Bandon’s entire life has been pain. The abuse he suffered at the hand of his parents, the loneliness he felt as a result of having power that he didn’t know what to do with, the sense of betrayal he carried over Allanon pushing him too hard – he’s someone who’s never known real emotional intimacy and never felt like who he was was enough. In a way, it’s understandable that he’s on the track that he is, as there’s nobody there to pull him back from the brink and ground him even in his tougher moments. He thought there was love with Catania, but after resurrecting her so she could be with him again, he was confronted with how far gone he is and forced to sacrifice her in order to please the Warlock Lord. But where Bandon has went through so much trouble to get the Warlock Lord back into this Earthly realm, what will he do now that this embodiment of evil and power stands before him?
On the season finale of The Shannara Chronicles, Bandon reveals that the entire ordeal, the raising of the Warlock Lord and everything he’s had to do to get to where he is, is all about power. He wants to both hone and add to his magical repertoire to make himself the strongest creature in the Four Lands; if he manages to fulfill his magical potential, he knows that no one could ever hurt him the way that his parents and Allanon did. No one could take advantage of his abilities again nor could they mistreat him. Bandon wants the type of agency within his own life that he had previously been denied, but embracing the Warlock Lord, a figure more than happy to take advantage of his young steward’s vulnerability, could very well backfire on the Elven boy. Not only will working with the Warlock Lord help further crystallize Bandon’s loneliness, what results Bandon gets will come with a significant price, even steeper than having to kill Catania.
Elsewhere on The Shannara Chronicles, Eretria confesses her status as one of Armageddon’s Children and subsequent wraith possession to Wil, while Wil must put aside the loss of one of his own in order to save the Four Lands.
The season finale of The Shannara Chronicles airs Wednesday at 9:00 on Spike.
