PRAISE OF LOYALTY: REVIEW OF 'A THRONE OF OUR OWN' (THE OUTPOST, EP. 402)

A Throne of Our Own owes its prominence to the new reigning couple in Gallwood, since to a large extent this episode focuses on them and their personal setbacks when establishing an effective government tailored to their needs. Falista tries to maintain her composure and present herself as a non-bloody but firm queen, while Tobin, whose brain hasn't been sucked into death, doubts the position of power they occupy and the means used to sit on the throne. So we have a queen who wants to rule at all costs, and a king who would rather give her place to someone more capable. Understanding is not guaranteed, much less if we consider who the real advisers are. Tobin refuses to accept the co-governance of Two and Three with Falista, insofar as they are inferior in rank, although equal in possession of their kinjs. Thus, Tobin and Falista must not only deal with themselves in making decisions, but also with the two theocrats who discreetly try to manipulate them, as well as with a mob that only kneels out of fear and is actually loyal to Talon and Garret.

For those who have been brought up in the culture of honor, loyalty, and service to the greater good, magic and the supernatural belong to another world, so Falista and Tobin's ascension to the throne is more than illegitimate in the eyes of Garret, who, unable to contain himself, decides to take advantage of the physical proximity to the newly crowned sovereign to rise up and incite rebellion, although he fails trying to put the sword around her neck, since the powerful red kinj almost causes her vital organs to explode. Falista takes the opportunity to illustrate how insubordination is punished and the impulsive and naive captain soon kisses the cell bars again.

But the story doesn't end there. Tobin and Falista's new dilemma is now called Garret Spears, since the poor prisoner is recriminated even more faults than those actually he committed and even Two and Three try to convince Falista of how beneficial it would be for all of them to execute him. From there, king and queen trembl on a tightrope, given that the power of one kinj doesn't affect others who already have one. Falista is unable to coerce her magicians and, although her plans haven't been revealed for now, it's likely that in subsequent chapters we will know more about what these two are up to since, obviously, they're aware that the queen is very fickle. The interests of the four highest authorities of Gallwood don't pursue the same objectives and this will have consequences later.

What is clear is that this episode the central theme is loyalty. Who is loyal to whom, for what reasons and if loyalty means agreeing that the good justifies the means, questions on which many of the thoughts of our protagonists spin over. For Garret everything is summed up in that concept, in loyalty. Loyalty brings power, and he relies on Tobin's former loyalty to the late Gwynn and all that she symbolized to him, so he believes Falista and Tobin would never order his execution, and for that very reason he also advises Talon she gathers those who are still faithful to both of them. However, Talon is much more pessimistic, as she knows from experience that loyalty is a fragile glass vase, very easy to break when subjected to continuous external pressure. If she hasn't been arrested, it's just because she had no intention of claiming the crown herself, but a single misstep would mean facing the gallows again. Her friends are in serious danger too, and given the situation, she tries not to visit Garret too often who, on the other hand, seems comfortable with Luna as a fellow roommate, at least until this troublesome girlie is forgiven and released due to the unlikely fact she was sent precisely by Garret in order to kill Falista. 

But the power of the new queen shouldn't be underrated, since the closure of the Nightshade tavern where Janzo, Munt and Warlita work means the prelude to the persecution of Talon's allies, who decides to concentrate on solving another of the season riddles: the strange behavior of the Lu Qiri and the divine visions of the newly awakened gods, as Wren reveals to Janzo that they are going to be parents.

Both plots become fleeting compared to the political goings-on and the Garret Spears affair. Janzo, who in the previous seasons lived his golden age as a doctor and scientist in charge of investigating the plaguelings and the contagious kinjs of the blackblood priestess, is now relegated to a very background, with fatherhood as a possible final horizon. Both he and Talon, who had always been such good friends, are now fighting on separate frontiers. Janzo has lost prominence and although he continues to be an essential character as Talon's support and continues to give us funny scenes and humorous moments, these lack of special importance for the main storylines, which now slide more towards Garret, Tobin, Falista, Talon and Zed , in that order. The first episode emphasized Talon's problem with the crown and Gallwood's interregnum, showing us the weaknesses of the stubborn warrior, who is no longer as unbeatable as she was presented to us. The series strives now more than ever to reflect her more human side and hints that her Asterkinj's powers aren't infinite when she tries to help her friends and do the right thing, which in the current situation consists of staying away from Garret to don't hint at a hypothetical conspiracy. Her position relative to Luna is identical. She can act as her supervisor and check out she doesn't get into trouble, but in secret.

