As shows advance, their featured characters are bound to encounter obstacles more challenging than before. So far, it’s easy to see an increase in intensity through much of Hilda’s new adventures. This time, the change in intensity isn’t so much found in the danger, but rather the major clash of philosophies when it comes to wilderness which Hilda lives for.
It starts with a simple Sparrow Scout activity where she and the rest of the troop are out spotting the adorable flying creatures, woffs. Then a sudden ringing bell sounds which causes loud noise pollution for the people and messes up the woffs’ flight migration pattern. From Hilda’s perspective, these measures are not exactly warranted since bells are meant to warn of troll attacks, but it’s going on during the day when trolls are dormant. To further showcase the magnitude of the presence of the ringing bell, Hilda learns that it’s a major nuisance to other wilderness creatures like elves and nisse.
The way of life as well as her passion in such a difficult situation leads Hilda to head to the core of the issue, which includes sneaking out without her mother knowing. Anyhow, going back to the source uncovers several key details for Hilda to use to give everyone the best help they need. She meets the tower’s bell keeper who turns out to be very fascinating for who he is. As the only remaining bell keeper for such a long time, he may seem uptight and intolerant to nonsense, but he shares Hilda’s resentment about the bells. The extended use of them is the work of Erik Ahlberg to build up his status as safety patrol in what can be described as a vanity project. Just to further enforce his use of bells, Erick has also commissioned machines to ring bells all over Trolberg all throughout the day. This brings a more down-to-Earth yet still heavy implication that the human bell keeper will be out of a job because of this.
With the stakes legitimately high for many and not just the wilderness creatures, Hilda is quick to come up with a plan to stop the bells from taking effect. She and her closest friends and allies set off to get to the central belltower controlling all the others to stop them from activating during a ceremony set to introduce the new system. As Erik acts like a total windbag promoting himself and his plan with an endless speech, Hilda and the others use their wits and strengths to make legit progress. It's a great show of talents too, bringing Frida's witch magic, Tontu's knowledge of Nowhere Space, Alfur and the Lost Clan's invisible attacks, and David's vigilance together; it's several different characters coming together as one in a pleasing manner.
Still, Erik proves to be very formidable where even though Hilda’s plan works, there’s a backup system to the belltowers that Hilda must now has to shut down. Then there’s a clever twist where the bellkeeper from earlier is there and is completely supportive of what Hilda’s trying to do. He even sees a lot of cleverness to Hilda as she fries the mechanical bellkeeping system by raising the volume to its highest range. This does the trick to stop Erik’s stubbornly problematic tactics and allow the beauty of nature to be heard once again.
In fact, the effects of these actions are felt through the end of the episode through a montage of everyone living their lives without any interferences. Still, the threat to the peace persists as the last scene features Erik’s safety force using a bell at the bottom of the sea to awaken a sea monster, setting the stage for the next episode.
As for this
episode, through further raising stakes, showcasing huge effects of simple
actions, and allowing many shining character moments, it’s a real season
highlight.
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
Eternal Warriors
9.
The
Windmill
10. The Troll Circle
11. The Hidden People
12. The Storm
13. The
Draugen
14. The Black Hound
15. The Troll Rock
16. The Lost Clan
17. The Sparrow Scouts
18. The Nisse
19.
The Ghost
Am I the only one who thought Erik getting crushed by the bell was similar to Coco?
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