The Faraway Paladin: The Lord of Rust Mountain

Episode 7

Episode 7 of Faraway Paladin: The Lord of Rust Mountain does an excellent job of being exciting and nostalgic in equal parts.

We get more of Will, Gus, and company spending time together. Will's flashbacks to Mary in particular get the old feels churning, and the show has done an excellent job of keeping Will's family in the forefront of our minds while only sparingly bringing them back out. Mary and Blood are dead and gone (well, double-dead I suppose) and that sense of loss isn't tarnished, but the connection is still there in a positive way. There's a fine line between leaning too heavily on these characters such that they don't even feel like they're gone versus bringing them up so seldom that we wish we saw more of them, and I think the series has done a great job of threading that needle. The gifting of the knife scene was also quite touching, and indicative of the new bonds being forged between the companions. William did bring his new family home to meet his old family.

The battle with the serpent beast on the river was excellent as well. It's a massive hydra-like creature so there's no real surprise that it can regrow its heads, and the party's approach to battling it isn't necessarily original. It doesn't have to be. It's a good, simple action that is well-animated and exciting with meaningful stakes. It reminded me of watching things like Record of Lodoss War or like any number of rpg sessions I've been a part of over the years. There's an attractive simplicity to these action fantasy tales of derring-do and bestial monsters. Combine that with fun classic-feeling lore tidbits like Elves having a different perception of time, or key societal guidance kept in rhymes and song, and you've got a tried-and-true fantasy story on your hands.

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Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

Faraway Paladin: The Lord of Rust Mountain is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.