Galavant 1.08: "It's All in the Executions"

“Everyone! I’m going to kill my brother! Drinks are on me!”
-King Richard

So let’s be real here. I have mixed feelings about the season finale of “Galavant,” the show I was so hoping I would insta-love. There were some very, very funny scenes, especially a sequence that made great use of the comedic and vocal chops of Tim Omundsen and Joshua Sasse. Let’s just say that drunk Galavant and King Richard was pretty darn epic. The final minutes of the episode also sent my imagination running through possible scenerios and adventures for a second season. That whole second season thing is the fundamental problem with this episode, though. As in there probably isn’t going to be one, if the ratings are any indication. Instead of a satisfying conclusion to this adventure with the promise of more to come in the future, we got a bunch of cliffhangers, one of which was especially creepy. Will we ever see Isabella rescued from the pinkest of Pretty, Pretty Princess locked bedrooms (that will make more sense soon – I promise)?

When we last saw our heroes, they had just been introduced to Richard’s older brother, Kingsley, who wants to take over the kingdom, including Valencia. Now they are all back in the dungeon. When the Jester finally stops singing the episode’s introduction, Galavant says he has a plan to free them all. He doesn’t exactly go into much detail about said plan, although he says he wants to use his wits as part of the plan. That would be a first! Isabella, overcome with the unresolved sexual tension gets close to Galavant and says she has confidence in him. The two almost kiss, but Galavant pulls away at the last minute. I think he’s afraid of something real with Isabella, although this isn’t really explored in depth. Sid warns Galavant that if he keeps it up, Isabella is going to friend zone him sooner rather than later.

Sticking with the goal to use his wits instead of brawn, Galavant manages to get an audience with King Richard by saying he has gossip to share about Madalena. Gareth doesn’t think King Richard will care, but shocker, he does. Very much so. Since Richard thinks he still has a chance with Madalena and all. Galavant tells Richard stories about how gross Madalena’s feet are, and they have a good laugh over it. Galavant suggests that he and Richard go for drinks, and Richard accepts. What follows is possibly one of my favorite scenes of “Galavant” (tied perhaps with the introduction of the Pirate King and his land pirates). Galavant and Richard go to a tavern, and they commiserate over how Madalena has burned both of them.

Near the end of their drinking session, Galavant plants the idea of killing Kingsley in Richard’s mind. Richard thinks it’s a fantastic idea, and they sing a pretty hilarious song called “Off on a Secret Mission” as they not-so-quietly sneak through the castle on their way to Kingsley’s chambers. On the way, they stop by the dungeons, and a drunk Galavant is kind of an ass to Isabella. He talks about how pretty she is (and to his credit, says he likes her brain too), and he tries to kiss her. Isabella, however, wants to make sure his feelings are genuine, so she tells him to try again when he’s sober. Shut down by Isabella, Galavant and Richard finally head to Kingsley’s chambers. Just as they’re about to stab him in his bed, the real Kingsley appears from behind a door with a bunch of guards, who of course catch Galavant and Richard and send them down to the dungeon. Kingsley even takes Richard’s crown to add insult to injury.

In the dungeon, Galavant slurs a bit more at Isabella (who kind of ignores him) before passing out. Before he falls asleep himself, Richard sings “Goodnight my Friend,” which is apparently a lullaby his nanny sang to him and Gareth when they were growing up. Because of where he is sitting in the dungeon, the song is some how piped throughout the castle, and it seems to give Gareth a change of heart about following Kingsley’s orders and being his champion. The next morning, Gareth goes to the dungeon and says he’s getting Richard out, but Galavant has to come too. Galavant (temporarily) fights off Gareth and (finally) kisses Isabella, but then he’s knocked out by a recovered Gareth.

Gareth takes Richard and Galavant to the beach and delivers them both to the pirates. Apparently Galavant and Richard are supposed to sail back to Richard’s kingdom, with Galavant as Richard’s bodyguard, basically. Gareth gives Galavant care and feeding instructions for Richard, which is kind of adorable. Gareth then goes back to the dungeon and frees everybody but Sid, who he keeps for “insurance.” Poor Sid! Gareth’s next stop is the throne room, where he is very honest to Kingsley and Madalena about the fact that he hasn’t killed any of the people they told him to kill. Kingsley is very pissed off about this, and he is just starting to really yell at Gareth about it when Madalena stabs him and he dies. Then she offers to make Gareth king. He accepts, and he sits on the throne next to her. Which is just weird, really. And what happens to Sid!?

Finally, Isabella, her parents, the Jester, Chef, and Gwynne all show up at Cousin Harry’s kingdom. Apparently it was the only place they could think to go after their big escape. Harry tells Isabella that he has a room all prepared for her. It’s actually kind of a separate tent thing, and inside is the girliest girly room you can imagine. Poor Isabella just looks resigned as she walks into the room and Harry locks the door behind her. She looks out the window much as Madalena did in the pilot episode, presumably hoping Galavant will come rescue her someday. It’s really super creepy and almost ruins the whole thing for me. Galavant sings a big, meta song about how whether or not they get a season two, it’s time for more adventures. I don’t love that there were so many cliffhangers, but I get what the creative team was trying to do. Whether or not the show is renewed, the hope is that the viewers will use their imaginations to continue the legend of Galavant. But did the ending have to be so darn creepy?