Willow dials up the humor and whimsy in “Wildwood”

It’s time for another adventure with Willow Ufgood and his band of companions as they continue their journey to save the kidnapped Prince Airk. But all is not as it seems as they’re forced to take a detour through the seemingly mysterious Wildwood.

The fifth episode of Willow is out now on Disney+. Let’s review! As always, SPOILERS for this week’s episode of Willow lie beyond.

Willow Episode 5 review: “Wildwood”

Last week’s episode, “The Whispers of Nockmaar,” ended with the cliffhanger that two of the Gales were watching our band of adventurers leave Bavmorda’s castle. “Wildwood” picks up right where that left off, throwing us into a chaotic chase as the Gales try to capture Elora Danon.

Unlike last week’s quieter, darker episode, “Wildwood” makes it clear right out of the gate that fun is going to be the name of the game. Arre! Arre!’s punk rock song “Time For Some Mayhem” kicks in the second the episode starts, which lifts the mood and sets the stage for what’s to come.

To escape the Gales, Willow (Warwick Davis) leads the group into the Wildwood, a place where strange energies can cause people to see visions. While it sounds like a pretty typical mystical fantasy forest, the show pulls back the curtain to reveal that part of the reason for the rumors is that a group of raiders called Bone Reavers have set up camp there.

More than any episode before it, “Wildwood” is about humor. From Boorman’s (Amara Chadha-Patel) initial proclamation that the Wildwood’s seductive sights and sounds can leave you so out of sorts that “the next thing you know you’re officiating weddings and dog-sitting for casual acquaintances” to Willow’s deadpan advice to Graydon (Tony Revolori) and Elora (Ellie Bamber), this is easily the funniest episode to date. It’s fitting that a lot of those laughs come from Boorman. He’s become the comedic relief character of the group, and he really gets a chance to shine in “Wildwood.”

Willow embraces YA romance in “Wildwood”

Things start to get interesting once our heroes are captured by the Bone Reavers, who are a remnant of the raiders who once fought for Queen Bavmorda in the 1988 film. As with the beginning chase scene, it quickly becomes clear that there’s little actual danger here. Instead, our characters mainly get more chances to explore their romantic connections. Graydon tries to get advice about how to romance Elora, which Willow strongly disapproves of since she has to one day become Empress of the Nine Realms. Kit (Ruby Cruz) tries to come to terms with her feelings for Jade (Erin Kellyman), and we touch on Boorman’s history with the group of reavers.

All of the relationship stuff works just fine; some of it, especially Jade and Kit’s material, is especially well-handled both by the actors and the writers. Kit and Elora’s blossoming friendship is another highlight, since the two spent the first half of the season largely at odds.

Eventually it’s revealed that Jade is actually one of the daughters of the fearsome General Kael from the 1988 film. The leader of the Bone Reaver camp is a woman named Scorpia (Adwoa Aboah); one of Jade’s sisters who bears an identical brand on her neck marking her out as a child of Kael. Jade has had one of the more compelling arcs on Willow so far, so I liked that this episode spent so much time with her.

It all leads to a dance party in the middle of the forest where everyone eats “truth plums” which cause them to spill their deepest darkest secrets left and right. Willow outs himself as a sham sorcerer to Graydon and Elora, Boorman confesses his feelings for Scorpia, and Jade and Kit finally profess their love for one another out loud. There were as many funny beats as there were heartfelt ones, and it worked. This episode definitely embraced the YA romance side of the show, which felt warranted given where the characters are in the story.

Willow Bullet Points

• “Wildwood” also features the return of the Brownies, tiny forest people who were an essential part of the 1988 movie. They felt like a perfect fit for this episode.
• The scene where Boorman relates his escape from the troll stronghold to Scorpia might be one of the funniest in the entire series; as he tells her how dangerous the past few years of his life have been, the scene cuts to what he was actually doing, which was nowhere near as glamorous or daring as he makes it sound.
• Speaking of Boorman, actor Amar Chadha-Patel has quietly been a series standout. “Wildwood” gave him his best material yet, and he totally killed it.
• Elora Danon is also growing seemingly more comfortable with magic. After a pretty funny scene where Willow tries to tell her she’s not ready to wield his magic wand, she snatches it anyway and then uses it to break out of prison, and later on to stir a soup.
• The episode ends with trolls attacking the Bone Reaver camp. Curious to see how that plays out next week.

Verdict

“Wildwood” is a quick, snappy episode of Willow that emphasizes the show’s comedic and romantic elements. In that way, the tone feels even closer to the 1988 film, which is surprisingly funny as well. It felt like a respite before the back half of the season, and was very easy to watch. Keeping things light and fun seems to be a big part of the Willow formula, and this episode nailed it.

Episode Grade: B

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