Disenchantment season 1 ends on a big cliffhanger that leaves many questions dangling for season 2. Traditionally, Matt Groening TV shows were heavily episodic - The Simpsons and Futurama did have some character development and narrative shifts over time, but they were typically in the background and localized in single half hours - but his Netflix animation deviates from the norm.
Disenchantment starts out with a two-part “pilot” and while after the show appears to be falling into a pretty standard structure, in the final three episodes it becomes apparent the story being told has been a lot more heavy in foreshadowing and serialization. This culminates in a finale that brings together aspects from all previous episodes and leaves almost every character in some dire straights. It makes “Who Shot Mr. Burns? Part One” look positively self-contained.
The cliffhanger ending to Disenchantment season 1 leaves a lot of major questions about the mythology of Dreamland, the future of Bean, Luci and Elfo, and indeed the true purpose of the show. The creators are holding the cards very close to their chest, but from clues littered through the season we’ve done our best to crack them.
- This Page: Luci’s Purpose, Elfo’s Mother & More Page 2: Bean’s Destiny, Elfo’s Resurrection & More
Why Has Maru Sent Luci To Bean?
The earliest long-running mystery introduced in Disenchantment is that of Luci. He’s sent to corrupt Bean by a pair of sorcerers from a far-off land, observing the show’s events through their green fire. It’s later revealed that these are the people of Maru, a powerful kingdom with a mouse-based economy who previously wiped out the City of Cremorrah. That brought them into the main narrative (the Lost City was the location of the Vial of Immortality) but it did little to explain what Emperor Cloyd and his Enchantress actually want.
There’s evidently an intent to use Bean in some way, and they toast to “the end of Dreamland”, making clear they want to destabilize the nation from the inside (although what in the country threatens mice is unclear). As the later episodes of season 1 introduce a bigger place for Bean in the mythology (which we’ll get to), though, it’s possible their goals are bigger. Indeed, as they celebrate her claiming the Vial of Immortality, it’s the subsequent events may even be part of their plans.
One thing we can say with some certainty, though, is that it won’t be revealed for some time. In their first appearance, the Enchantress said “it may take months, even years”, a meta-nod to this being a multi-season arc.
Who (And What) Is Elfo’s Mother?
Elfo never quite fit into Elfwood, and eventually, it’s revealed why: he’s only half-elf. This becomes apparent when his blood doesn’t work with the Vial of Immortality, and is confirmed by his father upon return home. However, before he can reveal the identity and species of Elfo’s mother, they’re frustratingly interrupted by a Dreamland assault and the paper is lost.
The question here is likely less who Elfo’s mother is (unless there’s a strange familial twist down the line) and more what species she is. That’s what ultimately makes him who he is and will shape his importance going forward. The most obvious suggestion is that he’s half-human, making the will-they-won’t-they relationship between him and Princess Bean a little less weird.
However, the truth may be even stranger. During Episode 4, Elfo was walking through the castle halls and a warped mirror showed him as a smaller creature. Could this be a clue towards Elfo’s lineage revealed via magic? Nibbler in Futurama showed that Matt Groening isn’t above major visual clues hidden in early episodes.
Where Do Odval’s Loyalties Lie?
The most mysterious character in Disenchantment is Odval. Whereas The Herald is quite simply a herald and Sorcerio just not a very good magician, Dreamland’s Prime Minister is hard to get a lock on. His hidden third eye, conniving voice and mild distaste for Zog all come together to create a sense he’s not fully on board with the King he advises.
As the series goes on, this becomes increasingly apparent. First, there’s the secret society he chairs that, while mainly a sex cult, purports to decide on international politics. Then, in the finale, there’s a string of strange moves. He helps Queen Oona, sending a note to Dankmire when Dagmar threatens to replace her, and later tries to divert attention from her when Zog questions the crystal ball. At the end of the episode, like much of the population, he’s caught by the stone goo.
