Helck

Episode 11

It's funny that I lambasted Helck last week for feeling like a completely different show and yet I'm about to praise it this week for arguably the same reason. I don't think this episode at all justified the random detour that we took last week with the cooking competition, but it did have a satisfying payoff to some of the smaller things set up. We got a lot of payoffs here regarding world-building as we explored the ruins of a forgotten city that long had since been ravaged by war. It does highlight that this world is so much bigger than our protagonist thought and while there are some nice, even quirky places like the island we were originally sent to, there are also places that are practically cursed with the bloodshed of what had previously transpired. I think it highlights the fact that if our protagonists don't learn from the mistakes of those around them, then the little bubble of a kingdom that they've lived in for so long may be doomed to repeat the same mistakes. In fact, in Helck's case, maybe the human country already repeated those mistakes. There are a lot of parallels you can see between the dark curses that we've gotten a glimpse of and the hero powers of awakening that we've seen before.

I love how this episode treated Helck because it feels like this was the glimpse into his true self that we have been waiting to see since episode one. We knew there was some kind of dark underside to him and now after finally being pushed into a situation where he could bleed, we see that darkness come out. That shot of him with his hair down while he told the Dark Knight not to mess with his friends kind of gave me Anakin Skywalker vibes. Even if your intentions are good, sometimes relying on rage and hatred can drive you to the worst side of everything. I also like that Vermilio seemed to genuinely care about Helck's well-being and we were able to continue with the new dynamic right away. I feel like if this reveal came out in episode two then Vermilio would immediately be trying to kill Helck but she knows there's probably a lot more complicated stuff beneath that overly dopey demeanor he always carries around.

The episode even ended on a very nice comedic note with Piwi calling for a race through the ruins and silently falling into the mouth of a giant beast that came out of nowhere. It was a great way to end the episode after such a heavy dramatic pause. Again, I don't think it forgives the past two episodes of complaints that I've had but I will acknowledge there is some very solid storytelling here and I hope this is the direction we will continue to take things moving forward. You can have comedy but you can also keep things engaging alongside it.

Rating:

Helck is currently streaming on HIDIVE.