Hey Shannara fans, this is my spoilery top 10 list for the second episode. Hopefully, you know the drill, if you haven’t seen the episode stop now! For the rest of you, let’s get it on!

Pyrea

Nice move Shannara writers. Making the Elven Princess the mother of Mareth was great. It gives us a plausible reason that she thinks Allanon is her father and fleshes out a character from last season that was interesting but underutilized.

Technically Mareth is now Elven royalty, just like Wil. It will be interesting to see if that fact comes into play later in the season.

The Kingdom of Leah

Holy crap people welcome to El Dorado, the city of gold. Could there be any more bling and gilding on that castle? I can’t see how. I really appreciate that they are making more diverse choices when it comes to actors this season.

Leah is an important part of the Shannara Universe, so I’m excited that they have finally introduced them. That being said...

The Kingdom of Leah

The children of the rulers of Leah are integral parts of the story of the Ohmsfords. Almost every generation of our plucky heroes have had a Leah alongside them, carrying the Sword of Leah into battle, learning life lessons along the way, etc.

I dig that there is a princess of Leah, and there isn’t any reason that she couldn’t be swashbuckling around with our heroes. Hell look at Eritrea, she is the ultimate badass. It just feels like a missed opportunity now that we have Leah, to not honor the source material and have her be part of the adventure.

I mean hell, you could have Wil & Lyria competing for Eritrea's attention. Built-in hilarity.

Flick

My man. I loved Flick in Sword of Shannara, and from what little he shows up in Elfstones. A stout little fellow who wasn’t afraid to risk life and limb for what was right. The first season made him appear to be a grumpy old man who just wanted all the kids to stop walking on his grass.

Seeing him pick up a pitchfork and stare down a Mord Wraith was a good time, people. A good time.

Lyrai Leah

Now that we know her last name, not really a good idea writers room. The two names are too close together. Just sounds weird to say. I’m not sure how I feel about her character right about now. It would be a let down if she was just a throwaway character, but then other than getting Eritrea to Leah, and introducing Garret Jaxx, what other role could she play?

Need to watch this one.

Eritrea

For real though, why do people keep screwing with this woman? I am again very thankful to the writers for expanding her character and giving her more motivation than unrequited love for Wil Ohmsford.

I still find the super mysterious “I’m the fuel for the bloodfire” plot point to be a bit… silly, but I can forgive that in light of how well they have taken care of her character. Half the reason I watch each episode is to see what the hell she is going to do next.

Bandon

I am very glad they are giving more dimensions to Bandon’s character. It seemed like he was going to be one-dimensional bad guy from what we saw in the opener, but thankfully that was a false alarm. From showing mercy to the head Stor to his conversation with Wil it seems he has more depth than meets the eye. Possibly some internal conflict.

I am assuming that he is going to see the light at some point and come back to the light, so to speak, Vader style, before the end of the season. I can’t see them really resurrecting the Warlock Lord for reals and then defeating him before the end.

Queen Tamlin Leah

One of the things we never really get to deal with in the books are the rulers of Leah. We get to know all about their kids, but that’s about it. What we do know is that the Royal Family of Leah is good, fair and just.

Apparently, Tamlin didn’t get that memo. Given the way the show is written, I’m excited to see how her character plays out. What is her real motivation for the alliance? I am assuming since she hates Elves, and wants her Daughter on the throne, she is planning some sort of Coup.

Time will tell I guess, but it is interesting, if not completely divorced from the source material.

General Riga

Well now, there has been some discussion of whether or not the Shadowen were going to be brought into the series, with Riga being a prime subject, but I think this episode puts that to rest.

As I mentioned in my Episode 1 review, the Crimson seems like the bigger threat, and tonight's episode only confirmed that in my mind. Riga forged magical items, using the knowledge he gained from studying the Druids, that basically render Allanon defenseless and powerless.

Dude is serious. I can’t wait to see what he does next.

Garret Jaxx

Oh Shannara Chronicles, is this going to be an ongoing thing where you take beloved characters and just twist them until they are unrecognizable? I, like many fans, was so excited that Garret Jaxx was going to be in the season, and I was equally excited about the casting.

Again, way to go with pushing the diversity this season guys, seriously. But the way they have written him? Absurd. He’s a dick. Garret Jaxx was many things in the books, but I wouldn’t call him a dick. Quite to the contrary he always seemed like a deep, troubled soul.

Hopefully he has an arch this season that helps his character mature into the mystery man that became quite possibly the most beloved character in the series.