Review: The Barbarian and the Troll “Come Together”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

After discovering that Queen Shimmereen is Alvin all along, Brendar must defeat the dreadful demon and come to terms with her backstory in the season finale.

Our Take: 

Like every quest, all things must eventually come to an end. It was fun while it lasted, but now it’s time for us to finish this 13-episode-long journey for good. With the questers now knowing Queen Shimmereen’s true identity, they have the opportunity to complete their quest and save Gothmoria. Since its debut in April, the show has come a long way as it provided a consistent amount of humor and charm in its first season without losing its luster. Now that we reached the end of this journey, was the finale able to deliver a fitting conclusion? Long story short: yes, it did.

The episode offered a different structure by showcasing two different stories for the price of one. The first six minutes represented the final battle between the questers and Alvin the demon. The rest of the episode had Brendar facing her destiny as the new queen of Gothmoria. After defeating Alvin by cutting off her tail, the gang was greeted by the spirit of Brendar’s mother, who tells her that she was once the queen of the land until Alvin drove her out. Because of her death, Brendar is now next in line. But will it affect her barbarian duties?

If I have to be honest with this finale, I think these two mini-stories would’ve worked best as two individual episodes. I would have the season one finale focus solely on the characters fighting Alvin and have the “Brendar as Queen” storyline be the central plot for a possible season two premiere. The structure they used felt a bit off-putting to me, primarily because of the Alvin battle being anticlimactic and rushed. The fight was still impressive to watch regarding its practical effects and lighting, but I wish they could’ve expanded the showdown a bit more. However, it’s far from a disappointment as the queen segment compensated that flaw with its charisma.

The second segment of the episode had Brendar attempting to impress the royals with her plans to make Gothmoria a better place. With her friends by her side, of course. But the royals were pretty mixed on what she had in store. The charm came into play when Brendar’s friends were assigned to different roles, like Horus being her vizier and Axe being her scepter. The most amusing part was when Horus failed to spell “Long Live Brendar” with fireworks. The episode ended with Brendar and the others leaving royalty behind to defeat the evil warlock, showcasing that she already has her destiny. Before they do, Brendar decided to give the royal duties to Sharon.

Overall, the season one finale of The Barbarian and the Troll wasn’t as epic as I thought it would be, but it still maintained its charm and comedy to deliver a satisfying conclusion. Its decision to rush through the final fight in the beginning was a pretty big misfire. Nevertheless, it had plenty of fun moments to end the show’s first quest on a respectable and fantastical note.