"Galavant" has wrapped up its second
season, and is probably over as a series. There is an opening left for a third
season if they are lucky enough to get one, but no unbearable cliffhangers like
at the end of the first season. (And thank you for that!)
That was no easy task. It was possible to be equally
fond of Gareth's relationship with King Richard and Madalena, but happy
resolutions for both seemed impossible. What did end up happening felt
plausible and satisfying. Yes, that is how it would play out, and again some
room was left.
There were a lot of things that were done right,
including an affection for minor characters that meant that they could grow
into not-so-minor and even favorite characters. The Jester could easily have
been abandoned early on, but instead he kept around, and kept relevant, until
it was reasonable that he would sing the recap leading into the finale. Not
only did it make sense, he did a great job.
It makes sense to have that much respect for the
characters given the talent of the cast that they found. I don't know which
came first; maybe it built on itself. We need a good cast, this cast is
phenomenal, we need to do more with them.
The series also did a great job of balancing the
serious with the silly, and they did that by a healthy grounding in reality.
Yes, an army of the undead is a fantasy element, but once you accept that
happening, then trying to lead them would probably go a lot like they showed.
But I really need to talk about the music.
Okay, you expect Alan Menken to deliver, but
delivering three songs per episode and two episodes per week is challenging for
the time element alone, and time is a factor in a different way as well. With
the amount of plot that needs to be covered, along with the desire to include
fun bits that may not advance the plot but they do enrich the overall
experience, the songs need to do a lot of work.
Some of that comes from bringing in the familiar.
That was something I noticed more this season. In an episode when you have a
fight between giants and dwarfs, the rumble feel is added to with a number
reminiscent of "Cool" from West Side Story (as well as one
that sounded a lot like "Officer Krupke").
I think the best illustration is the scene that
takes part in The Enchanted Forest.
First we learn that we are near the Enchanted Forest, ruled over by an
evil queen, and people go in and never come out. The first thing that does is
reference "Once Upon a Time" - the show for which
"Galavant" acts as a mid-season replacement. It references and then
differentiates as we see a sign that shows us that The Enchanted Forest is a
pub. Then we see that this pub has an all-male clientele, and we find that
people do come out, though our two heroes are briefly trapped until a beautifully
silly solution presents itself and some answers.
In between, though, we get the musical number
"Off With His Shirt". Besides being fun, it enhances the scene in two
ways. The title reminds of us "Off with his head!" putting us well
within the realm of dangerous queens in storybook lands. Simultaneously, the
disco beat reminds us of "It's Raining Men", putting us well within
the realm of this type of pub.
It works brilliantly.
I'll miss you "Galavant". I hope to see
the faces you made familiar in many other shows.
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