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| Image Courtesy of Netflix |
When I was younger, I spent
hours learning about myths. I read dozens of stories out of Greek and Roman
mythology, read The Odyssey over and over, and sought out any book, film,
or show that had even a vague mythology woven into it. These stories were so captivating
to me, I realized years later, because they always speak to some aspect of the
human experience. They are how our ancestors made sense of the world when they
were just starting to form communities and live together. These myths and
stories continue to seep into our entertainment today, and the way we
understand the world around us.
The Netflix original
series Hilda, based on the graphic novel series of the same name written
and illustrated by Luke Pearson, weaves mythology throughout its worldbuilding.
The world that I came to thoroughly enjoy in the first season was greatly expanded
in the second season that recently aired. The adventures that were so carefree in
season one take on a more sinister nature in season two, where the show makes
it clear that the danger Hilda faces is life threatening. This danger
constantly puts Hilda in conflict with the magical world around them, the authorities,
and her mother as Hilda’s adventures head to new heights.
Hilda and her mother Johanna
are at odds with each other throughout the second season. While Hilda’s mother allowed
her a lot of freedom in the first season, when Hilda starts getting into larger
adventures and more trouble, her mother starts to take notice. When a kraken
raises out of the lake Hilda just happened to be visiting, Johanna tries to
protect Hilda, while Hilda cannot understand why her mother is getting so
upset. The arc of Hilda and Johanna’s fights jumps around a lot, much like how
real families fight. One minute you are coming to a new understanding of your
parent or relative, and the next you are at each other’s throats again.
Although Johanna tries to keep Hilda out of danger, she always seems to find
her way back to it.
Hilda’s adventures bring
her into conflict with the safety patrol as well when Erik Ahlberg, head of safety
patrol and descendent of Trollberg founder and Troll Slayer Edmund Ahlberg,
starts making changes to the security measures protecting the town. The safety
patrol first appeared at the end of the first season when they were searching
for the Black Hound that was terrorizing the city. Erik Ahlberg’s actions begin
to threaten the town, as his lack of magical understanding throws off the
balance in the magic world. Their aggressive tactics that they label as safety
measures draw the ire of the magical creatures living around Trollberg unseen
by the citizens. Several episodes center around havoc caused when Erik starts
ringing the bells around the city every hour on the hour to ward off creatures.
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| Image Courtesy of Gizmodo Australia |
These episodes seem to harp on a theme from the first season where humans, in our desire to control the world around us, squeeze the magic out of it at the same time. Desire for strict control of the natural world puts us in danger, as we have seen with the destruction of our ecosystems, and puts the residents of Trollberg in danger, as the ringing of the Trollberg bells draw in more trolls seeking to stop the ringing. This theme was first highlighted by the character Victoria Van Gale in season one who captures weather spirits to try and control the weather. She returns in season two with a new plan to control magic for her own ends. This show critiques the perspective that our world is one of endless resources that we can exploit without consequence.
The worldbuilding that
made this show jump out at me from the start was expanded upon greatly in the
second season. Hilda encounters more magical creatures, monsters, and spirits
in this season, and starts to put her knowledge to good use. Tonte, the Nissa
spirit who lives in Hilda’s house, starts helping out by storing items in his
nowhere space, an extra room created by all the spare space that we take for
granted (ie. Space behind bookshelves, frames, and cracks in the walls).
No expansion was quite so
large as the world of witchcraft that we encountered in the middle of season one.
Kaisa, the librarian witch that helps Hilda with magic throughout the first season
becomes a link to the establishment of sorceresses and witches Hilda and her
friends discover in the second season. Several episodes center around Hilda, Frida
and David having to clean up spells gone wrong. The tide mice that Hilda
enchants in the first season pop up again and cause a huge boom in business for
a snack food company in Trollberg, forcing Hilda to find some way to fix the
issue.
The focus on mythology
that originally drew me to the show is best summarized by The Wood Man, who tells
Hilda that “Truth can be found in myths and stories.” One of my favorite lines
in the new season, I think it is spot on. We spend a lot of time searching for
concreate, verified and unquestionably true answers. Hilda gives us the
message that while those are valid ways to learning about the world, we need to
provide space for the world to surprise us. We need to leave room for myths and
magic, and although these truths may be more elusive, we need to pay attention to
what we can learn from the stories we tell each other and ourselves.
Such an epic season
requires an equally epic ending, and the final episode of the season did not
disappoint. It was by far the longest episode of both seasons at over forty
minutes, and spans a long distance and time period. It was also the most
resonant episode, bringing the conflicts that have been simmering in the
background to full light. I cannot recommend both seasons of this show enough.
While the first season set up a fascinating and magical world, the second season
took the worldbuilding to such a high level that I cannot wait to see what the
third season will produce.
-Patrick Bernas
