How to fix the Second Season of Jewel Riders – Guest Post by Lisa Dawn
Archivist Note: Welcome to the first in our series of guest posts from Friends of the Archive, this time featuring Princess Blog webmistress and author Lisa Dawn!
How to Fix the Second Season of Jewel Riders
The first season of Jewel Riders could not have been more perfect. Our three lovely heroines embarked on a quest to rescue Merlin and restore the seven crown jewels of the kingdom before Kale got to them, and they succeeded. Mostly. The show intentionally left one loose thread to make way for another season. Though Merlin was freed from the bubble Kale trapped him inside of, he was still stuck in the wild magic. The Jewel Riders’ new quest to bring Merlin home should have been every bit as engaging as the first season, and yet it wasn’t. Where did they go wrong?
Sometimes change is good, and sometimes it’s not. The second season of Jewel Riders introduced new powers, new costumes, new unicorns, and a new villain. These rapid alterations made it feel like a different show entirely, at least for those of us who fell in love with the first season. Princess Gwenevere even had a new voice. If the producers of the show had to replace Kerry Butler, the least they could have done was find a closer soundalike. In addition to Gwen’s new voice, her budding romance with Drake fell to the wayside the moment Ian was introduced in “Prince of the Forest.” It only took a few minutes of the new season to create the impression that nothing we thought we knew about Avalon would ever be the same again.
Casting aside, there were certain story elements that worked well in the first season that the writers could have easily incorporated into the second, such revealing the number of jewels they needed to find in advance of their quest. In magical quests just as in real life, it’s always nice to know how close you are to achieving your goal. The first season of Jewel Riders showed us the seven crown jewels on as well as the magical box that held them. Each time Princess Gwenevere touched Merlin’s key to a crown jewel, the box would appear and reveal how many jewels she had found so far and how many she had left to recover. By doing this, the audience of Jewel Riders had a clear picture of how close the girls were to saving the kingdom from Kale.
The second season replaced the crown jewels with wizard jewels, but it was never specified how many wizard jewels they needed or even how the jewels would help them restore the one that was destroyed on Merlin’s staff. It wasn’t until the finale, “Spirit of Avalon/The One Jewel,” when Gwenevere received the staff from the Lady of the Lake and learned that the wizard jewels could combine with it to restore Merlin’s powers. This was an iconic moment because it harkened back to the subtle Arthurian lore that was woven into the DNA of the series. If this moment had taken place at the beginning of the second season instead of at the end, it would have been much more engaging and bound the season together so it would no longer feel like a series of disjointed filler episodes.
Of course, Jewel Riders is the show we love no matter what form it takes on, so there are still some things to love about the second season as well. It introduced Morgana, a far more formidable villain than Kale, who also hearkened back to the show’s Arthurian roots. It also provided Tamara with her first fully-grown unicorn friend to bond with and a rare opportunity for us to see her and her friends transform into mermaids. Even though it wasn’t perfect, it concluded with a satisfying ending that tied up any loose ends that remained from the superior first season.
I loved the second season. I was glad that Tamara received her own steed. All that time she rode with Fallon and Moondance, but never Gwen and Sunstar. One thing I would like to have happen is Shadowsong interacting with the babies. The whole season, and we never see all four of them together. I really loved the gliders too. They were funny. Morgana and Kale. Although they hated each other, they made a good team. A true dark force to be reckoned with. I felt bad for the Pack. They got pushed even futher in the background. It was only till the final battle that they were useful. Ian was alright. But I really think he was better off as a one shot character. I was surprised that he show up out of nowhere in the last two episodes. Lastly, the finale. The ending was okay, but it could have ended better than that. It should of ended with a Welcome Home Merlin and Victory party at the Crystal Palace. Everyone that appeared in the show will be there. Congratulating the heroes. The final shot would be the girls thanking the audience for their support and give out one last piece of advice. That Friendship and Love conquers all. And with that, they take their jewels, raise them up high and say Friends together and Friends forever. Jewel Power. And that would be the end. All in All, if this show got a remake, I ‘ll totally watch it.