of nearly assassinating royalty while possessed, Catania thinks it’s a good idea to be alone with him. He admits the Dagda Mor is messing with his head, and she encourages him to fight, then jumps his bones. They make out till he gets a bit Edward Cullen. When the demon takes over, the scene turns evil. Luckily she manages to escape.

Gettin' busy with a Terminator?
It's important to have a safe word.

Eretria is having déjà vu about the place they’ve found in the tunnels, a déjà vu we all feel when we see the album cover artwork.

Our trio officially checks in at Safehold, possibly an old church? (There is a stain glass window and a Virgin Mary/Baby Jesus statue.) This place is like those puzzle rooms where you have to figure out what the clue is: am I the only one who thinks ERETRIA’S BLOOD IS THE KEY is a massive giveaway? (Although to be fair expecting a friend to slash herself on a hunch is a hard ask.)

The floor glows, which can’t be good. Before our heroes win the Bloodfire prize, floating supermodels with flashing CGI zombie faces show up. They’re guardians of the Bloodfire, and boy do I want backstory. 

Why are they haunting in avante garde couture eveningwear? Are they mean because they were starving when they died and still have a no-carb hangry thing going on?

The guardians weapon of choice is negative reinforcement; trying to convince the crew they’re not really friends.

Side note: The guardians imply Will isn’t sold on Amberle and is still into Eretria. I find this clumsy scriptwriting, and I think this is also implied when they split up for no reason in the tunnels, mostly just so Wil could speak to/bond with Eretria; it feels really left-of-field and forced. Don't start an OTP and fully sell it to the audience only to backtrack at random. I could be wrong, but yeah, the love triangle was completely resolved, so are we supposed to believe it wasn't? Cause a spirit says so?

One of the apparitions sexually assaults Wil; the second sexual assault this episode.

Random comment: Had no idea the actress playing Eretria is so tiny.

Back at Elf headquarters the Councilor carries out a coup. Love how they ignore Allanon as if he isn’t a threat. THE GUY'S A DRUID FFS. For a race that considers themselves superior, they sure are shortsighted. #arrogancekilledtheelf

Commander Tilton has managed to find the gnomes. A lot of gnomes. #gnomefest She speaks to her old pal Slanter (if imprisoning someone for murder for over a decade counts as bonding) and he makes a few jibes about the elven civil war before agreeing to help.

Was going to say cool to see Commander Tilton do something unrelated to her two Prince love interests—except I guess it technically still is, and her diplomatic skills are terrible.

At Safehold the evil guardians have turned Eretria and Amberle against each other and they’ve gone full Mean Girls. Wil, the one who doesn’t even go here, tries to help: “I wish we could all get along like we used to in middle school.”

Eretria gets slashed and the bloodletting storyline kicks in. She hardcore spikes her bleeding hand on a vicious looking garden ornament, setting off, um, magic.

#productrecallASAP

Also on the magic front, Allanon is trying to deal with Bandon, who has boarded the Crazy Train. Turns out our druid is not shipping the sexy seer with cute Catania. Allanon gives Bandon a feelings-are-bad lecture—kinda like Amberle scored from the Ellcrys. 

NOT TRUE BTW: the feels can be empowering. This lot are so down on relationships. #istillshipit 

Bandon throws a tanty and attacks Allanon, but turns out druid beats semi-possessed seer. #goodtoknow

The king is interrupted in the middle of a GQ shoot. No wait, my bad: he’s been taken prisoner and is tied up really sexily (these elves). Buff Ander is rescued by Commander Tilton and Slanter.

The weird Pottery Barn ornament has sucked out Eretria’s blood and is lighting the Bloodfire. Mission accomplished! Except for the supermodel guardians who are totes Bloodfire-blocking.

Wil fights the women with his stones (I should reword that). Amberle runs into the magical fire. Eretria collapses, the freaky flames go out, and Amberle vanishes.

On the elf front, the new Elf leader and the Elf army are working out battle plans when Ander rocks up with Commander Tilton, Allanon, and the gnomes. 

Not awkward AT ALL.

The discussion gets heated, until the elven soldiers switch sides again (military are so fickle). The new plan is to hold out at the tree till the seed arrives. King Ander decides to inspire everyone with, “If we fall, we all fall together” making me want another coup. This guy needs a speechwriter.

Coming down from the Bloodfire buzz, Wil realizes Eretria is dead. Or seems close to dead? I never trust a death in supernatural dramas, so my mourning/obituary is on hold until she’s buried or on a funeral pyre.

The elves and gnomes’ candlelight vigil at the Ellcrys is not fun and there is no concert. They silently wait for Amberle to bring back the seed, thereby saving the world. #nopressure

Sadly, the last leaf falls from the Ellcrys and evil demon Dagda Mor is set free. He gives a rousing speech fuelled by hate and racial intolerance. I’m starting to get flashes of the current Presidential election campaign but let’s not go there.

The resemblance is uncanny.

All that’s left now is the final episode of the season, and the big showdown!