The Quest (1×8) The Dragon’s Lair Review

How To Train Trap A Dragon, Paladin Dragon Egg Hunt and an Unsung Ballad in this weeks episode of The Quest!

Even amidst Verlox’s darkness, daybreak does come. The remaining Paladins, alongside Queen Ralia, Crio, and Sir Ansgar are still in exile, wandering the wilderness —but not for long. The Queen spots a dragon attack in the distance, and against everyone’s better judgment, the heroes make their way toward the burning outpost. When they arrive, they find that the dragon has a bit of a temper and the town is nothing more than a desolate wasteland. The dragon, it seems, has escaped from its enclosure (due to Verlox’s spreading influence, of course), and is on a rampage throughout the countryside. There is a ray of light amidst the smoke, however —the dragon returned to its lair to sleep, and the doors can still be locked before it awakens. The Paladins, despite seeming ill-equipped and relatively under-prepared for such a job (only Shondo seems to have the makings of the Dragonborn), eagerly volunteer.

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Let Sleeping Dragons Lie

The dragon’s den has five entrances, each of which must be closed by one of the Paladins. Because this is the second half of The Quest’s season, the challenge tests intellect rather than physical strength, as the Paladins must grab three sets of gears and figure out how to align them all correctly in order to crank the doors shut. It proves to be a bit of a poser for all of our Paladins, but for Lina and Bonnie in particular. Lina grabs her bags and makes very quick work of the gears, but try as she might, she cannot close the gates. Bonnie seems altogether very flustered, and despite her muttered reminders that “it’s just like a puzzle, just like a puzzle,”she does not progress quickly.

Andrew and Shondo prove themselves yet again by sealing their gates quickly and placing first and second, respectively. Patrick is a close third, though with only five Paladins remaining, even third place stands in front of the Fates. Following the trend set in the previous episode, the three finished Paladins move to Lina and Bonnie to help them out, only to discover that Lina had, in fact, been doing everything correctly —she had just neglected to grab her third bag and was working with only two gears. All four Paladins then join in to help Bonnie crank her gate shut, and finally the dragon is bound.

Born of Fire

It seems that the Fates have been at the Hog’s Head buying dragon eggs, because Lina, Patrick, and Bonnie each have to net one of these unhatched babies in a task surely inspired by the Triwizard Tournament. Each egg is located at the bottom of a pit, into which the Paladins must descend in order to bring an egg back to the surface. The twist? These scaly ovum are searing hot, and can only be lifted with a set of two boards.

Patrick and Lina seem to be neck-and-neck throughout the challenge, and Lina pulls ahead at the very end, only to pull a Lina and drop her egg, sending it tumbling back to the bottom of the pit. These last few challenges have been rough on the poor girl. This mistake gives Patrick the necessary time to net his egg and claim victory, but Lina is determined to prove that she has what it takes to finish in second place, at the very least.

Patrick drops himself into Bonnie’s pit and helps her hoist her egg out of it, landing her in second place, and leaving poor Lina in miserable third. As they march back to stand in front of the Fates, Lina steadies herself for doom.

“This isn’t a team challenge and knowing that they need help it’s just proving that they have weaknesses and that one true hero has to be able to do it on their own.” ~ Andrew

Andrew will support Lina, he tells us, and Patrick will support Bonnie. The choice, then, falls to ambivalent Shondo, who has no remaining allies in the game. Patrick tells Shondo that he helped Bonnie finish second, and that therefore she deserves to stay in the game, ignoring (or forgetting) the fact that Lina did the entire challenge on her own, and would have certainly finished second if not for his intervention. Not cool, Patrick.

His words fall on deaf ears, though, and Shondo chooses to stand behind Lina, reminding us that though Bonnie has heart, she hasn’t been able to back it up with much else. Everyone’s favorite redhead is sent packing. It’s hard to feel good about this elimination, and The Quest seems to agree, giving Bonnie a lengthy memory-laden sendoff. She steps through the smoky door, but will forever remain etched in the hearts of the Everealm denizens.

Even Queen Ralia is sad after the Paladins return to camp, remarking that she had hoped to hear another of Bard Bonnie’s famous songs, but with every elimination, Everealm grows nearer to finding its true hero. And not a moment too soon —we end on a cliffhanger, with the Queen spotting Verlox as the darkness grows greater.

Now down to four remaining Paladins —Lina, Shondo, Andrew, and Patrick —The Quest is closing in on its final moments. Andrew and Shondo are both in good shape, having proven themselves easily capable of winning challenges and exempting themselves from the Fates, but this could ultimately prove their downfalls. The stronger the contestant, the more likely they are to be eliminated once their peers begin to get nervous. The beating heart that animates this cast, however, could steer things in a very different direction, making The Quest one of the most interesting social games presently on television.

The Quest Season Finale “Escape From Rana Village” and “One True Hero” airs Thursday, SEPT 11 at 8|7c on ABC