#High Aldwin

[pixlerelish]

Movie quotes that are printed on my DNA: Willow Edition

[amayaplutova]

Headcanon that cause Willow is a Nelwyn he can’t run very fast so when running away from enemies one of his companions just picks him up under their arm like a football and keeps running.

[oliveoomph]

Willow (2022)

ep. 2 | ep. 6

[kittanthalos]

KIT TANTHALOS in WILLOW S01E02 | The High Aldwin

[tomthefanboy]

Episode 2. Magnifying glass is still on the desk.

This is a thread for the opening pages of every episode of Willow season 1. Note the differences between the items on the desk and the symbols around the chapter art.

[acre-of-wheat]

Since there’s an 85% chance I’m thinking about Willow at any given time, I have some more Willow thoughts.

Mainly, why does no one check in with Kit about her brother?

I know that the purpose of The Quest shifts with the discovery of Elora, but it's still ostensibly about saving Airk, and his twin is right there, consumed with worry and guilt about the whole thing, and every time she expresses it she's treated like she's throwing a tantrum.

The Gales

There's tremendous guilt here, where Kit has said something rash and now regrets it, a common theme for her. The apology here is fascinating, because what exactly is she apologizing for? Not protecting her brother? Not being the one taken? Not cherishing her family enough? For behaving badly? Whatever it is, it hurts the heart.

The High Aldwin

As soon as Kit sees the clusterfuck that is the finger test and watches Elora "fail" it, she's out the door, insistent on continuing The Quest because now that Willow has given them a direction she won't let anything stop her. She'll go alone if she has to.

The rest of the party catches up (Kit didn't really want to go alone, or at least not without Jade) and suddenly they have an extremely slow wagon and they've added several members to the party and are taking breaks in the middle of the day for magic lessons-- all things that will slow them down considerably.

As an aside, because this could really be its own whole post, I feel like one of the roots of disconnect between Kit and Jade is that Jade has never taken Kit seriously. Not as a swordsman or adventurer, not as a princess or leader, not even as a real potential love interest. It's not until the edge of the Shattered Sea where Jade finally tells Kit that she'll trust Kit's judgment and doesn't drag her away from the waterfall jump that she learns to have faith. If part of Kit's journey is about learning to believe in Elora, part of Jade's journey is learning to believe in Kit.

The Whispers of Nockmaar

With the knowledge they have at the time, Kit makes the realistic call about Graydon, one that Jade and Boorman agree with (of course not in the moment, don't get me started on that...) and her reasoning remains her brother-- they don't have time to wait for Graydon to turn, to keep him chained up and drag him with, and to inevitably get shanked by him. They've just watched several allies be killed by possessed people, and so far Willow hasn't given them any reason to hope that it can be reversed.

Even with Willow's dodgy faith in the purgation ritual, Kit does throw herself into the process. Then they get partway through and start to hear Airk's voice and Kit loses it.

She fully books it out of the throne room, because this is legit awful.

When Elora goes out to the hallway after her own emotional moment, the two share an aggressive greeting that Kit immediately backs off from.

It should be mentioned that the conversation shifts to Elora's fears about things, and Kit is about to tell her about the eckleberry bush before Elora bounces.

Beyond the Shattered Sea

There's a lot going on in this episode, internally with Kit and externally in her relationship with Elora. They hear the old paladin of Cashmere's story about wandering the Shattered Sea for years and eventually murdering all his companions and Elora says that it doesn't matter, they'll find the city. To Kit this must look like more baseless faith-- faith she hasn't yet learned to have in Elora.

She's just lost her dad again, lost a substitute father figure, the other father figure she has on The Quest has betrayed her trust, and she's desperate to not lose Airk too. She is still deeply conscious of how little time they have, how little time her twin has.

It should be mentioned that they are too late when they reach the Immemorial City! Airk has been corrupted, Kit might have needed to kill him in order to save Elora, they did fail in a meaningful way!

I know we're limited by episode length, and how everyone in the party is perpetually semi-annoyed by Kit, but Kit actually checks in with the party quite a bit! She has a moment with Graydon where she apologizes and gets to know him, she checks in with Jade after Ballantine's death, asks Jade how she's feeling about the whole Bone Reaver family thing, she has three conversations with Elora where the focus is on giving her confidence in herself, she checks in on Willow's emotional health for god's sake.

I just desperately wanted someone to pull this kid aside and say "hey, you good?"

Because she's definitely not.

[willowgifsdaily]

WILLOW “The High Aldwin” aired Nov. 30, 2022

[someonetooksendnoodles]

i’ve had this in the drafts bc i haven’t made a poll before but i am super curious into what everyone’s answers are. also sorry if this has been done before!

