Ep. 105 & 106: Galavant's Plot Thickens and Pops

Galavant really picked up at the end of last week after starting with its roughest moments. But if that episode was "Comedy Gold" as the title claimed, last night was Comedy Platinum. Here at last was the consistent show we've wanted: witty, self-aware, full of song and heart and even a few plot twists.

Completely Mad... Alena I've expressed my antipathy for Madalena* before: she's off-putting and annoying, with no redeeming qualities. But last night the gloves came off. She went from whiny brat to full-fledged villain, Disney-style, with the killer solo "No One But You," (sung to her own reflections). Also, with his evil plot against Galavant at last near fruition, King Richard returned to his scheming evil ways, all for the better, propped up by the ever faithfully funny Gareth.

Meanwhile, back with our band of heroes, Isabella's concern over her upcoming betrayal grew to panic mode. Her suggestion of a quick detour to stall brought them to "The Order of Our Father of Perpetual Refrain," a Valencian group of monks under a vow of singing. Special guest star Weird Al Yankovic brought his strong comic music chops, complete with doo-wop and jazz hands.

My heart was stolen from the start by the scrappy little Chef who's only goal is to survive longer than his forebears. Last night he got to expand his ambitions by courting Madalena's lady-in-waiting Gwynne. Their charming little song was a pleasant change of pace given the characters' artlessness and the blackly ironic lyrics sung against sweet music.

Unfortunately, Madalena coerced the lovable little cook to help her in exchange for setting him up with his heart's desire. Once she learned about the plot against Galavant (a joke I've made twice now and yet was unused in the show), she set up her own evil plot to countermand the lot (rhyming ... it's catchy). The ultimate reveal of Isabella's treachery was both funny and touching, with Richard at his best and Galavant at his most sincere.

Fortunately, with episodes this short, I didn't have to wait long to find out what happened next.

Dungeons and Dragon Lady This episode wasn't quite as stellar as the first, thought that's more like saying the moon isn't quite as bright as the sun. It was still really funny, picking up right where the climactic plot twist of the last episode ended: Galavant in Madalena's private quarters with the food our favorite Chef had lovingly prepared for his lady love Gwynne, while the master of the feast himself was set in Galvant's place at the gallows.

At first I was miffed that Richard's anticlimactic reaction to this reversal was so tame, leading to he and the Chef heading out on a buddy trip together. But it turned out to be a diversion worth taking (more on that in a minute).

First, Galavant's reunion with Madalena was a surprise. She truly wanted him back, even if it was more in the "new plaything" realm rather than the love he so earnestly desired. Their competing goals played out in a back-and-forth tango that was both delicious and sad, exposing the emptiness of Madalena's supposed beauty. There were definite shades of Evita here (always a positive for me).

Richard and his chef met up with the night's other major guest star, the wizard Ricky Gervais, er, Xanax. This scene started out like the worst of the filler-vant we suffered through toward the start of the series. Its saving grace was that Xanax quickly butted out after a confusing number of little (blessedly short) gags and turned the spotlight back on the characters we cared about: Richard and Chef, who got to take an Alice-in-Wonderland like trip into the king's past in a song that could have come from Pippin, recounting the day that little Dicky's brother Kingsley should have taken the throne but refused. It was trippy, but with less emphasis on the high and more on the actual trip.

Best part, we got to see miniGareth take his place at the king's side, which corresponded with his own shinning subplot. Madalena put him into a crisis by attempting to poach him to her side in a bid for power, wooing him with her strength and ruthlessness. Eventually, though, trusty Gareth decided that he only tortured, maimed, and killed for one man, who returned at just the right moment to express his own equal affection.

Their mutual admiration society was interrupted by Madalena's own evil plan springing to life, and no doubt will be further complicated as Galavant and Isabella inched closer to a plan of their own (that will probably include a new love plot).

What Galavants? There was almost too much good to review in last night's show. I didn't even get into how the running gags sprinkled in the dialogue just enough to gloss without growing old, or how much I enjoy Sid's newfound snarkiness, or even Isabella's moment in the dungeon talking Galavant down from the Madalena ledge, telling him instead to go for "... who's small and cute, and ethnically hard to pin down."

This show really rose to new heights and put all its pieces together for a welcome bit of musical comedy adventure. The characters are fun, the humor's finally ironic and perfectly self-aware, and the drama's actually starting to sizzle. Even better: it's really hard to say what will happen in the finale next week, or how our characters will work things out. At this point, anything could and probably will go.

No songs today to post since ABC hasn't released any videos from the night's episodes. Instead, go to their website and watch the whole thing. It's worth it.

* Apologies to everyone on Twitter: for some reason I thought her name was spelled Magdalena. Also, Gwen is in fact Gwynne.