Jim having a conversation with his ‘friends’ while eating an egg that he stole from a nest for breakfast.
Credit: @rollhunters
The anticipated second season of the original CGI animated series “TrollHunters” by DreamWorks Animation featured Anton Yelchin who played one of the main protagonists, Jim Lake Jr., who passed recently last year and explored the world of the Darklands and Jim’s fated enemy Gunmar (Clancy Brown).
In the first season of “TrollHunters,” Jim and his gang fought Angor Rot (Ike Amadi), an assassin who was cursed to follow orders to whoever held his soul in the form of a ring. This ring was found by Strickler (Jonathan Hyde) who prompted him to kill the Trollhunter. A war ensued between Jim and Angor Rot that led to the petrification of his friend AAARRRGGHH!!! (Fred Tatasciore) (Yes, that is his character’s name). Moreover, an ability unlocked within Jim’s armor by the eye of Angor Rot that allows him to be able to kill Gunmar. However, because of the guilt that Jim feels over the loss of his friend, he decides to venture alone to the Darklands to face Gunmar and save Claire’s brother.
In the latest second season, the show starts two weeks after Jim has ventured into the Darklands. Claire (Lexi Medrano) and Toby (Charlie Saxton) have divided up Jim’s responsibilities between the two of them. Toby is disguising himself with a glamor mask to keep appearances up at home, and Claire is taking care of his duties as a Trollhunter until his return, this doesn’t occur until halfway through the season where the gang focuses on Jim’s readjustment to the changes that have occurred after his departure to the Darklands. This departure causes some strain upon the relationships between Toby, Claire, and Jim that put themselves at risk during their missions to protect the citizens of Arcadia and Troll Market.
The visuals in the show are beautiful, especially the sets of the Troll Market because there’s always something new there that someone can find if he or she looks closely enough. Many of the relationships in the show are interesting, such as Claire’s relationship to her changeling brother Enrique (Jimmie Wood) because it develops from this animosity that the two of them have with one another to a caring and loving relationship that can be found with many siblings which makes it relatable to its audience.
The pacing of the second season of “TrollHunters” felt inconsistent since the beginning of the show felt as if it was dragging because for half the season Jim was stuck in the Darklands trying to find Claire’s brother and fighting for his life in Gunmar’s arena. Then, when Jim finally returns to Arcadia, there is only a short episode about Jim’s return, which was unsatisfying as it makes the relationships between the characters feel artificial and unrealistic. Followed by this haphazard reunion between them, the episodes are smashed together into what is left of their ten-episode season to progress the story. However, because they are so arbitrarily put together, they feel more like fillers than the progression of the story. It causes problems when the creators introduce large plot points within the story because it loses its emphasis and effect to the audience. The viewers do not crave more, which is disappointing since many fans were interested to see how the creators would move forward from the tragedy that struck them after Anton Yelchin passed last year in the middle of production.
As a whole, the season was okay. It had its flaws in pacing and progression of character and story, but they did introduce a bunch of major plot points that the audience can look forward to for next season, which hopefully will not consist of thirteen episodes that only introduce plot rather than progression.
Rating: 3 out of 5 paws
