Every Haunting Hour Ever #35: The Most Evil Sorcerer (Part 1)

Season: 2
Episode: 13
Original Airdate: January 7, 2012 
Director: Peter DeLuise

That's right folks! We got ourselves yet another two part episode! Based on the other two part episodes I reviewed, they tend to be quite good. Will this one be as good as the others? Let's dive in and find out! 

In a medieval English town ruled under a corrupt sorcerer named Margolin (Michael Ironside), two teens named Ned (Connor Price) and Sara (Jodelle Ferland) set out to dethrone the sorcerer and rid him of his magic where they receive help from Margolin's apprentice Gresilda (Gina Holden).

One of the things that threw me for a loop in this episode is the setting. In this series, most if not all of the episodes take place in modern times, even if the setting is somewhere more rural like a farm or summer camp. However, the entire episode takes place in a different time period as well as a different country. While I don't mind the modern day setting, it's nice to see the series do something completely different with its setting. Truth be told, when I first saw this episode, I actually thought the medieval setting was part of a cold opening, which lead to a modern day setting. To me, it was almost as if the cold opening was a representation of a fairy tale or urban legend that tied into the episode later on.

The other thing I like about this episode is the villain. The best way I can describe him is just imagine if Allen Miller from the Brush with Madness episode fused with Yen Sid the sorcerer. In this episode, Margolin comes off as a legitimately threatening villain. For example, we see him constantly yelling at his apprentices, even when they make the tiniest mistake. We also see him performing a spell that rips out someone's tongue and testing it with a powder to see whether or not the owner of the tongue is lying. If he finds out that they're lying, the tongue will burn up and turn to ash. We also do get an idea of why he's like this. It's established that the villagers were overwhelming him with demands and as a result, just gave up and shut himself away. At times, Margolin can be a bit too over the top but even then it still doesn't do much to take away from just how frightening this character can be. 

Overall, The Most Evil Sorcerer (Part 1) does a good job setting up the story and characters and hopefully the next part will be even better. 

Overall Grade: B