I was pleasantly surprised by the first season of The Shannara Chronicles. When MTV – yes, MTV! – initially unveiled their adaptation of Terry Brooks’ popular Sword of Shannara fantasy series, the first thing that struck many people was how good it looks. MTV was not skimping on the production budget here. That’s what got me to watch the show, but then I kept watching as I ended up having a lot of fun with it.
Sure, the show suffered from severe MTV-ness in that everybody is young and attractive and there were some odd contemporary music choices, not to mention that Brooks’ story itself is stuffed will all kinds of fantasy tropes with elves and dwarves and demonic armies. But despite all this, it also offered enough fun fantasy escapism to keep me coming back for more.
Unfortunately, it’s been quite some time since I last came back, as season one completed all the way back in mid-March 2016. That’s a long time to wait for another season, but they may have had to do with some internal politicking, the result of which has seen The Shannara Chronicles moving house to MTV’s sister network Spike for its sophomore showing. Now that it’s settled in though, The Shannara Chronicles season two is ready to serve up some magical adventure again.
The story picks up a year after the season one finale, which saw [SPOILER ALERT] elf princess Amberle sacrifice herself to create a new Ellcrys Tree, and thus ensure the evil Dagda Mor and his forces are kept at bay once more. Unfortunately for Allanon the druid (Manu Bennett), Wil the halfling (Austin Butler), human bandit-turned-good-girl Eritria (Ivana Baquero), and Elven King Ander (Aaron Jakubenko) though, there are more nasties on the way. Luckily, there’s this little old thing called “destiny” and it has seemingly picked a brand new group of warriors – Lyria (Vanessa Morgan), Mareth (Malese Jow), and Garet (Gentry White) – to help stand against the forces of evil. And thanks to the first trailer for season two, we get to see them in action, including Wil finally getting his hand on a very famous sword.
One year after the events of the last season of The Shannara Chronicles; The Four Lands are in chaos – the re-emergence of magic has the populace terrified, and an organization called The Crimson is hunting down magic users. Wil, scarred by the loss of Amberle and his separation from Eretria, has turned his back on his magical destiny to become a healer. But when a mysterious woman named Mareth saves Wil from a Crimson attack, he is forced to rejoin the fight.
The Shannara Chronicles’ 10-episode second season will debut on Spike in the US on 10 October.
*This article previously incorrectly listed fellow fantasy author Terry Goodkind as the Sword of Shannara creator instead of Terry Brooks
Last Updated: August 28, 2017
Original Heretic
August 28, 2017 at 10:25
Ugh, this is now going the way of The Sword of Truth series, where they’re deviating from the source material. It’s gonna flop now.
First season was based on The Elfstones of Shannara, book 2 in the series.
Book 3 is about Wil’s kids, and explores the effect that continual use of the elfstones had on his progeny.
Oh, and Kervyn, the books were written by Terry Brooks, not Goodkind. Goodkind was Sword of Truth.
Kervyn Cloete
August 28, 2017 at 12:38
I’m just going to blame old age, because I know this and somehow still got them confused. Thanks though. Corrected now.
Original Heretic
August 28, 2017 at 13:02
I don’t blame you at all.
I blame your proofreader.
Alien Emperor Trevor
August 28, 2017 at 13:22
As typos go, it wasn’t the… goodkind.
Original Heretic
August 28, 2017 at 13:24
It was more…brooks?
Nope, doesn’t work as well.
You win this one……
RinceThis
August 28, 2017 at 13:25
Get in the brook…
Original Heretic
August 28, 2017 at 13:27
Whose broek?
RinceThis
August 28, 2017 at 13:28
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/01/3c/9c/013c9c9af2cf8a90edf0df9566d0b73e.gif Be gone foul demon!
Original Heretic
August 28, 2017 at 13:30
Is that Iron Fist’s next power up level?
RinceThis
August 28, 2017 at 13:44
yeah, lv 1 lol
RinceThis
August 28, 2017 at 13:25
STOP!
miaau
August 28, 2017 at 13:20
Um, The Sword of Truth series,. Yes. If they stuck to the source material perfectly and executed it well, the series could be blamed for a spike in depression and other related problems.
Good books, but sort of like Robyn Hobb’s Assassin Series, so depressing, so well exectuted in sadness. Um, Ok, Sword of Truth series is not as depressing as the Assasin Series and Robyn Hobb can really drive home a character.
But still………
Original Heretic
August 28, 2017 at 13:26
They didn’t have to follow the books to the tee. But changing the nature of the relationship between Richard and Darken Rahl ruined everything from then onward. They had to start inventing things. It was as if they decided to change the relationship so that they wouldn’t have to recast a bad guy.
Which is what is happening here now as well. This next season might have a few familiar beats to it, but it’s a whole different story from the books. I will be rather surprised if it does well.
RinceThis
August 28, 2017 at 13:26
Hey, Zed was funny!
Original Heretic
August 28, 2017 at 13:27
He was the only character I thought was cast properly. The rest…meh.
RinceThis
August 28, 2017 at 13:27
I thought Cara was hot as f, I mean cast well… 0_O
Original Heretic
August 28, 2017 at 13:32
She looked good, I agree, especially later in the series when, suddenly with her hair down, she was transmogrified into a whole other level of hotness.
But my bro and I both agreed, she was never quite as hot as she was described to be in the books.
RinceThis
August 28, 2017 at 13:34
Yeah I agree too. I loved the book, as dark as they were and also read them at the same time as my boet. They did get a bit formulaic but hell, I loved the characters.
Original Heretic
August 28, 2017 at 10:29
This is actually rather sad. I was hoping for an adaption of the 3rd novel, so that Brooks’ most kickass character ever could make an appearance: the weapon master, Garet Jax.
ReverendFunk
August 28, 2017 at 11:11
Edit: Heretic has it covered