‘Time Bandits’ Recap: ‘Pell-Mell’ & ‘Fortress of Darkness’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Kal-El Tuck and Kiera Thompson as Kevin Haddock and Saffron Haddock in Episode 110 of ‘Time Bandits’ – ‘Fortress of Darkness’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Season Finale of ‘Time Bandits’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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If there is one question that humanity has tried to answer time and time again, it would have to be… what is it that gives life to a hero? Simply because heroes and heroic acts represent the best of us, and all of us would love to embody what heroes embody. For they are indeed brave, strong, and infallible and trying to be like them… would indeed improve us in some major way. But alas, there is seemingly no solid answer. Since we’ve seen people just become them in trying times or they transform into one through means that aren’t clear. Well as it turns out, being a hero is far simpler than we give it credit, as evidenced by the season one finale of Time Bandits on Apple TV+.

For ‘Pell-Mell’ and ‘Fortress of Darkness’ saw the Bandits finally become heroes, and well, these stories made it clear that there are three steps to becoming one. First, we must acknowledge that we are in fact, not a hero when we start out on the journey. Because no one is born one, they are forged and molded from the flaws we carry, and the Time Bandits came to that realization… by finding out that Susan was alive. Because she faked her death to get away from the Bandits to be with Penelope’s fiancé and to do something with her life. Because she felt stealing accomplished nothing, and well… it took some hard soul searching, but they came to realize that they could do more with their title and their skills.

Which of course, allowed for them to let go of their past, and in some cases, their respective loves, and move on, move forward and more toward Pure Evil’s towering tower of terror to learn the second lesson. In that, a hero must be brave through and through. Because they will face dangers untold and while the core Bandits understood that later, Kevin and Saffron knew it up front, and they stood toe to toe with Pure Evil and battled his temptations and wares. Because they were indeed brave, and they were indeed locked into saving their parents the right way. Since Evil offered mom and dad’s lives in exchange for the map to corrupt the world and of course, the Supreme Being showed up to take it too, and was also eager to corrupt to have it. But the brave souls in that room said no and then the third element took shape.

In that, a hero needs to be a champion for good, for love, for all that is right in the world, and that came through courtesy of one epic plan. Because Kevin was faced with an impossible choice. Either give the map to Evil and watch the world suffer or give it to the old SB and see everything fade away in the name of his vision, and there truly appeared to be no way to get out of this one. But alas, Kevin knew better and knew that there was a way to satisfy all his goals and keep the status quo and make the world safe. For a little guile never hurt anyone, and that allowed for no one to receive the map and by keeping it secret, Kevin and the Time Bandits became true heroes. For they checked off those boxes, and saved lives, and sadly, were rewarded with a unique surprise.

For the other investigators on the case, felt the need to take the map for themselves. So, they could do something more with it than ‘unworthy’ shrubbery creators and that sets the stage for a possible second season. One that we hope the show gets, because it really is not only a worthy companion to the original show, but a delightful family series. One that teaches us so much about history and life and the power of friendship and love, and that’s stuff we need on television right now. But while we wait to see what lie ahead for two teams of Time Bandits, we can revel in a delightful and satisfying and fun finale. One that gave us everything we could want thematically, and it does leave us eager for more adventures with true heroes.

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