“Any moron can plant a cake.”
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
What’s a king to do when his best friend has stolen his crown and the townspeople have dismantled his castle? Richard’s purpose is the focus of “Aw, Hell, the King,” and again, he’s portrayed as someone you can sympathize with. One particular sequence in the episode showed off one of the most remarkable aspects about Galavant: You can have a song with the line “any moron can plant a cake,” and yet the song is touching and resonates with you. It defies logic.
The deft writing and development of Richard so far combined with imaginative lyrics and Timothy Omundson’s stellar skills all added up to perfection in the song where Richard questioned his future. Omundson conveyed a mix of optimism with forlornness. The saddest part is watching him realize he doesn’t really know how to do anything else. It’s tempered by remembering everything currently happening to Richard is pretty much completely his fault for being terrible, but hey, we all make mistakes.
The Richard before us now is lost, but earnest and committed to helping Galavant. It’s a new kind and selfless side for the character. Richard doesn’t get anything from helping Gal get Isabella.
Matt Lucas and Timothy Omundson in Galavant
And speaking of Isabella. Yikes. She deals with the breakup in a way I can understand even if I don’t particularly approve of her going back to captivity. The use of the puppets to replay what happened? Genius. Her being used by Wormwood (Robert Lindsay), however, is straight up frustrating. On the upside, being mind-controlled gives Karen David completely different notes to play. She rises to the occasion and practically becomes a bouncing ball of sugar.
They do a literal song and dance to poke fun at the song and dance of planning an elaborate wedding. The commentary made about parents wanting their kid to get married regardless of whether she is in love hits home in ways it probably shouldn’t in the 21st century. Galavant deserves all the compliments for the way it remarks upon those situations — including all the digs at politics from Peasant John (Matt Lucas) earlier in the episode. Dialogue and lyrics are often whip-smart and are funny on a superficial level and hilarious if you dig deeper.
All that said, the direction they’re taking with Isabella frustrates me to no end. She’s not making decisions that line up with the character we got to know in the first season, and now she can’t make her own decisions because of Wormwood.
This week’s Galavant put the emphasis on Richard’s identity crisis and exploring subjects like that along with Gareth’s guilt goes to the heart of why this seemingly silly show has depth. The characters are damaged people with relatable problems. Galavant doesn’t back away from issues even if it dresses them up with a tune or joke. The series has real heart without taking itself seriously.
