Shannara Chronicles Review

I just watched the pilot episode for the new Shannara Chronicles Series. The Elfstones of Shanara by Terry Brooks was my first ever epic fantasy novel as a kid, so it has a special place in my heart. When I heard that Manu Bennet would play Allanon, I knew instantly that the series would be awesome.

My initial reaction: Pretty cool. The visuals of ‘ancient’ human structures grown over with moss and vines is a wonderful backdrop to the fantasy story and I love how the producers cleverly emphasize the post-apocalyptic setting --it’s like they’re sneaking a post apocalyptic story under our noses while wowing the audience with fantasy CGI. It’s a great way to connect with the Hunger Games fanbase all over the world, but still call it a fantasy story.

About ten minutes into the story, my second impression was: Teenybopper story to the max! The opening scene was all about women’s rights, the character of Loren became Amberle’s hot boyfriend, Uncle Ander was 20 instead of 40 years old, while his brother Arion, the official heir, was the classic, stubborn sibling that never listens to anything new or interesting. Ander even has a former relationship with an Elven guard that adds more teenybopper drama to the ball scene.  Also, there’s the naked phenomenon that the review from The Atlantic says best: “Maybe it’ll just be enough to take in the blank acting of the handsome, doe-eyed leads who get into an improbably number of situations that require them to interact while naked.” Apparently, MTV believes that the tension of characters being naked with each other is another requirement of attracting teen audiences, despite claims that the Shannara Chronicles is a family-friendly series.

I have to admit, it felt kind of weird to see a fantasy story played out in a world where most of the main characters have American accents instead of the neutral British brogue common to many movies with a fantastical setting. In addition, the writers made no effort to make the dialogue feel…different. I guess I always expect medieval settings to come with an old-fashioned type of Shakespeare-ish dialogue, but The Shannara Chronicles had dialogue that felt modern at every turn. The modern language cemented the teenybopper feel, since they sounded like teens straight out of a modern high school instead of teens from a far off future, living in a completely different world. I think MTV was trying as hard as they could to make a series that would be VERY appealing to teenage audiences, and thus focused on a fantasy world that had a very modern feel. For myself, I prefer a different world to FEEL different, instead of feeling the same. And now that I think about it, the characters in the Hunger Games never felt like they were characters straight out of a modern high school.

SPOILER ALERT:

Watching all the differences from the book to the TV show was fascinating and instructive at the same time. In the books, the Chosen are selected by the Ellcrys when one of her branches touches your shoulder as you walk underneath. In the TV series, they had an action packed opening sequence where becoming a Chosen is a death-defying race through the woods with a blindfold and your hands tied behind your back. The TV series emphasizes a feminist angle in how no female has ever run the gauntlet before, and she’s turning tradition upside down for the chance to be a Chosen. The opening scene was very different, but definitely more exciting. I was very glad that Amberle started hearing the voice of the Ellcrys during the race, and that the Ellcrys helped her, because it reinforces the idea that Amberle was singled out by the Ellcrys for a very special purpose. I also liked how the story setup that Amberle ran away because of the horrifying visions the Ellcrys showed her. That gave Amberle a very clear motivation for leaving. The book was a bit more vague on that part--Amberle was scared because she felt like she was losing her identity to the Ellcrys. A more personal conflict, but less easy to explain on a screen.

I definitely approve of Allanon’s costuming and Manu Bennet does an excellent job of portraying Allanon’s gravitas. The scene where he wakes up from the druid sleep was…odd, but cool, and it made sense. I’m not sure yet how I feel about Allanon having a sword that grows and shrinks like Percy Jackson’s, but the CGI for his sword is definitely awesome. I dearly hope that his sword is NOT the Sword of Shannara. I don’t think any druid should casually throw that sword around.

Making Dagda Mor an ancient, corrupted druid wasn’t true to the books, but it’s a good way for the producers to unite the narrative threads of the different novels and introduce concepts that I’m sure will be the central plot for season 2--the fight against the book of evil called the Ildatch. It could also be the producer’s attempt to at least mention the storyline of the Sword of Shannara book by making Dagda sound a lot like the evil druid Brona who nearly destroyed the four lands.

I was little disoriented by how all the characters were awkwardly juggled back and forth to many different locations throughout the first episode. In the book, Will was already at Storlock, and he meets Allanon when he collapases on Storlock’s doorstep after being ripped to shreds by wolf demons. In this first episode of the TV series, Will’s mother dies, and he just barely starts his journey to Storlock. In the book, Eretria doesn’t enter the story until much later, when Will and Amberle are fleeing from the Reaper demon on a fantastic horse. In the TV show, she is a gorgeous femme fatale, who saves Will from a troll, and she’s practically  a slave to her Rover father. I admit, I was very much looking forward to seeing the brightly colored rover wagons described in the book, but they did not make an appearance in the first episode.  

I really liked the tension of Eretria being a slave. It gives her more depth, and even though she’s a streetwise thief that will steal the clothes off your back when you’re not looking, seeing the relationship with her father gives her an attractive vulnerability and her deal that she gets her freedom if she captures Will gives her a very convincing motivation for finding him again. I’m excited to see what happens with her in the next episode.

I liked Amberle’s tough personality, and the vulnerability caused by the visions the Ellcrys shows her. The boyfriend angle with Loren was sweet, but cliché.

My least favorite character, unfortunately, was Will. I wasn’t a fan of his long hair when I first saw the pictures, but I was hoping that the acting would make up for it. Sadly, I think the actor does a terrific job of portraying a whiny surfer dude who can’t even tie his own shoes. I’m sad that I won’t get to see Will as an expert healer, and I’m sad that he he’s not even close to competing with the grit and determination of Eretria and Amberle. I assume that will change as Will grows and matures during the season, but I don’t have very high hopes for him. Having strong female characters is great, but I like to see strong male characters as well.

In the TV series, Allanon says that Will has the potential to become a druid. This is interesting because in the books, Will was only a quarter elf, and actually had a very difficult time using the elfstones because of his diluted elf blood. It looks like the TV series is going to set up Will’s heritage as a family of magic-users, in a world where only magic users can use the elfstones, rather than just anyone with elven blood. I liked that Will could only use the elfstones and nothing else in the books, but perhaps the producers wanted to emphasize magic in Will to set up the plot for Will’s children in season 2, which I assume will be based on the next book in the series, The Wishsong of Shannara.

By the way, Allanon’s magic tattoos? I love them. Gives him a hard, tough look different from any monk or wizard I’ve ever seen. And for Manu Bennet? It suits him to the ground.

Wasn’t too thrilled about how Paranor looked, and I was disappointed that the druid codex was only one volume. In the book, there’s a whole wall filled with the druid histories.

But despite some of the weaknesses of the series, Manu Bennett as Allanon is a dream come true and the cinematography of the New Zealand landscape is stunning.