[1980sactionfigures]

High Aldwin - Willow (Tonka)

[inej-qhafa]

WILLOW | S01E02 “The High Aldwin”

[a-knight-and-her-princess]

Jade: I sleep with a sword, so that I never can be caught off guard

Boorman: I sleep with TWO swords

Elora: I sleep with my immensely powerful ancient magic wand

Willow: I sleep with the Staff of the High Aldwin

Kit: pathetic, all of you

Graydon: why, what do you sleep with?

Kit: Jade

[tolyasword]

I’m excited to learn magic! WILLOW | The High Aldwin

[jackiestarsister]

Reactions while re-watching Willow: the series

Warning: spoilers ahead.

~ I love that Elora and Graydon’s magic is channeled through their creative abilities that bring people together: her cooking and his music. Maybe Willow’s counterpart is farming?

~ It’s interesting that while Elora and Kit are set up as rivals from the beginning, they don’t fight at all over Graydon, despite the fact that he’s engaged to Kit and in love with Elora. The writers passed over this kind of cliché love triangle, which is kind of refreshing.

~ I like that Willow talks about his family and home life throughout their journey, instead of simply being ignored.

~ Lili/The Crone is like the kind of “false woman” characters in stories like “The Faerie Queene” by Edmund Spenser.

~ The theme of “forget everything you know, or think you know,��� spoken by the High Aldwin in the movie and by the Crone in the series, plays out for each of the main characters to some degree. Elora learns who she really is. Kit learns about herself and her parents. Jade learns the truth about her heritage. Boorman discovers he is not worthy of the Kymerian Cuirass.

~ With the future of the series undetermined, it could end up being like Elora Danan herself: it’s foretold to return, and people long for that day, but no one really knows when or how it will happen.

[greencheekconure27]

Some Willow headcanons:

Madmartigan was banished from Galladoorn.Nobody knows why because he tells a completely different story whenever he's asked about it, ranging from relatively plausible to utterly bizarre.

Sorsha never quite got herself to trust Fin Raziel; a part of her was always waiting for signs she's just another version of Bavmorda.

Graydon spent years studying what has happened to him, trying to find a way to defend himself in the future.(And this is how he accidentally became the fellowship's resident wards- and exorcisms expert).

He also tried to find the person who performed the ritual on him when he was a child,but apparently they *disappeared* soon after.King Hastur may or may not have had anything to do with it.

That being said, Zivian Hastur didn't know about his son studying magic, mostly because he didn't consider him a threat and so never bothered to take an interest in what exactly Graydon did in his spare time.

High Aldwins *cheating* a bit when necessary is a time honoured tradition, and at least half the Nelwyn village is perfectly aware that they do. Part of an apprentice High Aldwin's education is learning all the traditional ways to cheat,just to keep things consistent.

The two woodcutters Elora met are Fair Folk. They really didn't expect their day to go this way, but will recover eventually.This is Their part of the forest, after all.

Airk is actually a good swordsman and can keep up with Kit just fine. He isn't as passionate about it as she is however and often *loses* their sparring matches because he gets bored.

Madmartigan actually likes music and poetry. He also really, Really hated Allagash's songs.And yes, in hindsight,maybe he shouldn't have told him that on when they were on their way to Wiggleheim's tomb in Skellin....

In his defense Allagash had been singing his latest "hit", Secret Tunnel, for over an hour*

Kit and Airk sometimes pretended to be each other for fun during formal events when they were kids. Worked quite well until Airk had the audacity to get taller than her (Kit is still kind of mad about that).

Sorsha did intentionally push Kit and Jade together, but not for the reasons Kit thought: She wanted to keep a closer eye on Jade and also give Jade someone from her family to be loyal to in case she found about her heritage. She did, however, grow very fond of Jade over the years.

She also tries to adopt Graydon, resulting in a brief but intense custody battle with Willow.

There's a rumour going around in Tir Asleen that Jade is Sorsha's daughter and/or Elora Danan.

Airk Thaughbaer (the Galladoornish guy from the movie prince Airk was named after) and Madmartigan were exes.

(* yes that's an Avatar: Last Airbender reference.Couldn't resist.)

[williiambyers]

Graydon & Elora in Willow 1.02 The High Aldwin

[mcufan1066]

Titles of the various party members

Elora Danan - Empress of the Nine Realms, Highpriestess of the Nine Realms, Semprum Sorceress of the Nine Realms, Last Blood of Kymeria

Kit Tanthalos - Princess of Tir Asleen, heir apparent to the thrones of Nockmaar, Tir Asleen, and Galladoorn, Champion of Elora Danan, Blood of the Six

Graydon Hastur - Prince of Galladoorn

Willow Ufgood - High Aldwin

Thraxus Boorman - Squire of Galladoorn

Jade Claymore - N/A