Willow season 1 episode 4 recap & review: The Whispers of Nockmaar

In episode 4 of Willow, the heroes take shelter in Nockmaar, Bavmorda’s former stronghold and the cursed surroundings play tricks on their minds. The episode is now streaming on Disney+.

Recap

Despite Willow’s concerns, the group heads to the castle of Nockmaar for shelter so that they can find some way to heal Graydon from his sickness.

They restrain Graydon with chains and he tells them that the dark magic will take hold eventually so they must kill him. Kit agrees with that idea but Boorman and Jade tell her that it’s not as easy to kill a person that isn’t fighting back.

Graydon says that he has past experience with dark magic so he knows that killing him is the right decision to make. Elora doesn’t want to accept that so quickly and asks Willow to help.

Graydon pipes up about the way Willow defeated Bavmorda back in the day and he replies that it was an almighty effort to defeat the sorceress. He says that if there is a way to cure Graydon, then he knows where it might be.

They find a book called the Malatrium which consists of the rituals and spells practised by the Order of the Wyrm and they find the instructions for The Purgation of Namshub and he tells them that he needs Elora’s help and the right ingredients.

They begin collecting the various things required to make a salve which they will use on Graydon while reading purgation aloud. He orders some of them to be on the lookout for the Gales and insists that they absolutely stay out of the High Tower.

Jade and Boorman offer to keep watch for the Gales. Jade is still hurting from having to kill Ballantine and she is still a little mad at Kit. Boorman is walking around the castle when he sees a huge door that looks like a vault. He tries to pick the lock but is unsuccessful.

Kit also has a frosty dynamic with Elora and they’re always on the brink of an argument. When Willow cuts open Graydon’s shirt for the ritual, they see that his body is covered in scars.

He tells them that he was sick with something severe while he was younger but he isn’t sure what it was and isn’t allowed to talk about it openly. Willow begins the first steps of the ritual and it’s very painful for Graydon.

Boorman is looking for a way to get into the vault door while Kit still thinks killing Graydon is the best choice and Boorman suggests that she’s behaving much like her grandmother at this moment.

Elora and Graydon are chanting one of the incantations and Graydon hallucinates the image of his father chastising him for a past mistake and next to him he sees what looks like his older brother, giving him words of encouragement.

Kit is headed towards them with one of the ingredients they need and she is sidetracked when she hears voices and sees a tapestry depicting the story of Bavmorda being corrupted by The Crone because Bavmorda has the Blood of the Six running through her.

Boorman runs into Jade on the walls of the castle and she bears her feelings with him. He sees her grieving and consoles her making her hug him tightly and burst into tears.

The ritual continues and suddenly Graydon begins talking with Airik’s voice. Willow tells the others that this is the Lich’s doing in order to distract them and Kit walks out because she can’t bear to see this.

He then turns to Willow and alludes to some secret the sorcerer is keeping and when Elora questions him, he tells her that she needs to focus on the ritual and that if she can’t, she’s better off leaving.

The castle begins to mess with their minds as Boorman imagines that the Lux Arcana was stolen from him. Kit gets lost within the halls of the place, Jade pictures her dead parents and the man that killed them while Elora sees her mother and how she died.

Kit and Jade run into each other and realize that the castle is turning them around. Boorman accuses them of stealing the Lux from him but the get distracted by something happening in the High Tower.

Meanwhile, Elora goes back to the main hall where she sees Gradyon free and looking fine. He says that he was cured but the sickness passed onto Willow and they must save him.

He says that they should think like the Lich to figure out where Willow would have gone and they immediately think of the High Tower. When they get there, Graydon reveals that he’s still possessed and begins the ritual to send Elora’s soul to a place where she’ll be stranded forever.

Willow shows up in time and Graydon shows Elora the truth about how Bavmorda was vanquished. He says that she was a victim of her own carelessness and Willow didn’t have anything to do with it.

He momentarily gets the upper hand and asks Willow how he’s going to win now and he says he’ll achieve it the same way he did last time, with his friends. Right then, Kit, Jade and Boorman walk in.

They take down Graydon and Elora is getting back to her senses. She doesn’t have much self-belief but Kit tells her that her seed-growing spell worked in the forest so she has the power to help Graydon.

She approaches him and quite literally sucks the sickness out of him and dispels it. The clouds part and the rain stops as the sun shines brightly on them as Graydon thanks her for saving him.

They leave Nockmaar and Kit asks Willow about the Blood of the Six. He tells her all about it and says that Elora has shown some proficiency with magic, giving them a good chance of success. Boorman finds the Lux back on his person and realises that it was an illusion.

Airik wakes up in a cell with the door open. He heads out to see himself in empty ruins as he heads towards the highest point to find out more.

Review

• The practical effects used to depict Graydon’s possession look mortifying in a good way. The set of Nockmaar castle also has the right aura to it in this creepy episode.
• The scene where Elora says she knows her way around the castle because she was born there is pretty insignificant but her delivery and the sudden shift in the background score make the moment truly inspiring.
• There are some awkward moments where a joke is shunted in during an intense, serious set-piece and that practice needs to be tempered a bit to maintain the balance in tone.

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Also Read: Willow season 1 episode 3 recap & review: The Battle of the Slaughtered Lamb