Note: this is a recap! That means it’s full of spoilers, sweeties. Back away now if you haven’t watched the latest episode of The Shannara Chronicles—or don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Things are even worse than everyone originally thought on The Shannara Chronicles.

By the end of this week’s action-packed and gruesome episode, “Pykon,” we finally got a glimpse of the demon army amassing at the Dagda Mor’s protective stone henge … and it. Is. Massive. Not only are the demons scary when there’s just one of them (and pretty much impossible to kill), but the sheer number of them that have already escaped the Forbidding prison now that the Ellcrys is dying is truly terrifying. Can the elves fight this army alone? Probably not. It’s a good thing they started building goodwill with the gnomes after years of war!

How do we know that demons are really hard to kill? Not only is the Changeling still running around Arborlon, wreaking havoc and disguised as the King after killing the real King Eventine (all while everyone thought Allanon did). There’s also the demon that Wil and Cephalo thought they blew up in the poisoned field that’s still hot on the quest group’s trail, too. If stabbing them and blowing them up doesn’t kill them, how on earth do you kill a demon?

Hopefully someone figures that out quick, because the Changeling is quickly turning the castle in Arborlon against Allanon, when he’s actually the only chance they have at defeating against the Dagda Mor. Even though the Dagda Mor is currently using Bandon’s body as a conduit to take control of Allanon (while keeping Bandon’s soul his prisoner), Allanon is still their strongest ally. Unfortunately, the Changeling is poisoning their feelings towards the druid.

The Changeling (disguised as Eventine) also set Prince Arion on a mission to find a sword underneath the castle that can allegedly kill the Dagda Mor. He found it, but according to Allanon, it’s not a weapon that can keep them all safe: it’s actually a talisman of evil that can kill everyone in Arborlon. Of course, now that Arion is finally getting his “father’s” approval, he did exactly what “Eventine” said: he used the sword to kill Allanon. Is the druid really dead?!

Meanwhile, things are extra terrible for Wil, Amberle, Eretria, Cephalo, and the rest of their crew as they made their way through a shortcut in the mountains—using an old Elven fortress named Pykon—to try and throw the demon off their trail. But while it seemed abandoned, it was not. An old elf guard and his daughter lived there, waiting for people to come through so he can torture them (because that’s what he did during the war: he was “lead interrogater”). After the war, Eventine sent men to kill him and his family to tie up loose ends—or something like that—and so naturally the old elf wanted to get revenge by torturing and rendering Amberle almost brain dead but keep her body alive … for really disgusting and reprehensible reasons.

Thank goodness Wil was able to bond with the evil torturer’s daughter Mag and convinced her to help him free his friends. Together they killed her father and she showed them a way out of the fortress—but only after Wil and Amberle kissed. And yes, Eretria saw the whole thing, and she did not look all too pleased.

But the evil elf wasn’t all the way dead (always go for the double tap!), and he tried to kill them as they left the fortress. Mag jumped in front of the arrow meant for Wil, saving his life, and Amberle killed him with her sword in anger. And that’s when the demon chasing them decided to show up, because what perfect timing, right? Their final surviving guard Crispin sacrificed himself to distract the demon while Wil, Amberle, Eretria, and Cephalo escaped. But when it became clear that Wil’s elfstones weren’t enough to kill the demon, Cephalo sacrificed the trio to save his own skin. No surprise there! The trio and the demon were last seen falling off a cliff into a dark abyss.

And things weren’t going any better for Ander on his mission with the former gnome prisoner Slanter (the same one that killed his brother 10 years ago). After coming across dead gnomes who were clearly slaughtered by demons, Slanter used Ander’s compassion against him, betrayed him, and made his escape. But just as Ander thought all hope was lost, Slanter returned, having needed to see the demon army for himself to believe Ander’s story. So he took Ander back to the breakline where the elf prince also saw the demon army gathered around the Dagda Mor’s stone henge. His reaction? “We’re doomed.”

Ander was still feeling goodwill towards Slanter, though, and let him go to warn his people of what’s coming. If their goodbye was any indication, this show is setting up an elf/gnome truce in the name of fighting together against the Dagda Mor’s demon army. Will their civil war finally be put to rest for the greater good?

Let me know what you thought of “Pykon” in the comments section below, or tweet me @SydneyBucksbaum!

—

Images: MTV

The Shannara Chronicles airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on MTV.