Review: Hammer and Bolter “In the Garden of Ghosts”

Once again, we have reached the tail end of the anthology series’s pack of weekly episodes. So far, it started pretty rough with the first of the three episodes, “Fangs”. Then, it regained its strength in last week’s mini-story, “A Question of Faith”, thus continuing its pattern of providing strong second episodes. Now, we have the final Hammer and Bolter story of the month, which might be more ghostly than the rest. Since we’re getting close to Halloween, it seems appropriate that it would release something like this.

The sixth episode of the series is called “In the Garden of Ghosts”. It centers on a small group of Aeldari heading to the ruins of their ancestral craft world. They seek out the spirit stones of the dead to revive those who die in battle. However, the Warlock Iocarus has a different agenda in mind, which can only be fulfilled by revisiting the day the craft world fell.

The episode happens to be the longest of the bunch. “In the Garden of Ghosts” clocks in at 22 minutes instead of the usual 11 to 17 minutes in the previous episodes. In my eyes, it helps to provide more storytelling in the scenario rather than cramming them in in a small amount of time. But is it enough to deliver another solid episode? The short answer to that question is a resounding yes.

While it’s not as good as its previous episode, the story in this episode offered a stylistic and engaging depiction of Iocarus’ journey to revive someone significant to him. It also provided a tiny hint of emotion when Iocarus sees his younger self with a woman who seemed to be his mother. My only gripe with the story was that it didn’t provide any real consequences to the character’s obsession. It would’ve been better off as an episode involving the dangers of bringing the past back or the importance of letting things go and looking forward to the future.  

The animation in the sixth episode works very well in the flashback sequences involving the war between the two races: Aliens and Barbarians. Aside from the characters’ stiff walking motions, the style captured the detailed brutality of its violence and the harsh yet immersive environments. The CGI for the mechs was also nicely fluid compared to the 2D animation for the characters outside of them. Plus, the scenes with the giant Avatar fighting off a group of Barbarians are a few suitable examples of how the animation in Hammer and Bolter perfectly reflects the detailed shots of a graphic novel.

Overall, “In the Garden of Ghosts” wasn’t nearly as terrifying as the title suggests, which was quite disappointing. However, it’s still another enjoyable episode that should satisfy the Warhammer followers. Its narrative failed to explore more of its themes amid its graphic violence, but it compensated with its stunning yet stiff animation and emotion. This means that the second episode (“A Question of Faith”) remains the best in the second pack of episodes for Hammer and Bolter, similar to “Bound for Greatness” in the show’s first pack. It would be interesting to see if the show can go for three for three if it manages to release the next three episodes in the future.