One thing about the new adventures this season is how big
an effect they have on certain areas of Hilda’s life. Their significant increase in danger causes a
threat to her adventurous interests causing her to advocate for a new
perspective, as well as cause significant family drama. Here, both effects come to a head as a result
of the featured adventure.
Continuing from the short tease at the end of the previous episode, Hilda and her friends learn of monster attacks on ships of Trolberg’s harbor. This is where a threat to Hilda’s adventurous interests becomes known as everyone is led to believe that the monster living on the distant Cauldron Island, the lindworm, is to blame. It certainly doesn’t help that Erik Ahlberg exacerbates these claims as a way to boost his status as head of safety patrol. Being someone who cares deeply for the creatures of the wilderness, Hilda becomes determined to clear the lindworm’s name which takes up the majority of the episode. She has a good mind to believe that Erik himself attacked the ships, but it’s shot down before she can really follow up on this conclusion. The Woodman shows up as just a head, having lost his body to an actual creature who was attacking ships.
With actual investigation required now, Hilda along with Frida, David, Alfur, and Woodman hop a cute water spirit to get to Cauldron Island to investigate. That same water spirit helps Hilda, Woodman, and Frida to breathe underwater to look for clues of any monster as well as take in the pleasing atmosphere of the location. The best evidence of a monster they get is finding another mechanical bell that was used to summon it, and the old draugen captain having somewhat of a lead. As for David and Alfur, their job is to warn the lindworm of the accusations and do what they can to clear her name. Since the accusations make the lindworm seem like she want to fight, they try to get the elves of the lost clan to give her one to satisfy her frustrations. However, the plan backfires as the fake fight escalates and Erik and his crew show up to attack, firmly sticking to the false belief that the lindworm was responsible.
However, as Hilda, Frida, and Woodman reach the surface, the real threat
to the ships emerges, for Cauldron Island isn’t really an island, but rather a
giant kraken. The size and force of the creature guarantees an intense battle
which delivers on the entertainment, but also showcases the true dangers of
Hilda’s new adventures. There’s still
sentimentality to the creature as the kraken turns out to just be trying to
feed her babies all this time, and they happen to have a good taste for wood,
i.e. the ships they sunk. Through
Frida’s witch magic and Hilda being a loyal familiar, they’re able to divert
the kraken to stop attacking occupied ships in exchange for the sunken draugen
ships. This brings the climax to a
thrilling and satisfying end as the kraken ceases its attacks, its babies don’t
go hungry, and the lindworm is officially cleared. It all seems like a perfectly good triumph
for young adventurous Hilda.
Then attention is brought to one big thing that never really crossed Hilda’s mind. A few instances this season have featured her not being completely honest with her mother about where she’s been. It’s even gotten to the point where Hilda has flat out said that she doesn’t tell Johanna everything. Personally, I feel that little lies are not always bad and can be harmless. However, it’s another instance where you say you’re going to do something you’re not actually going to do, and people believe it. You can only imagine how worried they’ll be when they find out you’re not at the place you said you were going to be, and they have no idea where you really are. It’s a sure way to cause a lot of stressful worry, and that’s what happens with Johanna here.
Continuing from the last episode, she plans for her and Hilda to go on a picnic, but Hilda blows it off for obvious reasons. In doing so, she tells Johanna that she’s going to a Sparrow Scout activity that unbeknownst to Johanna doesn’t exist. It never occurs to Hilda that her mother could just investigate the matter, but apparently she’s oblivious to clear signs of suspicion Johanna has expressed lately. Not to mention, she has no awareness of how big and serious her adventures are getting as they get legit media coverage as the TV shows when she gets home.
Speaking of that, Hilda’s confrontation with her mother is a strongly
staged if an emotionally pungent end to the episode. Hilda is visibly proud of all she’s
accomplished today unaware of any repercussions to the people in her life. Johanna, secretly aware of the truth, strikes
up a conversation directed at the supposed scout activity, and Hilda keeps up
the lie instead of coming clean. It
takes cute fuzzy Tontu leaving the room to indicate heavy emotions about to
unfold. Very slowly, Johanna’s
disappointment and angst rise and let themselves be known. First she reveals the truth, refuses to let
Hilda make excuses, and then snaps to express how much her daughter’s
lies of her whereabouts really hurt her.
It’s honestly very realistic to how people at Hilda’s age would
experience a parent finding out their lies, which in a way can be far scarier
than any monster or bully. To cap it
all, the confrontation ends with what kids could possibly dread the most for
how common it is; getting grounded. It’s
especially bad for an adventurer at heart like Hilda, for after working so hard
to protect part of what she’s passionate about, she’s cut off from it. In most cases, I would say that Johanna should
have let Hilda explain why she lied instead of reacting just to the fact that
she lied, but I say it works here. Hilda
may have had her reasons, but she still hurt her mother by making up stories of
where she was going to be today, so at this point her reasons don’t
matter. Also, again, Johanna has been
nothing but supportive of her adventures no matter how dangerous since the
beginning. There’s really no reason for
Hilda to have lied to her at all. Perhaps
it may be the point for her to not understand all this so to give her an
opportunity to grow.
It’s remarkable how both areas of Hilda’s life leave a lot to
talk about. The wilderness adventure
part is certainly big on staging, atmosphere, and creativity for sure. However, her family life is just as engaging
for how it builds up the drama and lands Hilda with genuine consequences for
her actions. With that, the show is able
to keep its unique spirit as well as mature into something broader and universally
relatable.
A
Series Ranking
1.
The House in the Woods
2.
The Nightmare Spirit
3.
The Tide Mice
4.
The
Old Bells of Trolberg
5.
The Witch
6.
The Bird Parade
7.
The Midnight Giant
8.
The Beast of Cauldron Island
9.
The
Eternal Warriors
10. The Windmill
11. The Troll Circle
12. The Hidden People
13. The Storm
14. The
Draugen
15. The Black Hound
16. The Troll Rock
17. The Lost Clan
18. The Sparrow Scouts
19. The Nisse
20.
The Ghost
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where, while grounded, Hilda still finds herself on an adventure through time.
If you would like to check out other Hilda reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
