Dolphin at Sea

Vankaskan's undead torture chamber is really something. It makes perfect sense for him, though.

Why must this be the last episode when Vega is saying he's sailing towards the Cluster Isles?? I want to see the Cluster Isles!! I trust this team to design them well! And I wonder what this means for the terms of his exile -- is he just ignoring them? Is he hoping that the Catlord armada won't be able to stop him because he's too fast? I have so many questions!

(I like that Vega jumps over the couch to sit on it instead of walking around it, though. I'm so glad they preserved his eccentric ways of sitting!!)

And Hector's nightmares about necromancy continue to be a great representation of its grip on him!

(I also love the lighting in Vega's room from the stained glass windows!)

I love the small detail that when Whitley asks, "Baba Korga, is that you?", she technically doesn't say yes.

And yay, Chancer is back! And Whitley and Gretchen are in charge!

Yes, Drew is down a hand! (I'm sorry for Drew, but I was hoping they wouldn't shy away from his worst injuries from the book, especially since this is a disability he's left with and has to navigate for the rest of the series). It seems like Broghan may have chopped it off with the axe rather than Drew having bit it off, but the ambiguity and the smoke do help maintain the injury while avoiding the gore.

In the same vein, I'm glad Vankaskan's death is still disturbing.

Whitley being told that Drew's gone hurts more in this version, actually, because we've sat more with the loss of her brother! And she has more reason to believe he's dead.

I love the transition to Hector waking up, crying out for Drew! It's as if it were all a horrible nightmare.

And I like how they adapted Leopold's death! He's so clearly drunk, which adds to Orsino's distaste and displeasure. And the look of shock when Vanmorten betrays him and Lucas stabs him? Wonderfully done.

(And his long roll down the stairs is darkly funny, but seeing him transform back and following his perspective with the changing camera angles is very cool)

Shah!!! She looks so cool! (And I find it funny that she drops Drew)

I enjoy the shifting perspectives as she flies with Drew -- it's disorienting, just as it must be for Drew!

Poor Gretchen . . . I like that her grief and panic are portrayed this vividly.

Drew carrying Trent around is stressful, but also silly. Which suits them.

I continue to love following Hector through the siege! And Amelie catching on to the dark magick and being upset because she knows what it's like to be under it's influence? I love that choice.

Whitley being so confident that Broghan will fix everything and trying to reassure Gretchen hurts so much, but I like that it was added -- it fleshes out her relationship with her brother more! Which means that we mourn him more as well.

I love that we see Gretchen watch the lock in the mirror, setting up their escape! I'm a fan of the show letting her use her wits to escape bad situations.

Yay, Vega is back! It's so funny that he tosses his sword to Amelie when she's already holding a sword (I like the implication that she fought, too, during Wergar's campaigns; she's right! She is the White Wolf! It would make sense for her to fight as well!), leaving himself without a weapon, aside from the Shark. How Onyx of him.

(Unlike the Vincent-vile, though, I love his dramatic antics. His sudden, theatrical appearance is exactly what I would want and expect from him).

And this was a cool way to show Hector using the vile!

I'm glad they didn't have Gretchen and Whitley fight over Drew. Something that I respect in both versions of this series is that, while both of the girls are interested in the protagonist, they refuse to let that worsen their friendship. I'm not a fan of romantic drama in general, but I like that they handle it maturely and prioritize their friendship!

Ewan's betrayal will never not hurt, but it was foreshadowed here when he heard about the ransom on Drew's head. He's probably thinking of how that money could rebuild Haggard.

I love that Vega really does get all of the most dramatic lines this episode ("and death's bell tolls"? Awesome). I'm trying not to think about how the Maelstrom sails when he says "full sail ahead," because I have not figured out the logistics of it, but the dramatic shots look cool, so I'll focus on that.

What a wonderful start with Onyx/Orsino! He's still so intimidating in every scene, and we get an automatic sense of the difference between Lyssian and Bastian soldiers -- Whitley was actually holding off the Lyssian troops, but once Orsino and his forces step in, the tide turns. And we get suspenseful music before we see his face!

I'm sad that we don't get more Panthers and they're all condensed into Orsino, but I love that Trent's strange dynamic with Frost was preserved in his dynamic with Orsino. Especially since it means Lucas doesn't get his way.

I also love how much more competent than Lucas Orsino is, as shown by him unsheathing the blade with his finger! It's a fun detail.

I love the use of the candle to show that Hector can't get rid of the Vincent-vile!

I'm not sure if this is because my headphones don't work well all the time, but it seems like the audio for the vile shifts and comes from different directions as he circles Hector -- it's an incredible effect, and it's super creepy!

