Spoilers Willow sequel series on Disney+

[CaptainWacky]

I still like the series, but it's lacking that lived in polish and nastiness the first film had. I mean Madmartigan was FILTHY nearly the entire film. When is the last time anyone in this show stayed dirty beyond one scene? Instead of a series, they could have dropped like 3 or 4 set pieces and episodes, a bunch of filler, kept the character bits and cleaned up the action so it's less 'shoot for the edit' and is a bit better choreographed and you'd have gotten a really good film.

I agree with this and would add another aspect of the world-building I find a bit frustrating: the georgraphy. They often run from enemies and end up in a completely different environment from where they were five minutes ago. It's all a bit random and I don't have any feel for where the locations are in relation to each other in the show's world.

But overall I enjoyed the season and the finale was good. The younger characters grew on me and I cared about them enough by the end that I was sad when Graydon "died" and hoping for Airk to pull through. It looks like they're hoping on three seasons judging by the books at the end.

I'm guessing the hot evil Elora was the Wyrm.

 

[Christopher]

I'm guessing the hot evil Elora was the Wyrm.

Yeah, another illusion/temptation like Sorsha was for Kit.

 

[JD]

I'm guessing that was still the Crone, at the very end?

No, that was The Wyrm.
This was a great finale.
They really got me for a few minutes, I thought they really did kill Graydon, and thought maybe they were going to kill Arik too for a minute.
We got some pretty cool action and effect scenes in this one.
It was nice to finally see Willow really let lose and kick some ass.
I'm assuming from mid-credits scene that they must have 2 more seasons planned.
I found out something I thought was interesting a few days ago, the Gale with the cage over his head is played by the guy who took over playing Chewbacca when Peter Mayhew couldn't do it any more in the Star Wars movies.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

That was a GREAT finale! And the first time the song at the end REALLY worked for me, I watched the end twice because of it. Even though, really, the lyrics don't apply, not even a little, actually makes little sense to use this song at all. Just such a great guitar riff I couldn't help but love it.

They promised us 3 seasons. Please let the people who actually let this happen allow it!

 

[Mr. Adventure]

LOL, I thought about this while watching the ending, and then realized these songs are all 5 decades old. A Mozart waltz would also be anachronistic. I just let it go.

I may have some thoughts later about MTV was or wasn't relevant.

The actual music sting was perfect for that scene, it was just the lyrics were odd if you thought about them. I might have just gone with a non-vocal version though someone would probably accuse "Money for Nothing" as some commentary from the producers.

 

[Christopher]

The actual music sting was perfect for that scene, it was just the lyrics were odd if you thought about them. I might have just gone with a non-vocal version though someone would probably accuse "Money for Nothing" as some commentary from the producers.

I just looked up the lyrics to see if there was anything relevant, and wow, those are some pretty mean-spirited lyrics, with sexism, a whole verse devoted to a homophobic slur, and a line that sounds pretty racist too. Apparently that was because the song was being sung from the perspective of a prejudiced character that the lyrics were satirizing, much like Randy Newman's "Short People," so it's not like the band itself was endorsing those attitudes. Still, I'd imagine they cleaned up the lyrics for the Willow version.

So maybe that's the relevance? That the singer is impersonating a different character, much like the Wyrm is pretending to be Elora to lure Graydon? Although it's kind of the inverse of that, since the character with the more objectionable beliefs is the one being impersonated in the song.

Or maybe it's not about the lyrics. Maybe it's just saying that Graydon is in dire straits.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Or maybe it's not about the lyrics. Maybe it's just saying that Graydon is in dire straits.

I don't think that much thought went into it but I do like that interpretation.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I was more intrigued by the cover of Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire”.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

I just looked up the lyrics to see if there was anything relevant, and wow, those are some pretty mean-spirited lyrics, with sexism, a whole verse devoted to a homophobic slur, and a line that sounds pretty racist too. Apparently that was because the song was being sung from the perspective of a prejudiced character that the lyrics were satirizing, much like Randy Newman's "Short People," so it's not like the band itself was endorsing those attitudes. Still, I'd imagine they cleaned up the lyrics for the Willow version.

For Willow, they cut out the homophobic verse entirely, and in fact on the radio, there are portions now heavily edited out. Which in this case, I don't mind that edit one bit, it would be rough to hear the original version now, regardless of context or intention.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

The biggest complaints seem to have been the music, the outfits, and the dialogue. Though that did seem to stifle complaints about wokeness that would've probably otherwise been at the forefront. For better or worse, it was meant to be a modern take and not trying to be an exact riff on the movie.

https://twitter.com/JonKasdan/status/1611185857742123010
Terry @maerj2000 Jan 5
I was curious... why did you choose to use the pop songs in this series?

Jon Kasdan @JonKasdan Jan 5
We thought it might be fun. A spunky, somewhat startling way to distinguish our irreverent, gleefully anachronistic little romp from heftier, more serious-minded fantasies currently streaming. And an impulse that aligned nicely with rebellious rockin' spirit of our shabby heroes

Looking back, I think there were some moments that could've been tightened up. Not really sure what the cabin ladies in denim was about, the brownies were a fun callback but seemed really tacked on and could maybe have been used better, did Jade's sister need to be part of the bone reavers, and so on. Airk seemed forgotten about until the end, his plight could've been more compelling if we had peeked him on him throughout. Also, there were a couple of character deaths early on that didn't have the buildup needed to earn the emotions/stakes that could've been reaped.

