Entering the World of THE SHANNARA CHRONICLES

Episodes 1 – 4
“Chosen”
“Fury”
“Changeling”

So, there’s this network called MTV. Back in the day, when it was new and hip and cool, it was a network full of music videos and personalities called VJ’s, who would talk about the music videos, and then there would be more music videos.

And then reality TV crashed into everything…

And then, MTV started getting into scripted programming. Shows like, say… Teen Wolf (have you read Dustin’s recaps?) and the door got kicked open for the network to do more of the same. So it was only a not-quite-big surprise to hear that the network that began with “Video Killed the Radio Star” was now flexing its budget muscles and producing high fantasy.

Really.

MTV is putting quite a bit into The Shannara Chronicles, and it shows. Shot in New Zealand, it’s gonna be pretty. And it’s MTV, so the cast is gonna be pretty. Even John Rhys-Davies looks like he’s slimmed down a bit. And there’s Manu Bennett, looking all fit and trim with his runes carved into his neck and stuff. And the girls are pretty.

OK. It’s pretty. But is it any good?

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MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE FIRST FOUR EPISODES

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Actually, speaking as someone who hasn’t read the books (I know, I know…), I can say that these first episodes were quite engaging. The visual effects hold up nicely, and the story moves along at a pretty good clip. It’s the typical coming-of-age meets “Hero’s Journey” story, only it’s shared between three tweensters — elf-human Wil, elf princess Amberle, and human thief Eretria — who find themselves caught up in the intrigue of the magic lands coming apart at the seams.

The time is way in the future, past the time when we’d get post-apocalyptic dystopia (thankfully) in a world where elves, dwarves, orcs, and the like have come out of hiding now that humans no longer dominate the planet. Magic has returned to the Four Lands, and in the aftermath of a great war (which is spelled out in The Sword of Shannara), there is now peace in the land.

Above it all towers the Ellcrys Tree, full of magic and standing as the lock holding in the demons who were vanquished in the war. The tree is protected by The Chosen, a group of young men who face physical challenges for the privilege. When the king’s granddaughter, Amberle, successfully navigates the course and becomes the first female among the Chosen, everyone’s in a tizzy. Even Amberle, once she touches the Ellcrys and starts getting visions of a TURRRRibul future (read that in Charles Barkley’s voice…).

Meanwhile, Wil the half-blood prince half-elf/half-human who wants to be a doctor, in the wake of his mother’s death, sets out to the Big City to learn more about the healing arts, taking with him three blue Elf Stones. His mother tells Wil that they’re magic, and that he needs to “find the Druid”.

And there’s where we are in the trilogy of books, adapting The Elfstones of Shannara as our starting point. Which probably fits a television budget more than a war between four lands full of magical creatures…

Wil’s fate is forever changed when his stones are stolen by Eretria, the “Rover” human trying to get out from under the control of her adopted father, essentially a ganglord in charge of a bunch of thugs. But it’s James Remar, and he chews the scenery pretty well.

As does Manu Bennett, who plays Alanon the Druid, waking out of hypersleep 30 (or 300?) years after the end of the Big War. He realizes the Ellcrys Tree is dying, and with every leaf that falls from the tree, a demon is released into the world.

Soon, enough of them will be free to form an army that will destroy the Four Lands in the name of the Dagda Mor, a powerful Druid who’s given in to the Dark Side of the Force and now commands the demons.

Alanon finds Wil before Wil can “find the Druid” like his mother told him. Alanon realizes that Wil is the last descendant of the Shannara line, a family of powerful Jedi magicians. While Wil is unconvinced, Alanon knows, because Wil’s father was the Jedi magician responsible for winning the war of the Four Lands and defeating the Dagda Mor. It came at a great price, leaving Wil’s father emotionally and mentally crippled, but they won.

Two set out to find Abmerle, who’s run away from Elf-Land thinking she’s the cause of all the trouble because she’s a girl and girls aren’t allowed in The Chosen — which is not really what’s going on, but it’s the start of an “empowerment” arc, or whatever, so it works in this context.

When Amberle makes it back to the kingdom, she has to face the judgment of the Elf Council, as well as the Ellcrys Tree. Since she’s the last of the Chosen, it falls to her to save the tree if she can. Moving into the Ellcrys, Amberle has to undergo a test to prove her worthiness.

The Ellcrys Tree speaks to Amberle, giving her a seed to transport to a place called Safehold, where they submerge it in “blood fire” or some piece of the Lazurus Pit or something, then bring the seed back from Modor Safehold to restore the Ellcrys Tree.

She even has a Force Vision™ to test her mettle, the idea being that if she fails, she dies inside the tree. But she passes — of course — and Will and Eretria join her quest — of course — because Eretria has to prove she didn’t try to kill Amberle (it was the Changeling) and she wants to get away from her father. What better way than to be on a quest for some far off land?

The Changeling is the Dagda Mor’s secret agent inside the palace, and we spend quite a few moments in these first two episodes with Alanon spinning everyone’s wheels trying to chase down said agent before they go on the quest. Since there’s no way to know what form the demon takes, there’s no way to know if they escape it when they leave, or if it comes with them.

So, by using Eretria as bait, they manage to vanquish the shape-shifting demon, earning the Rover Girl points toward her release. And along the way, Wil learns that he can actually use the Elf Stones to blast at a Fury — another type of ugly demon that likes to shred people — and we get a little love triangle going between Wil, Amberle, and Eretria.

Only Amberle seems to have spurned Wil’s attention, having seen in her Ellcrys vision that she needs to stay focused on the mission. She needs to bury her feelings. They do her credit, but they could be made to serve the Emperor Dagda Mor.

Along the way, they pick up Banon, an Elf with the gift of seeing the future death of anyone he touches. Probable death? Certain death? Death far enough away that he can affect the outcome? This character is original to the series, and as far as I can determine, doesn’t have an analogue in the books?

So the Fellowship Chosen set out to Mordor Safehold with the Ring Ellcrys Seed, with Gandalf Alanon staying behind to pursue a different mission.

Overall, not a bad start. With any fantasy show, of course, the effects play such an important role in selling the world-building, and here they work pretty well. A couple of places where it could have been better, of course, but the same could be said of any effects-heavy series or movie.

As to the performances, well… I’ll say they’re solid. It’s MTV, home of The Real World Ad Nauseum, so with that consideration — and given the fact that the three leads are young and early in their careers — they have room for improvement, but they’re not too much behind any actor starting a brand new high-concept series in the first season. First seasons are always “Level One” for players and audience alike. I like the comparison Gizmodo made to a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. These are early low-experience-point players. Given time, they’ll get more comfortable in their roles and should deliver better and better performances as the show progresses.

The Shannara Chronicles airs Tuesday on MTV.