Elora and Kit team up to defeat the Crone while the rest of the crew take a leap of faith to come to their aid in the season finale of the Disney+ Original Series, “Willow.” Kit and Elora both have to battle Airik as he is under the control of the Crone. And we learn how Elora is able to resist the Crone’s allure of the man she believes she loves before the final battle begins. Unfortunately, what could’ve been a solid ending with a worthy sacrifice is thrown away for the sake of setting up future seasons that aren’t guaranteed.

This episode, much like the rest of the series, felt uneven when it comes to pacing. While the idea the Crone has Elora in a dream world where she finally gets to marry the prince is set up nicely, but the execution felt boring. I usually appreciate setups like this, but this time I just wanted them to fast forward through it to get to the action. I believe that’s more on the less than stellar set up of Airik from carefree prince to villainous henchman. The storytellers forgot about him so much early on that I didn’t care one bit about what happened with him and just wanted to see either Elora or Kit stab him to defeat the Crone. We didn’t get that and I believe it was a missed opportunity.

What was the point of Graydon? He came on this adventure betrothed to Kit but fell in love with Elora. He decides to fight for her despite knowing that she doesn’t love him. While he hasn’t been the worst character of the series, he’s been set up as the obvious sacrifice. The group has to lose somebody and the guy who was promised to a princess that doesn’t love him then fell in love with another princess who doesn’t love him seems like the perfect guy to lose for the cause. In the story, we get that only for the storytellers to tack on an unnecessary scene at the end where we find out he’s still alive. That scene may have set up a future season, if it gets greenlit, but it undercut his one use for the story.

Will this series get a second season? I don’t know. Warwick Davis posted on Twitter “Here’s to Season Two!” Maybe he’s been told more than the general public has. This series was straightforward and practical. The fighting scenes were top notch even if the CGI left a lot to be desired. Willow was a solid film and this series does a decent job living up to its legacy. If you enjoyed the film, you’ll love the callbacks. If you are looking for the next great fantasy series to fall in love with, this isn’t it. The main ending wrapped up everything nicely, but the unnecessary cliffhangers setting up the next seasons felt tacked on rather than organic. I liked it but I didn’t love it.

Rating: 3.5 stars

What did you think of the season finale of “Willow?”

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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