The premiere of season 2 of the Shannara Chronicles is set to be released on October 11 on Spike tv.  Bgeekyblog was given exclusive access to the premiere and here are our thoughts on it as much as we can give out.

The Shannara Chronicles season 1 was a fascinating ride in a fantasy world that is set in a post-apocalyptic future.  Season 1 was entertaining, and, while not to some book readers liking, it was still a decent show to watch.  The cinematography was stunning and the action sequences gripping.  I really enjoyed watching Manu Bennet as Allanon, and I grew to really like the main three actor and actresses who played Wil Ohmsford (Austin Butler), Amberle Elessedil (Poppy Drayton), and Eretria (Ivana Baquero).

Season 1 really surprised me.  I will openly admit that I have not read the books and I went into this show with an open mind.  I know the book fans did not like some of the changes made for the adaptation, but I went into this knowing it was an adaptation and would be different.  I still found myself entertained with the first season.  From what I can surmise from fans is that the biggest issue is that they added in more teen drama than was necessary.  I can see how this would displease book readers.  I personally did not have a problem with it, but that’s because I didn’t have the epic Shannara trilogy by Terry Brooks to compare it to.

Now as for the season 2 premiere there is not much I can say about it for spoiler purposes.  I will say that I really liked it and it pulled right back into that world.  I have a feeling that this season may be a little different and darker than what was seen in season 1 due to the fact that it is now being aired on Spike (season 1 was originally aired on MTV).  We shall see.  The cinematography was still stunning as it was filmed in New Zealand and the backdrop of the post-apocalyptic world still makes me want to know what happened in this world to get it to become as it is.  Check out the season 2 trailer below:

I can not talk too much about the premiere in this article.  I will be posting up a more in-depth review and recap of it after October 11th, but I will say that I really enjoyed the character development in this.  It brought back some familiar faces and introduced some new ones.  And it definitely reignited my interest in reading the book series to get a better understanding of the world that this is taking place in and giving some perspective of how the adaptation stays true and strays from the original source materials.

And speaking of the books, for those who have not read the books like me, the Shannara Chronicles is an extensive book series which spans several generations and even jumps generations which can make an adaptation a little harder to do.  For book fans, they may  not like the direction the show is going in, and here is why: the first season is based on the second book of the original trilogy called The Elfstones of Shannara.  The original trilogy consists of The Sword of Shannara, The Elfstones of Shannara, and the Wishsong of Shannara.  The Sword of Shannara chronicles the adventures of Wil’s father Shea Ohmsford as he defeats the Warlock Lord with the help of Allanon and a few others including Eventine Elessedil.  The second book jumps to the next generation with Wil, son of Shea, and Amberle, the granddaughter of Eventine.  The third book, Wishsong of Shannara, jumps to the next generation and focuses on Wil’s children.

Now if you have watched the trailer for Season 2, they clearly do not jump into the next generation of Wil’s children Brin and Jair, but we do see the sword of Shannara make an appearance.  For book readers, I would advise having an open mind and enjoying the show for what it is which is an adaptation.  It will be different.  As of now I’m not sure how much of the world and story they will incorporate from the original source materials.   I will say though, that after some light research, I caught a few nods to the book series in the second season premiere, but that is all I will say on that.

Definitely check out the premiere of The Shannara Chronicles on Spike which will air on October 11th 10pm ET/PT.