ABC’s ‘The Quest’ episodes 5 and 6 review: Can Ansgar be the One True Hero?

We’re a little late with this review of “The Quest” thanks to ABC’s decision to double-up on airing new episodes, which is not a move that we are particularly happy with. We see it as a sign they just want to get the show over with quickly, whereas we really just want to savor it for as long as humanly possible. This is such a unique, fun show, and the flaws in these two episodes from Thursday were easily surpassed by so much of what was fun.

Let’s start with the negatives, only because they are few and far between. We don’t know what the point was of that whole “ogre attack,” and it feels sometimes like the show has cliffhangers just to have cliffhangers. Meanwhile, we also feel like there have been a few too many “training challenges,” and we would have wanted to see more of the actual story open up before now.

With that being said, most of the challenges this time around were not only fun, but opened us up to new strategic layers in this competition. We don’t know whether or not Christian deliberately sabotaged himself in the battering ram challenge so that he would have allies ready to save him, but it sure came across like that. Regardless, he constantly came across this season like the former high school football star thinking that he could step back onto the gridiron and automatically win. As it turns out, not so much. His exit was one of the more dramatic moments of the entire season, and therefore very enjoyable.

As for Adria’s elimination, not so much. We saw this one coming, mostly because she was never someone who really pulled through at the last minute in the challenges. We don’t agree with Shondo’s hard-line belief that competition prowess matters most, but it at least has to matter to a certain degree!

Her exit came after what was our favorite competition, a massive scavenger hunt along the Sanctum Castle grounds were it felt like the paladins became Bran Stark for a moment and warged into the body of a bird flying around. It was a cool concept, and one the required patience just as much as actual physical strength.

Then, there was Ansgar. We are going to be legitimately sad if this guy turns out to be a traitor, mostly because he is the star of the season. He can be funny, he can change the mood of a drinking party in a second, and he also is a badass with the ogres. Why can’t we just make him the One True Hero and be done with it? Also, we give credit to the actor, who probably had a hard time staying in character constantly while all the paladins were forcing him to discuss character backstory on the spot.

This show is just a good time first and foremost, and we feel like the cliffhanger this week is really going to pay off. Even if there are only four episodes left, here’s to hoping the are something special. Grade: A-.