Okay, I can collect my thoughts now. Obviously I thought S2 was an absolute success. This show does witty, campy, irreverent (at times), heartfelt drama so well. And it does it all in the guise of being a comedy extravaganza. But that’s what makes it so beautiful…sold as a comedy but the drama and narrative weight is there like it is with more serious hour long dramas. I was on the edge of my seat hoping Richard would go and get Roberta and save her from Mount Spinster (with her cat and chocolate). Even though we all probably knew that Galavant and Isabella would work out, watching them get there was tremendous fun. The show knows just when to poke fun of themselves and their genre–like the magical amulet McGuffin that no one has ever seen before, Neo of Sporin, spoofing various famous musicals and other fantasy movies/literature. The meta nature of the show is a huge selling point (and more than once I have felt that they were making fun of OUAT–“a pirate died!” even though they clearly wrote/shot 201 *before* 5×11 aired)
I think the best points of the season for me were Galavant and Richard’s interactions. From Richard’s introduction in S1 singing about wanting “to shoot him {Galavant} with a cross bow” to proudly declaring that Gal was his best pal, the show managed to develop a character that could have been a huge cliche (the evil king) organically and with only 20 episodes over the course of two seasons (which is shorter than your average broadcast drama!)
I loved watching Izzy take her people to war and fight for her happy ending which, yes, included true love but also included her fighting for herself and her freedom.
Gareth and Madelena were a surprise feel-fest I didn’t see coming.
The fact that it wasn’t Galavant who was the one true king to unite everyone with the hero’s sword, which is a nice deconstruction of the hero trope.
And Tad Cooper…bless. Just bless that dragon.
Favorite Songs: My Dragon Pal and Me; A New Season; Off With His Shirt; The Happiest Day of My Life; Giants vs Dwarves; A Dark Season (super short little ending song, but I adore the “now this season needs a hero” “and he’s on his way” with the main Galavant theme overlaid); Maybe You Won’t Die Alone; As Good As It Gets.