Galavant embarked on a noble journey to win back the love of his life, Madalena, from her husband, the evil King Richard, in the first two episodes of Galavant, ABC’s new musical comedy.

Galavant Pilot Recap

Galavant opened with the tale of Galavant’s downfall: Galavant (Joshua Sasse) was a noble warrior, feared and adored everywhere, and he seemed to have the perfect life with his one true love, Madalena (Mallory Jansen). So, when Madalena was kidnapped by King Richard (Timothy Omundson) and forced to marry him, Galavant set out on a mission to stop the wedding and reclaim his ladylove. Unfortunately, when faced with the choice of choosing love or fame and fortune, Madalena revealed her true colors, choosing to marry King Richard.

A year later, Galavant is out of shape and full of booze, a drunk who hasn’t done anything heroic since Madalena broke his heart. But his heroic spirit is reawakened by the arrival of Princess Isabella Maria Lucia Elizabeta of Valencia (Karen David). Isabella has come to beg Galavant to help her defeat King Richard and take back her kingdom of Valencia. King Richard, she says, conquered her kingdom and killed her entire family while she hid, helpless, in a cellar under the floorboards for four months. She convinces Galavant to help her by spinning a tall tale about how Madalena sobbed every night, crying for Galavant to come and save her. That, and, in return for the safety of her kingdom, she’ll give Galavant the greatest jewel of Valencia – the same jewel Madalena has her eyes set on.

In truth, Isabella revealed her hiding place when King Richard threatened to kill her parents if they didn’t turn over the jewel, which was hidden with Isabella in the cellar. As he is about to kill them all, Madalena walks in and makes a backhanded comment about how Galavant would have already gotten the jewel for her. Sick of the jabs about Galavant, King Richard makes a deal with Isabella. If she can lure Galavant back to Valencia so that Richard can kill him once and for all, then she and her family can live.

Of course, King Richard should be worrying less about Galavant, and more about the court Jester (Ben Presley), who is having an affair with Madalena – and the entire kingdom knows it.

Galavant “Joust Friends” Recap

In the second episode, “Joust Friends,” Isabella, Galavant and his squire, Sid (Luke Youngblood), are on their way to Valencia when they stop at a jousting tournament to earn some money to pay for their journey. Unable to pay the 100-shilling entry fee, Sid puts the jewel of Valencia up as collateral and Isabella is able to trade on Galavant’s name to get him immediately advanced to the finals, but Galavant still has to train to ensure a win. Isabella whips Galavant back into shape, forcing him to become a hero once more.

Unfortunately, they train too hard, and Galavant arrives at the final joust sore and unable to move. Luckily, Isabella has a back-up plan. She snuck into the tent of his rival, Jean Hamm (John Stamos), and seduced him into drinking a cup of absinthe. With one knight drunk and the other nearly paralyzed, both get knocked off of their horses easily, but, as the first to stand up, Galavant wins the 1,000-shilling prize.

Meanwhile in Valencia, King Richard’s second in command, Gareth (Vinnie Jones), gives him lessons in manhood, hoping to make him more appealing to Madalena. King Richard, he says, needs to be more assertive, and more buff, to earn Madalena’s respect. It even works for a bit, until King Richard suggests that she may soon fall in love with him, forcing her to tell him she will never love him.

Galavant, a four-week musical special, continues Sunday at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.