Safehold = San Francisco + Oakland, and that’s pretty fun
Safehold isn’t quite what you think in the penultimate episode of The Shannara Chronicles: Season 1, which was one of the most well-executed installments of the story yet.
Full spoilers for The Shannara Chronicles continue below.
The Shannara Chronicles might not offer the most original take on fantasy in the genre, but when it settles in to play around with the dystopian futuristic setting of the Four Lands, it puts together some pretty cool sequences. Case in point: it turns out Safehold is actually in the subway system heading into San Francisco, and that “Safehold” was taken from an old highway sign for San Francisco and Oakland.
We want to hear it.
It’s in these moments that The Shannara Chronicles has the opportunity for greatness, and “Safehold” was one of those episodes. The show has often had the difficulty of capturing the scope of epic fantasy; that was especially true with Ander training the Elvish army that was just 20 or so people in a very big woods. (I get that they’re understaffed, but it can’t be that bad.) But it has been nailing the dystopian elements, from the trolls and elves being mutated humans to the map to Safehold being a subway map. It works, it feels fresh and it gives the opportunity for really interesting twists on the genre, like how and why Eretria is important to the mission.
The meandering journey to Safehold has given The Shannara Chronicles time to solidly develop its three main characters. The friendship between Wil, Amberle and Eretria outweighs the love triangle the show has grown, and that was felt in the rush to get to the Bloodfire. That’s important for grounding the story in a relatable way, and will be key to the season’s finale if the Bloodfire storyline pays off the same way as it does in Terry Brooks’ novel.
We want to hear it.
Similarly successful in this week’s episode is the evolution of Bandon’s storyline. Whether or not he does become the Druid’s successor as I predicted last week, he is currently the pawn of the Dagda Mor, which brings the demon’s threat again into the heart of Arborlon just in time for the season finale. As good as that payoff was, The Shannara Chronicles has had a criminal underuse of Manu Bennett. If he makes it to Season 2, please: more Manu.
Sadly “Safehold” had a cruel twist on its own name when Wil again lost the Elfstones, if only for a brief moment. Come on, buddy. These are the most important items in your possession. Maybe put them in a better pocket — or the writers can come up with new ways to raise the stakes instead of resorting back to Wil “Butter Fingers” Ohmsford. Also, in an episode when the dystopian aspects of the world worked so well, the twist on Morag and Mallenroh was a bit cheesy and stereotypical of fantasy stories. That sequence could have worked just as effectively if the witches weren’t in it.
Overall, “Safehold” offered a solid and effective build up to The Shannara Chronicles’ Season 1 finale. The final sequence showing the Ellcrys die and the Dagda Mor and demons ready for war was excellent payoff for the season-long conflict. While The Shannara Chronicles does have some trouble selling its high fantasy elements, the dystopian aspects of the series are cool and interesting. The character development in “Safehold” was also solid, particularly with the twist that Bandon is controlled by the Dagda Mor.
