The Legend of Zelda TV series retrospective: Episode 11, ‘Fairies in the Spring’

Here we are, finally at the end of what I’m calling the “Inexcusable Trilogy” — the three worst installments of The Legend of Zelda TV series that just happen to be bunched together in a sequence of episodes.

We had two poor episodes leading up to this chapter, but we’re not out of Hyrule’s woods yet. In fact, it’s almost as if “Stinging a Stinger” and “Hitch in the Works” were just warming me up for the worst to come.

“Fairies in the Spring” is my least favorite episode in the TV series for one simple reason — it strips away both the cartoon’s most entertaining character and the core appeal of the show.

Thrust in the deep end

Be prepared for a watered-down plot in this episode.

It’s a particularly hot day in Hyrule, with Princess Zelda lounging outside along with her father, King Harkinian. Fortunately, the king has already taken measures to build a new water park for the kingdom, in order to give Hyrule’s inhabitants a place to “cool off and have fun.” After he declares the park almost complete, the scene cuts to the construction site of the park, and sure enough, the workers are almost finished building an extravagant structure containing many slides and pools. Before they get a chance to congratulate themselves, however, geysers burst from the ground, spewing large columns of water that form into monstrous figures who begin attacking the workers. The staff retreat from the area and report to the king, and Link is summoned by Zelda to help her investigate the situation.

When the duo arrives at the scene, they immediately encounter one of the monsters themselves, but Link makes short work of it with a single zap from his Crissword. It’s a short-lived victory, as Link and Zelda are quickly swept down a slide by a large torrent of water, landing in one of the pools.

As Zelda says, though, “We’re wet, but at least we’re not hurt.” That is, until an electric eel drags her down to the bottom of the pool and attempts to drown her using constriction, and two giant crab-like creatures grab Link and Zelda.

These monsters are as dull as dishwater.

These monsters may be wet, but fail to make a splash

A giant eel? Hardly electrifying (OK, I’ll chill with the puns).

There is a clue in one of Zelda’s lines that the enemies in “Fairies in the Spring” aren’t the typical foes that our heroes face — “That wasn’t one of Ganon’s creatures!” However, the eel and the crabs disappear when zapped by Link’s Crissword and Zelda’s bow, which gives an early indication that they are not natural creatures, either. All of these creatures are aptly known as the “Water Monsters,” and their designs are about as inspired as the name suggests.

After the duo finishes off the creatures, King Harkinian arrives at the park to check in on Link’s and Zelda’s investigation. With no immediate threat in sight, the king reinforces his assumption that there is nothing amiss at the park at all. His confidence leads him to stand too close to the water, which is when a giant tentacle arises from it, grabs him, and pulls him under. Link dives in after him, but the king and the creature are nowhere to be seen.

At a loss, Link and Zelda return to the castle to request advice from the Triforce of Wisdom. Hilariously, the Triforce just tells them to go back underwater and look again, which is hardly worth the cringeworthy rhyme (“To find your father, royal daughter, you must search beneath the water”). I’m certain Link and Zelda could have figured that out themselves; even Link’s first response is “Aw, c’mon!”

So, here are the giant enemy crabs.

Realizing that they’ll need to explore underwater for a lengthy amount of time, Zelda brings along the Triforce to summon magic helmets over her and Link’s heads. There is a unique music track that plays as the pair dive underwater that doesn’t appear anywhere else in the series. It’s a wonderful track that is calm enough to reflect the bright blue water, yet ominous enough to emphasize our heroes diving into the unknown. It’s a highlight in an otherwise unimpressive episode, though this sequence also raises the question — why does a swimming pool need to be this deep?

The next menace to come between our heroes and the king comes in the form of a giant fish, which crashes through the grate at the bottom of the pool. It darts toward Link and Zelda with an open mouth, but it instead chomps on the Triforce of Wisdom. Zelda, still tethered to the magical artifact with a tight grip on her chain, is pulled along as the fish swims through the grate, but she makes short work of the monster by using more magic. Overall, the underwater sequence is nice, but not as visually appealing as the one in “Underworld Connections.”

Fishing can get pretty extreme in the land of Hyrule.

Link and Zelda return to the surface, finding themselves in a new yet “familiar” area. They are quickly surrounded by the strange creatures that were seen at the beginning of the episode, formed by the water itself. There’s no sense of threat from the Water Monsters because they’re made of, well, water. Ganon’s minions have sharp teeth, menacing claws, brandish a variety of weapons, and boast magical powers, while all that these aqueous pests can do is make scary faces. As for the eel, crabs, and fish, there’s nothing interesting or original about them either, besides being giant versions of aquatic animals. They just made me sincerely miss the fiends of the Underworld, the minions of Ganon that fondly remind me of The Legend of Zelda games.

Speaking of Ganon, as you probably guessed, he doesn’t make a single appearance in this episode.

I just wonder what Ganon’s up to

Zelda discovers Spryte’s sister in a tree, who reveals that she and the other fairies were only trying to protect their spring.

The big twist in this episode is that the fairies were the ones conjuring the Water Monsters, in an attempt to protect their spring. It turns out that King Harkinian was inadvertently draining the fairy spring when gathering water for the park, worrying King Oberon, the fairy king and Spryte’s father.

I get it. The writers wanted to shake up what is, admittedly, a very basic formula that constructed each episode leading up to this one — Ganon attempts to steal the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link and Zelda stop him. The problem is that it is Ganon who brings the most variety to the series. He always has a new device, a new plan, and new monsters to introduce into each episode.

Ganon and his monsters are the driving force of the show, and this is most apparent when they aren’t around to entertain.

The other issue is that it’s more difficult to care about the Water Monsters as antagonists because they aren’t at all inspired by any of the enemies from the Zelda games. The magic of the show comes in recognizing each species of monster from the games, like seeing the basic sprites of the early Pokemon games come to life in the franchise’s anime. Ganon and his monsters are the driving force of the show, and this is most apparent when they aren’t around to entertain. When you strip away the cartoon’s core component, the result is a bland and empty story rather than a bold, new direction.

Fairy disappointing

Everyone’s having fun at the completed water park. I wish I could relate when watching this episode.

There are a few redeeming qualities of this episode, minor as they may be. The fairy spring itself is a nice reference to the Fairy Fountains of the first Legend of Zelda game, with King Harkinian also mentioning that “fairies like water.” There is a small but appreciated attempt at world-building by introducing the fairies as a race, as the only fairy seen until this episode had been Spryte. We also get a better sense of Hyrule as a kingdom, with Hyrulean soldiers playing a role and a scene in North Castle’s main hall with the king on his throne.

Aside from this, though, there is barely anything else in this episode that makes it feel like Zelda. In fact, this is the episode that feels the furthest away from the source material, which is why it failed to leave an impression on me.

As I said in the previous review of “Hitch in the Works,” it was Ganon that saved the episode from absolute tedium toward the end, but unfortunately, he isn’t around this time to salvage the washed-up “Fairies in the Spring.”

It’s OK, though, because now we’re past the worst that the TV series has to offer. Rest assured, it won’t end on a damp squib like this particular story.