Hilda The Lost Clan Television 

Five Thoughts on Hilda’s “The Lost Clan”

By | November 8th, 2018
Posted in Television | % Comments

While searching the forest, trying to earn some Botany Badges, Hilda and her friends (we really need to come up with a name to describe these three) stumble across a lost tribe of elves. Years ago, these guys had been exiled from their home following some dubious paperwork. Now, new accords must be made and agreements found or else someone might be lost forever in “The Lost Clan.” Warning: contains spoilers.


1. There’s Value in the Production

We’re just over halfway through the first season of Hilda and the animation continues to be wonderful. Though there are times where the background and foreground aren’t completely rendered together, the show has maintained its traditional feel. While Pearson uses the usual inks in the comics, the animators have gone for a more pencilled look, which means there are gaps in the lines and a softness to the image. It works well for the show and its tone. Hilda isn’t harsh. It can be frightening and electrifying but it’s never bombarding.

I also noticed how well composers Dan Mangan and Ryan Carlson do with the underscore. Grimes’s theme song is catchy, for sure, but I think Managan and Carlson are also doing interesting work with their quiet, beat-based themes. I’m not sure how well the score stands on its own but it does tie the rest of the episode together.

2. Creatures of the Week

The elves return as the prominent creatures of the week, though of course not like the elves Hilda previously encountered. These ones are much hairier and wilder, more willing to settle their disputes through combat instead of the usual slew of paperwork. Although they’ve been exiled for many many years, the wild elves have grown comfortable in their new lives, living on the edge of the Trolberg wall. They’re different enough and fun enough that “The Lost Clan” doesn’t feel like a retread of the show’s beats in earlier episodes.

There’s also the lyndwyrm, a guardian dragon whose firey breath is the only thing that can break an elf’s contract. She lives on an island in the middle of the city, where she builds and displays various plants.

But perhaps my favorite is the appearance of the Water Spirit. It’s exciting to finally see this character on screen and I really love the waves cascading over its body. Or how it shapes itself to form objects for Hilda to ride on.

Pearson does like his oval shapes, though, doesn’t he?

3. Clan of the Cave Elves

The main conflict of “The Lost Clan” comes when Hilda, Frida, and David accidentally stumble on an enclave of the aforementioned hairy elves. Alfur is quick to jump in to try to welcome back to their home after we learn they were exiled  from the elf kingdom due to some faulty paperwork they sent the king. “It is treason to present an unfinished contract to the king,” Alfur tells Frida and Hilda. Turns out, it was Alfur’s family responsible for messing up the paperwork and he’s quick to try to make it right.

The creators have a lot of fun giving these wild elves a vibrant life. They ride rabbits into battle. They like to punch their way through their problems. There’s an early scene where they launch an attack on the kids. The creators throw in some nice gag work with Hilda, Frida, and David being pelted by random small objects. These elves don’t believe in paperwork. “A Braga will never sign another document! Not even a receipt!” their clan leader cries out.

One gruff-looking elf lady named Agnes tends to spit everywhere.

4. “We Keep Our Word, and When We Don’t, We Enter Combat”

So I guess the main theme of this episode is agreements and miscommunications? For as fun as a lot of “The Lost Clan” is, I don’t think there’s too much of a through-line focus here. At first, the lesson seems to be that not all contracts can be kept in writing. But then it turns into trying to break an agreement. And then into an exploration of other forms of concurrence. I think the show is mostly interested in that last point, in how keeping your word and being honest is more important than having itemized documentations of every decision you make. But then it ends with them figuring out a way to a documentation of their decision. Is the show trying to say there’s a balance between agreeing to keep your word and writing everything down? Does it support settling disputes with fists? Is it for a more nuanced, calm approach? “The Lost Clan” explores all these elements but never settles on a single one.

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5. Best Buddies

Hilda, however, is giving us a better picture of Frida and David. I think the show has a stronger idea of what to explore with Frida — “Earning these badges isn’t just about filling out paperwork. It’s about having new experiences,” says Hilda at the beginning — than with David. At first I thought this episode was going to be Frida-centric, and I guess in a way it was?, before it went down some other path. In “The Lost Clan,” David ends up being held hostage by the elves, a fact he’s all right with because it’s less dangerous than whatever Hilda has planned. True to form, Hilda is ready to wage war on the wild elves but it’s Frida whose level-headedness saves the day. David, meanwhile, is seen as completely charming by the elves (who he cannot see, incidentally), even with all the bugs in his hair.

While I don’t think the work done with either David or Frida was nearly as strong or assured as last week’s episode, the creators are filling out both characters, molding them into their own personalities rather than extensions of Hilda.


//TAGS | Hilda

Matthew Garcia

Matt hails from Colorado. He can be found on Twitter as @MattSG.

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