The Shannara Chronicles left us with more questions than we know what to do with this week.
It’s hard to know where to begin friends. These back-to-back episodes of The Shannara Chronicles, “Paranor” and “Crimson,” left no stone unturned and we were inundated with new information.
We received answers about Eretria’s past, we saw Wil get some much needed closure, and Lyria step into her new place as leader.
However, for every question that got washed away, a new question rolled into its place. Leaving the audience both delectably satisfied while also desperately craving more.
Instead of breaking down the episodes beat by beat, we thought now might be a good time to take stock of the questions that have been left standing.
How did Valcaa get free?
At first glance you might think this is an irrelevant question now that Valcaa is dead. But it seems rather curious that he could escape from the depths of the Leah castle with no help from inside forces. It’s an important question to ask since we’ve already dealt with one traitor in the ranks. Do we think Queen Tamlin might have had a hand in the matter? Did she really want General Riga dead or was she double bluffing Jax? It’s hard to tell with Tamlin, but either way, she’ll certainly want Riga dead now.
Who’s to rule Arborlon now?
Now that King Ander is dead, we can’t help but wonder who will rule Arborlon in his place. Assuming Queen Tamlin doesn’t get involved, Lyria probably has little to no claim to the throne. However, earlier this season we mentioned that Mareth has ties to the Elessedil line. Back then none of us suspected that Ander would be killed and that she would become the last remaining descendent, but as far as we’re aware she’s the next natural step for succession. That is, of course, if Arborlon doesn’t decide to do away with the monarchy altogether.
Is Allanon going to die?
We know that Allanon was cut by the warlock blade and poisoned with a deadly contagion. But before he was ever wounded, Bandon noticed that Allanon was preparing for death. Which leaves us left wondering: How long has Allanon known he was going to die and has he had time to get his arrangements in order? Perhaps he’s known for quite a while and that’s why he’s been so distant with Mareth. He didn’t want to form attachments that he knew would quickly be severed. Either way he needs to be doing some explaining fast. It doesn’t look like he has much time left.
Will Bandon resurrect the Warlock Lord?
Now that Bandon has all three elements he needs to resurrect the Warlock Lord, he’s headed back to Skull Mountain to complete his mission. Right now there’s very little in the way to stop him. In this episode though, Wil kept asking Mareth to trust him. Does he have another plan operating under the surface that we’re unaware of? If he doesn’t, is she going to confront him about it? Time will tell…
What did Wil see in his vision?
Although the Shannara visions are always extremely cryptic and disturbing, they can give us vital clues as to what is coming ahead. After looking closely, here are the images we saw in Wil’s vision: Blood running down Wil’s face, someone with Druid markings holding the Warlock blade and the The Codex of Paranor, the Warlock blade standing alone, the Sword of Shannara shining in light, blood running down Mareth’s face as she screams, blood running down Allanon’s face, blood running down Eretria’s face, Eretria with her strange demon eyes as she yells “Shannara,” a closeup view of The Codex of Paranor, a bloody mutilated hand, a waterfall of blood…
What happens now that the Sword of Shannara is broken?
Allanon called the Sword of Shannara the only weapon that could defeat the Warlock Lord. But this week it broke in combat against Bandon — someone we have to assume is much less powerful than the Warlock Lord himself. How could that be? Shea Ohmsford didn’t have a fake sword buried with him did he? It seems unlikely that the sword would have multiple fake hiding places. And how could the sword be hidden from Allanon at all? Assuming that truly was the real sword, we’re left wondering what could possibly take down the Warlock Lord if he does officially return.
Is Eretria evil?
Eretria fans might have found this week to be a little frustrating. For every answer we got about her past, we also received new questions. Cogline explained that she is a half-human, half-demon hybrid. A special mix of the two that allowed her family to survive the apocalypse. But because of her demon connection, the Warlock Lord could have a very specific power over her. That doesn’t exactly explain how easy it was for her to vanquish the demon caught in the cell. Wouldn’t it take a very good kind of power to eliminate something so dark? It’s hard to know, but as it stands Cogline thinks she could go either way.
What’s up with Cogline?
Speaking of Cogline… sometimes he comes off as one untrustworthy dude. Not only has he lied to Eretria a bunch, we also have no clue as to why Eretria’s mother would trust him to care for her daughter. Because he’s good at science or something? How did they actually know each other? Also, him knowing how to catch a demon also seemed really odd. Then Eretria was able to manipulate the demon so easily and Cogline told her not to get overconfident… it all seemed very staged. We should probably keep our eye on this one.
What’s the status of the Crimson?
At the end of this two part episode of The Shannara Chronicles, The Crimson certainly had the upperhand. Not only have they killed King Ander — sending Arborlon into complete chaos — the kingdom of Leah is in disarray as well. Lyria’s alliance with Ander is null in void and we know General Riga will have his sights set on Tamlin as soon as he wipes Ander’s blood from his sword. The episode ends before we see what happened to their forces, but even if they manage to escape the castle, the damage has been done. I suspect however that their next opponent, the Warlock Lord, won’t be so easily vanquished.