Willow: Season 1

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 99 Ratings

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4.6

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4.6	Your Score
4.6	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 99 Ratings

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Willow: Special Look

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Season Details & Credits

Disney+ | Season Premiere Date: November 30, 2022

Summary: Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) leads a disparate group of heroes to help save the world in this television sequel series to George Lucas's 1988 film "Willow."

Genre(s): Drama, Action & Adventure, Fantasy

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Season 1 Episodes

tbd
S1:E8. Children of the Wyrm
Air Date: November 30, -0001
7.5
S1:E7. Beyond the Shattered Sea
Air Date: November 30, -0001
7.5
S1:E6. Prisoners of Skellin
Air Date: November 30, -0001

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Metascore

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Mixed:

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Critic Reviews

100

Collider Maggie Boccella

Nov 29, 2022

Willow is, ultimately, a rare treat, the fantasy answer to Top Gun: Maverick that gives fans everything they want and even more. Read full review

Meghan O'Keefe

Nov 30, 2022

We finally have a sequel that continues the Willow saga with the heart and soul the story deserves. Disney+‘s new series Willow is a raggedy, hilarious, and absolutely enchanting continuation of the Lucasfilm cult classic. Instead of wallowing in “grimdark” imagery or losing itself tripping over unnecessary mystery boxes, Willow embraces the joy of its source material. Willow is a tour de force of fun and fantasy frivolity. Read full review

Melanie McFarland

Nov 30, 2022

I still wish that "Willow" were as consistently electric from the start as it eventually becomes from the third episode onward. Then again, if "Willow" takes a couple of episodes to find its greatness, perhaps the story's spirit dictates that is as it should be. Read full review

CNET Richard Trenholm

Nov 30, 2022

A welcome blend of clanging swords and comedy (with some spooky bits to make the kids jump). Read full review

RogerEbert.com Clint Worthington

Nov 30, 2022

In lesser hands, this could fall flat on its face, so it’s a pleasant surprise to find just how easily it all goes down. Each member of the ensemble gets their chance to shine, both individually and when paired off. ... But any time we stray from our likable ensemble into the dirty business of the adventure, the show starts to lose steam. Read full review

Rob Owen

Nov 30, 2022

The new “Willow” feels a little fan-fiction-y. Some will surely lap it up, but I can’t imagine this series, despite its big budget, registering in the pop culture zeitgeist in the same way “Star Wars” and Marvel shows on Disney+ sometimes do. Read full review

The Playlist Marya E. Gates

Nov 30, 2022

Ultimately, “Willow” is an underdeveloped legacy sequel that somehow stretches the source material to its breaking point, while never reaching the same heights of good old-fashioned fun that a fantasy epic should have at its heart. By chopping up the story into tedious, overlong episodes, the magic has been bleached from its bones, leaving behind a rotting corpse that resembles its inspiration on the surface only. Read full review

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User Score

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4.6

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User Reviews

ArieA

Nov 30, 2022

More Warwick Davis anything is a 10.

16 of 35 users found this helpful1619

arekusu

Jan 11, 2023

For people looking for a well made show that feels right out of a young-adult fantasy novel, this is probably the best live action fantasy TV series I've ever seen (and truly, I've watched almost all of them, haha). It has a lot of comedy and doesn't worry about focusing on grimdark lore andFor people looking for a well made show that feels right out of a young-adult fantasy novel, this is probably the best live action fantasy TV series I've ever seen (and truly, I've watched almost all of them, haha). It has a lot of comedy and doesn't worry about focusing on grimdark lore and violence. Almost like Avatar: The Last Airbender in tone, it manages to balance comedy, wonder, and deeper themes in an unusually good coming of age adventure.

It's not as amazing a show overall as the early seasons of Game of Thrones, but nothing in the live action fantasy genre is. Willow's strength is that it's a completely different type of fantasy story focused on fun characters, comedic banter, and a feeling of adventure as you travel through a strange new world. Given that the classic movie had a silly tone throughout and was, above all, a series of cool filmmaking set pieces with a plot that sometimes seemed like an afterthought, they've done a great job here.

