Willow Magical Moments: 5 Highlights from Chapter 2, “The High Aldwin”
With Elora Danan exposed, the stakes are even higher.
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Spoiler warning: This article discusses details and plot points from Willow Chapter 2, “The High Aldwin.”
So, you’ve found out you’re the chosen one. Now what?
Chapter 1’s shocker of an ending, in which Dove learns that she’s actually Elora Danan, essentially turned Willow on its head: the big mystery of the series is seemingly solved, but our heroes’ world is changed. Chapter 2, “The High Aldwin,” takes its time allowing everyone, including us, to catch our breath and wrestle with this new reality. Elora begins her training, only half believing she can actually perform magic, while Kit, Jade, and co. all struggle to accept, to varying degrees, that Dove, the helpless kitchen-maid, is the world’s future savior. Not taking itself too seriously until it has to, “The High Aldwin” brings character development and laughs as the journey gets more complicated. Here are five highlights.
1. Willow and Sorsha.
For those who love the original Willow movie, it’s hard not to smile seeing Willow (Warwick Davis) and Sorsha (Joanna Whalley) together again. The strain in their relationship, however, is the real surprise.
2. A conversation.
Even a legend needs encouragement sometimes. When Willow doubts himself after Elora’s introduction to the Nelwyns, his daughter, Mims, offers some heartfelt reassurance. It’s a warm scene, and when she later tells him “I love you, dada. You’ve always been, and you always will be, my hero,” we believe it. The fact that Davis’ actual daughter, Annabelle Davis, plays the part only adds to the emotional weight.
3. Elora’s first steps.
The magic isn’t flowing for Elora at this stage, and Willow isn’t the most patient teacher. But the episode deftly balances their frustration with laughs (“You’re doing something weird,” Willow says as Elora crunches her face, reciting tuatha for the umpteenth time.) and feeling, very much in the spirit of the original film.
4. Willow’s premonition.
Now we understand the complexity of Willow’s burden. His vision was not a triumphant one, but one of death and destruction, including Elora’s. Is he willing to lose her to defeat the Crone?
5. Elora lost.
The corrupted knight, Ballantine, finds his prey in Chapter 2’s final moments and takes Elora away — just before a plant begins to grow, the result of the girl’s spell. We’re left with mixed emotions, and Willow is 2 for 2 on powerful cliffhanger endings.
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