Deron Generally
Deron GenerallyDisenchantment
Netflix
Season 1 Episode 2
For Whom The Pig Oinks
Continuing the cliffhanger ending from the first episode, Bean, Elfo and Luci have jumped off a cliff and find themselves hanging on to a branch. At the plateau, Prince Merkimer finds himself being attacked by a blind troll. Matt Barry’s performance as Merkimer is the highlight of this episode and his lines are some of the best laughs in the episode.
After being brought back to the castle, Bean tries to find another way to get out of marrying Merkimer as the king decides that having a magical elf in his possession might be his key to creating a magic potion that will keep him young forever. John DiMaggio is pitch perfect as the boorish King Zog. His ability to turn a character so unlikable interesting is a gift.
Bean decides that the best way to get rid of Merkimer is to convince him to have a Bachelor Party on Mermaid Island. He agrees knowing that the mermaids will try to lure him into the sea to drown him. What follows is a series of misadventures that have Bean, Elfo and Luci taking turns being their worst selves.
Following the first episode, this one has better pacing overall, but there is still the sense that the writers are playing it safe. A network sensibility doesn’t really work well in a streaming environment where attention needs to be grabbed and sustained because everything you have for that season is readily available to binge. There are a lot of fun and funny moments in the episode and the sight gags work really well (El De Barge), but I still found myself hoping for the episode to pick up the pace and to be excited with something visually or verbally.
Disenchantment S01XE02