Luna is an interesting character who is destined both to justify the existence of the order of the dragman women and to fit loose pieces of the puzzle of The Outpost. Luna is very much like Talon. The two girls have much in common, especially to the extent that Luna has traveled to the outpost for the same reasons that brought Talon to that place: revenge for the death of her sister Ilyin. However, Ilyin's murder was a blackblood, Rebb, while the ones who killed Talon's family were humans. What unites them is as different as what separates them, and although the two of them get along, their perspective of Gallwood society and culture is quite different. Luna is also a survivor, but, unlike Talon, she's willing to lie, steal, and kill.

Luna's idiosyncrasy fascinates Garret, who finds the tricky tavern girl amusing but lacking in honor and scruples. She doesn't care at all what others think about her, even if they misjudge her. Spears is a knight who has sworn vows of fidelity and loyalty, whose life has revolved around honor, the defense of truth and justice. Lying is for him a sin as ignominious as a crime against the majesty. 

That's why Luna is such a curious character, because she's emerged to challenge the ideals of other important characters such as Garret, Tobin or Falista, who represent the nobility of the realm. Words or loyalty are worthless to Luna. It's just that, words. Even to Tobin Spears' mere oath of allegiance would be nothing more than a formalism, but to Garret the words must always have meaning.

The beginnings of the new dynastic stage in Gallwood begin between doubts and political ups and downs, with Garret Spears as the turning point between Tobin and Falista. The scene in which he goes to the dungeon to beg him to pledge allegiance to them is one of the most powerful and outstanding of this second episode, because to understand the relationship between them you have to go back two seasons. Garret cannot swear allegiance to a friend who is being manipulated by the traitors who murdered the royal family he had served, who were also responsible for kidnapping him and forcing him to being brainwashed, and murder his own father as a means of break all his family ties with the outpost.

Garret was once the Sword of the Three and he, better than anyone, is aware of the extent of the subtle manipulative tactics employed by The Three. Garret's story, his youth and his childhood, are intrinsically linked to the dictatorship of The Three. For his part, Tobin still owes his life to Spears, since if he and Talon hadn't infiltrated the capital, he would never have gotten rid of Yavalla's control. However, he also feels committed to Falista, since it is by her will that he's managed to return from hell. His dialogue with Spears affects him, and it shows in his doubts when he and Falista sit down for the first time in the new royal seatings she ordered. That may help ward off Gwynn's ghost, but the cloud of her memory is harder to eradicate. For Tobin, Garret and Gwynn are a lukewarm reflection of the past, echoing a memorable page of their existence, and that explains why he harbors doubts, doubts that Captain Spears has known how to sow and drive like tares into his guts: who is actually ruling Gallwood? Who is loyal to whom? Is his life really worth that of twenty servants loyal to his person? Is it legitimate to get the throne through magic and maintain it by instilling fear and imposing military force in the streets? Did Gwynn need to resort to such tricks to become a queen loved by her people?

Tobin frowns: the murder attempt last night reveals a possible conspiracy hatching in the recesses of Gallwood against the monarchy, but his architect cannot be Garret. His discussion has taken a toll on him and somehow protects him. For the first time, he realizes that Falista ends up giving ground to his two advisers. She complies with their proposals, and not the other way around, which makes him wonder if Garret was right. The red kinj has strengthened Falista morally but hasn't worked a miraculous transformation, as she's still an indecisive young woman, used to being dressed, served and escorted. It was always others who made the important decisions, and her inability means that, with each passing day, it's the magicians who gain more power for themselves. The matter takes an unexpected turn when Tobin is already in possession of Three's kinj, as his narrative evolution becomes unpredictable ... what will Tobin do? Will he remain loyal to Falista or will he think about the words Spears spoke to him? How will yellow kinj affect him as king? Only the time can answer that question.

THE HEAVY CROWN: REVIEW FROM 'SOMEONE HAS TO RULE' (THE OUTPOST)

No one could have imagined that The Outpost would remain on our televisions for so long as to prosper and achieve in three successive seasons what the first one didn't do: capture half a million viewers and beat its own audience record in a context as unfavorable for TV shows as the summer holidays are, something which usually pushes the chains to reserve the best of their grills for the fall. But here is this medium production, which never intended much less to overshadow the giants Game of Thrones, Vikings or The Last Kingdom, conquering hearts year after year, and all thanks to some endearing characters and easily recognizable plots and which the public feels identified with now more than ever, centered on a middle age halfway between the fantastic and the apocalyptic, plagued by plagues and diseases caused by supernatural beings, which seems like a whole reinvention of the classic genre of heroes and adventures.

