1x20 Tiabeanie Falls

[7.7/10] As one of the countless people on the internet who’s recapped Game of Thrones, it’s hard not to see the trial of Tyrion in this finale. Disenchantment is a melange of different fantasy source material from Lord of the Rings to The Smurfs, but it definitely borrows in places from what was, for its time, the biggest show on television. (See also: Bean’s locks and Zog’s moon door.)

But this feels more direct than the broad fantasy pastiche that the series usually deploys. “Tiabeanie Falls” has the same trial setting where witnesses tell true events but in a misleading context. We have the same opportunity for escape and choice to take a different turn in the catacombs. And we have the same sort of meaningful confrontation with a complicated father figure.

There’s a lot more to “Tiabeanie Falls” than that. There’s the comedy of Luci as Bean’s lawyer, the unveiling of Odval and his secret society’s power-grabbing plots, the humor of Sorcero’s misguided efforts to heal Zog, the genuine emotional struggle of Derek to assume the role of king and be just, and another wild twist that seems to throw everything into disarray.

All of it’s pretty damn good! I like the notion that Odval’s had these contingencies in place for some time and has been nudging things behind the scenes to make himself the power behind the throne (and maybe he’s even the one who’s been plotting with Dagmar and/or Steamland). I like him and the Arch Druidess as an evil power couple. I like Derek waking up his father to ask, in a blissfully naive voice, “what’s justice?” I like Zog’s response that sometimes it means everyone feeling like they got screwed, and that real life and its tangles and complications don’t often track with what we read in storybooks -- which could be the overarching theme of the show.

I the laughs of the trial, and the running gag of how the ignorant population is willing to go along with wanton accusations of witchcraft. (“It distracted me from my sad life for a moment!”) I appreciate how much Disenchantment commits to the pain and, to be frank, grossness, of Bean prying the bullet out of her father’s chest. And while the final witch-burning feels like a feint from the start, the final image of those leering eyes, the music box tune, and the reappearance of Dagmar, are a hell of a note to go out on.

As Disenchantment wraps up its second season, it’s interesting how much this show feels like a lighter, jokier adventure story more than it seems like a straight comedy like Futurama or The Simpsons. It’s telling a continuing narrative, with developing characters, twists and deep lore, and plots that unfurl and come into focus at key moments. It’s not as though the series’s forebears never took steps in that vein, but Disenchantment commits to them, making it part of the series’ central ethos. There were some hearty guffaws in this finale, and this season, but what impressed me more is how well the show nailed some strong character stories and long-form narrative dramatics.

Maybe the series isn’t exactly aiming to be the equivalent of its Westerosi cousin, but it’s aiming to be a lot closer to that type of storytelling than its predecessors were, and doing a damn fine job of it.