Previously on Willow, would-be empress Elora Danan (Ellie Bamber) had been abducted by the possessed Commander Ballantine (Ralph Ineson) as our heroic group of protagonists were on their way to rescue Kit’s (Ruby Cruz) captured brother Airk from the Gales.
As the third episode of Lucasfilm’s live-action Disney+ sequel series begins, Thraxus Boorman (Amar Chadha-Patel) is relating the story of the fabled magical armor known as the Kymerian Cuirass to Kit.
Kit is bored by the story and simply wants to know how it relates to her father Madmartigan, but they are soon interrupted by the rest of the party in search of a disappeared Elora Danan. A skirmish breaks out when the group encounters Ballantine in the woods and realizes that he’s been turned to evil, but the commander is able to escape with Elora once again. Back on the road in pursuit, Graydon (Tony Revolori) doubts his usefulness to the quest, and then the journey is waylaid by a broken wheel on the covered wagon. After Jade (Erin Kellyman) reveals that she had been letting Kit win in their sparring sword battles against each other, the group decides to split up and travel down separate paths toward their next destination. Meanwhile, Elora breaks free of her captors and comes across an idyllic home of two women in the woods– Hubert (guest star Hannah Waddingham from Ted Lasso) and Anne (actress Caoimhe Farren from the British sitcom Derry Girls). When these ladies realize who Elora is, they vow to protect her, but sadly they are quickly cut down by Ballantine when he shows up to reclaim his prize– though Hubert puts up a pretty decent fight, and it’s very cool to see Waddingham in this kind of fantasy/action scenario.
As Kit and Boorman travel together, we learn a bit more about Madmartigan’s crusade to find the cuirass, and then the two arrive at the titular inn The Slaughtered Lamb, only to find that it has been abandoned and crumbled to the ground. But Thraxus decides to delve into a nearby mine to search for the artifact, while Kit stands guard against were-rats– I loved the practical puppets used to create these creatures in a number of shots. Boorman makes a discovery and keeps it to himself, and then the larger party is reunited at the Slaughtered Lamb when they cross paths with Ballantine, his men, and Elora. Hostilities ensue, and poor Silas (Graham Hughes from Clash of the Titans) pays the ultimate price for his loyalty to Willow (Warwick Davis), who has revealed in this episode that his magical powers are limited and he doesn’t want to waste them before his eventual confrontation with the growing evil. But Ballantine is defeated by Willow’s reluctant use of a spell, and the commander reclaims his humanity before he begs Jade to finish him.
Then our disheartened entourage makes their way to the next stop on their perilous journey: Nockmaar, which viewers will remember as one of the key locations from the original Willow film. It’s an exciting cliffhanger– one that segues perfectly into a rousing cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” over the credits– and “The Battle of the Slaughtered Lamb” has only increased my excitement for the Willow series as a whole. I’m especially enjoying the variety of locations and situations that the cast of characters have encountered along their way, and I feel like the show has captured the movie’s blend of high fantasy with contemporary attitude and humor incredibly well. The contrast between the peaceful, pastoral lives of common denizens of this world with the dark nature of the overarching threat is a jarring one, but it goes a long way to sell the danger that the protagonists are in. With five episodes remaining, I can only imagine the wonders still left to explore for Willow Ufgood and his companions.
New episodes of Willow are released Wednesdays, exclusively via Disney+.