Webseries Review: Walking in Circles

A barbarian Prince must seek out and slay the dragon who ate his father. He enlists a band of adventurers to help him and finds that the urge to crush his friends might be more tempting than the urge to crush his enemies.

And so begins the antics of a misfit crew in Walking in Circles. The bard who sings while sneaking up on the enemy, the wizard who doesn’t have enough bat poop to throw fireballs, and a druid whose healing biscuits upset the stomach. All led by a barbarian prince with untested leadership skills and a have-hammer-will-smash attitude.

I was contacted by James Rodehaver, creator, writer, and producer of the series with a teaser trailer for season 2. While season 1 is still available on YouTube, it appears they have not yet been picked up to fully produce season 2. Though filmed, the second season is in need of patronage before it can be released. You can check out the teaser trailer for season 2 on YouTube, it looks exciting!

Walking in Circles is a clever concept. The creators wanted to “bring the magic of tabletop RPG’s to the screen.” It is definitely an ambitious undertaking. I watched the first four episodes and each of the characters have some great moments that are fun and sometimes hilarious. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion. Markus, the wizard, is my favorite. He made me laugh the most with his excellent comedic timing. I loved, “My mom named me to get back at my dad for having such a boring last name. Or” a beat,  “she was high. I don’t know. ”

While I enjoyed the characters talking to a camera crew, because I think that’s a fun notion, I wish they had taken the concept of  tabletop RPG to screen a bit further. Perhaps tabletop players could talk about their characters to the camera and then we see the characters as the adventuring misfit crew. This could help explain how the characters are rather modern in speech pattern, interrelationship dramatics, and attempted democratic voting. It would also explain Krag rolling his eyes when his misfit crew does their own thing instead of aiding him. I live with a Viking (close enough to a barbarian prince). Vikings do not role their eyes when disobeyed by the people they are in charge of.

Production value on Walking in Circles is of decent caliber. The background noise and music aided in the story telling and did not detract. The white washing cinematography used was not my favorite, but a choice that I can respect. The acting was also decent, occasionally everyone talking over each other got a bit muddled, but for the most part the scenes play out well. Each episode is about 9 or 10 minutes long and while there is a greater story arc each episode did have its own purposeful story as well.

If you like high fantasy, play a lot of tabletop RPGs, or find misfit crews endearing, check out Walking in Circles. Slayings, demons, and more grace the computer screen as Krag and his crew try to find a common goal in their adventuring.

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