“Will my day ever come?”
This is our review of the second part of Galavant’s Season 2 finale. Click here for our review of the first part.
Warning: Full spoilers for the episode below.
The first part of Galavant’s Season 2 finale ended on a cliffhanger. It’s funny because this isn’t a show with high stakes so no one in the audience really expected death. Still, the pause in the courtyard gave the story a few beats to breathe and gave the characters time to sink into their reunions. But first, there was a fantastic flashback.
Going back to Richard’s youth gave Sonnyboy Skelton the opportunity to come back as young Gareth, and he couldn’t be more perfect. He’s like a miniature Vinnie Jones. Because of his performance and the dialogue, I spent most of the first minute of the episode laughing so hard I nearly cried. The song balanced that out by being earnest and melancholy with Alfie Simmons and Timothy Omundson both adding depth and emotion with their performances.
Galavant excels when it comes to balance. It’s not a show that gets intense or dark, but it does swing back and forth between the laughs and poignant notes in unexpected ways. Silly and profound — that’s Galavant in a nutshell.
And while we’re talking about the silliness, I adored Sid showing up with a hodgepodge army with no recognizable faces — they probably spent the episode’s budget on bringing back Weird Al Yankovic. Along with the allure of the D’Dew and Richard’s sword, the arrival of the reinforcements reminded me of Lord of the Rings. Albeit, a much more scaled down version of Lord of the Rings.
Though the series is called Galavant, this season was truly all about Richard. He got knocked to the bottom but climbed back up with the help of friends, love, and confidence. His arc over the season has been weirdly inspiring. He’s downright courageous by the end of the finale and didn’t hesitate to take on Wormwood. And hey, he has a dragon now. I still think the gag was too ridiculous to be humorous, but it paid off. Plus, since it’s unlikely Galavant will get renewed, the dragon’s especially amusing. There’s no way they’d have money to create a convincing CGI dragon; only showing flames and not the dragon could become a running joke if they do come back.
Richard was the hero this time around, but Galavant and Isabella got a lovely happy ending. It was on the bland side, but Joshua Sasse and Karen David’s chemistry sold it. They sing together so well; it’s a pity they didn’t get more duets over the season. They both wanted married life and threw aside most stereotypes about happily every after, so it was a gratifying ending for the couple if not the most exciting one.
Gareth was changed by experiencing love, and it was rather adorable to see him try to help Madalena. Again, I’m glad they remained true to the character and had her wander off to hunt down even more power. She might not be able to come back from the D’Dew, but I like the idea of Gareth and Sid on a quest to help her.
A couple of quick notes on the little things: Having Richard get pulled over for speeding on a horse was brilliant. I also dug the nod to Alan Menken.
The Season 2 finale of Galavant was bittersweet. As the monks pointed out, it’s unlikely we’ll get another surprise renewal so this could be goodbye. If so, they went out on a high note. The songs were strong from beginning to end, and the performances matched — particularly Omundson belting it out in the first song. The comedy was on point, too.