I would like to do a rewatch knowing the big picture now but it seemed to me the start was shaky and got better as it went along. I think initially Willow/Warwick felt disconnected from the rest of the party though maybe that was meant to be but I thought after a while it felt less like characters from two different shows. I think a Netflix style season dump might work better than the weekly drop for getting over that hump.

I ended up liking Willow/Warwick's wry comments. Like his joke about the poached eggs in the last episode or killing some blokes in this one. "I'm in your head, dummy"

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Lyrics be damned, I do love this scene with that music. Reminds me a bit of Phoebe Cates/Moving in Stereo from Fast Times.

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[M'rk son of Mogh]

And the 2 headed dragon!!

Love that scene so much. Absolutely perfect.

 

[Christopher]

Not really sure what the cabin ladies in denim was about

It was about showing the importance of Elora Danan to the people of the world, albeit in microcosm. It was the moment Elora had it driven home to her that the people invested their hopes in her, that they would stand behind her, that they would fight and die for her. It made her realize her responsibility, what it meant that she was Elora Danan.

the brownies were a fun callback but seemed really tacked on and could maybe have been used better

Yeah, they were pretty gratuitous. I'd expected the brownies to be more important to the story than a single-episode cameo, since they were important to the movie.

did Jade's sister need to be part of the bone reavers

That was hugely coincidental, as was most everything about that episode. Revealing that Jade is the daughter of General Kael, the archenemy of her girlfriend-to-be's father, should've been a bigger deal than it was. Maybe it's setup for future seasons, but it still got short shrift here.

Airk seemed forgotten about until the end, his plight could've been more compelling if we had peeked him on him throughout.

In principle, yeah, but I'd be more inclined to agree if the actor had been more compelling. I guess he does look kind of like a young Val Kilmer, but he's kind of bland.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

What a fantastic finale! I wasn't sure if everything would work in the final episode, but I loved how everything came together in the end, for better or worse.

I was genuinely shocked when Graydon was killed (or so it would seem). I've been a fan of Tony Revolori since The Grand Budapest Hotel so I've greatly enjoying Graydon's story arc play out and I didn't want to lose him so soon. But at the same time, I do wonder if it was smart for the show to walk back such a devastating loss, one that felt earned and felt real. I also wonder if this is actually Graydon or some corrupted aspect of his soul or something similar? And whether if it's actually him, can he truly be revived and uncorrupted by the end? I had a lot of thoughts running through my during those final moments.

They promised us 3 seasons. Please let the people who actually let this happen allow it!

That's exactly what I thought when I saw those books. Fingers crossed!

 

[Christopher]

But at the same time, I do wonder if it was smart for the show to walk back such a devastating loss, one that felt earned and felt real.

Funny, I had the opposite reaction. Graydon's apparent death was so abrupt, random, and out of the blue that my first thought was that it had to be another illusion, that surely it wouldn't stick. It didn't feel earned to me at all, because it would've abruptly cut off a number of unresolved story threads, e.g. Graydon's past possession, his blossoming as a wizard, and the tentative romantic stirrings between him and Elora.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I was genuinely shocked when Graydon was killed (or so it would seem). I've been a fan of Tony Revolori since The Grand Budapest Hotel so I've greatly enjoying Graydon's story arc play out and I didn't want to lose him so soon. But at the same time, I do wonder if it was smart for the show to walk back such a devastating loss, one that felt earned and felt real.

Apparently the IRL reason for him shaving his facial hair was to accommodate his working on Wes Anderson's next one. When the scene first played out I was thinking "I hope this isn't how they are going to resolve the love triangle problem". Also, I felt that the characters weren't as moved by his loss as you'd think, they'd be happy to get Airk back and all but there didn't seem to be much reflection over it.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Apparently the IRL reason for him shaving his facial hair was to accommodate his working on Wes Anderson's next one.

I figured that must've been the case. Didn't think of Wes Anderson specifically, but that makes sense and I knew Revolori is going to be in the next film.

When the scene first played out I was thinking "I hope this isn't how they are going to resolve the love triangle problem".

I had the same thought but then quickly remembered Elora completely rejected Airk already and figured she wouldn't go back to him after Graydon died.

Also, I felt that the characters weren't as moved by his loss as you'd think, they'd be happy to get Airk back and all but there didn't seem to be much reflection over it.

I dunno, I think Elora felt that loss pretty hard and she's the one expected to express that sorrow so openly.

 

[Rich Watson]

While I liked the series overall and had no issues with the supposedly anachronistic dialogue etc.* did it feel to anyone else that this started out as 10-12 episodes but then they had to cut it down to 8? All the big scenes are there but the connecting stuff that would get you from one to the next seemed to be missing.

*Given that the Immemorial City seems to have present day skyscrapers in it, I'm wondering if this is one those fantasy worlds that's actually supposed to be Earth in the far future.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Showrunner Jon Kasdan spoke extensively with io9 about the show, where they plan to go forward, and the all important question, why didn't we get more Brownies.

 

[Rich Watson]

Hmm, judging by the interview he doesn't seem super positive about the series having a future.