WesternAnimation good, but read the book
The series was intereating, but deverged a LOT from the book. Mainly from the book being very dark also the series.
I am also of the belief that changing Jim's backstory was done for PC motivations and everything else came after. Also the change in Clair's personality. Is something I could do with out. In the book she was willing to go toe to toe with steve and threaten him with physical violence. In the series she tells Jim not to punch the bully. Some times the only way to deal with a bully is to fight back.
WesternAnimation Good, But Ends With Some Flaws
Trollhunters is, for the most part, a very well-written, well-voiced, and beautifully animated series. Most of the series keeps itself focused on the main conflict established at the beginning, i.e., the Trollhunters and Trollmarket vs Gunmar and the Gumm Gumms. Bular is well-established as a threat from the very first scene, the threat of Changelings is also omnipresent with a dose of Paranoia Fuel, and Gunmar's shadow looms over the show constantly, an inexorable threat that will require everything to stop.
When the show approaches the finale, however, things get weird. Unmarked Spoilers Ahead! You have been warned!
The main problem lies with the introduction of Morgana. The way she is set up seems to indicate she is less Gunmar's ally and more his boss, which was probably intentional. She could still have worked as an unseen Greater-Scope Villain to the Tales of Arcadia franchise as a whole, with Gunmar grudgingly accepting her help. Once she's freed, though, Gunmar seems to be immediately Demoted to Dragon, especially since it's established that Morgana is so much more powerful than Gunmar there's not much he can do without her. He needs her for the Eternal Night, meaning that he can only threaten the world effectively if he asks Morgana to lend a hand, removing much of what made Gunmar an effective archvillain. This is accentuated by the final battle, where the Gumm Gumm Mooks are mostly handled with relative ease, Gunmar himself is defeated by Jim as the penultimate boss, and it's Morgana who's the Final Boss.
When Merlin is reintroduced, and he reveals the "true" Battle of Killahead Bridge (a Wizard Duel between himself and Morgana), it makes the conflict between Trollmarket and Gunmar seem petty. I imagine this probably helps the narrative of the Tales of Arcadia franchise as a whole, it weakens the story of Trollhunters.
In the grand scale of things, though, this is a nitpick. After all, the story is driven by the protagonists, who are strongly developed and likable. It's a very good show, easy to binge on Netflix, and I still like going through it and picking up new details. As long as you don't like stories where the villain is the main appeal, then I think you'll enjoy it.
Score: 4/5
WesternAnimation Good show, bland Villains
I’ve not read the book upon which this show is based. That said, I like Trollhunters. I like the hero, James Lake Junior who becomes an unlikely Chosen One to fight for trolls and humans alike but endures Fantastic Racism for being human.
I like Jim’s wonderfully entertaining sidekick Toby.
I like the bully Steve Palchuk and am honestly impressed that they had him go from a generic jerk jock to one of the allies of the protagonist. And I like Pepperjack.
I do like Jim’s love interest Claire Nuñez but at times I find the show depicts her as almost too perfect to be a likeable character. Though this is salvaged by the show when Claire is possessed by Morgana, knows about the fact, and despite Not Enriqués objections keeps it a secret leading to her needing to be rescued by Jim.
I like Jim’s mentor Blinky and Blinky’s sidekick Aargh.
I like how Merlin is a jerk but he has a point and despite them questioning his motivations he really is trying to fight for the survival of humanity. And I like Dr Lake.
I don’t love the villains of this show. Bular is introduced as a homicidal troll whose goal is to free his father Gunmar from the Darklands and “doesn’t know how to negotiate”. And he managed to provide drama to the first season but he was more a Monster of the Week than a compelling villain.
Strickler, on the other hand, was a compelling villain. He masterminded the plot to build Killahead Bridge, infiltrated Arcadia and earned Jim’s trust. And he enslaved Angor Rot to unleash him against Jim and prevented Jim from killing him by enchanting Dr. Lake so that anything Jim did to him would happen to her.
Strickler is a Magnificent Bastard with a prior connection to Jim and he has an understandable motivation to combat fantastic racism and he has qualms about threatening Jim’s mother Dr. Lake. But then he undergoes a Heel–Face Turn after which he is easily forgiven in comparison to say Prince Zuko from Avatar.
Angor Rot has a sympathetic backstory involving being tricked by Morgana and a legitimate grievance against Jim. While being a serious threat. And that makes for a good villain. But then he has a Heel–Face Turn.
Gunmar is a Pure Evil character who is little more than a stock villain. He poses a serious threat which is a good quality for him but I think it’s not unreasonable to want one of the other villains to be more than just a more powerful monster than the last one.
Morgana somewhat alleviates that inasmuch as when she appears she’s just a Dark Lord but then it turns out she was an apprentice of Merlin but he betrayed her and cut off her arm so he could use it to create the Amulet he needed to create the Trollhunters to fight Gunmar. And this betrayal led to her seeking to exact revenge by destroying those for whom Merlin fights leading to her efforts to wipe out all humanity with the Eternal Night. And she doesn’t get a Heel–Face Turn. (I’m ignoring spin-offs). But the fact that her backstory isn’t revealed until the final episode weakens it somewhat.
So I don’t like how (with one exception) every single villain who is given a backstory ends up having a Heel–Face Turn. Still all in all it’s a good show.