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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
- The House in the Woods
- The Nightmare Spirit
- The Tide Mice
- The Bird Parade
- The Midnight Giant
- The Hidden People
- The Storm
- The Troll Rock
- The Lost Clan
- The Sparrow Scouts
- 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.
The Black Hound draws near!
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