Trollhunters Part 2 Review
I have an art piece coming for this review.
I was surprised the same as many who watched the first season of Netflix and Dreamworks hit series, "Trollhunters". There shouldn't be much surprise with Guillermo del Toro at the helm. With lovable characters, good humor, and some well done villains the show is great for both adults and kids. A good thing too, as far too many shows available to children on Netflix likely make parents want to gouge their eyes out, or worse, cancel their subscription.
I remember being slightly intrigued by the ads for Trollhunters, but never watched the show until my brother insisted upon it. What I started simply to appease him turned into a full night binge watch, not sleeping until all 26 episodes were over and I lay there stunned at the ending. To spare any spoilers, a character dies at the end. I mention this as it leads to a critique for season 2.
I waited up to watch season 2 (or Part 2, as Netflix categorized it as), and repeated the all night binge I had done with the previous season. I was surprised that it was only 13 episodes long, half the length of its previous season. Though short, it was good.
I want to get my first complaint out of the way. The preview for the show ruins the biggest twist of the end of season 1, showing the character who dies alive and kicking. Sure, Trollhunters is a kid show and the target audience cares little for spoilers, but as one of the adult viewers is was sad that such a spoiler was put directly into the ad campaign. Sure, it was a character everyone wanted back, but come on! Spoilers should not be put in the previews!
To give a quick synopsis of the show, we follow Jim Lake, a regular boy in high school voiced wonderfully by the late Anton Yelchin, who recorded all the lines for season 1 and 2 before his unexpected death last year. Jim stumbles across a magical amulet that doubles as armor and becomes the "Trollhunter", a protector of troll kind, and now also mankind. Along the way he is joined by his best friend, Toby Domzalski, girlfriend Claire Nunez, a six-eyed troll named Blinky and a massive, pacifistic troll named AAARRRGGHH!!! This team of "Trollhunters" must work and fight to prevent Gunmar, a viscious man-eating troll with an entire army of trolls of similar tastes from escaping from the "Darklands", an alternate dimension of sorts whose only entrance is an ancient bridge.
Despite the classic fantasy plot, the show is full of surprises and some of the best animation Dreamworks has used for one of it's non-theatrical releases.
But what about season 2? That is what this review is for after all. Season 2 upped the ante with a significantly darker story with more sword fighting, deaths, and betrayals. Many trolls are lost in this season, including a few side characters, as well as a few humans eaten off screen.
Most of the season is spent getting Jim out of the Darklands, where he goes to alone at the end of season 1 to save Claires brother and possibly defeat Gunmar should he run into the evil tyrant.
To say the least, he is captured by Gunmar and a few episodes are spent with the troll attempting to break the boy so he can remove his armor and basically take control of Jim and escape the Darklands and begin his reign of terror in our world. The elements of torture by combat and imprisonment are soft, but still present and not something you'd expect in a childrens show.
We often associate trolls with darkness, as their established mythology is that they turn to stone under sunlight. Trollhunters keeps this theme of light and dark in its show, with Jim obviously representing the day, with Gunmar (and his son, Bular, in season 1) being the night. With Gunmar in season 2, he is accompanied by the darker scenes and atmosphere, further instilling the dark theme. Jim's armor for much of the season is black with glowing red runes and accents, bringing this feeling of the absence of light, or an "Eclipse," as is stated in the armors incantation.
At parts it shows the show was made more for children, which is expected. They are few, but still there and while not cringy, could elicit an eye roll or two from the older audience. Overall, a wonderfully enjoyable experience for both children and adults alike. I give the first season a 4 out of 5 paws and the new season a 4.5 out of 5 paws.
Trollhunters Part 2 is streaming exclusively on Netflix, with Part 1 now available on disc and digital. It is rated TV-Y7.