ASTRID AND LILLY SAVE THE WORLD – Episode 10 – Guts – SPOILERS

At least two Buffy parallels can be identified easily. Lilly (Samantha Aucoin) is not named class protector, but she is crowned prom queen, and when it becomes impossible to use an orb to close the inter-dimensional portal threatening humanity, Astrid (Jana Morrison) closes the thing by tossing a key into it. (The key is not named Dawn.) Also, we see the birth of a scooby gang of sorts. When the monster hunters are unable to counter a demonic threat by getting the dance cancelled, they decide to trust three of their friends to assist in killing The Guardian. The chosen ones are Candace, Eggs, and Tate. (Sparrow is under The Guardian’s control, and Valerie is likely excluded because she needs to be rescued a lot.)

At the last minute, Valerie (Christina Orjalo) asks Eggs (Michael McCreary) to the dance and he says yes. Those two are made for one another, and the best scene in the episode is their first scene together at the dance. McCreary and Orjalo deliver the following dialogue beautifully.

VAL: “Can I just say, you have some serious dance skills.”
EGGS: “I watched a lot of Fred Astaire. I wanted you to have the [pauses] dance partner you deserved. And, you’re not so bad yourself.”
VAL: “Well, an actor must always be prepared. For anything.”
EGGS: “Well, I hope you’re not acting when it comes to – us”
VAL: “No. No. Never when it comes to us.”

Brutus (Olivier Renaud) is little help in vanquishing The Guardian because (as many of us have long suspected) he had an ulterior motive for helping Astrid and Lilly. It seems his one true love was sucked into some sort of hell dimension (another Buffy reference) and instead of giving the monster hunters the orb to close the portal they opened, he had them prepare the orb that would connect him to the place where his girlfriend was stuck. He does leave them a note explaining that The Guardian’s key also works for portal closing. Does Brutus remain in the hell dimension with his true love? Does he bring her back to his original dimension? (Wherever he might be, he is likely wearing the Pudge Patrol jacket Astrid and Lilly gave him before they learned of his deception.)

Christine (Geri Hall), knowing that The Guardian (Mike Shara) plans to harvest the angst (and intestines) of prom-goers, had forbidden her daughter to attend the Prom, but Candace (Julia Doyle) shows up as Lilly’s date anyway, much to her mother’s consternation.

Astrid and Lilly’s plans also go awry. Having underestimated The Guardian’s powers, the monster hunters are quickly restrained by his minions. Eggs, who was in the bathroom when all the others at the prom were frozen in place, is able to untie Astrid and Lilly. The three of them work together to kill the beast (or at least send him somewhere else). Though casualties are minimal there is some loss, and the relationship between Candace and Lilly might be somewhat strained going into a (not yet confirmed) second season.

The best line of the episode comes from Sparrow (Spencer Macpherson) after he wakes up with no memory of what he did while in thrall to The Guardian, and says (to Astrid): “What happened? Last thing I remember was getting in a car with Christine after detention. Wait a second. I’m mad at you!”

After Astrid closes the portal, both monster hunters wish aloud that Brutus could be there with them. As they do this, a small rift opens behind them, and two things happen. First, Astrid describes a tingling in her hands. (Lilly has no such sensation.) Then Lilly notices that she is floating about half a meter above the ground. Brutus might have somehow given Astrid and Lilly new powers. Back at the high school, another portal appears and something enters Michelle.

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ASTRID AND LILLY SAVE THE WORD can be streamed on CRAVE TV in Canada.

** On 5 January 2023, TV Line reported that ASTRID AND LILLY SAVE THE WORLD had been cancelled by SyFy, and would not be returning for a second season.