Willow on Disney+

[AdamFTF]

I think I've figured out the vibe of this show: Willow is the Buffy the Vampire Slayer of epic fantasy.

Tongue in cheek, but not a parody. Lots of teen angst. It's the perfect reference point (minus toxic Joss Whedon stuff).

[ChrisIII]

Season finale was pretty good, although it definitely had a lot of the usual fantasy cliches ("You're powerful without the wand" "I'll always be with you" magic/sword fights etc.)

The crone's real form almost looks like they took the CG model of Snoke and just added some stuff. Wouldn't be the first time ILM recycled things.

The stone magic and Airk's final possessed Palpatine-esque form seem to be callbacks to the Bavmorda fight from the original.

Also reveals that the plans seems to be a "trilogy" of seasons in the mid-credits scene.

Graydon also looks like he's about to be possessed a third time, becoming the Wrym's new harbinger. A very familiar Willow monster also makes it's appearance in the final scene.

[Captain Craig]

I've watched film and now, at lunch, watched the whole series since last Thursday.

My expectations aside it was a fun romp. While the movie is clearly riffing hard, HARD on Tolkein's Hobbit and the Willow movie had jokes with lighthearted moments the Series upped that a bit. So me expecting the show to be a bit more serious(when an actual LotR series and Wheel of Time are out there) maybe was too much. I'll give the show a Rank of 7 on IMDB later, that is my feeling atm.

The show in addition borrowed from Lucas products itself. The scene in the Wildwoods where Kit is competitively drinking with that Bone Reaver was straight up Marrion at The Raven from Raiders. I also thought the Crone looked a bit like a tweaked Snoke or maybe there are only so many ways to do that visual?

The musical choices were interesting and not what I would've thought. I'm surprised it wasn't all just orchestral score but that it wasn't leans it more toward early Buffy as noted above I suppose.

So was Graydon thrown into the Future? That was clearly Willows vision except it had a "corrupt" Elora Danon....unless Elora also become the Wyrm? The whole full circle trope. Power Corrupts absolutely cliche?
I enjoyed having Christian Slater for a bit as Allagash.

It does seem they are blantatly saying the Willow TV series is set for 3 seasons. That's cool, we know it is mapped out then. Looking forward to S2.

[ChrisIII]

Since Graydon was in the portal I'm pretty sure it's the same "happy lie" illusion Kit, Elora, and presumably Arik experienced but ultimately rejected. Bavmorda probably went through this too.

However we already know Graydon is susceptible to possession already, as a child and then also from being marked by the corrupting magic (Although the knights of course fell for that too) in the old fortress. Also the temptation of Elora who he's fallen for even though that's probably not really her but the Wyrm, remnants of the Crone or some other being.

[Witchfan]

They showed three books, so I guess they plan to do three seasons.

[80sbaby]

Since Graydon was in the portal I'm pretty sure it's the same "happy lie" illusion Kit, Elora, and presumably Arik experienced but ultimately rejected. Bavmorda probably went through this too.

However we already know Graydon is susceptible to possession already, as a child and then also from being marked by the corrupting magic (Although the knights of course fell for that too) in the old fortress. Also the temptation of Elora who he's fallen for even though that's probably not really her but the Wyrm, remnants of the Crone or some other being.

I feel like he was thrown into the future, as Captain Craig suggested.

I feel like these last 3 episodes are what the entire series should've been. Hopefully the next 2 seasons are more in that vein.

[ChrisIII]

Suppose it could be, the crone moving a pawn into a period where he'd be more useful....and maybe Elena does get corrupted somehow and new messiah figure is needed (Kit?)?

Also kind of wonder if the whole story of Raziel and Bavmorda would be worth exploring given what we know now. Maybe their story is a bit like Kit and Jade but something went really wrong. Prequel series perhaps?

[Nazrel]

Well I enjoyed that, though while I was mostly okay with the music decisions... that was the weirdest choice of a song to go out on.

[ChrisIII]

Yeah, the song (and the classic video) is basically about the working class kind of commenting on the celebrity lifestyle. Not sure how that fits apart from some of the characters being royalty?

[Hiromi]

Well I hated a lot of the series, and at some points felt like I was spite watching it, but the last two episodes were actually really solid, only problem was the mooks never really getting a decent finale but other than that it really stuck the landing, so good on them

[thwhtGuardian]

It had some really weird moments but the characters were fun. I definitely prefer the original movie to the sequel show but it's fun enough.

From the credit tease it looks as if it'll conclude after next season so they seem to have a definite end point in mind.

[Anthony W]

Well I hated a lot of the series, and at some points felt like I was spite watching it, but the last two episodes were actually really solid, only problem was the mooks never really getting a decent finale but other than that it really stuck the landing, so good on them

The best part of Willow is when it ended.

Kit...is terrible. The arrogance, stupidity and entitlement of this character is on a level I have never seen before. It felt like the writers were punking us. She starts out believing that she is the most important person in the world and only what she wants matters and never changes.

I was shocked that she didn't ask to have the sunset all to herself when the the heroes walked off into it. If I had quit watching this halfway through and someone told me that Kit turned out to be the real villain and season two was about killing her I would just say "Well, the writers were dropping hints like crazy"

This show was bad but it was delightfully bad. I was also rooting for the bad guys to win because the good guys were just so insufferable.

[Anthony W]

I think I've figured out the vibe of this show: Willow is the Buffy the Vampire Slayer of epic fantasy.

Tongue in cheek, but not a parody. Lots of teen angst. It's the perfect reference point (minus toxic Joss Whedon stuff).

So Willow is Vanilla ice cream to Buffy's Strawberry Banana. Maybe, just maybe some toxicity not a lot but some is needed to make something work.

[inisideguy]

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned the show Britannia in regards to this show. With the music selections in particular. If any of you have seen it its a really good show, and more mature than Willow. But there are similar things on how they world build and incorporate the music. With Britannia its mostly late 60s songs, with this show its 80s songs. I think Willow did take some ideas from that show. Its not nearly as graphic or brutal of course.

Anyway check it out if you can find it. Great show.

[Panic]

Someone earlier in the thread mentioned the show Britannia in regards to this show. With the music selections in particular. If any of you have seen it its a really good show, and more mature than Willow. But there are similar things on how they world build and incorporate the music. With Britannia its mostly late 60s songs, with this show its 80s songs. I think Willow did take some ideas from that show. Its not nearly as graphic or brutal of course.

Anyway check it out if you can find it. Great show.

I had avoided Britannia after not liking the first trailer, but after seeing people talk about it on the first page of this thread I thought I’d put it on in the background while I did other stuff. I binged the whole show in about three days, and I’m now going back to watch it more closely. Its mix of violence and wacky humour should kill the show dead, but it doesn’t, at least not for me. Divis and Cait are always great together (and I love his obsession with Big Pebble), and who knew Mackenzie Crook was such a good dramatic actor? I hope it gets a season 4.

In comparison to Willow, I think Britannia does do a lot of the same things, but it just does them better. I think Britannia being its own thing rather than a sequel to something that already had a fan-base helps a lot, because a lot of the dislike I’ve seen on the net has been coming from people who loved the original film and wanted some serious world-building. Willow also has a bunch of characters that don’t seem to have much chemistry with each other (except for Boorman, who is entertaining no matter who he’s with), which seems like something the writers should have thought more about.

That said, I have been enjoying Willow as lightweight entertainment, it having received such scathing reviews from Willow fans on the net having helped lower my expectations. I’m not sure I could be tempted to sit through an episode twice, but I kind of miss not having a new episode to watch today. I’m sure if it gets a new season they’ll take at least some of the criticisms under consideration.