If Season 3 anticipated the covid age, Season 4 begins with themes that, although closer to the European Middle Ages, raise contemporary issues of vital importance, such as the skills that define a ruler, the irrelevance of blood to politically direct the destiny of the peoples, the convenience of banishing the old habits to choose more just and effective political systems, and everything related to family and bloodline. To sum up, The Outpost  is reviewing aspects of medieval everyday life with a current look, and it does so with such magical solvency that this season promises to be more realistic than the previous ones and exceed all our expectations.

The first episode, which The CW premiered this Thursday, July 15, made its way through an atmosphere of solemn nostalgia, melancholy and uncertainty after the sacrifice made by Queen Rosmund to save the outpost inhabitants  from a fate worse than death. Now, they pay homage to her absent, in a funeral ceremony officiated by Captain Spears, commander of the military guard of the outpost, who, after giving a speech of encouragement, hopes that Talon assumes her duty as a new sovereign since, otherwise, a new conflict would break out between Gallwood and the Blackbloods, unwilling to accept human leaders. Her imminent public rejection of the crown exasperates her friends, all of them, in another hand, scattered in their own affairs, as Wren is undergoing the physical changes corresponding to pregnancy for his race, Zed insists on doing with her what Garret with Talon, forcing her to occupy the religious throne that Yavalla left, Janzo continues to busy examining files and Falista mourning in loneliness Tobin's death in palace.

Everyone has been affected by Gwynn's death, but to a different degree and form. Zed, Janzo and Wren, who didn't maintain such close contact with the queen, aren't as sorry as Talon and Garret, and this is noticeable in the interpretations of the two leading actors, barely unable to catch the humor acid from Janzo and Zed when the brewer confirms Falista's royal ancestry and the dilemma of hiding this information in order to delegitimize it and have someone else take his place on the throne is faced on tab. Janzo makes laugh of Garret at the possibility that he might fancy himself an elected candidate. Jokes aside, the character of Falista is, at this point, crucial for the development of the plot, because her connection with the royal family confronts her with Talon, divides her allies and also encourages the theocrats of the Prime Order, Two and Three, take advantage of the political problem to bribe her.

Falista was introduced as a vehicular minor character in S3 that served to steer Gwynn away from Tobin and have Tobin marry her to her at Aegisfort in exchange for an army for Gallwood. The smug baroness, accustomed to gold and silk, didn't quite fit into this military base, especially when Gwynn declined Tobin's proposal for commander of the guard. However, accidentally obtaining her red kinj  has made her evolve round the clock in just a few episodes. She is insecure and afraid of the world, she has a power with which to subdue those who disobey her and that makes her feel stronger and more independent. If previously Falista was aware that she needed a man by her side to handle it and obtain favor and influence through him, now she no longer needs anyone to achieve her purposes, which makes her an important character and, above all, as ambiguous as unpredictable.

The interest that Falista now arouses perhaps makes Talon pale slightly, since her story is that of an exiled woman who doesn't know her place in the world and who is not sure who she is or who she wants to become. Talon has gained confidence, but that doesn't mean that, deep down inside of her, she has stopped running away and shirking any kind of responsibility. Her friendship with Gwynn allowed her to serve her and set goals of her own but, once queen is died, she doesn't really know to whom she owes loyalty, because her heart is still divided among the survivors of  her nation and the Gallwood citizens. Humans were the ones who condemned and persecuted the Blackbloods, so whatever her decisions, there will always be one side that may consider her a betrayer, which explains why she always prefers to stay out of politics. Unlike her friends, she knows the rules of the octor better than those that govern her world and she doesn't know how to use them in her favor. 

Garret Spears, on the other hand, is the opposite of Talon in many respects. They both have feelings for each other, but for Garret duty has always come before love, which is embodied in that first divergence of opinions at the beginning of the chapter. Garret believes that the right thing to do is to do what Gwynn would have ordered, but Talon argues that she lacks that cultural and educational immersion that enables a king to decide on economy, law and order. Sadly, her stubbornness takes a toll on him, because if she declines, he is the only man in authority in Gallwood and while Garret was always a selfless man, more concerned with protecting the outcast and the vulnerable, Someone Has to Rule drift suggests  the captain is also trying to tip the scales in his favor. In this world, people must put honor and family before love and personal desires, something Garret was born with but Talon doesn't understand. Gwynn was the connecting link between Garret and Talon, since they weren't just friends. Previously the captain and the queen had been lovers, and later circumstances prompted them and Talon to unite against the Prime Order for the good of the realm. Now that she is gone, the convergence of interests of both has timidly vanished. In a way, both Talon and Garret are in need of a greater purpose to entrust their lives to, but it remains to be seen whether such a prolonged absence of leadership doesn't position them on opposing sides in the long run.

