Allanon, Wil, and Mareth seek out the Sword of Shannara. Eretria and Jax inform Ander of the treachery in his inner circle.
- Abusive Parents: We see Shea, in a flashback, beating young Wil with the flat of the Sword of Shannara after catching him playing with it. Subverted in that Shea had his reasons for overreacting— seeing the Sword in Wil's hand made him think that Wil was already being dragged into his destiny as a Shannara, and he left his family immediately thereafter in the hope of sparing them.
- Calling the Old Man Out: After a pep talk from Eretria, Lyria tells Tamlin in no uncertain terms that if she's hoping to have any influence over her when she's the Queen of Arborlon, she'd better start showing her some respect.
- Cool Sword: Subverted with the Sword of Shannara. Wil was expecting the ultimate weapon to look a lot more impressive.
- Deal with the Devil: Queen Tamlin promised the Warlock Lord a future favour in return for sparing Leah during the War of the Races. She was hoping that she'd never have to make good on it, but then Bandon shows up...
- Humans Are Bastards: And so are Elves, as far as Bandon is concerned. He tries to prove this to Flick by exposing the Fantastic Racism of a random Elven family that happened to have moved into his old house.
- I Did What I Had to Do: How Edain justifies killing Catania.
- Internal Reveal: Ander finds out that Catania is dead, that Edain is working with the Crimson, and that the Crimson are involved with Leah.
- Ironic Echo: A family of Elven farmers tell Bandon - not knowing who he is - that those born with magic are "broken inside" and have to be put down. Bandon slowly kills the son in retribution, and responds to the parents' pleas for mercy by saying that he can't help himself, because he's broken inside.
- Mythology Gag: Allanon claims that Mareth can't be his daughter, since he was told that the Druid Sleep would turn him sterile. Wil remarks that the people who told him that might just have been wrong. This is a reference to the books, where Mareth initially believed that she was Bremen's daughter, but he told her that it was impossible for that same reason. There he was right.
- Power Incontinence: Mareth has this problem, which is why she wants Allanon to tutor her. When she's upset, her magic tends to lash out without her wanting it to.
- You Have Failed Me: Riga kills one of his soldiers for failing to track down the heroes.Riga: Incompetence will not be tolerated.
