Picture from opening credits for the Shannara Chronicles.

 The Shannara Chronicles heats up the screen as two characters get much closer, and things get more dangerous with a Changeling running loose.  The Shannara Chronicles airs every Tuesday at 10pm on MTV.

The Shannara Chronicles episode 4 named Changeling picked up with Amberle’s test inside the Ellcrys to determine if she is worthy.  It begins with her entering the tree where she comes across a flower that sprays her with its pollen.  Amberle begins to have nightmarish visions and nightmares.

Amberle’s hallucination takes her back to the hellish future landscape where demons have all but destroyed Arborlon, and she is walking amongst the dead and devastation.  The first person she meets is the already dead Lorin, who blames her for not loving him, and points out that she loves Wil.  Lorin turns into Wil dressed in black, who is actually the Ellcrys.  As Wil, the Ellcrys wants her to prove her commitment to the quest by killing Wil.  The Ellcrys warns her that demons will feed off of weakness, and how emotions can be a weakness.  Badass Wil and Amberle start to fight, and it looks like she is going to lose, but she gets the upper hand, and kills Wil.  Relieved by Amberle’s win, the dying fake Wil tells Amberle to not let anything distract her from the task at hand including love.

Ellcrys as Wil.

Amberle then asks the Ellcrys where the bloodfire is, and the Ellcrys gives her a vision of a stain glass window with a heart on fire on it.  She also sees Wil, and, surprisingly enough, Eretria in her vision.  As Amberle is leaving the tree, the Ellcrys gives its seed to her.  She shows her grandfather, and they leave to discuss.  As she leaves the garden of the Ellcrys, we see that one of the guards on duty is none other than the Changeling as we see its eyes change.

Natural form of the Changeling.

We then see the Changeling has a link to the Dagda Mor, and let its master know that the seed has been given to Amberle.  The Dagda Mor orders the Changeling to kill Amberle.  While in this meeting with the Dagda Mor (a trance like state), the Changeling gets noticed in the hall by the royal gardener, and, after it comes out of the trance, it promptly kills him.

Meanwhile, Amberle, Allanon, Wil, King Eventine, Prince Arion, and Prince Ander are all closeted in a meeting to determine what to do next.  Amberle draws what she saw of the stain glass window in her vision, and gives it to Allanon in hopes that he knows what it is, which he does not nor does he know where Safehold is.  He does say that there were rumors of it being in the Wilderrun, a place of the old world.  Arion is completely against Amberle going out on this quest with nothing to go on, but he is shot down by Eventine, who stands behind Allanon and the decision of the Ellcrys.  Prince Ander then relays the information of meeting an Elf named Rin Katsin who claims to have had adventures inside the Wilderrun.  Eventine orders Rin to be brought to the Fort in Drey Wood.  He then orders one of his guards to escort Amberle, Wil, and Allanon to Drey Wood to meet with Rin Katsin.

As they are leaving the meeting, Amberle distances herself from Wil after the warning given to her by the Ellcrys.  Meanwhile just outside of Arborlon, Cephelo and his crew sneak up to Arborlon.  Cephelo orders (or more like threatens) Eretria to sneak into Arborlon, and steal the Elfstones back.

Back at Arborlon, the royal gardener’s dead body is found, and everyone becomes acutely aware that there is a traitor in their midst.  Amberle is immediately put in protective custody.

Outside of Arborlon, Bandon and Wil are speaking of home, and Bandon reveals his ability of seeing people’s death when they touch him.  Wil asks him if he saw the stain glass window in his vision of Amberle’s death, and he says it is in the room where Amberle and another human girl are killed.

In Arborlon, Eretria sneaks into the palace.  After stealing a red cloak, Eretria gets to Wil’s room.  In the throne room, Eventine is confronted by Arion, who, first relays the news of Rin Katsin getting the news and coming to Drey wood.  Arion starts to talk about his earlier discussion with his father where he asked him to abdicate.  Eventine then tells him that after the threat is gone, and they make it out of this alive that he will not abdicate because he does not think that Arion is not ready to be king.

Back in Wil’s room, Eretria tells Wil why she is there, and she then tells her real relationship with Cephelo, and how bought her as a child, and would be fine with killing her.  Wil sympathizes with Eretria, maybe more than normal as Eretria seduces Wil, and they got to bed together.  While Wil is asleep, Eretria takes the Elfstones and sneaks out of his room.