Garret would be willing to lie about the legitimacy of Falista's throne to prevent a subsequent conflict within the village, but he wouldn't only do so for sheer convenience, but because of how much he loves and respects her. However, Talon observes the panorama from a very different perspective: he senses that the fascination for her person dominates the environment because, after all, one of the aspects of her that most captivated Garret was her impressive fighting skills. Then, Talon has the feeling that people only use her or ask for her help when they need it. She believes that the distance between herself and Gwynn is like a bottomless abyss, and only Wren, with whom she shares that circumstantial parallelism, is the one who makes her see during the walk along the river that she, as her father and as the queen, were people more concerned about others than about themselves, who on multiple occasions risked their lives in exchange for nothing. That intimate conversation is what motivates her to finally accept the crown, just when Two and Three are ahead of them.

Two hasn't given up in her efforts to conquer Gallwood, to which is now added another even more coveted incentive: the powerful Falista's red kinj. The naive baroness bows to her speech because her obsession with realm crown blinds her in such a way that she isn't aware that the theocrats are going to turn her into a mere puppet at the service of her whims. Two offers her without hesitation the resurrection of Tobin and the throne, and Falista is crowned by a hieratic and unrecognizable Tobin to the astonishment of those present, who wonder in amazement what kind of magic can work such a macabre miracle.

And, without magic, The Outpost doesn't exist. The series begins little by little to tie up loose ends in this episode, intertwining fuzzy and unexplained plots from previous seasons, such as the origin of the kinjs and the role of the dragman, or of the dragmans, to put it better, since the murderer who seeks revenge by mistake on Talon is nothing but the older sister of Ilyin, the dragman girl who originally accompanied Everit Dredd and who later fell victim to Rebb, Talon's blackblood nemesis. Apparently, the dragmans are women with supernatural powers (for example, reading minds) trained by monks in shrines like the one that was on the border with the grayskins and there's no doubt  both the appearance of the new dragman and the awakening of the gods are bonded phenomena. We don't know what the dragmans protected, or what their secret is, but we do know that it must be something quite evil and terrible. 

About the so-called "gods" we have found out or, at least, elaborated some hypotheses during the course of the chapter: if the Terakinj is the kinj of death and the reborn god who  had it is Tera, it means that Vorta, Kurta, and the the rest of the kinjs that possess Two and Three, receive their name from the god to which they once belonged, which means that these omnipotent ancestral beings could be the creators of the kinjs and that the blackbloods who lived in the heyday of the city that lies under the walls of Gallwood, they were taken from them to prevent them from being used for evil purposes because of their uncompromising power. In fact, it's quite possible that these gods were the ancestors of the blackbloods and that the fact that the Lu Qiri no longer obey them is due to their power preventing them. This circumstance is something that will end up taking its toll on Talon, his allies and also Two and her henchmen, because at the first time in the series all the factions will find themselves defenseless against an enemy that exceeds their expectations. If we are correct, that would mean our friends would have to work together with the Prime Order to end this threat.

PRIMERAS IMPRESIONES DEL TRAILER Y LAS FOTOS PROMO DE LA TEMPORADA 4 DE THE OUTPOST

The CW, el canal estadounidense, lanzó hace pocos días el teaser promo, es decir, el tráiler corto de la S4 de The Outpost. Como ya sabemos por otras series, lo habitual es que tras este breve avance se publique otro de mayor duración con las novedades que traerá consigo este año la nueva temporada. Hasta el presente, así es cómo ha operado The CW con otras franquicias de éxito juvenil pero, de momento, hasta que aparezca más contenido exclusivo, esto es lo que tenemos, y en lo que nos vamos a centrar en el post de hoy, en el que comentaremos lo que nos sugieren las escenas del primer episodio.

En el tráiler podemos comprobar que están presentes la mayoría de los protagonistas que hemos ido conociendo durante el transcurso de la historia (Talon, Garret, Janzo, Zed, Munt, Warlita...) a excepción de los que perecieron en capítulos anteriores. Dado que se trata de una serie de fantasía, la muerte puede no ser definitiva, de modo que no debemos perder la esperanza de  ver de nuevo a Gwynn y a Tobin, aunque sólo sea en algún remoto flashback.