His actions could be read as entirely wholesome and in service of the realm, just accounting for Zod’s interchangeably tyrannical and lazy rule - his helping Oona and maintaining the peace with Dankmire certainly would fit with - but there’s just enough mystery to leave the door open on him attempting to gain control of the realm for another force. There’s no shortage of those, although as he gets frozen it presumably isn’t Dagmar.
Why Did Dagmar Try To Kill Zog?
The big twist of Disenchantment season 1 is that Bean’s mother Dagmar was actually conspiring to kill King Zog. She’s been locked in stone for 15 years after accidentally drinking poison - but poison she herself intended for her husband accidentally switched around by their daughter.
Vague justification for Dagmar is provided, although we never get a clear view of what the King’s death got her. It’s implied that she only moved in for the kill after an heir, Bean, was born, suggesting there was a move to take control of Dreamland, but there’s a major implication that the child is more important than ruling.
Page 2 of 2: Bean’s Destiny, Elfo’s Resurrection & More
What Is Bean’s “Destiny”?
For most of Disenchantment season 1, Bean is presented as an incredibly ordinary person (royal lineage aside). However, the finale seeds some major doubt in that. First, sparking her own suspicions, when reaching for the seeing orb it sparks with black electricity. Subsequently, her mother starts a non-sex talk with Bean (that the show cuts away from), and then Dagmar says to Zog she’s involved in “a dark battle of a hundred centuries and our daughter’s destiny.”
It’s all very vague, with suggestions of dark magic and massive plots similar to Game of Thrones’ Azor Ahai or countless other fantasy prophecies. What we’re almost certainly dealing with, in that vein, is something bigger than any one kingdom, although there are scant clues to what. It doesn’t seem as though Dagmar tells Bean anything of much importance: the Queen still tries to frame Oona even after the “talk”, and Bean’s still highly inquisitive on the boat.
Who Attacks Luci?
Near the end of Disenchantment season 1’s finale, Luci is wandering around the castle complaining that he’s not the one causing destruction, only to be attacked by an off-screen assailant. Luci definitely knows who it is, gasping and saying “you” before a sucking sound is heard, likely him being stuck in a jar.
That jar sound suggests it’s Big Joe, the necromancer who already tried to kill Luci once on King Zog’s orders and was last seen trapped under a desert of sand in The Lost City of Cremorrah. Considering he escaped certain death once before with just a dismemberment, a return isn’t surprising, and the demon would definitely be a target.
There are some other potential captors, however. Oona is currently still in Dreamland sliding around the castle, and Prince Derek was sent up into the tower, so either one could have nabbed him.
Who Is Dagmar Working With?
After freezing all of Dreamland, Dagmar takes her daughter to a nearby ship manned by various creatures. They greet the Queen and Princess by name, freak Bean out by staring at her, and then the ship sets sail “for the homeland and a glorious future”. Evidently, Dagmar doesn’t act alone.
But who are they? The humans on the boat appear to be of Asian ethnicity, so it would be a safe guess this is a land from across the sea from Dreamland, possibly on the same continent as Maru and Cremorrah. It may even be the former, who have already displayed an interest in destroying Dreamland: Luci’s real purpose could have been to emotionally challenge Bean so she would, in her confusion, save her mother over Elfo, thus restarting the hundred-century war.
Whoever is behind it, the promise from Disenchantment’s ending is that the show will be very different in season 2 (although it wouldn’t be surprising if all of these plot threads are resolved in the premiere before resetting to a standard status quo).
Who Saves Elfo In The End-Credits Scene?
Disenchantment may be on Netflix, where the end credits are pushed to one corner for advertising more shows, yet it surprisingly has a short stinger. This shows Elfo found by two unseen figures and dragged from the sea. Elfo died from an arrow wound in the previous episode and was knocked out of his coffin over Dreamland’s falls by the Queen fight, but this provides the first concrete clue (beyond him being a main character) that he’ll be resurrected somehow.
But by who? The scene actually reveals it - one of the people dragging Elfo away has long, red hair, a bracelet… and scales. She would appear to be a mermaid, meaning Disenchantment is finally going to visit Mermaid Island after a near-miss in episode 2. How they can bring Elfo back to life depends entirely on how they’re characterized.
