Summary of 1×01: After getting dumped by his one true love Madalena at the altar of her wedding to King Richard, legendary knight Galavant gets back in the game when Princess Isabella Lucia Maria Elizabetta of Valencia requests his aide. That might be easier said than done though.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Okay, I don’t think I realized how badly I wanted a show like this until ABC gave it to me. A kind of raunchy musical about a washed up hero getting it together with music by Alan Menken? Where did I say I wanted this and how can I get more of it?
Galavant tells you everything you need to know about it in the first five minutes. Brave knight Galavant (Joshua Sasse) is known across the kingdom for his bravery, his good looks, and his… cajones. (Yes, that’s actually said in the first musical number. ‘Cajones.’ That should let you know what kind of show this is going to be.) He falls in love with a fair maiden named Madalena (Mallory Jansen) and the two go at it like rabbits. However, she has also caught the eye of King Richard (Timothy Odmundson), who kidnaps her to be his bride. On the day of the wedding, Galavant comes to rescue her in the name of true love, but she decides that she likes fame and fortune more and dumps him at the altar. Ouch.
The two stories begin to intertwine again though with the arrival of Princess Isabella Lucia Maria Elizabetta of Valencia (Karen David) at Galavant’s door. Her kingdom is in great peril, with many of her people and her parents being killed. She requests Galavant’s help, offering the great jewel of Valencia as a reward. However, Galavant turns her down, saying that he’s out of the game. Can I just mention at this point that the oft reprised first number is pretty much ground into my head? I hope ABC releases a soundtrack after the show is done because I want to sing Galavant’s name as dramatically as they do.
At the pub with a few drinks in him, Galavant tells Isabella about how he fell for Madalena despite himself and that even though he fell hard, she fell much softer. He’s still refusing to help her though, until she mentions the name ‘Richard.’ Yes, the same Richard that took his love away is the same that killed her parents. Oh no! And apparently, as she was trapped under the castle for months, she heard him scream at Madalena every night and Madalena would say “I’m so sorry, Gal” every time. OH NO!
Except none of that is even true.
With a renewed sense of purpose and no hint that he’s going to be betrayed (minus one line in the musical number that starts episode 2, but Isabella plays that off real quick), Galavant rides out to Valencia with Isabella and Sid. However, it’s still obvious that he’s trying to get back on the horse with pantsless dreams and being out of breath because of the opening number for the episode. Seriously, he even says they’re in a musical number. Self aware humor? Be still, my heart.
At the crossroads between Valencia, Hell and Winterfell, Galavant tells the team that they need to stop for the night and that they should find an inn nearby. However, Isabella points out that they are missing something essential to stay at an inn: money. They can’t sell the jewel, so what the hell are they going to do? That’s when Sid notices an advertisement for a jousting competition with the prize of 1000 shillings. That ought to work!
Of course, Isabella isn’t below messing with the competition. She goes to Sir Jean’s tent and seduces him with absinthe. Yeah, it’s going to go exactly how you expect. Between Galavant’s refusal to stretch during training leaving him stiff and unmoving (he slept on his horse due to how sore he was) and Jean’s killer hangover, it leads to the most anticlimactic joust ever and is the hardest I laughed during the entire episode. The joust organizer declares that the first person to get off the ground will be the winner and by a small margin with proper motivation from Isabella, Galavant wins. Isabella tackles him in celebration and Sid asks if they’re keeping or eating the rooster.
The first two episodes of Galavant definitely surprised me with how quality they were. I expected it to be cheesy and filled with bad jokes and while there was some cheese and terrible jokes (the tight brown body one, for example), it managed to hit way more than it missed with the surprisingly adult humor. The chemistry and comedic timing between Sasse and David is electric and Odmundson is a sheer delight as King Richard. I also love getting to see the more comedic side of Jones, who I had really only known from Elementary as Sebastian Moran. Not to mention the musical numbers! But what else did I expect from a series with music by Alan Menken? It’s Alan Menken! If the first two episodes are this fun, I can’t wait to see what else the series has in store. Especially with Weird Al and Anthony Stewart Head coming up as guest stars.