Wednesday, February 13, 2019

The House in the Woods (Hilda Season 1 Episode 11) - 'Toon Reviews 26


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The House in the Woods
One of the biggest plot points of the series has been of Hilda getting used to her new home in Trolberg.  It goes to show that she’s been adjusting fine, though it’s still difficult mostly because of the complications she’s had with her friends. 
Following the previous episode, she finds herself back in the wilderness, but something has changed.  Despite knowing her way around the environment for all her life, it’s shocking that Hilda has no idea how to navigate and get back home. 
In her travels she finds the Woodman who hasn’t been seen since the first two episodes of the series.  Just as before, he works in mysterious ways, acting like he’s disinterested in Hilda’s problems, but later on proving to be quite helpful.  His loyalties are appropriately questioned when he bets Hilda in a game of poker he plays with elves, loses, and has to give up to a giant who hordes stuff.  It’s a little baffling that there’s a giant around when it was discussed that the giants left, and only that couple from a while back remained.  Maybe this one was overlooked and no one considered him. 
As for the Woodman, albeit still nonchalantly, he does start proving his helpfulness when he comes to steal back the things he lost from the giant, including Hilda.  As they walk through the woods, he keeps pointing out Hilda’s shortcomings in the situation, particularly how it doesn’t make sense for her to feel lost if the woods is her real home.  However, since he has no idea how get back to Trolberg, they need a place to stay for the night.  Conveniently, they find a humble house in the woods where nobody seems to live.  However, there’s a mystical catch to it.  When Hilda and the Woodman enter, everything they think and say they want magically appears to them. 
In a bad situation, this moment is staged to feel like a good moment as Hilda and the Woodman relax with tea, music, and atmosphere.  Hilda even starts getting the idea to move back to the wilderness in a place like this.  However, as the music plays, there’s an effective montage showing that life goes on despite Hilda’s comfort.  As a soothing music piece plays, there are also scenes of Alfur and Twig braving the wilderness to find Hilda, and her mother worried sick for her back in Trolberg.  It’s an immersive look at different perspectives on the situation. 
For Hilda, things don’t turn out so peaceful the next day when the house doesn’t seem to want her and the Woodman to leave.  The door’s stuck, they somehow fall down the chimney when they go out the window, and in an impressively surreal sequence there are endless stairs up to the attic.  The attic’s no good either since it just leads them back downstairs.  Alfur and Twig are later found by the Great Raven whose size is enough to scare that giant into forgetting all about Hilda, and they all find her in that house.  They end up trapped themselves after closing the door, but that works to Hilda’s advantage.  It takes the desires of her, the Woodman, Alfur, and the Great Raven to have the house give in and give Hilda a door home, which once and for all is declared to be Trolberg. 
While this the strongest development for Hilda to get, the Woodman leaves her with a wholesome reminder that life is full of changes.  You may get new homes, but the homes you have will always be a part of you.  He ensures that the woods will always be a part of Hilda by admitting that for what he says, he considers her a friend.  In all, this episode is a top-tier creative and insightful story, and the best way for Hilda to officially call Trolberg her true home while maintaining the spirit of her old home.
A+

The Ranking
  1. The House in the Woods
  2. The Nightmare Spirit
  3. The Tide Mice
  4. The Bird Parade
  5. The Midnight Giant
  6. The Hidden People
  7. The Storm
  8. The Troll Rock
  9. The Lost Clan
  10. The Sparrow Scouts
  11. The Ghost
After resolving her main conflict, the next review follows Hilda as she spends the rest of the series dealing with more minor conflicts, mostly through matters of Sparrow Scout badges and helping a creature called a nisse.

If you would like to check out other Hilda reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

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