Mark Watches ‘Galavant’: S02E07 – Love and Death

In the seventh episode of the second season of Galavant, this show manages to get weirder. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Galavant. 

Well, I didn’t see that ending coming at all.

Isabella

Oh my god, I kind of love the idea that she’s now in charge of the entire army??? I mean, the means by which it happened are silly as hell. Yes, traditions are traditions, but you can literally change them at any given moment. However, I must remind myself that this is the country that has a changing of the guard ceremony that is so elaborate and involved that Isabella nearly walked out of her own palace without detection. So, it’s also not surprising that Hortensia is utterly unprepared for war. They’re best at pomp and circumstance, not defense.

But you know who is good at this sort of stuff? Isabella! I was reminded of her role in training Galavant to be a hero again last season. She’s got the skills, she’s highly motivated, and if she could train Galavant from a drunken stupor to where he is now, then surely she could lead an army! (Well, let’s not have “now” mean, “dead.” Because he’s literally dead while Isabella is dealing with this.) My concern, though, is how this is going to work with Galavant coming to her aid with his own army. (More on that army in a second.) She still thinks he abandoned her, so it’s not like she needs to be rescued, you know? THIS IS GONNA BE CHAOS.

I Love You

I still feel weird about the very idea of Gareth and Madalena being in love because they’re not good people? But even “not good people” fall in love, even if it is as viscerally awkward as these two are. But look, I can’t deny that I find this subplot DEEPLY RELATABLE. If you’re the kind of person who dates (not every does!), who pursues romantic relationships and knows that inevitably, if you really feel something strong for someone, you’ll have to say those three words… UGH, I FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE JUST THINKING ABOUT IT. I am not quick to love, but love comes quick to me when it does arrive, and one of the biggest gambles in the universe is determining when you’re supposed to say anything about it. In my first relationship, I made the TERRIBLE mistake of confusing infatuation and desire with love, and I said it like two months in. Granted, he said it back, but it was clear in hindsight that he didn’t actually love me at all. I understand that now, that I was so inexperienced in my mid-20s because I had been in the closet for so long. I didn’t have the “normal” upbringing or experimentation my peers did because I didn’t go on a date or ask someone out until I was 19 years. So, I did all my growing up much, much later. 

Over the years, I am reluctant to say that I love someone, and I’ve certainly been on both the giving and receiving end of this kind of awkwardness. Oh god, I’m reminded of being 20 and having a guy I really, really liked tell me he loved me, but I wasn’t there yet. I needed time. And instead of just being honest about that and letting the relationship bloom, I just pulled away from the guy. Granted, it wasn’t as bad as what we saw from Madalena here, and when I was honest with him, it wasn’t masked within a conversation with a bunch of soldiers. SO I GUESS I DID BETTER. But particularly when you’ve never fallen in love before, as is the case with Madalena, the first time it happens is REALLY FUCKING AWFUL. I mean, it’s great! Feeling close enough to a person that love happens is a great thing! But it’s also REALLY PAINFUL. And confusing. And disorienting. And ah, why are bodies designed in such bizarre ways? HELP ME. 

Dead is Dead

Well, gotta admit that I didn’t expect Galavant to kill off their TITULAR CHARACTER in an episode, though this is exactly how they should have: with a character singing a song for so long that Galavant dies during it. Actually, not just singing while Galavant dies; singing about how Galavant will die because time is of the essence. Which Neo, the healer, didn’t actually heed? THIS IS SO FUNNY TO ME, Y’ALL. 

Two things result from Galavant’s death, both unexpected, both very interesting. First: Roberta and Richard finally talk to one another. Like, REALLY talk to one another. She gets to admit to Richard that she likes him more than a friend, and thus, the parallel to Madalena unfolds. Like her, Richard has never fallen for another person before. He deals with this reality in a much healthier way than Madalena does, for the record. It’s actually really sweet how much chemistry Richard and Roberta have??? 

AND THEN GALAVANT HAS TO GO AND INTERRUPT IT. I didn’t really expect that Galavant would stay dead, though I gotta say that Death’s musical number is so odd and ethereal that it was all worth it just for that. ALSO, GALAVANT DEFEATED DEATH (or at least delayed death) BY KICKING DEATH IN THE GROIN. (Why does Death have a vulnerable groin? Did not think that I would wake up this morning and type that sentence, but here we are, friends.)

It’s admirable that Galavant refused to die because he needed to help Isabella. He’s come a long way since then. That being said, I’m more interested in the fact that Neo had A BUNCH OF ZOMBIES JUST CHILLIN’ AROUND HIS HOME AND JUST GAVE THEM TO GALAVANT. How the fuck is that supposed to work? Can you even control them? What are the ethical implications of using a zombie army? I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.

The video for “Love and Death” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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