The parallel between Leopold and Bergan at the beginning of the siege is wonderful! Leopold seems mad with his desire for vengeance, so that parallel positions us to be sympathetic to Amelie's desire to evacuate the city from the beginning. (And I like her dig at Bergan's axe-throwing abilities).

Following Hector during the siege is wonderful -- part of it is to develop the plot around the vile (and yay, Hector breaks his influence with the power of his love for Drew! At least for now), but it serves to highlight how chaotic it is as well. Hector isn't a fighter, so the siege feels much more dangerous from his perspective than it would from, say, Bergan's.

Trent being afraid of the Wolf was a good decision for condensing his arc around Drew! It makes sense -- that's the creature he sees as having killed his mother.

I enjoy the shots of all of our protagonists losing, scared, and trapped. They really develop the somber mood of this episode. I particularly like the scenes from the siege, where even the warriors of the Wolf's Council are too exhausted to maintain their shifted forms.

(Also, it looks funny when Bergan passes Manfred to Vega because of their height differences. Vega is not short, but those two are so, so tall!)

And Broghan's death hurts. I miss the book version for the personality it gives to our antagonists (Opal's "Interesting. Kill him" is so dismissive, and makes her intimidating with so little), but I'm glad Broghan got to be a more active character here. And this is extremely traumatic for Gretchen (especially since he's been helping her process her kidnapping this episode!), so it's something to explore for her character later.

Spoilers for War of the Werelords below:

The Vincent vile is appropriately scary! Poor Hector.

The design for Cape Gala is cool!

I love Broghan being so proud about Bergan coming second in a race against Lorimer, only for Whitley to add that it was a two-person race. It encapsulates their respective relationships with their father so well (and Bergan would totally omit the number of people in the race).

Someone please listen to Whitley. She's carrying the brain cell now (and so is Amelie. Vega exhausted his, and he's really trying to devote himself to this loyalty thing).

I'm not the biggest fan of the race because Drew isn't usually this susceptible to flattery and isn't this bad at determining when he's being deceived, but I suppose Wolf King's Drew is much more impulsive. I feel so bad for Whitley watching this, though. It's not just that something is clearly wrong, it's that dealing with Drew obsessing over the race must have been so annoying.

I love how they show scenes with the Vincent vile!! It's so terrifying from Hector's end, but we also see how unstable he looks from others' perspective. It's a great way of seeing how Hector's actions make sense to him, but how his mental health seems to be in freefall to everyone else (and it is, but not for the reasons they think).

Yay, Vega's brain cell is returning! And he's heading to sea!! (And I like that Amelie is trying to support Hector. She may not know what's going on, but he's clearly going through it. I'm glad he has more than just Vega).

The Bastian fleet!! I like that they gave the ships a distinct design.

(I'm sad that Vega is serving as the lookout, though. Where is Casper? I miss him.)

I love that Haggard is so creepy -- it should be, with Kesslar in charge! And with Hector starting with Vincent's death, we're off to a scary start as a whole!

(Also, it's funny (in a dark way) that Ringlin was the one who helped Vega dispose of Vincent's body here. The Vincent-vile is wrong about pretty much everything, but he's justified in being mad at how quickly Ringlin switched sides in this version. Hector didn't even confirm that he'd pay him!)

I like Drew knowing of Kesslar because he'd raid the Cold Coast! It's a wonderful worldbuilding detail -- Drew is from a pretty remote region of Lyssia with access to the sea, so to Kesslar, it's the ideal place to exploit.

Vega reassuring Hector that he's not going to get caught for murder is so funny. It makes sense that Hector would be stressed, and they all interpreted it as an accident (except Vincent, of course), but he really is describing how to get away with crimes to him. And how to cope with the mental health consequences of said crimes.

(And Ringlin does bring up his wages!)

Leopold delivering a message to Bergan by arrow is so funny to me. He could have shot him, but instead, he used the arrow to deliver an arrow. To set up an ambush. That's so unnecessarily dramatic if they can already get through the window with arrows! But honestly, that unnecessary drama fits Leopold (and most of the Catlords). I know it doesn't make sense, but I love it. It's so extra.

I love that Vega walks in ready to tell everybody about his night (he wouldn't share what actually happened, but he seemed to hope someone would fish for a story) only to have Mikkel pick him up in a hug.

I'm not a big fan of the dream plotline, but it is a way to quickly work through Drew's anxieties about the Wolf and ruling, so it does work in that way. The purple lighting and the giant Drew/Wolf remind me of Aang's struggles with the Avatar State in The Last Airbender!

Listen to Amelie!! She's right! Don't trust Leopold!! (And the way they dismissed her concerns because of her "long ordeal?" It hurt, but unfortunately, it would make sense for those characters to ignore her words and dismiss them as a product of stress).

You know bad decisions are being made when Vega is the voice of reason!! (Also, to say that the situation is "fishy?" Nice pun).