Back in the hall, Bandon accidentally runs into Amberle’s maid and sees her death by the hand of Eretria.  He tries to warn her about going upstairs, but she panics and runs upstairs anyways.

Upstairs, Eretria, under a red cloak, speeds past Allanon, Commander Tilton and Amberle.  Amberle recognizes Eretria, follows her, and calls out to her to which the rover ignores.  The Changeling (in the form of a guardsman) sees the fleeing Eretria, and hears Amberle calling out to stop her.  Before Amberle can round the corner, the real Eretria leaves, and the Changeling has taken her form.  Amberle comes up on what she thinks is Eretria.

As Amberle approaches the Changeling (looking like Eretria), the Changeling pulls out a knife.  It is at this point that the unlucky handmaid runs up the stairs followed closely by Bandon.  Just as the fake Eretria lunges at Amberle, the handmaid stumbles in the middle and would have gotten killed if not for Bandon, who stops the Changeling.

The Changeling escapes followed closely by Commander Tilton.  When it rounds another corner, it changes back into a guardsman.  The real Eretria is on her way to the balcony that she got in on, but is stopped by Prince Ander.  She quickly takes him out, but is taken out herself  and captured by Commander Tilton.

Commander Tilton

She is brought before the King and Amberle where Eretria has charges of the murder of the gardener and the attempted assignation of Amberle brought against her.  In enters an angry Wil who further adds that she was only there to steal the Elfstones from him.  As she is being led away, she tries to convince Wil of her innocence to no avail.  Instead, he takes back the Elfstones, and she is escorted away to the prison by Commander Tilton.

Amberle wants to get going on their quest now that she thinks the murderer and traitor is caught, but Wil has doubts of Eretria’s guilt and tells Amberle this.  Amberle then inquires as to how Eretria got the Elfstones in the first place, to which Wil lies and says that Eretria attacked him in his room and stole the stones.  Allison, who can read minds, knows the truth about Will and Eretria.

Allanon comes up with the plan of letting the true traitor think they have let their guard down in order to lure it out as it strikes again.  Wil suggests using Bandon’s unusual power with one of the dead Chosen, Lorin, in order to see what he last saw, and see the traitor.

Bandon.

They take Bandon to the coffins of the Chosen, and when he touches Lorin, he sees the Changeling as Amberle with silver eyes kill him.  When he tells Allanon, Wil, and Amberle this, Allanon immediately realizes that they are dealing with a Changeling.

Allanon, Amberle, Wil, and Bandon take their findings to the king where a plan is hatched to catch the Changeling.  They decide to use Eretria as a decoy, a suggestion made by Wil.  As Wil leaves to convince Eretria, Bandon informs Wil that Eretria is the other girl he saw in his vision of death concerning Amberle and the stain glass window.

At Eretria’s cell, as Wil is trying to convince Eretria to help them and act as a decoy, it is revealed to Amberle of Eretria’s and Wil’s night together, much to Amberle’s chagrin.  In the end though, Eretria agrees to help them for some clemency.

While using enacting the plan to use Eretria as a decoy, the body of a guardsman is discovered dead, and now Wil and Commander Tilton know that the Changeling may actually know that they are using a decoy.  Wil races off to warn Amberle.

Meanwhile, in the Ellcrys’ garden where Amberle is being kept, Wil races into the garden, and Amberle lets him in only to be attacked by him as it is really the Changeling.  They stop the Changeling and Allanon snaps its neck.  Seconds later the real Wil runs into the garden as the Changeling change back into its own form.

As they take the Changeling away with orders from Allanon on how to destroy it, Eretria states that she is going to leave to which Amberle orders Commander Tilton to take her back into custody breaking their deal.  It is at this point that Allanon steps in, and makes Amberle admit that she saw Eretria in her vision given to her by the Ellcrys and that, in one way or another, Eretria was going to play a big role in upcoming events.  Allanon concludes that Wil, Amberle and Eretria must take on the quest to Safehold while he stays back to help Arborlon.

Wil, Amberle, and Eretria (in chains) start their quest, and Cephelo, who sees the chained up Eretria, vows to save her.  The episode ends with the Changeling coming back to life, killing its guard and escaping.

This was an entertaining, action packed episode that kept me engrossed in the storyline and the dynamics developments between the characters.  What did you think of this episode?  Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.