Alicia wants to know what happened between her father and Drel. Naturally, the latter can’t help but sheathe his sword and recount his tale. If this had been a clever ploy by our protagonist to stall for time, I might have been impressed. But no, she simply wanted to know the truth, and for some reason, a man with bigger priorities like Drel is willing to oblige. In the middle of a battle. Right here, right now. Why? Beats me. Maybe seeing his former friend’s daughter made him nostalgic. Or maybe because she didn’t die immediately to his stupid sounding attacks, i.e. “Blue Dragonfly Search Weasel,” Drel thinks she deserves his backstory. The sad thing is that I don’t think he really answers her question. Not completely, anyway.

Drel talks all about how he and her father competed for a regalia only for Margo to succeed. We’re then told about their attempts to slay a dragon, and how a mere rock on the ground caused Margo to falter and thus lose a leg. He was kind enough to hand the regalia over to Drel, who proceeded to claim victory. But was it that simple? What was up with the wizards in the tavern? Did they cast a spell that somehow changed the two men’s luck in the ensuing dragon encounter? How come Drel managed to kill the dragon so easily afterwards when we saw Margo outclass him in the tournament? Did the dragon relax a bit after thinking it had claimed victory? Or did the dark beast lord of the north allow it to happen in order to corrupt Drel? I can’t really say. Obviously, Clevatess has a much bigger story to tell, and Drel is nothing more than the first stumbling block in whatever grand epic quest the author has in store for these characters.

Lingering questions about the plot, I can get over pretty easily. What nags at me, again, is that we didn’t get the answer to Alicia’s question. Nothing we’ve heard explains why drove Drel to come back so many years later and slay Margo. Seriously, why? It’s clear from his backstory that Margo was no longer a threat to him after losing a leg, so what was the point of killing the man? In fact, if you were going to kill him, why not do it back then shortly after slaying the dragon? Why wait for the man to have a child? Was he afraid that Margo could train someone to take him down? Why then spare the child? But maybe I’ve already been told why he did it, and I just forgot. It happens; I’m not perfect nor am I going through each Clevatess episode with a fine-tooth comb.

So to correct a mistake I might or might not have made, I tried going back to a couple of previous episodes. I checked the first episode, but it only has Margo telling Alicia all about “the legends” of a greater world existing beyond what humanity can see. Next, I went back to the fifth episode, but we only have Drel standing over a dying Margo, saying something about how this is now the age of magic and swords. I think I’m hung up on Drel’s motives for killing Margo because I want to understand his humanity. I want to understand what possessed him to kill his former friend and apprentice after so many years have passed. And ultimately, this is merely a small part of my bigger search for an emotional core within this series in which to cling to.

Elsewhere, Clen tries to open the doors to the forge via a rather futuristic-looking panel for this setting, but none of his immediate solutions work. In enters the former king, who is still walking about, cradling his head in his arms. Not only that, he now has Luna, and intends to chuck the baby into the forge. Clearly, Clevatess has a lot of plot-related questions. Why is the king doing this? What purpose does the forge truly serve? Why did he and former kings hide the truth about magic? If the northern dark beast lord is truly the one aiding Drel, what are its motives? Sure, I’m mildly curious about all of these things. This season will come to an end pretty soon, and it’s almost certain that most of those questions will go unanswered. But I think the thing that really holds me back from embracing Clevatess is a sentiment I’ve voiced before: I don’t resonate with anyone or anything in this show.

Clen is your typical “I don’t understand humanity, teach me about humanity” character. It’s a dry, dispassionate inquiry. Maybe he feels some sort of attachment to Luna, but at the moment, it isn’t a heartfelt one. It’s just enough to keep the baby alive — a lingering curiosity that he has yet to fulfill.

Similarly, Alicia is our generic hero with generic hero motives. Listening to Drel lose faith, we’re reminded how she’s the opposite of him. Even if he’s right about the state of the world and all that nonsense about the truth of magic being hidden, none of that should truly matter to her. She can’t and won’t lose hope like him. She’ll keep performing heroic feats, because that’s the right thing to do. But where’s the heart? Of course, Alicia rages at Drel. After all, he killed her father. But I can’t help but feel that this anger comes across a bit hollow. Why? Because episodes ago — I can’t remember which exact one but maybe the fifth? — Clen said something along the lines of, “Wait, Drel killed your father, but you went after me?” And all Alicia could say in response was that she was trying to fulfill her father’s last wish. I dunno, man, I’d go after my father’s killer. Between Drel and a dark beast lord, who are you more likely to defeat? But fine, she’s not me. She has her own wishes and motivations. But that’s the thing, isn’t it? Let me in so I can understand. Help me resonate with you on an emotional level so I get invested and care about whether you win or lose. Even a simple acknowledgement along the lines of “I should have gone after you first” would go a long way in helping me care about Alicia. It doesn’t have to be exactly that, but give me something.

Where does Alicia go from here? How do we see her growing as a person? I dunno. She’s just a generic hero who has doubled down on being a generic hero throughout the course of this short journey. Yeah, on the surface, she’s a cool, undead warrior lady who can regenerate her broken limbs in a gnarly way, but if I have to wait a year or two for the sequel, I won’t recall anything else about her. Or Clen. Or any of these characters. Luna is Luna; he can’t even speak yet. Nell had a painfully sad backstory, but ever since Clen revived her, her character development has come to a complete standstill.

As we near the end of this short season and prepare ourselves to wait for a sequel, I’m not simply asking myself, “Gee, how will our protagonists prevail?” I’m also wondering what I have to look forward to. Plot questions are just that: details to fill up a summary on a Wiki page. What I truly remember are the characters’ inner struggles, their emotionally-driven character development, so on and so forth. And listening to Drel’s backstory and Alicia’s reaction to it, it feels so cut and dry. If and when a sequel does appear, I can’t see myself looking back and thinking, “Oh man, remember so and so in the first season of Clevatess? That really tore my heart out. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for so and so!” None of the characters fit that bill.