Review: The Barbarian and the Troll “My Sharon-Ah”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Brendar faces off against a Royal Order rival in a series of challenges. However, the tiebreaker challenge and Axe’s shocking reveal causes Brendar to doubt her ability to complete her ultimate quest.

Our Take:
Their first quest has been completed, but the overall journey continues for Brendar, Evan, and the gang. The episode sees Brendar and the others being hailed as heroes due to the heroic deeds. Brendar is now seen as a feared and revered barbarian by her adoring fans, and Evan is making his way to music stardom. Unfortunately, her title is soon put to the test thanks to the arrival of a Royal Order member and her rock-n-roll-loving goblin sidekick Kevin.
At first, I initially thought that I would get the first filler episode of the show’s first season. Fortunately, I was wrong. It turned out to be another solid chapter that further develops the characters, most notably Brendar and Axe. Brendar is challenged by Sharon, a princess warrior from the Royal Order responsible for Brendar’s banishment. The catch is that the winner gets Axe, who spent a good chunk of the episode hiding from Sharon.
The challenges that Brendar and Sharon compete in, such as target shooting and wood carving, always wind up in a tie. Well, except for the thumb wrestling challenge where Brendar surprisingly lost thanks to those dang paparazzi pixies. Still, they managed to display some decent puppetry effects and humor.
General Skelly’s appearance served as a delicious cherry on top of a sundae in terms of the comedy as he still failed to get revenge against Brendar. He got decapitated once again, this time by Sharon, and he got run over by Brendar’s boulder during one of the challenges. It’s a comedic pattern that hasn’t lost its consistency since the first episode, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of it as the season continues.
Much like last week’s episode, the story delivered a surprising revelation about one of the characters, and it played out quite well. It turns out that Axe is not covered in dragon’s tears and is just an ordinary…well, axe. The truth about Axe, combined with losing her slogan to Sharon, caused Brendar to doubt herself about her main quest and go back home. Could this mean that she’s throwing in the towel already?
Overall, the “My Sharon-Ah” episode avoided its potential filler tropes and provided a series of fun challenges full of laughs and character development. It looks like things are not going well for Brendar and General Skelly, who once again didn’t get a chance to exact revenge against her. Maybe next week, Evan and the others will help Brendar get herself back up.