Idhun Chronicles: Shail Deserved a Better Ending

Based on The Idhun’s Memories by Laura Gallego, The Idhun Chronicles on Netflix is a Spanish anime. The first season of the show focuses on the protagonist, Jack’s training in Limbhad, a mystical realm. The agents of Ashran, a dark sorcerer, killed his parents. Ashran decided to wipe out refugees fleeing the Earth realm, after taking over the magical land of Idhun. The necromancer showed no mercy and killed everyone who fell on his hit-list, but Jack was lucky as he was rescued by Shail, a powerful mage.

Jack is part of the prophecy of freedom and Shail knowing his importance and potential started mentoring him. The viewers will think that Shail will have a big role to play in the series, but season 1 ends tragically for him as the fans are left speechless. When Alsan was kidnapped by Kirtash the heroes planned the rescue from a German castle. But it was not easy as the castle was fortified with a powerful mage named Elrion and snake-soldiers. Kirtash had planned to lure them in to capture Victoria and her staff of Ayshel. In order to eliminate Idhun’s magic forever, it was important that Kirtash somehow located Lunaris, the magical unicorn, and Yandrak, the dragon.

However, all the plans fall flat when Jack disguised as a soldier sneaks in, to rescue Alsan, leaving Shail to fight alone. While Victoria harnesses her staff’s powers, Shail is knocked out. Kirtash believes that it is the perfect opportunity to lure Victoria to the dark side only for Elrion to ruin everything in the end. Elrion was tired of being berated by Kirtash, so when he found out that Kirtash likes Victoria, he fires a blast towards her believing he can hurt Kirtash and make Ashran happy at the same time. Sadly, Kirtash has fired back at the same time as Elrion, so when Shail jumps in front to block the attack, he gets hit by both the energy blasts at the same time.

While Victoria and others escape to Limbhad, Shail dies tragically after the blasts hit him. It is almost unbelievable that someone as important as him could die so early in the series. The fans had expected that they would get to see a backstory into his mage days in Idhun but unfortunately, with the death of Shail, those secrets will be buried with him. Although the series presented Shail as an important character in its first few episodes, his early demise gives the impression that he was not crucial for the plot after all.

The way Shail dies is also quite disappointing since he was hardly allowed to fight back. His death would have made more sense if he had died fighting Kirtash and Elrion. Since Shail died protecting Victoria who was entertaining Kiratash’s flirting, it goes against all that he stands for and devalues whatever Victoria learned from him since she knew him. Shail was a great character who deserved a better ending, it is disappointing that Idhun’s Chronicles not only got rid of him but did so in a fashion that devalued all that he ever stood for.