Willow season 1 episode 6 recap & review: Prisoners of Skellin

In episode 6 of Willow, our heroes find themselves in the dreaded mines of Skellin as Kit meets a man from her father’s past. The episode is streaming on Disney+.

Recap

Airk is lounging in the ruins when he hears the Crone’s voice calling out to him from beyond a doorway. He chooses not to follow it and instead walks out of the city ruins.

Willow and Kit are being escorted by the trolls into the mines of Skellin and placed in a crow’s cage alongside other prisoners. Kit tries to remain positive and look for a way out but the prisoner next to them says that he’s been stuck there for 10 years so they have no shot.

He introduces himself as Madmartigan which surprises Kit and Willow. A couple of trolls walk in and ask the new prisoners where they’re from and Kit tells them that she’s the princess from Tir Asleen.

Boorman, Jade, Scorpia, Elora and Graydon are outside the mines figuring out a plan to sneak in. Scorpia asks Boorman how he escaped the last time and he relentingly shows them that rather than a daring escape, he got out through their waste tunnels.

The trolls are getting ready to torture Kit as she’s restrained in a chair because they want to find out where Elora Danan is. Elora and the others reach a cave with a pool of molten material in it and as Elora feels a sneeze coming, the entire mine begins to tremble.

The trolls realise that Elora must be here to rescue her friends and they scramble to find her. After they leave, Kit and Willow accuse the other prisoner of lying because they’re sure he’s not Madmartigan and Willow reveals that he’s Allagash, a member of Madmartigan’s crew.

Allagash says that Boorman was the one who betrayed Madmartigan and stole the Lux Arcana. Scorpia aims to rescue the other bone reavers while Boorman and the others dress up in troll outfits and rescue Kit and Willow.

Kit manages to get a hand free and then hands a tool to Allagash so that he can free himself. After they’re all free, Allagash says that he can take them to where Madmartigan is, Wigglwheim’s tomb.

Boorman and the others are making their way through the tunnels when Graydon is pulled away because he’s mistaken for a troll. Allagash tells Kit about how he was recruited for Madmartigan’s search for the Khymerian Cuirass.

Elora, Jade and Boorman get further into the caves but Elora drops Cherlindrea’s wand down the mine along the way. After a point, Boorman reveals that he’s actually leading them towards Wiggleheim’s tomb so that he can get the cuirass and save everyone.

Throughout this whole ordeal, Elora doesn’t feel so well and experiences a lot of self-doubt. As Boorman is looking for the secret door, Allagash, Kit and Willow show up.

Allagash and Boorman begin fighting each other as Willow admonishes Elora for losing Cherlindrea’s wand. Boorman claims that Allagash was the real traitor and that his only crime was leaving Madmartigan to die even though he was his squire.

Allagash manages to find the secret door to Wiggleheim’s tomb and once they all get in, they hear the Nelwyn’s voice giving them a riddle to solve or else they’ll die.

After solving the two riddles required of them, the tomb opens up and Allagash and Boorman rush in to get their hands on the cuirass. They come out with it still fighting each other as Kit walks in to look for her father.

She finds his sword in front of an enchanted doorway and hears his voice from the other side but Jade and Elora stop her from going through or else she’d be lost as well.

Allagash escapes with the cuirass and the lux and the others come face-to-face with the trolls. Graydon turns out to be right there and hands Willow his staff as Allagash returns to help them fight off the trolls.

After getting through the first wave, Allagash says that the cuirass didn’t work for him and gives it to Boorman. He shows them a way out but stays behind to give them some time. He tells Kit that her father believed she would be responsible for protecting this world, especially Elora.

They come out near the floor of the mine as rocks continue to fall from above. Graydon sees an exit at the other end but as they’re walking across, Kit and Elora lag behind.

Kit blames Elora for everything that has happened to them so far and Elora feels a ton of guilt but begs Kit to do this some other time. A rock falls down sending Kit to the liquid below as the rock closes up her exit.

They try to break the floor open as Elora stumbles onto the wand she dropped. She performs the spell to break open the floor before the scene shifts away.

Airk finds himself back at the ruins but he hears the voice of a woman nearby. He sees her in a cell and believes she was sent here by the same person that sent him and they look dreamily into each other’s eyes.

Review

• Having the troll be so well-spoken and refined is a nice humorous detail. It goes completely against their appearance and this juxtaposed combination is a brilliant idea.
• Ruby Cruz is doing a wonderful job as Kit and she’s backed up by the way her character is written. She’s clearly a hero but her insecurities tend to overcome her and she lets her envy towards Elora come out time and time again.
• The look of the trolls and the mines on the whole is top-notch work. Whether it is special or practical effects, the end result is amazing and looks great on screen.

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Also Read: Willow season 1 episode 5 recap & review: Wildwood