Scrolling through the user reviews, it once again seems like most of the negative reviews are just review bombs trying to tank the score with a big fat 0. Do people not realize that this just makes the user review average useless? A lot of the review bombers seem to be complaining about something called "wokeness" which seems to mean something like... letting black actors play characters in a fantasy world? Good times guys.

That said, I'm sure there are people who prefer grimdark fantasy and are disappointed by the lighthearted, young-adult-fantasy tone of this story that is about 50% comedy, 30% adventure and mystery, 10% fight scenes and 10% innocent romance. For those folks there's already watching the first 5-7 seasons of Game of Thrones... and then making up your own ending. Does anyone really expect a more serious tone in a follow up to the movie Willow?… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

Bibliographer

Dec 1, 2022

Enjoyable, well-made and well-acted, if not highly original. A fun high fantasy with some good performances. Perhaps a bit stereotypical or predictable — but with enough nuances, uncertainty and shades of grey to keep it interesting. Definitely worthwhile for those who enjoy the genre, withEnjoyable, well-made and well-acted, if not highly original. A fun high fantasy with some good performances. Perhaps a bit stereotypical or predictable — but with enough nuances, uncertainty and shades of grey to keep it interesting. Definitely worthwhile for those who enjoy the genre, with several good performers worth watching.… Expand

2 of 9 users found this helpful27

SillyMetalhead

Dec 4, 2022

Your show is in really big trouble if most of the positive reviews are actually left just to attack the show's critics and give it the highest "take that!" rating. At this point, Woillow is a typical twitter shipping bait show that tries to mask a highly clichéd and lazily written plot andYour show is in really big trouble if most of the positive reviews are actually left just to attack the show's critics and give it the highest "take that!" rating. At this point, Woillow is a typical twitter shipping bait show that tries to mask a highly clichéd and lazily written plot and pandering to a very specific audience with claims of representation, relevance and, let's be honest, subsequent accusations of homophobia by the show's critics.

We've already seen it a bunch of times and I wouldn't be surprised if we see more. The showrunners are just using the old cult IPs to get their fanfiction to be watched and discussed, even if it's mostly caused by outrageous mockery of the original shows. Well, at least they'll be able to portray the victim in the mainstream media.… Expand

4 of 10 users found this helpful46

metacritiqueur

Jan 2, 2023

Disney series with quota, rebranded with beloved heroic fantasy ip. Nothing to do with the movie, it's Disney at its peak : pile of crap.

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

Clutcher

Dec 2, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. WTF
When I was a kid, I loved the movie. This TV series is nothing like the movie. The editing, the dialogue, the acting, the storyline are all awful. It literally checked off all the boxes for millennial wokeness in the first 20 minutes of the first episode. And as a kicker, the attempted humor is both awkward and flat. The story is about rescuing a prince, yet there seems to be no actual urgency or deep enough concern in the first two episodes to actually rush to wherever it is they need to be in order to do the rescuing. They just spend time in some woods bickering at one another and dealing with their feelings and emotions over whether or not they are good enough to live the lives they dreamed of, not the ones their parents want them to lead. Oh the millennial drama! It's so anti adventure that I'm going to have to pass on the rest of the season. But for those of you who do want a modern millennialesque saga complete with coming of age and overly sensitive dialogue and themes set in a fantasyland, you might want to stick it out.… Expand

6 of 13 users found this helpful67

enut_butter

Nov 30, 2022

It’s modern Disney so you already know it’s going to be a soulless nightmare made by people who hate the IP, but this was bad even for them. Childish writing. Atrocious acting. Terrible CGI. An absolute disaster of a show.

14 of 37 users found this helpful1423

SEE ALL 40 REVIEWS

Seasons & Episodes

70

Series Overview
Season 1

70
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: November 30, 2022
- tbd
  S1:E8. Children of the Wyrm
  Air Date: November 30, -0001
- 7.5
  S1:E7. Beyond the Shattered Sea
  Air Date: November 30, -0001
- 7.5
  S1:E6. Prisoners of Skellin
  Air Date: November 30, -0001
- 7.5
  S1:E5. Wildwood
  Air Date: November 30, -0001
- 7.5
  S1:E4. The Whispers of Nockmaar
  Air Date: November 30, -0001
- tbd
  S1:E3. The Battle of the Slaughtered Lamb
  Air Date: November 30, -0001