Once more with feeling!

Oh boy, we really need to get Shauna back with these people.

Okay, first things first.

Arkahn knows the Klingon word for loneliness?

And speaking of the Simpsons, that sounds an awful lot like like the pimple faced teen working the counter at Zana's.

Right. Sorry, just had to get that out of the way first.

Now, let's talk abstract.

First, I'm noticing a shift of focus in the new Season. The first season centred on Shauna and her mission, but now the torch has been passed to Mike. He's done a lot of growing up (not completely i'll grant you) but he's more focused than he was.

Problem is, that doesn't change much. What he lost last time around with immaturity; he's lost again through... efficiency. 'Does this help me find Shauna? No? Don't care about it then.'

Followed closely by the way he froze in combat. See, the last time he crossed swords he killed a man. Last time he tackled somebody he had a good leg. Last time he fought the bad guys he thought he was playing a game.

If he's the new Shauna then he's gotta get his swing back fast.

Then of course, is the writing. Jareth's class gives a history lesson and a look at the Uni view. This series doesnt use narrators, we learn by doing in this series. (I like that about this series.)

Now then, let's talk for a little bit about grudges.

Katherine, Jareth, Arkahn, Fesmer.

Each one of these people actively dislike at least two of the others now. Anger loves company, and these ones have created some pretty unusual connections between the players. Given the nature of the episode, let's focus a bit on Jareth.

Jareth, has at this point, pretty much burned all his bridges. As he said, his job was all he had left. Look at it from his view for a second. Simple Math.

Fesmer = Breaks from the old ways. Savage magic. Bad result. Strangers. Unforeseen consequences.

Ergo: Change = BAD.

Arkahn = Trusted Friend. Legion Spy. Devious Legion. Untrustworthy. Undying.

Ergo: Arkahn = Untrustworthy.

Mike = Reckless. Dangerous. 'Not Entirely Sane'. Disrespect. Unpredictable results.

Ergo: Mike = Chaos.

Conclusion:

Change = Bad.

Fesmer = Unpredictable.

Arkahn = Untrustworthy.

Mike = Chaos

Jareth is a prisoner of his education. He was taught, and he in turn taught this: The universities bring order to chaos. And he cant see outside that.

See the math? The University gives him a home, a career, flirty assistants and a little civilization in a chaotic world.

And Fesmer? Of course jareth didnt tell you about your brother. I wouldnt have told you either. Why? Because if you had known; you would have gone after him. There was no way that'd end well, the only thing left was to end it fast. And if Porec had never come back, that would have been the end of it.

Drayenmeyer.

Mike went and asked them about four questions when he introduced himself and I nearly had a heart attack. The answer was a let down huh?

I agree with Mike. Shauna's answer could be taken any number of ways. Mike's answer, not so much.

The ending.

Jareth. Oooohh, Katherine was just starting to like him again too. Now she has to go and make another Jareth doll to stick pins in.

So now we have another player on the board. The University has Katherine and Mike. Arkahn they have a claim to. But once Targonanne starts questioning Mike and Katherine, Jareth is going to be put under a very uncomfortable spotlight. For one thing, he's kept his mouth shut for a year. There will be some fallout.

This isnt going to end well for Jareth. First of all, assuming he gets out with his skin, he's still got Zana to answer to. Second, he wants Shauna back as much as Mike does, so since they've gone and picked up the newcomers as well, he knows the only chance he has is if he breaks them out.

Thing is, the bad guys arent any happier about Arkahn, Mike and Katherine being in town again, so our heroes are stuck between two armies.

Arkahn turns them over to the legion, Now Jareth hands them over to the university.

And we were worried that things had changed.

Finally, the non-specific direction sets us up for the quest of year two. The original quest was to find a way back, and that was the central theme running through the first season, but now that's done, so we need a new one. The new quest is to travel west, but with no destination or distance, we are left with an open-ended quest, which doesn't end until it ends.

So, final questions.

Where is Shauna Brown?

And who was Fesmer talking to when he cast the Third Shift Spell?

You can read more of Matt's work at mattstephens.me