In the previous season, to me at least, the finale was pretty
underwhelming compared to many exciting adventures that came before it. It was still good, but it didn’t have much to
be seen as a grand finish, which is disappointing when you think of the general
nature of most season finales. For
Season 2, this perception thankfully doesn’t apply. Several things make it a very worthy close by
reaching culminations of long going plot threads, raising stakes for the entire
runtime, and even doubling the usual episode length. This in turn makes for one of the most
memorable experiences of the series.
The whole adventure fittingly starts out innocent with Hilda hanging out with her friends and enjoying the simpler things in life. Though in her case, that would consist of things like helping a friend practice witch spells. Even a brief adventure outside the Trolberg wall into the wilderness is the simple leisurely norm for her. It’s after here when one of the reoccurring plots of the season reaches a boiling point when Hilda makes a quick stop at home before going back to help Frida with her witch training.
As Johanna is still unaware of exactly what
Hilda is up to, she wants her daughter to stay home and spend the night with
her. This leads to an intense
disagreement, including some particularly unkind words from Hilda on how her
mother is clamoring for attention for not having anyone to talk to. As much as I love Hilda as a character, this
is very uncalled for after everything she’s learned. If the near-sacrifices from previous episodes
were actual sacrifices, her feelings would be more understandable, but for the
most part, it just feels nasty. Then again,
tensions have still been rising between her and Johanna throughout the season,
so something like this still kind of makes sense to happen.
Then after making a foreboding hypothetical wish about being a free troll, Hilda gets an idea to get to Frida’s by convincing Tontu the nisse to take her there through nowhere space. In her attempts, she’s caught by Johanna who tries to grab her to stop her. Because Hilda is caught between reality and nowhere space for too long, she and everyone clinging to her are thrown in wayward spots. While Tontu ends up in an unknown region of the world, Hilda, Johanna, and Twig end up in a mysterious forest where it’s always dark, everything’s unfamiliar, and trolls are everywhere. It certainly doesn’t help that they’re cut off from the rest of society, so they can’t call for help. This entire season has shown clear efforts in raising the stakes for the adventures, but circumstances like this easily put them at their highest. It especially shows with the overall direction the episode takes.
Hilda and Johanna are now stuck with each
other for a long period of time in a place they have no idea how to
escape. They just wander aimlessly,
unsure of how to navigate their new surroundings or how to overcome certain
obstacles. It’s particularly difficult
for Hilda who longs to be independent when it comes to adventures, now needing
to follow her mother’s supervision. Not
helping is her lack of faith in her knowing what to do from getting across
ridges to finding water good enough to drink.
Plus, the frequent presence of trolls makes for several dangers that are
already implied from how Trolberg fears them, and bad press on them from Erik
Ahlberg. This episode even emphasizes
the paranoia over trolls with the presence of troll fires all over a
mountainside. However, during their trek
through their mysterious location, Hilda and Johanna find that the fires aren’t
dangerous at all. They’re just the
trolls setting up sites at the one time they’re active, showcasing how
misunderstood these creatures are.
Having discovered this from stowing away in a troll’s wagon, this is
also where they find out exactly where they are with Trolberg just a walking
distance away. As for where they were,
it turns out to be a forest made of stone located inside of the mountain. This could mean that everyone can get home
safety, but the adventure doesn’t let up just yet as Twig is left behind on the
wagon, and Johanna insists she go get him alone.
While waiting for her mother, it’s here where Hilda gets an understanding of where her recent feelings have been coming from. She was told to stay put, but Johanna is gone within the very mountain they were so close to finally escaping for too long. So, Hilda is prompted to go after her mother anyway out of intense worry, not unlike how Johanna not knowing where Hilda’s been has caused her to worry. With feelings on matters starting to become mutual, even more big defining moments for the episode start taking form. There’s an intense sequence where Johanna and Twig try to escape a troll’s horde quietly without being noticed while Hilda tries breaking a lock below the horde to reach them. After being so quiet, things slowly intensify as the troll notices Johanna and Twig followed by Hilda finally breaking the lock which causes a huge spill of garbage.
There are also instances of reassurance when they’re all found by an
actually hospitable troll who even has a kid.
They give them good food and shelter for the night, as well as a
possible way out. This in turn brings
solid proof of these creatures really being much better than what the public
seems to think. At the same time, the
threats of some trolls persists, as an encounter with nasty ones causes the
group to lose their guide to escape.
Such an act is enough to move Johanna to hysterics, with one of her
worries sounding like they’ll never get home, prompting Hilda to be the mature
one to comfort her. It’s really
rewarding because Hilda now has an understanding of why her mother’s been so
worried for her lately, and how painful it can be. As for these legit concerns, there’s one thing
this episode to bring good reassurance in the face of this hopelessness.