Yay, Shah tripped Kesslar! She deserves to cause him problems! (And we see that her relationship with him isn't one of loyalty! And we see her fly!!)

Drew's struggle with choosing between Whitley and Haggard also made me think of ATLA and Aang trying to choose between Katara and the Avatar State (the giant, purple, glowing figure really does just make me think of that show). It is a way of going through his relationship with her quickly, and it makes sense that he would be similar to Aang in this regard.

This show likes stress dreams, doesn't it? Whitley's was certainly stressful! I wish she would communicate with Drew! But that's exactly what the show wants me to think, so that's done well!

Poor Hector. He would rehearse speeches. And of course Vincent caught him doing it (the comment about knocking out Bergan reminded me of book Vincent's dagger comments, so that also felt very in-character).

And Vega!! I love that he understands all that's going on so quickly and is trying to help Hector!! And while his comment about not letting someone as dangerous as Vincent is certainly a dig at him, it also serves as a reminder that he's uniquely positioned to judge how much of a threat he is -- he's dealt with equally shady characters for much of his life as a pirate. I really wish Hector did not defend Vincent, but he's understandably frightened (and, as we know from the last episode, Vincent's not just physically threatening him with an "accident;" he knows about his necromancy, too. He has more to lose than Vega knows).

Nooo don't leave Chancer!!

I love how the map is used so many times. I love seeing copies of the map from the book everywhere, it's so cool! And the rolled-up one here is even cooler!

I like that Drew's eyes still glow when everything turns black and white because of Vankaskan's necromancy, but they're still dimmed. It's an incredible detail.

Vega continues to be a mood in this season. Giving Vincent a second chance really is a terrible idea.

Drew trying to distract Whitley and keep her awake with jokes was cute!

Hector communing with his father always hurts so much. And seeing Vincent disrespect his ghost made it even more painful!

"Vega was right" yay Hector has finally realized!!

I appreciate that Vincent's death still feels very accidental, but is something Hector can still feel guilt for (so that Vincent's manipulation makes more sense). What Vega witnesses here is much less incriminating than in the books, though (especially since we see Hector try to save Vincent), which may have impacted the story more if there had been a third season.

SHAH IS HERE!! The creepy mask and the lyre? I love it! It makes Haggard terrifying and highlights how mysterious she is.

Vankaskan's comment about how Gretchen could be "managed" is so scary. What's implied here is necromancy (we see him control a vile(?) in that scene), but given what we saw with Amelie, the options for "managing" troublesome women in his mind are truly terrifying, and worse than just tentacles of dark magick.

The repetition of "a rose for the rose of Hedgemoor" is also appropriately creepy -- we don't know if Lucas was watching her when the vendor said that, and it makes us suspect he was, underscoring the depth of his obsession (and how long he stalked her for).

Lucas' silver sword looks so silly in a way that suits him. It's so elaborate.

And yay, Gretchen gets to use her wits!

Oh and they directly reference Amelie's enchantment! They're leaning into the horror of that level of control!

Gretchen's escape is fun! I remember liking how she took advantage of her superior agility and wits in the book, and I enjoy that here, too -- it's interesting for her character, and it's also fascinating worldbuilding, illustrating the diversity amongst therians and the ways in which they exploit their abilities. And everything connected to Vankaskan fills me with dread (as it should).

I love that the Wolf's Council is very seriously talking to Hector . . . and Vega is looking out the window and only speaks once he gets so annoyed with Bergan that he feels compelled to. I love season 2/book 2 Vega.

I also like that Amelie is supporting Hector! I'm glad he has more than just Vega through this. And the reappearance of the dead guard? It was a solid jump scare (although I will say, the undead in both Wereworld and Wolf King freak me out in general)!

Bergan seems a bit more power-hungry than protective here than in the books (with the way he automatically assumes the position of Lord Protector for himself, as Vega points out), but in both cases, it stems from the same instinct: to control those he cares about to keep them safe (with "control" being the issue here). I actually like this about Bergan? His actions are understandable, he's not controlling in a horrific way like, say, Leopold and Lucas; he's just a bit more overprotective than the others and is extremely stubborn. It allows our heroes to have flaws, while also creating understandable differences of opinion (Hector is out of his depth in so many ways here! His position as Lord Protector wasn't really his main issue, but perhaps it would make sense for someone more experienced to have greater influence! But Vega and Amelie's disagreement with Bergan makes sense, too!)

(I only wish they could have put someone else fully in charge of dealing with Vincent instead. In fact, Bergan entertained me doing that last season. Can he do it again?)

The Romari are unfortunately still very stereotypical in how they're depicted. I do like, though, that they introduce the impacts of a bite mark from the undead through another character, setting up consequences for later scenes with Whitley!