The Shannara Chronicles season 1, episode 6, “Pykon,” just finished airing. And it was an episode all about emotional manipulation.

We return to the world of Shannara after our three main heroes have already reunited.

The cold open starts with something rather warm and sweet. Amberle and Wil laugh and play together on an abandoned playground from the distant past. The moment starts off flirty and romantic but turns quickly into something much more frightening as Wil morphs into the Dagda Mor — startling Amberle awake. That’s right, the flirting and confessions of love all took place inside Amberle’s head while she slept. Very Freudian indeed.

Though what we come to understand later is that this is really just a tease as to what’s going to happen between the couple toward the end of the episode. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves…

False kings

Back at the castle, the Changeling, now concealing herself as King Eventine, is ready to plant some major seeds of deceit.

The false king uses the Codex to trick Arion into believing that not only is there a sword powerful enough to end the Dagda Mor but also that Allanon has been concealing this information from them all along.

“I should have trusted you,” the king says to his son, playing right into the desire for acceptance and approval that Arion has always wanted from his father. Of course, this is all it takes for the young prince to pledge himself to the task of finding the blade, ready to fulfill his father’s every request.

Later, when Arion goes to check on Allanon, he finds him with Bandon. The Ellcrys worked some pretty dark magic on him in the last episode and, before anyone realizes what’s happening, the Dagda Mor uses the young boy to possess Allanon. Although the Druid regains control before too much damage is done, this leads to more confusion and suspicion towards Allanon — exactly as the Changeling and the Dagda Mor planned.

Welcome to Pykon

Since a large storm is swiftly approaching, Amberle and her fellow travelers decide to take a shortcut through a practically mythical old military fortress called Pykon.

The place appears to be deserted at first but from the shadows emerges a creepy little girl (Mag) who leads them in to meet her father, Remo. Once an officer during the war, he now resides as the building’s caretaker.

His welcome seems ominous, however, and the group has trouble believing that the passage they seek was, “Destroyed in an avalanche,” as he claims. But they stay none the less, if only to allow for the storm to pass.

They spend a bit of time in the fortress, with Amberle and Eretria getting much closer than maybe previously expected, (ooh la la!), but the fun and games don’t last long at ye olde fortress of doom.

Remo is a good hostess, so he makes sure to feed his guests since they plan to stay. But he’s clearly an even better strategist, since he manages to knock out all of his visitors by drugging their food and tying them up.

Demon hordes lie in wait…

Meanwhile, Ander, Commander Tilton, and their prisoner, Slanter, are partaking in their own little journey across the Shannara lands. They’ve left to petition the ‘federation’ in hopes that they can build a coalition with the humans in order to survive the demon siege.

The three fight amongst themselves as they travel along but find a commonality once they discover just how advanced the demon army has become. It may be Ander’s humility that buys the races any sort of fighting chance, since it’s he who makes an effort to part with the gnome on peaceful terms, diplomacy coming naturally to the young prince.

But there’s also a chance that Arion has undone all of Ander’s good work. Not only does the older prince uncover the hidden sword of darkness, he confronts Allanon with the dark talisman and stabs the Druid until he literally vanishes into thin air.

The truth hurts

It all kicks off once we return to Pykon during the last few minutes of the episode. Remo has Amberle shackled, as he slowly tortures her for the old sins her grandfather committed after the great war — but Mag and Wil work together to rescue Amberle from her captor.

Cue a reunion kiss between the princess and her half human, half elf.

Remo isn’t done, however. As the group scrambles to leave, the man swoops in and accidentally kills Mag when aiming for Wil. Enraged, Amberle then takes Remo’s life.

Ever so slowly, the demon who had been chasing the kids in the last episode has been catching up to them this whole time. And yet another life is lost as Crispin sacrifices himself to the demon in order for the others to get away.

But will it all be for nothing? Because as the episode ends, Amberle, Wil, Eretria, and the giant demonic monster all fall off into the icy mountain ridge.

Return to Hypable next week as we recap episode 7 of The Shannara Chronicles, “Breakline,” which airs February 9 at 10 p.m. on MTV.