One big thing about Hilda’s adventures is that she’s made a lot of friends all throughout. For that, it’s easy to suggest that whenever she’s in trouble, she has people to count on to help her out. So while she and her mother are stuck in the stone forest, there are scenes featuring many of her friends doing what they can to track her down and come to the rescue. It starts with Frida and David noticing she hasn’t come back with the last piece for Frida’s witch spell. When too much time has passed, they investigate her home, find that her sudden disappearance is more serious than they thought, and stop at nothing to look for her. Along the way, they’re spotted by Erik Ahlberg and Deputy Gerda, who in turn add to the situation with interesting layers to their dynamic.
Erik reaches his peak when it comes to egotism, wanting to help Frida and David to boost his status as head of safety patrol, and clearly having no idea how to manage trolls. He even sprains Frida’s ankle rather carelessly at one point, showing no real consent or care. Being such a blowhard, it’s a fitting circumstance that a spell from Frida turns him into a literal bug for most of the episode, even if it is accidental. Gerda, on the other hand, starts coming into her own. Unlike her boss, she actually cares for the kids’ safety and does a fair job of looking out for them and nurturing them while they’re in the wilderness. After all, she always has been the more responsible one. I wouldn’t be surprised if she eventually becomes the new head of safety patrol should Erik ever get fired.
As for more of Hilda’s friends, Alfur gets in
on the action too. He mostly spends the
episode watching if anyone returns, but as soon as he hears of Hilda and
Johanna’s whereabouts, he’s very resourceful in getting to them. Knowing where to borrow a pigeon to get to
the mountainside, he tracks down the rest of Hilda’s friends to lead them to
the place as well. This in turn brings
all the series players together as the episode conflict is resolved. Alfur
creates a way out of the mountain, Hilda and Johanna manage to escape to a
balloon their friends have commandeered, Erik is turned back to normal while
also starting to lose his reputation, and Hilda seems to finally learn the
importance of not keeping things from her mother. It’s all a fitting way to close out
everything this season has built up.
And yet, the episode still doesn’t let up with raising its
stakes. The last moments of the episode
suggest great security and peace. The
final scene, though, is anything but.
Hilda had just decided to take a break from adventures for a long time
after this current really big one. Then
when Johanna comes into her room to check on her the next morning, instead of
Hilda, only that troll child is present in her place, leaving Johanna
horrified. As for Hilda herself, she’s
surprised to find herself back in the stone forest, and not only that, she’s
turned into a troll herself! To add to
that, the episode, and by extension the season, just ends there. All this does is leave the audience with so
many questions on how this could have happened and why. The best bet is an earlier scene of that one
kind troll looking over figures of Hilda and the child troll like it wished it
could stay. The thing is, trolls can’t
talk, so it’s hard to make out what they want.
In any case, now Hilda is in her most dangerous and stressful situation
yet, and its effects on the world around her are known as well. How will her friends, who just helped her out
of a major disappearance, react to this?
What will become of her life should Erik ever find her and face her with
his incompetence on the subject of trolls?
Will things be difficult for her since going out in the sun will turn
her inert? All of these elements build
anticipation for the next time we see these characters, and given the really
long wait for Season 2, the anxiousness should last for quite some time.
This is certainly one of the biggest episodes of the series
yet, and not just from the runtime.
Conflicts both personal and physical are at their most striking, the
dangers of adventures are fully realized, and the audience is easily left with
a lot to look forward to. It’s a
standout as an episode, and more importantly, it’s striking as a season finale.
A+
Series Ranking
1.
The
Deerfox
2.
The Stone Forest
3.
The House in the Woods
4.
The Nightmare Spirit
5.
The Tide Mice
6.
The
Old Bells of Trolberg
7.
The
Fifty Year Night
8.
The Witch
9.
The Bird Parade
10. The Yule Lads
11. The Midnight Giant
12. The Beast of Cauldron Island
13. The Eternal Warriors
14. The Windmill
15. The Troll Circle
16. The Hidden People
17. The Storm
18. The
Draugen
19. The
Jorts Incident
20. The Black Hound
21. The Troll Rock
22. The Lost Clan
23. The Sparrow Scouts
24. The Replacement
25. The Nisse
26.
The Ghost
Final Thoughts
Given how well the series started out, chances were always
good that another season of Hilda would
be just as great. With this second
season now fully covered, it’s safe to say that the wait of more than two years has really paid off. Not only does the
series retain its high quality; it also takes the series to new heights,
effectively upping the stakes and creativity all the way.
