The Quest 1×10 “One True Hero” Review

Season One Finale of The Quest, The Fates Declare The One True Hero Who Along With Sir Ansgar and His Army, The Banished Paladins and The Power of the Sunsphere, Will Lead The Charge To Defeat Verlox.

Here it is. All season, we’ve been building to this moment —one of our three remaining Paladins will emerge as the One True Hero and vanquish the darkness of Verlox. Time and time again, Andrew has won challenges and proven himself to be a formidable physical threat. Throughout the show, Shondo has been the most clear-headed Paladin, able to analyze situations and see them for what they really are. Lina began the show as one of the weakest Paladins, but has proven her mettle over time, and of all the contestants, has grown the most. Only one of them will emerge victorious, but any of them would make a masterful hero.

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The finale kicks off with a bang as the survivors of Saenctum are attacked by Verlox’s men. Sir Ansgar leaps into the fray and creates a diversion while Queen Ralia, Crio, and the Paladins sprint in the opposite direction. We watch as Sir Ansgar is ultimately overwhelmed by the number of soldiers and is captured. Something tells me this isn’t his end, though.

Crio follows his heart and leads the survivors to the Fates, who lie waiting in the depths of the woods. The three Fates have had to memorize some new lines, and lay out the challenge that lies ahead.

Astride a Noble Steed

Andrew, Shondo, and Lina hop onto the horses that await them in the woods and take off. All season, The Quest has focused on solidarity and a sense of community, but that all unravels here, in the final challenge. The Paladins are on their own, and have to read a series of riddles and follow their instructions as they move forward through what amounts to be a woodland obstacle course.

The course begins with a sprint into a grove of trees strung with vines. The Paladins have to cut the vines down with a sword and find the next clue hidden inside. Andrew’s pretty excited because he’s proficient with a sword and will have an advantage, but Shondo proves to be the first to find the clue. He takes off running, and Lina isn’t far behind with her scroll. Andrew’s not worried about Lina getting ahead, but he’s definitely concerned with Shondo’s advantage.

Shondo arrives at the next challenge, which requires him to balance a giant set of scales with a series of containers of various weights. Lina isn’t far behind, and the two set to work balancing their scales. The scales prove difficult for Shondo, who grows more and more anxious as his lead continues to evaporate. Lina, here, proves why she’s still in the game, slowing down and weighing each item carefully before placing it on one side of the scale. She knows how haste can bungle a challenge, and she’s not about to let that get the best of her here.

Andrew’s finally found his scroll and starts working on his set of scales. Still, Shondo’s struggling to make his balance, but Lina’s plan works and she takes off for the next challenge. It’s Lina in the lead now, with Shondo and Andrew battling for second place.

Lina arrives at the third task, which requires the Paladins to string a heavy chain through a set of double doors, like lacing your shoes (thanks to Shondo for this useful analogy!). She’s still conscious of her mistakes in earlier challenges, so she reads the clue carefully and moves through the challenge methodically. Meanwhile, Andrew finishes balancing his scales and sprints forward, with Shondo still struggling to finish.

Andrew reaches the double doors and barely reads the clue. He doesn’t spot the chain on the ground near the door, so he wastes valuable time running back through the course in a vain attempt to find it. All this lost time gives Lina even more of an advantage, and she’s still steadily working, moving forward.

Shondo finally balances his scales and reaches the double doors, starting on his set right away. Andrew finishes threading the chain through his set of doors but realizes that he’s done it incorrectly, not having read the clue carefully. He has to start over, while Lina finishes and moves forward. The clue stipulates that only two Paladins can move on after this challenge, so this puts Andrew and Shondo in direct competition.

Mostly, the Paladins do a lot of running here. Lina is looking pretty haggard, but reaches the last challenge. If she can hit a bullseye with a bow, she will be named the One True Hero.

Andrew finishes threading his doors correctly a hair before Shondo, putting our favorite Paladin definitively in third place. He evaporates in a puff of smoke and reappears in the Temple of the Fates, where they banish him and take his piece of the Sunspear.

Back in the course, Lina’s target looks like a pincushion, as she continues to get infuriatingly close to the bullseye without actually hitting it. Andrew dashes forward and arrives at the final challenge just as Lina hits a bullseye, winning the show and securing herself the title of One True Hero.

Take a moment of respect for your One True Hero, Lina.

Vanquishing Verlox

Everything we’ve seen, everything the Paladins have done have led to this. Lina appears before the Fates and triumphantly assembles the Sunspear, earning a rare smile from each of the mythical ladies. But wait —there’s more! She turns around to find each of her fellow Paladins kneeling, awaiting her command. This is the army that will save Everealm. This is her army.

And here is Sir Ansgar, by the grace of the Fates freed and able to lead the army of Paladins. They return to Castle Saenctum, where Verlox has set up camp. Sir Ansgar and the Paladins treat us to several minutes of staged battle, in which the Paladins basically annihilate Verlox’s forces.

Lina creeps along and sneaks into the castle, all the while wielding the much-too-large Sunspear. Apparently the Queen and Crio were captured at some point, because Verlox has them incarcerated. Finally, Lina comes face-to-face with the four-horned demon man, and he offers her power, glory, and riches if she’ll only just hand him the Sunspear. No, Lina! Don’t fall for it!

But she’s a school counselor and has seen and heard it all before.   Don’t waste your breath, Verlox —Lina don’t take no crap for naughty kids, and this is no different. She raises the Sunspear, her trembling arms barely able to hold it aloft, and Verlox is blasted with a ray of light, disappearing into that place where all supernatural villains go when the heroes decide to destroy them.

Saenctum —and indeed, all of Everealm —is saved.

The End of All Things

It’s over. It’s done. Lina has succeeded, the Paladins rejoice, and the people of Everealm can again sleep soundly. All that’s left is for Lina to sail to Valinor with the Elves and Gandalf —wait, never mind. Wrong story.

All that’s left is for Lina and the Paladins to celebrate their victory and return to their world, where they will spend their days desperately refreshing Facebook and failing to move forward in Candy Crush. It’s a cold world out here, Paladins.

The Quest is completed, The Quest is wrapped, and season one was a resounding success. The show’s inherent corniness aside, watching contestants step into the realm of fantasy was a thrilling experience. Week after week, The Quest proved that it was a show that had not just a fancy set design, but a real, beating heart. As the show moved forward, it grew and developed, becoming deeper and smarter with every episode. It’s only fitting then that the One True Hero is the Paladin who learned from her mistakes, grew as an individual and a contestant, and proved that in the final challenges she could conquer her past mistakes and emerge victorious.

Though many of us will never make it to Everealm, it will always still with us. The Quest is at an end. …or is it? In a plot twist that can only bode ill for Everealm (and good for us), the Grand Vizier is released from prison by an unseen ally! He sneers at this mysterious figure and proves himself truly incapable of politeness, asking what took them so long without so much as a ‘thank you.’ Verlox may be dead and gone, but the Grand Vizier — the slimy mastermind — is at large and potentially in charge with a mysterious ally. I think it’s Crio.