Beowulf: Return To The Shieldlands, Season, Episode One:

Beowulf is based on an epic 3,000 line old English poem. In the source material, Beowulf is the hero who battles a monster named Grendel, Grendel's mother and a dragon.  Obviously for the sake of television this already long poem is going to be drawn out.

The opening theme quite disappointingly is quite reminiscent of The Game of Thrones.  Given the age of this epic saga, it absolutely has no need to play upon the popularity of The Game of Thrones.  It should be able to stand on its own. Beowulf: Return To The Shieldlands begins with Beowulf travelling with Breca to see king Hrothgar, only to learn that Hrothgar is deceased and that he will not be allowed to see the body.  I must admit to the shock that Hrothgar died so early, particularly because he was played by William Hurt.

King Hrothgar's death does however serve to provide the fuel in the political situation.  It seems, having decided that his son Slean is not up to the job, Hrothgar chose Rheda to succeed him.  It's clearl early on that there is tension between Slean and Beowulf largely because Slean is positioned the lesser man.  Both are sons of Hrothgar but only Beowulf knows this truth of this and if that were not enough, Beowulf is also the better fighter.  For Slean, Hrothgar represents a challenge to what he sees as his birthright and like a conniving little weasel that he is, much of Slean's inferiority is covered by Rheda.  It does however make me wonder if they will move away from the original story and have Beowulf battle Rheda in revenge for his murder of Slean, who I already think needs to die? Even Rheda however is quick to bend when Beowulf returns after injuring the troll/Grendal. If nothing else, it's clear that things are going to come to head between Beowulf and Slean, particularly now that Beowulf, hero that he is, has saved Elvina from the troll, whom I assume to be Grendal.

What I did find interesting about the troll, is that it wasn't mindless. It clearly captures Elvina in search of a mate of sorts and has feelings for her. Unfortunately it had me thinking of King Kong which is not what I should have been thinking about during Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands. I do however hope that the character of the troll/Grendal will be developed as the story goes on. I want to see that he has motivation for actions, rather than acting on instinct alone.

A Nameless Witch by A. Lee Martinez

 

Imagine if you will a nameless witch cursed with beauty, the inability to die and a hunger for flesh.  Such a life would not be an easy one and indeed, for our nameless witch, it means a tortured childhood filled with little but neglect until she is found by her mentor.  Time passes as it does and our witch wakes to discover that today is the day her mentor is going to die.  The witch now has a choice to make, she can seek revenge for the one person she ever loved, in the process taking on a quest that will force her to confront her true nature, perhaps find love and actually die, or she can take a different road. Nothing is ever simple in the life of a nameless witch, even with companions like a demon duck, a troll, an animated broom and an honest to goodness White knight for a love interest, events might demand more from her witchly nature that she can possibly defeat.

As you might have guessed from my synopsis, A Nameless Witch is quirky and ridiculously delightful.  It is clearly set in an alternate world because the witch, does not cause much of a concern to the residents of Fort Stalwart.  The humans are in fact more concerned that the witch just might be a prostitute in disguise because the prostitutes outnumber the men 3:1 and this of course has over saturated the market.  Since the economy of  Fort Stalwart is largely based in prostitution, one can easily see how this is a problem.  

The nameless witch is a fascinating protagonist.   Though she is a witch who consumes raw meat and has a forked tongue, she is cursed with beauty.  Her hair shines, her breasts are perky and her behind round and firm.  The nameless witch goes to much effort to hide her curse by covering herself in dirt, ugly clothing and affecting a limp.  The beauty she despises makes her quest to live a good witchly life difficult. Through it all, people still see through her mask, making her more determined to hide. I found this to be quite the interesting twist on the well known trope of the beautiful woman bemoaning her perfect ddd breast size.