Galavant: "World's Best Kiss" Review

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First kisses aren't always so hot.

By Amy Ratcliffe

Note: This is our review of the second of the two Galavant episodes that aired on its Season 2 premiere night. Click here for our review of the actual season premiere.

Full spoilers for the episode below.

With the second episode of Season 2, Galavant continued its trend of addressing the silly parts of fairy tale romances and delivered a little jab to the ribs of critics. Laughs, music, social commentary -- it's all part of Galavant and often interwoven brilliantly. That jab to critics? A chunk of the episode took place at a Pre-Renaissance Pleasure Faire. One criticism aimed at the series last year was it looked like it took place at a renaissance faire. Well played, Galavant, well played.

Fairy tale romances often seem to happen after the couple in question has spent, like, two days together and exchanged one kiss. Isabella and Galavant did spend more time than that side by side, but they only kissed once. "World's Best Kiss" highlighted how easy it can be to romanticize things in order to rationalize them. I mean, Gal is chasing after Isabella despite not knowing if they can carry a long-term relationship. But then reality kicks in. Having them both realize their kiss was terrible and considering their couple status was smart. I call this show smart a lot, I know, but they continually go left when you expect them to go right. Also, Joshua Sasse and Karen David performed the hell out of the tune. They've become stronger vocalists than they were last year.

Timothy Omundson in Galavant

Though Isabella's situation is being exaggerated for the sake of comedy, and I get it, I wish she wouldn't have walked back into captivity at the end because she didn't think Gal wanted to find her. Sure, she was incredibly hurt, but she's spunky and independent. She doesn't want to marry her cousin. It would have been more interesting for her to leave the castle and go out on her own. Galavant could still chase after her; she just wouldn't be waiting for him.

Granted, Isabella wouldn't have any other characters to sing or act with if she went off by herself unless the Jester or someone accompanied her. There are some problems to figure out, but it would be better than her going back to the tower. Maybe she'll go that route in future episodes. Fingers crossed.

While Isabella and Galavant wrestled with their emotions, Gareth and Madalena tried to find common ground. Vinnie Jones and Mallory Jansen are playing off of each other beautifully. Their characters are an excellent match because they're so different, and I adore seeing them go toe to toe. I still miss Richard and Gareth's strange but real friendship, but I'll take this in the meantime.

With Richard being sent away and him learning about Gareth's betrayal, we're seeing a softer side of the king. We saw him commit horrible acts in Season 1, but he never came across as truly evil. Here, he's sympathetic. He had one friend in the world, and Gareth took his place on the throne. It's a big deal he's directing some of his loyalty towards Galavant. The sword from the stone was a nice touch considering the role a sword played in Richard becoming king.

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