With time running out, Wil, Amberle and Eretria must cross ancient human ruins to reach the Bloodfire. But a nefarious evil stands in their way, testing their friendship and manipulating them against each other. At the palace, Allanon and Ander stave off a coup while facing the imminent attack from the Dagda Mor and his army.
Tropes present in the episode:
- Adaptational Personality Change: In this version, the Witch Sisters Morag and Mallenroh, while still evil and capricious, are co-guardians of the Bloodfire instead of being archenemies obsessed with destroying each other and locked into a pointless eternal war over who's more beautiful (it's pointless because they're identical twins - in the book). One actually looks upset when the other is killed.
- Adaptational Wimp: Morag and Mallenroth are easily dispatched by a blast of the Elfstones' blue flames each. In the book, they're the among the most powerful beings the protagonists encounter and only fall in a Mutual Kill that destroys their domain.
- Badass Abnormal: Eretria is revealed to have magic origins too, like Wil and Amberle.
- Blood Magic: Eretria's blood is needed to unlock the Bloodfire.
- The Cavalry: Slanter and his Gnome army serve as this to Ander in the Elven civil war.
- The Corrupter: The Dagda Mor is slowly corrupting Bandon throughout the episode.
- Demoted to Extra: The Witch Sisters don't appear for as long in the show as they did in the book or have their backstory explained, and are only named in the credits.
- Drunk on the Dark Side: Bandon's personality changes for the worse the more he uses his powers.
- Green-Eyed Monster: The witches try to manipulate Eretria and Amberle by fueling the jealousy they feel towards each other.
- Hearing Voices: Bandon starts hearing the Dagda Mor talking in his head.
- Hot Witch: Mallenroh and Morag, the guardians of the Bloodfire.
- Inadequate Inheritor: How the Elven council sees Ander as their new King.
- Love Makes You Evil: Allanon tries to forbid Bandon from seeing Catania again, seeing how his feelings for her are bringing the worst in him out.
- Magic Knight: While possessed by the Dagda Mor, Bandon gains enough martial prowess to be able to beat Ander in single combat.
- Memetic Mutation: In-universe, the name "Safehold" comes from the visible letters on a San Francisco-Oakland sign.
- Mythology Gag: Morag and Mallenroh refer to Eretria as "a child of the armageddon," in reference to the Genesis of Shannara book Armageddon's Children.
- Near-Rape Experience: When Bandon under the Dagda Mor's influence and Catania are making out, he suddenly starts getting much rougher with her and almost ends up raping her, but then stops in time.
- Power Tattoo: Eretria's tattoo reveals itself to be this, covering her skin when it activates and guiding her to the Bloodfire.
- Related Differently in the Adaptation: Morag and Mallenroh are fraternal twins in this version instead of identical twins. During the casting process, Terry Brooks's webmaster Shawn Speakman stated this was because identical twin actors don't grow on trees, and Playing Their Own Twin involves extra effects.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: King Ander trains his troops personally.
- Stern Teacher: Allanon is very hard on Bandon, since he's scared he may snap again and become corrupted.
- The Usurper: Kael from the Elven high council is plotting a takeover, seeing Ander as a weak king.
- We ARE Struggling Together: While the Demon threat grows, Ander's ascension to king causes a civil war in the Elven kingdom.
