Review: The Barbarian and the Troll “Season of the Witch”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The group finally arrives at Gnarlia the witch’s castle for an epic battle of swords and spells. During a spell battle between Horus and Gnarlia, the shocking truth behind Stacey’s transformation has been revealed. Meanwhile, General Skelly has gained some unexpected allies during his quest for revenge.

Our Take:

It didn’t take the series that long for Brendar and the gang to arrive at Gnarlia’s castle. Man, that has to be the shortest quest we have to endure. If only the adventure from The Lord of the Rings was that quick.

Even though they arrived at their destination, their quest was far from over. Brendar and the others still had to retrieve the amulet from Gnarlia, the witch who is also Horus’s ex-wife, and turn Stacey back to normal. But first, they had to get past Gnarlia’s new boyfriend, a bouncer-like knight named Steve. This segment alone benefited nicely with the comedy and the introduction of Steve the Knight, who was voiced by Phil LaMarr, also known as Samurai Jack.

I found it pretty amusing to see a knight pose as a bouncer with an invitation list. It’s no wonder why Gnarlia fell for this guy. While the humor in this episode fell a bit shy compared to the previous two episodes, it still delivered some decent laughs from Horus’s spell battle with Gnarlia and General Skelly’s unfortunate encounter with the elves. Speaking of which, the spell battle between Horus and Gnarlia properly showcased the show’s compelling combination of practical effects and digital effects, as well as its light-hearted tone.

In addition to its fun humor, the episode also revealed a shocking revelation about the characters’ quest. It turns out that this whole adventure wasn’t to turn Stacey back into her human form. She just wants to bring Horus and Gnarlia back together and see them cast spells against each other. It also revealed that Stacey wanted Gnarlia to turn her into an owl to enjoy having night vision and the ability to fly. I thought this twist helped represent how dysfunctional Stacey and her parents were. It’s too bad that Horus didn’t realize the truth sooner before his mishap leads to the group being transformed into chickens.

This week’s episode of The Barbarian and the Troll showed signs that their so-called “quest” is complete. Not only that, but it also continued to provide some consistent puppet entertainment for kids and grown-ups. Now that their first adventure together is finished, it won’t be long until we see Brendar and the gang encounter another part of their epic quest. Also, can we get some love for General Skelly? He’s still not getting much luck recently since his loss against Brendar.