‘Willow’ Finally Feels Like ‘Willow’ In Episode 6 Thanks To Christian Slater

Willow has been mostly a pretty terrible show, consistently setting the wrong tone since the series premiere, with bizarre costume choices, bad jokes and teenage romances that have felt nothing like the Willow film. The constant modern-sounding dialogue wasn’t entirely absent from the film, but it was much more contained and less egregious than it is here.

But Episode 6 marks what I hope is a turning point, finally dialing down the cheesy dialogue a bit and giving us some fun swashbuckling adventure, replete with trolls, a Sphinx-like riddle-giver, and Christian Slater as Allagash, a former companion to Madmartigan. I didn’t hate this episode! I actually kind of enjoyed it, truth be told, right up until The Beach Boys start playing in the end credits (though of all the modern songs they’ve included up to now Good Vibrations might make the most sense).

Christian Slater’s character is found in a crow’s cage, much like the one Madmartigan was hanging out in when Willow first met him at the crossroads—only this time, Willow and Kit are both in a crow’s cage as well, prisoners of the trolls of Skellin. He introduces himself to the pair as Madmartigan, which everyone knows is a lie. Later, we learn that he’s actually Allagash, an old adventuring buddy of Madmartigan’s. He tells Willow and Kit that Boorman betrayed them years ago and took the Kymerian Cuirass for himself. When the two come face to face, they seem happy to see each other at first but soon come to blows.

This episode was so much better than anything that came before I honestly felt like I was watching a different show. The trolls are sentient now thanks to the vermiscus goo in the mountain’s mine, which the Crone taught them to make into a magical elixir. These are a far cry from the snarling beasts we met in the movie, but they’re actually kind of funny and endearing villains. Led by the jovial Lord Sarris and his more sinister brother Falken, they’re basically a troll society of miners and bureaucrats. Not particularly terrifying, but still dangerous enough when roused to anger, especially since they have our heroes outnumbered.

In any case, Willow, Kit and Allagash manage to escape while Boorman, Elora Danan, Jade and Graydon manage to sneak back in through the sewers (the way Boorman escaped years ago). The teams meet up and head to Wiggleheim’s tomb to find the Cuirass. A giant head asks them riddles which they’ll need to answer correctly to get into the treasure chamber. If they answer incorrectly they’ll die in the tomb.

This all feels like Willow should—in other words, a bit like Indiana Jones but fantasy. The modern aphorisms aren’t as much of a problem when it’s not all teen melodrama, I’ve decided. I don’t mind the quips from Boorman or Allagash. I just want that good balance of swashbuckling adventure, sincerity and magic that made the film Willow great, and here we finally get some of that back. It’s still a little too tongue-in-cheek, but at least we get a glimpse of what this show could be if it ever finds its rhythm. We also get a moment where Kit hears the voice of Madmartigan (it sounds so much like Val Kilmer because it’s the voice of his son, Jack Kilmer, who’s also the son of Sorsha actress Joanne Whalley—why didn’t they just cast him??)

In any case, Madmartigan’s voice is probably not actually his. It’s pleading with Kit for help, and she wants to go into the strange light at the back of the treasure chamber, but Elora and Jade prevent her and they all escape the tomb just in time. But the trolls are waiting and a fight breaks out (unfortunately the fights remain a little lackluster even in a mostly good episode like this one). Allagash, a bravado-filled rogue and troubadour, sacrifices himself so that the others can escape. It’s unclear if Slater’s role is just a one-episode cameo, but it looks that way. That’s too bad. I’d have liked to see more of him and a longer arc for Allagash.

As our heroes make their way out of the mines they come to a strange lake. Its surface is hardened by a kind of crystal layer. Kit starts going off on Elora Danan, angry and distraught that her father always picked Elora over her (someone has major daddy issues). Elora’s magical response to the magic around her is causing the whole tunnel complex to buckle and shake and she can’t stop it. Then suddenly the surface beneath Kit breaks and she falls through. It hardens over instantly and she can’t get back out of the water beneath and no amount of battering or magic seems to have any effect—though I suspect that next week we’ll discover that Elora is able to finally break on through to the other side (maybe that’ll be the song for next week’s end credits).

We get two scenes with Airk, the captive prince. He’s alone, trapped in the Immemorial City, which tries to lure him in with promises of power. But he leaves instead, trekking off into the unknown—only to come full circle, back to the city. Thirsty, he drinks some goo that looks a lot like the stuff in the mines. As he does, he hears a girl’s voice pleading for help. He follows the sound and finds a young woman in a cell who beseeches him for help. She introduces herself as Lili, though it seems more likely that she’s the Crone in disguise or some other nefarious figure. I’m still not sure why the Crone and her lackeys even kidnapped Airk (before apparently just leaving him to wander and fend for himself).

All told, a much better episode than the five that have come before. If this show had managed to just be this good from episode one, I wouldn’t have ever lauded it as the best thing since blackroot, but I also wouldn’t be calling it ‘an abomination’ either. This wasn’t anything special, but it was at least entertaining and there wasn’t anything terribly stupid or distracting. They managed to not put any modern music in over the fight scenes also, so that’s a win!

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Read More: Willow Episode 5 Review: An Abomination

MORE FROM FORBES‘Willow’ Is An AbominationBy Erik Kain

I made a video review of last week’s episode as well:

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