Por lo pronto, lo que se aprecia claramente es que nuestros amigos acaban de ganar una guerra... para empezar otra. Y es que a la vista están las consecuencias que ha provocado el sacrificio de la reina Rosemund: el trono vacante se ha convertido en objeto de codicia no sólo de la Primera Orden, sino también, y con toda seguridad, de Falista, a la que le correspondería por linaje heredarlo, si es que su genealogía familiar la convierte realmente en pariente lejana de Gwynn y de su ancestro el rey Ranulf. Dos, que huyó a hurtadillas y presenció desde la distancia junto con Tres la derrota de los Unidos, anda sin duda maquinando cómo someter Gallwood a la voluntad de Los Tres y al mismo tiempo recuperar el Kinj Rojo y a su portadora. Sí, seguramente Dos y Falista acabarán aliándose y eso permitirá la entrada a la fortaleza de la horda de soldados de la Primera Orden que observamos en los primeros segundos del tráiler. 

Es evidente que el interregno estará cargado de incertidumbre, pues Talon, conmocionada por los sucesos recientes, no parece dispuesta a asumir la pesada carga que se ha colocado accidentalmente sobre sus hombros. Por más que Garret se lo suplica y trata de convencerla de que es la elegida para liderar ambos pueblos, Talon no quiere gobernar y, sería ingenuo creer que esta ausencia de mandato no va a ser aprovechada por sus enemigos, que atacarán sin piedad. De hecho, podemos ver cómo algunos de ellos desafiarán sus propias habilidades de combate y cómo irán apareciendo personajes nuevos en forma de aliados y antagonistas.  

A diferencia de otros personajes, Talon nunca ha sabido cuál era su lugar en el mundo, por lo que  ha tenido que descubrirlo por sí misma obteniendo favores a cambio de sus poderes. En estas imágenes nos percatamos de que está moralmente destrozada. En cambio, Janzo y Garret muestran actitudes más sólidas que cabría esperar dada la complicada situación en la que se encuentran, pues tanto los Blackbloods como los habitantes de Gallwood están necesitados de liderazgo y las decisiones de Talon pueden provocar que se abra otra desafortunada brecha con los de su propia raza, quienes podrían acabar rindiéndose ante el poder que atesoran las hipotéticas deidades resucitadas gracias a los kinjs blanco y  negro, con los que comparten sus orejas puntiagudas. Los que  son denominados por Dos "dioses" podrían ser en realidad antiguos reyes Blackblood, tal vez los mismos creadores de los kinjs. Uno de ellos parece proceder de las ruinas de Dun Ebdin y el otro de la cripta donde se halla la antigua ciudad subterránea. De ser así, podrían reclamar lo que antaño les perteneció y subyugar la fortaleza.

Además del citado teaser, también hay disponibles algunas imágenes promocionales de Talon, Garret, Munt, Warlita y un personaje femenino desconocido, que podría ser la asesina que se menciona en la sinopsis oficial. El hipotético sicario que aparecerá en el primer episodio podría ser un individuo afectado por los agravios colaterales que implicó la lucha contra Yavalla.

En cuanto a los protagonistas, las imágenes son bastante reveladoras: Talon duda al sostener entre sus manos la corona, preocupada por no ser capaz de dar la talla, mientras Garret la observa vigilante, entre confianza e incertidumbre. 

El hecho de que Garret fuera nombrado comandante de la guardia y recuperase su antigua autoridad en Gallwood marcará seguramente un antes y un después en la vida del joven capitán, a quien no veíamos vestir su antigua armadura desde que se convirtiera en la Espada de los Tres durante la Season 2. Todo indica que sus heridas han cicatrizado y que lo notaremos mucho más fortalecido y seguro de sí mismo en los episodios que están por venir. 

Munt y Warlita seguramente se conviertan en la nueva pareja de la serie. Ambos personajes se conocieron en la taberna que regentaba Eleanor, la madre adoptiva de Janzo y Munt, que murió en la batalla final contra los infectados que, a su vez, puso punto  final al negocio del colipso.  

La fortaleza celebrará un funeral en honor de la difunta Gwynn en cuerpo ausente, ya que tanto ella como Yavalla se transformaron en cenizas tras la interacción del Kinj de la Muerte con el de la Vida. Es evidente que la encapuchada aprovechará ese momento de distracción para poner en marcha su plan, del que sabremos más el próximo jueves 15 de julio. 

TEASER PROMO EP. 4X01 (SOMEONE HAS TO RULE)