We explore how exactly a young Rover girl goes from being shackled like a prisoner to the one saving the day.
If we’ve learned one thing so far during the first four episodes of the Shannara Chronicles it’s that Eretria is one of the more complicated characters the show has to offer.
In the clip below from tonight’s episode, Eretria manages to not only slip out of her chains, she neutralizes a threat that even the Knights Guard are afraid of.
What is Eretria’s deal though? Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten to see her alone very often and there have been few places for her to let her guard down for the audience to see. But there are things we can discern from what we’ve seen so far.
She does seem to reveal more of her true self to Wil than to anyone else. But we have to be careful how much we believe. Like Amberle says, “[Rovers] always have an agenda.” And we’ve seen her manipulate people with literally anything she can get her hands on. Therefore, simply taking Eretria’s words at face value is impossible. At least for the time being.
However, that’s not to say she never speaks the truth. Take a look at her face the moment after Wil tells her, “There is no us.” It falls, there’s a sadness in her eyes, and she actually looks quite wounded. We have more luck trusting this reaction than others because her face is hidden from any other characters. It’s a completely personal moment and one that could be quite telling.
But even though it appears as though Eretria may in fact have a soft spot for Wil, that doesn’t mean her sympathies extend further than that. “Sell her, make her a slave, do whatever you want, I don’t care,” she speaks of Amberle, “[But] I kill to survive, not for sport.” Which does seem to fall in line with her overall behavior and outlook.
The dynamics between elven and Rover culture are tense at best, so she has little reason to sympathize with the girl. (Amberle has a similar outlook toward Eretria as well.) But being used to kill for fun is where she stops short.
Not to mention, it doesn’t take a genius to recognize that Eretria is truly afraid of her father, Cephelo. He holds a great deal of power over her, and Eretria is obviously a girl who likes to be in control. “When and if I kill you,” she says to Amberle, “I want it to be my choice, not his. This is not going to be my life.” Which is a pretty powerful statement. If anything it sounds like she’s trapped in an abusive household and is doing whatever she can to escape.
It also makes her following comments even more telling, “If you want to survive in this would you need to start taking care of yourself because no one’s going to do that for you.” Eretria has obviously had to rely on herself for most of her life. But does that excuse her behavior in the long run?
The Ellcrys certainly thinks it does. In fact, the magic tree has deemed her worthy enough to join the quest for its survival. And if the clip above is anything to go by, that was a wise choice. Maybe it’s the skills that make her a ruthless survivor that also turn her into such a vital ally.
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Episode 5 of Shannara Chronicles, “Reaper,” airs tonight, January 26 at 10 p.m. on MTV.
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