The Quest - Recap: A Queen Is Never Late
Recap and review of The Quest - Episode 2 - Tournament for the Queen:
The Quest is a pretty interesting series, honestly. Granted, there are issues of engagement with the narrative, since not all of the Paladins seem to be entirely committed to the world of Everealm. But there's a certain quality here that is both compelling and new for a reality series, and it makes for unreservedly fun television when executed well. Take "Tournament for the Queen," for example. Here, we meet Queen Ralia (Susanne Gschwendtner), who not only serves as the catalyst for this week's challenge (and its awesome, episode-closing twist) but also provides backstory on the world of Everealm, discussing her youth in the castle with her brother, among other topics. Yes, the world of Everealm can occasionally come across as a trite, overwrought place in its fantasy stylings, but there isn't really anything else on TV like this right now. So I can't help but get sucked in by it. And that makes this worth watching, in my opinion.
Credit: ABC
So, right off the bat, we continue the ongoing narrative of no one having any faith in these Paladins to succeed like the 12 heroes that came 1,000 years before. The head of the Queen's royal army, Sir Ansgar (Peter Windhofer), feels like training these goofs is a waste of valuable resources, while the Grand Vizier (Marcello de Nardo) doesn't appear to think much of them at all, ripping on the Paladins for losing one of their own last week (Katie). However, Queen Ralia actually gives the Paladins her full backing, demanding they be treated as her guests. Immediately, the show does the legwork of making the Queen fairly likable, while not doing anything that would de-mystify her as a character. She's warm and understanding, but also authoritative and distant. She's of the mind that the "One True Hero" -- who will stop Verlox once and for all -- is among the 11 remaining Paladins. However, no sooner does she say this than a wounded soldier comes bursting through the doors to Castle Saenctum. The bloody, dying man reports that Verlox's forces are weakening their front lines, and this all freaks Shondo out a little bit. The MMA fighter explains how seeing a man wounded in front of you like that makes everything more real, since whoever did this to the man obviously "knew what they were doing." The soldier dies, and the news that Verlox's forces are gaining strength means that training has to be intensified. And so we head on to the episode's big challenge.
Credit: ABC/Rick Rowell
Much more so than last week, this week's challenge proves to be something practical for the battle ahead. While last week had the Paladins manning "scorpions" as a team, this week's challenge has each of the remaining Paladins basically working solo to hone their individual battle skills. It's a mounted infantry course which has each of the remaining Paladins riding horses while smashing skulls, chucking spears, and shooting arrows. Outside of being pretty exciting, this also results in some amusing stuff: Leticia loses her Sunspear piece, prompting Sir Ansgar to just rip into her, Andrew makes a fool of himself by accidentally calling the Queen "M'lady," and Lina somehow manages to throw her spear backwards. Even Bonnie, who won the Leadership badge last week, has trouble with the challenge, struggling to remain on her horse as the challenge rolls on. Adorably, she feels like she let Sir Ansgar down, and it's the kind of soundbite that makes me feel like Bonnie may be the one who wins this entire thing. Even more so than the "constantly amazed by everything" Adria, Bonnie has been game for this fantasy world from the word "go," and it's been really fun to watch her journey, even when she fails like she does here. But Bonnie's failure wasn't even the most surprising: horse trainer Ashley basically bombed the challenge outright, as her spears missing and hardly any of her arrows actually connect with their targets. Ultimately, she finds herself in the bottom 3 scorers alongside nerdy Jim and waiter Christian, the skilled archer who found himself in the bottom 3 last week. Meanwhile, the challenge itself is eventually won by Shondo, who scores a crushing 183 points to earn The Mark of Dexterity, although what any of these special accolades do/mean is beyond me.
Credit: ABC/Rick Rowell
Less confusing, however, is the Fates' Challenge. What I like about these respective challenges to remain in the game is that they all feel relevant to this world, and the nature of the game itself. It's like early seasons of Survivor, which featured challenges that actually centered on the business of survival, whether it was building fires or making an S.O.S. sign on the beach. In this case, the challenge features the bottom 3 crafting horseshoes and pinning them to a wheel. It's a grunt work challenge, but it makes sense because we're in the grunt work phase of the competition, as the Paladins have to prove themselves worthy. The challenge basically says, "Hey, you may be the Paladins, but you're not yet above having to shoe your own horses." Anyway, the challenge: In a bit of a surprise, Christian cracks under pressure after dominating last week's Fates' Challenge. Even more surprising, horse trainer Ashley struggles pretty much all the way through, leaving an opening for Jim to dominate and win his way out of the bottom 3. This leaves the choice down to Christian or Ashley. Shondo sides with Ashley, arguing that the Paladins can't put their weight behind a guy who cracks under pressure. However, when it comes time for the Paladins to stand behind their choice, it's Andrew who casts the deciding vote...by standing behind his roommate, Christian.
RESULT: ASHLEY is eliminated from THE QUEST!
Ashley turns in her piece of the Sunspear, and vanishes into the ether (I love that visual effect). However, the episode doesn't end there, as the remaining 10 Paladins have dinner with the Queen, who regales them with stories of her youth in Castle Saenctum with her brother. She offers a toast, and if you've seen Game of Thrones at all, you probably know what's coming next, as the Queen grabs her throat and keels over, poisoned. Will she make it through? Or is the Queen as good as dead? If she is dead, who will ascend to the throne? And who poisoned the Queen? I'm strangely compelled by all this, as this show has gotten better than I ever would have expected it to, all thanks to the show knowing what it is and embracing its high fantasy tropes.