WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Wizards: Tales of Arcadia, now available on Netflix.
Wizards: Tales of Arcadia tells the long-awaited story about the Battle of Killahead Bridge, something fans heard so much about in the Trollhunters series as Jim Lake Jr. took on the mantle held by Deya the Deliverer. But while it was often mentioned in passing or memory, Tales of Arcadia finally offers full insight into what happened.
With that said, let's look at the dark route that the series takes to get to this point, and the twists, turns and casualties that carve out this important moment in franchise history.
THE CATALYST
It all begins when Morgana decides to attack King Arthur's court at Camelot during a jousting session. She possesses a changeling and sets off magical bombs, killing off many knights. It's a statement of intent as Morgana wants to destroy her brother and then move onto all other humans, having been powered up by the Arcane Ones. Resurrected after her death, she's planning to unleash magic throughout the world using them as guides, wiping out humanity and anyone else that stand with Arthur's forces.
The powers of the forces he's up against is why Arthur loses his ego and sense of xenophobia and begs the good trolls from the Dwoza Trollmarket to join the ranks. Some actually escaped his dungeon but he, Merlin and Douxie reveal they must make a stand together at the bridge for a couple of reasons. Apart from the alliance being predetermined, this bridge is also where Merlin plans to suck the villains into a dark dimension. He crafts the first Trollhunter amulet which can activate the rift and select a chosen one to lead the army, which turns out to be Callista.
THE BATTLE
While she's reluctant, Arthur has no choice but to proceed with his limited forces as the other creatures don't trust him, and they also think the amulet is folly as it should have chosen a strong male troll. This leads to a massive slaughter as Jim, Douxie and Co. try to fight alongside Arthur, but the king loses men at every turn. Steve even watches his mentor, Lancelot, get carved down by Bular, son of Gunmar, the leader of the Gumm-Gumms. Arthur eventually tries to appeal to Morgana's human side, but just when she rediscovers her love for her sibling, Bellroc appears from behind and stabs Arthur, delivering a major victory for the Arcane Ones. The king dies, but he's lucky to see Callista appear as the Trollhunter in the nick of time, with the warrior finally accepting that she's worthy.
It turns out Jim's words of encouragement resonated deeply after they bonded and she has brought the rest of trolls to battle. They even the odds at the bridge and Callista, after pummelling many opponents, shows them a thing or two about woman power by using the amulet to open the portal. The bridge sucks away Gunmar's forces and Callista saves the day. This paves the way for humans and trolls to work together, with Camelot being saved, and Nari -- the other Arcane One alongside Bellroc and Skrael -- actually realizing this isn't the way to rebuild Earth.
THE AFTERMATH
Ultimately, though, the battle is at a high cost as Merlin has lost Arthur, not to mention Morgana as his apprentice. He used her severed arm to make the amulet as well, so he's haunted as he does feel like part of her will forever live on around him as he works with Callista to keep the realm safe. Following the battle, Merlin sends Douxie, Steve, Jim, Claire and Archie back to the present as the bridge's magic has allowed time-travel once more, and so, they become part of the infamous war they heard so much about.
However, they didn't know the casualties would have been so personal. It leaves a lasting impression on the teens as they finally understand the price of war and how opposing sides' views on freedom truly blurs the lines between who's hero and villain. But nonetheless, they saw two species unite for the greater good, paving a path towards a better tomorrow.
DreamWorks' Wizards: Tales of Arcadia stars Colin O'Donoghue as Douxie, Emile Hirsch as Jim, Lexi Medrano as Claire, Charlie Saxton as Toby, Steven Yeun as Steve, David Bradley as Merlin, Lena Headey as Morgana, Diego Luna as Krel and Kelsey Grammer as Blinky. It is available now on Netflix.