Hilda Season 3 (2023)
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Hilda Season 3 Review
The third season of Hilda was released on Netflix in 2023. It is the best season of the show and it closed the entire series almost perfectly.
The Train to Tofoten started the season on a pretty strong albeit somewhat uneventful note. Yes, not much happens in this episode, but Great-Aunt Astrid was a lovely addition to the show as this warm, kind and wonderful family relative. The town of Tofoten was also wonderfully realized and so intriguing. The Fairy Mound continued where the last episode ended and the exploration of this town and its secrets yielded some terrific results here.
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The Giantslayer is actually quite imaginative and fun, but it’s an alternate universe storyline and these stories always end up feeling like filler no matter how well crafted they are. The Laughing Merman is fantastic! This is a superb one-off adventure that also surprisingly functions as a musical with the titular creature belting out songs in glorious fashion. Through that musical bent and in the concept of an odd animal obstacle to our heroes, this episode evoked that Disney feel effortlessly.
The Job and The Forest Lake are both excellent as these lovely explorations of Hilda’s parents and their troubled pasts. The former introduces us to Hilda’s dad and the show cleverly showcases all of his parenting issues without vilifying him while the latter episode focuses on Hilda’s mom through an intriguing adventure where they encounter this fascinating creature that knows the mother so well. The horror and mystery elements in this episode were particularly fantastic.
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Strange Frequencies is the weakest of this bunch of episodes as it focuses on the Nisse, who have always been comic reliefs. Yes, it’s a fun and endearing episode, but one that is too slight and inconsequential in comparison to others. But The Fairy Isle is something else! This finale ended both the season and the entire series with a bang and an emotional wallop. Not only is the mythology and world building here impeccable with the mushroom-filled fairy world being astonishingly beautiful and well imagined, but the emphasis on shared family history was quite welcome.
Yes, the third season of Hilda answered all of our questions about the protagonist and her family. We realize here that she is half-fairy and that her grandparents left them for fairy land. Their troubled relationship with her mum is so well explored and actually surprisingly deep for a children’s show. The mother’s dilemma was also quite mature and interesting.
Eventually, she chooses to be with Hilda and the show’s messaging about the importance of family values and choosing to always be kind toward others should prove to be valuable to child viewers in particular. This is a wonderful show for the whole family as it can teach kids some life lessons without being didactic while the adults can enjoy its amazing world and lovely characters.
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This final season of Hilda failed to properly utilized its secondary characters with Frida and David not getting much to do and Alfur faring even worse, but the aging up of characters was a refreshing choice that worked and the more mature, mysterious and family-centric storytelling was phenomenal too. The eight-episode count was too low for the final season, but at least the finale was suitably epic and long. When all is said and done I am going to miss this wonderful series that really needed many more seasons to thrive properly. But it will remain one of the best animated series that Netflix has ever produced and a true gem.
Worst Episodes: The Giant Slayer and Strange Frequencies.
Best Episodes: The Fairy Isle and The Forgotten Lake.