Despite how long it’s been since the world’s introduction to
this series, everything the new season offers makes it seem like it never
left. It may not be surprising, but it’s
still impressive how well it recaptures its unique tone of being laid-back and
innocent, but also intense and adventurous.
The characters are all familiar personality-wise, imagination is present
in whatever they get up to, and there’s just a pleasing atmosphere to highlight
everything. On the subject of
familiarity, it’s felt in how often the show revisits past fantasy creatures,
elements, and characters. Standing out
is how many of them only played minor roles before, but get way more development
than one could imagine here. It’s somewhat of a given that trolls get far more
attention here since they’ve been the most prominent creature, but much more
storytelling potential is tapped with them.
There’s emphasis on how they’re majorly misunderstood by the populace,
especially with negative propaganda built around them. This in turn points out how hard it is for
them to get by, and make them feel sympathetic when they’re mistreated with
constant ringing of bells. All of this
especially comes to a head in the season finale that explores a more innocent
and family oriented side of trolls, selling the idea that different creatures deserve
better. As for other familiar creatures,
the new information on them does a lot of good for the show and its world
too. There are looks at the lifestyles
of its unique depiction of ghosts; the memorable tide mice get a fun follow-up
episode; the lost clan of elves help a lot in several adventures; and similar
to the trolls, other creatures like the lindworm also fall victim to the
negative propaganda.
Then there are broader examples of expansion on lore elements
that lead to new interesting details to take in. There’s a whole episode explaining where Twig the deerfox came from, how rare his species is, and how much he’s come to view
Hilda as a worthy companion. It’s all
shown in a beautiful atmospheric spectacle to the point that it’s the standout
work not just of the season, but maybe even the series. Other elements offer deep insights you
wouldn’t think to see. A total
background character is the centerpiece of an adventure with a fresh take on
time travel that also gives Hilda a very good lesson for her to benefit
from. Despite coming off as convoluted
and too detail-oriented, it’s also fresh to see more of how Alfur’s role as an
elf works and how his reports are perceived.
Perhaps the biggest lore development here goes to the subject of witches. Starting in the previous season with subtle
hints alluding to a mysterious librarian being a witch, this is something that
comes into form here and is taken good advantage of. In addition to official confirmation that the
librarian, Kaisa, is in fact a witch, she’s also part of a secret group of
witches who in turn agree to teach Frida their magical ways. What’s more, even though the witches are the
focus of only two episodes, everything Frida learns as a witch plays a big role
in several adventures. This kind of
character growth is the ideal way to bring genuine meaning to what a season
introduces. Not to mention it’s a bold
move to have someone other than the main protagonist get this kind of
development. As you can tell from the
atmosphere of Season 2, it does a world of good in reintroducing the old, while
also introducing new sides to them, keeping everything fresh and exciting.
While you can never go wrong with new adventures and new
developments of familiar characters and creatures, one thing guarantees good
growth in a new season. That would be
the reoccurring themes felt throughout the season, and those in Season 2 make
the series broader in scope in notable ways.
One is the more expected way of highlighting the increase in dangers of the
things Hilda gets up to. Some could say
they’ve been dangerous already, but through looking at exactly what goes on, how
close Hilda gets to destruction feels greater than the first time around. She’s nearly lost at sea on a ghost ship; her
innocent mistakes with magic almost get her thrown into a never-ending void; a
cliff out in the wilderness leaves her at the mercy of dangers that manage to
frighten even her including one in a flashback to her youth; time travel causes her
to watch herself and her neighbors get eaten by a monstrous worm to undo the
old timeline; and the last episode features herself and her family trapped in a
mountain full of trolls with no one around to know where they are. That’s not even counting truly morbid
adventures like when David joins a band of warriors who fight each other for
fun right down to murdering each other.
He himself even gets his head cut off.
It’s fine though since means of magic bring them back to life when all
is done.
Enhancing the increasing danger of these adventures is
something more political relating to the aforementioned propaganda against this
world’s creatures. Throughout the
season, Hilda has encounters with the head of safety patrol, Erik Ahlburg. At first he seems trusting enough as well as
very charismatic, but that impression is brought down very quickly. Erik is the kind of figure who gets his high
status through dishonestly creating problems to solve and pinning all blame on
creatures like trolls all to make himself look heroic. I’m not into politics in the least, but such
dishonesty feels very in line with most figures in that field. It’s especially felt as much of the cast
grows to distrust him. Of course, having
actual knowledge on the wilderness, Hilda is quick to point out the phoniness
in Erik’s ways. As his vanity stunts
continue, her allies see the faults in how he goes about his safety duties, and
show no hesitation in helping her in elaborate stunts to intercept his tactics. Even his own deputy takes issue with Erik
putting more care to his ego and stature than actually maintaining safety, a
welcome change from what’s expected of lackeys.
