Willow season 1 episode 5 recap & review: Wildwood

Episode 5 of Willow follows the group as they venture into the Wildwood and face a different kind of threat. The episode is now streaming on Disney+.

Recap

The Scourge and the Dag are chasing Willow and the others so the heroes have no choice but to retreat into the Wildwood to get away from them. Graydon and Willow are aware of the perils of the Wildwood but they have no other choice at this moment.

Boorman takes the lead and tells everyone to be on guard or else they’ll be overcome with temptation as the woods take hold of their minds. Jade says that the Bone Reavers who killed her parents live in these woods and hopes they might still be so that she can take revenge.

They settle down at one point and Willow tells Elora that she needs to still train her concentration and divination before she is ready to wield Cherlindrea’s wand. Graydon watches on from a distance as Boorman offers to help in the matters of courting a woman since he’s so clearly enamoured by Elora.

Boorman suddenly notices bones on the forest floor and tells everyone else that he has a plan just as dozens of Bone Reavers pop up and capture the group.

They are taken to the reaver settlement where they meet Scorpia, their leader. She recognizes Boorman and is surprised to see him alive. She orders that he be tied up in her tent and the others are restrained in different holding areas.

Kit offers them riches in exchange for their freedom but Jade calls the reavers heartless and foolish so Kit shouldn’t bother negotiating with them. Scorpia sends Elora and Kit off to one cell, Graydon and Willow to another and Jade is kept around for the reavers to have some fun.

Scorpia goes back to her tent and asks Boorman how he survived the mines and Boorman narrates his journey while taking several liberties with the truth.

Graydon is stuck up on his feelings for Elora but Willow tells him that he needs to forget those feeling because Elora has an important destiny to fulfil. All the while, Willow is looking for a way to get out and finds some miniature settlements that fill him with relief.

Kit and Elora are stuck together and Kit is still a little frosty in her behaviour toward Elora even though Elora is trying to be helpful. She knows that Kit and Jade are in love with each other no matter how much they try to hide it from one another.

Elora then tells Kit that she’s going to get them out of there and reveals Cherlindrea’s wand in her possession. Willow calls out the Brownies living in the small settlements and a young woman walks out of one of the houses.

He asks the woman if she might know an old friend of his and right then a man walks out of the house and immediately recognizes Willow. Willow addresses him as Rool who tells the wizard that the woman is his daughter Ganush. He then asks about Franjean and Rool says that he has travelled down south.

Willow asks Rool for his help escaping and Rool has several ideas about that. Meanwhile, Elora and Kit find themselves in the middle of reavers as they try to rescue Jade. Scorpia leaves Boorman and heads outside as Kit and Elora are cornered.

Jade manages to escape her bounds and scraps with Scorpia and when Scorpia has the upper hand and is about to kill Jade, she notices a mark on the back of Jade’s neck.

She sends Jade to her tent and follows after her to reveal that she has the same mark. Jade learns that they are both the children of General Kael and she was lied to by the people of Tir Asleen about her parentage.

By the time Willow and Graydon escape, the mood has changed completely in the settlement as everyone is celebrating the return of Jade, a fellow bone reaver. Scorpia gives a speech as everyone is given truth plums to eat.

Graydon tries to apologise to Elora but she doesn’t trust him and says that she saw him kill his brother when was younger. Kit says she did have doubts about Jade’s origins and Jade is disappointed that Kit never told her.

Kit asks Elora for advice and Elora tells Kit to just be honest and everything will be alright. Willow pulls Graydon aside and tells him that he doesn’t need to worry about the past because he’s a good person.

He talks about how he defeated Bavmorda by a stroke of luck and has always dreaded the day he’ll be found out as a talentless old hack. Elora walks up just as Willow says this and she’s taken aback and immediately leaves.

Kit pulls Jade aside and tells her that she loves her and Jade returns the sentiment. Just as they’re about to kiss, a troll drops down from the trees, grabs Kit and swings back into the thick brush as more trolls attack the settlement.

Review

• Episode 5 has a more relaxed tone compared to the previous episode but it begins and ends on a frantic note. The entire episode is structured quite well taking these themes into account.
• The dialogue does feel a little modern and anachronistic at times which adds to the humour of the episode. Boorman continues to be the key comedic centre but Graydon and Elora have their moments as well.
• The switch in the attitude of the bone reavers is admittedly a bit abrupt but this rehabilitation of the characters makes them more human and well-rounded.

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