Review: The Barbarian and the Troll “Blood, Sweat & Fears”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
The quest to the witch’s castle has begun. The group’s first obstacle is the ominous Swamp of Fears, where one’s worst terrors are unleashed. Brendar’s leadership is put to the test when she comes face to face with her own personal fear.

Our Take:
In every quest, heroes come across one of the biggest challenges of their lives: their fears. The fears that haunt them can be a burden. However, they can also help them learn some valuable lessons and become better people. This was the case for this week’s episode of “The Barbarian and the Troll”, where puppets can make fears fun for me to face.
Brendar, Evan, Stacey, Axe, and Horus have begun their quest to reach the castle. While Brendar focuses on the task at hand, the others would rather visit some tourist attractions, like the “World’s Tallest Goblet”. It’s very humorous to see their journey resembling a modern road trip with the attractions and Brendar warning them about “turning their quest around”. The best part of it was that they weren’t even driving. This was another suitable example of the show’s well-written humor.

Swamp of Fears, which resembled a ride at an amusement park, also provided a few laughs for me. However, most of the fears they encountered were relatively brief. Horus has a fear of baldness and snakes, Stacey hates spiders, and Evan has a duet with the fear version of himself. The central part of the plot happens when Brendar hides her fear of being alone and decides to continue the quest without her friends.

In the end, when she reaches the goblet attraction, she comes to realize that questing is more fun with friends by her side. While the episode’s conclusion felt a bit rushed, it did its job in delivering a heartfelt lesson about friendship. Plus, it continued to showcase Brendar having a soft spot for her comrades.

The episode also involved General Skelly seeking a new body from his minions during his quest for revenge. Unfortunately, his bone-headed minions proved to be less helpful than he thought. They not only made fun of him for having a scarecrow body, but they also kept putting the wrong pieces of his body together. Skelly can never catch a break these days, and that’s what makes it funny in my eyes. I would even say that the Skelly segments here are better than the ones from the previous episode.

Overall, the show’s third episode continues to play with its strengths, such as the witty humor and the likable characters. Despite its rushed conclusion, this is another enjoyable side-quest that has no fear in its soul. It’ll be interesting to see what other attractions our heroes will likely visit next week.