By the season’s end, it’s refreshing that just as the audience better
understands fantasy creatures, Erik’s reputation seems to start getting a
much-warranted hit. In any case, Season
2’s adventures really impress in how they up the stakes not just in the dangers
of the adventures themselves, but also through how others can influence them.
Risen stakes and more imminent threats of death may seem like
they’re all that’s needed to show a growth in backbone to this series. However, there’s one element to Season 2 that
also does a lot to make things hit harder than usual. Unlike most of the adventures though, this
one is a more personal reason, relating to certain relationships, maybe even
the closest relationships most people tend to have. As the adventures build in intensity and as
Hilda gets older, it may not seem surprising that this season has her become
more distant from her mother Johanna.
It’s a stark contrast to how loving and close their relationship was
shown to be in the first season. As
early as the first episode though, strains in that bond start appearing with
the onset of what becomes a frequent issue between them. Whenever Hilda comes back from or goes off to
an adventure, she straight-up makes up a lie about where she’s really going,
and that’s one of the most dangerous lies to tell. This in turn causes a lack of trust with
Johanna constantly suspicious about where her daughter has really been. After a while as well as a single warning
that the lies will catch up to Hilda, the ultimate strain is felt as Johanna
finds out she’s been lied to, and Hilda gets grounded as a result. The punishment itself even feels big and
powerful to really make its impact felt.
It’s a blow to Hilda’s adventurous spirit, is easily identifiable to any
kid who’s faced such a punishment, and demonstrates a wedge between a formerly
close mother and daughter. Now when it
comes to Hilda’s lies, they can seem confusing for why she’s gone this
far. Her mother has constantly supported
her adventures and clearly trusts her enough to do them, so there should be no
reason to lie. Then again there is talk
about how Hilda doesn’t want Johanna to worry which is somewhat reasonable. She
just doesn’t seem to get that her not knowing where she is causes worry
too. For all of this background, it’s
fitting that the final episode puts them on a foreboding adventure in nowhere that
gets them to better understand each other.
In addition to smaller moments of heart here and there, it’s a
refreshing side to the family drama to give the audience a reason to care. In fact, it’s practically rewarding to see
Hilda and Johanna end the season on such good terms, coming together in a
believable way. The overall adventures
may exercise creativity and atmosphere, but what’s done within the show’s main
family is just as impactful as well as highly relatable.
There’s also something to be said about the payoff to this
entire season. After so many high
quality, heavy-hitting stories, and relatable challenges both internal and
external, you’d think the season would end with everything peacefully
resolved. It does seem that way at
first, but then there’s one total shock to the whole affair. In the last minute, it’s revealed that Hilda
has been magically forced to swap places with a troll child which in turn
causes her to become a troll herself.
That’s literally how the whole of Season 2 ends, and the audience is
left waiting for future installments to see where things will go. When you think about it, this is an ending to
bring together all the principle elements of the series. Obviously, this is a very creative twist, but
with Hilda separated from her loved ones as a result, it’s sure to leave a more
shocking and emotional impression.
There’s also the matter of how much of a mess her mother is in when she
finds a troll in her place, and her friends who just worked so hard to find her
should be worried too. Lore-wise, this
move does tie into the short instance of bonding between that one troll family
who actually helped Hilda and Johanna, so there could be some heart in these
actions. As you can tell, Season 2 has
been intriguing on its own, but how it ends leaves a lot to look forward to,
probably in the most blatant way possible.
Anyone watching is sure to be desperate to see the closure to all of
this. There has been word of the series continuing with a movie, but as of this post, a release date has yet to be announced, but with how Season 2 ended,
it’s got all the buildup it needs. Above
all, it’s a big example of how the season has succeeded in stepping up its
game.
The wait was certainly worth it for Hilda Season 2. It does what
all future seasons should do by taking its strengths and building upon them
greatly. The results expand upon
memorable past moments, open up new ideas, make the characters more identifiable,
and build anticipation for what’s to come.
You may end the season feeling a little too anxious for more, but in the
grand scheme of things, this is just the life of an adventurer.
Highly Recommended
Next up on the review agenda is a special Peanuts special review followed by the start of a brand new review set on another season of Cartoon Network's Ed Edd n Eddy. But first, this blog is going to take a three-week break from posts. Until then:
Stay Animated Folks!
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