Yeah, the Tobin and Munt stuff was definitely the highlight. I loved Munt's line about always thinking about what his mom would want him to do, and then not doing it because it's wrong to kill people. The stuff with the other characters doing their little dungeon crawl was fun, but nothing amazing. We did get some nice stuff for Janzo and Ren during it, that's really turning into a fun relationship. The Kinj spreading and turning people into some kind of hive mind was a surprise, definitely curious where that is heading. I'm getting a bit of an ominous vibe with all of this talk about going to "paradise".
I found it a bit contradictory at first -- the traps were designed to select for good people, yet the prize is a harmful one? But I guess the traps weren't selecting for goodness so much as selflessness and communal spirit -- sacrificing oneself for the group, sticking together rather than splitting up, etc. (though I'm not sure how the darts and swinging blades fit the theme). So that fits with a prize that entails subsuming everyone into a group consciousness.
Oh, that's a good catch, I didn't put that together. I have to admit, I am kind of missing Robyn Malcolm as Elinor, anyone know why she left? It doesn't say anything about The Outpost on her Wikipedia page.
Maybe they just decided Elinor's storyline had come to an end. The one I miss is Amita Suman, who doesn't seem to be back this year. Naya hasn't even been mentioned.
I found an earlier post of mine on the previous page expressing the hope that she'd be back for season 3, so I assume so, though I no longer remember for sure.
My take is that the challenges weren't just testing their selflessness, but also their intelligence, bravery, resourcefulness, etc. Hence, that final obstacle course to make sure that the power was won by somebody who was exceptional in all respects, not just in character. No point in handing the Sacred Gift over to somebody who doesn't have super survival skills as well. You want them to live long enough to use it wisely.
I agree with @Christopher that they did a great job of making Munt very likeable. I don't know if anyone caught it...but when to 2 arrived in Tobin's home city, it was Munt, who was essentially the pizza delivery guy, who was greeted as everyone's friend, while the ruler of the town, who everyone should have known, was ignored if not secretly despised. As Tobin was observing this, i hope this builds him up into a better leader and person. But i fear for Munt...i wonder if this sets him up for a heroic sacrifice (with Tobin pledging to be the man Munt is)? I hope not, but it would definitely be dramatic. I would agree with @Greg Cox ... though, even though the priestess was the one driving the quest, did she actually contribute, certainly in the way Janzo and the others did? To answer @Christopher 's thought... it seems like the prize is like the ring from Lord of the RIngs.. and because the priestess REALLY wasn't as worthy as the others, that is why it is corrupting her. However Zed's admiration of her, makes me feel like she isn't a "bad" person per se, but not quite as worthy as the others would have been. I am wondering if it is both a story thing, but also a cost thing? Not that the 2 actors probably cost a lot, but considering their cost saving measures (i.e. filming in a Eastern European country), but they probably needed those salaries for the Priestess and her daughter. I thought ELinor was hilarious too, but they already did what they did with Glen on the Walking Dead -- fake ONE death (i.e. the end of Season 1, where it seemed like she was struck down), so the next time, it had to be for real. ,
This week's episode felt pretty timely, with the protagonists trying to figure out how to contain an infection spreading rapidly among the populace through touch, how to identify the infected, etc. -- all while the current ruler of the kingdom is going out among the people and actively spreading the infection. How far back was this written and filmed? They continue to enlarge Munt's role. Now they're even pairing him off with the queen's latest (ex-)handmaiden. They do seem determined to give nearly every character a love interest. And it occurred to me -- has there been any LGBTQ representation on this show? I can't think of any examples.
Not that I know of. I honestly hadn't put together this storyline with current events. The stuff with Munt and Gwyn's handmaiden was pretty fun. I enjoyed the whole mystery with the cultists. So I wonder if Talon having her own Lukiri, did I spell that right, will be important later? Was that the Prime Order capital at the end?
I realized a couple weeks ago, that I apparently missed the finale last season. They keep referring to stuff that I don't remember seeing, like the Black Bloods helping fight The Prime Order, and Munt and Janzo's mother's death.
Feels like things are coming to a head, while possibly looking ahead to the next season. I was surprised that they introduced a new Big Bad this late in the season; I can only suspect he'll be sticking around for while. Meanwhile, as to the original Three: one is dead, one vanished into thin air (teleportation?), and the one is locked up in the capital somewhere . . . . EDIT: Looked it up. Two more eps to go this season.
Wow, we're that far along already? There has been kind of a shift in the character focus. Tobin's been virtually a non-presence since he got kinjed, after being such a major player in the first half. I liked the solution Janzo found to the food shortage. Although he really should've told more than one person to dry and preserve the meat instead of cooking it. I guess they'll be having a lot of jerky for a while. (Fitting, as the guy who took over the Outpost is really jerky.)
Spoilers for the latest episode . . .. Okay, I was wrong about that new Commander being set up as next season's Big Bad. Looks like we're going in another direction . . . .
How long did this episode take in story time? Last season, the trip from the Outpost to the capital was treated as a long one, taking several episodes. These past two weeks, it's been treated like a much faster commute, made within a single episode. It's possible there's just a lot of time passing in the Outpost while Talon and the others are traveling, but it feels like they're taking a narrative shortcut, glossing over the previously established travel time. I mean, Tobin's really hot wife seems to be wearing the same outfit at the end that she wore when she arrived, and still in just as good condition. And yes, it is surprising that the bullying commander had such a short arc. Turns out he was just the delivery system for the Red Kinj. Speaking of which, I was confused at first when they referred to the group-mind Kinj as the White Kinj, because the reproducing ones are yellow. But I just remembered -- I think Yevalla's is white and it's the "offspring" that are yellow. The mentions in the past couple of episodes of Grayskins have reminded me that, well, they exist. Those troll-like CGI creatures were a fairly big part of the story in season 1 -- IIRC, they were the main thing the Outpost existed to guard against -- but I don't think they've been seen since. Too expensive, I guess. Also the move from Utah to Serbia meant they could no longer use the locations that represented Grayskin lands.
Yes. I found myself thinking that Jessica Green really is the inheritor to the mantle of Lucy Lawless as a fantasy action heroine. Not on nearly the same level as an actress, but as a powerful and beautiful physical presence, she's extraordinary.