I know. Will is such a dumbass. He continually screws up because he stubbornly goes against Allanon's advice. But he never acknowledges this. He blames Allanon instead! WARNING SPOILERS In season 2 episode 6, Crimson, Will tells Allanon's daughter Mareth to trust him, that he knows what he is doing and can stop Bandon after she lets him out of the magic cage, against Allanon's warnings. Bandon warns that Flick is almost past the point at which he can heal him and must be healed right away. Mareth trusts Will and lets Bandon out, who promptly refuses to heal Flick until after Will gives him the skull, instead of healing him straight away. In fact he places the tip of his sword at Flick's heart, thereby threatening to kill him. Flick doesn't want Bandon to get the skull and he runs himself through on Bandon's sword. So an angry Will fights Bandon, but cannot beat him. A weakened Allanon is finally released from the magic cage and tries to stop Bandon but is unable.

Does Will own up to being wrong? Nope. He swore over and over that he could handle Bandon, begging Mareth to trust him. But after he fails he doesn't say he is sorry about being wrong. He doesn't acknowledge that he was wrong at all. He never does. He never learns. He has the same attitudes all the time. He stubbornly insists that he knows what he is doing, he blames Allanon, or anyone except himself, when he screws up.

That is just the latest example I have seen in which Will screws up by stubbornly ignoring Allanon's advice. Will wants to be contrary so badly. When he isn't being contrary he is being sullen, or butt hurt, or self righteous. Teenage angst is mostly what he does. I am getting a bit sick of him.

Allanon tried to help him, to talk to him about the visions Will saw which distracted him while fighting Bandon, but Will tearfully and angrily told Allanon "stay out of my mind". Again he ignores the fact that he failed, that he needs help to learn how to deal with this supernatural stuff, and directs his anger toward Allanon.

Agreed. In the first season, Amberle was wise and brave, and Eretria the rebel. Both kept Will from looking too much like a fool. He was young and inexperienced when he started on his journey, and so could be forgiven then, but now he is older and should have learned from his mistakes.

He does redeem himself in the end (a bit), still there's a big question mark hanging over him. Has he really changed for the better and grown up? Mareth is the new Druid, so will he listen to her advice in the next season or just be stubborn and throw another tantrum?

Right. Good questions. If I had to guess I would say they will make Will outwardly seem a bit more mature sometimes. But he will also retain much of his stubbornness, impulsiveness, and angst. I think this show targets the teenager demographic and the angst bit plays with them.

It would be nice if the writers would show Will actually maturing, reflecting on his errors, learning from them, being more thoughtful and wise, less impulsive and rash, acknowledging and apologizing for the ways his immature behavior affected, impacted, and injured others. I wish he would stop blaming others and start admitting and owning his errors. Maybe that will come later in this series, but I kind of doubt it. The writers think their targeted teenage market would be turned off by personal responsibility, so Will is probably going to remain essentially the same. But since Allanon is gone and he will have to take more of a leadership role (probably) the writers will have him say a few things from time to time which make him sound more mature. Actually I noticed one scene (in episode 7 I think) where Will has one line expressing self-pity and self-doubt to Mareth because of his mistake, so he tacitly admitted he was wrong. That's not really the same as apologizing for being wrong, headstrong, foolish, and contemptuous toward his teacher. It wasn't so much an admission of fault as it was a kind of 'self-righteous whining' and play for sympathy. He wasn't really focused on how he had injured Mareth and Allanon. He was focused on himself, looking inward, whining about his self-doubt.

That is the kind of change I expect to see in Will: something which outwardly seems more mature, but is a cheap imitation of maturity. And if that happens, it will bother me more than his present angst and blaming of others. Because it teaches the impressionable, teenage demographic which the show targets that a facade of responsibility is all that matters. It lets people rationalize hypocrisy, dishonesty, and all sorts of negative behavior, as long as they say the right things. And there is too much of that in the modern cultural current.

Sorry. Didn't mean to get on my soapbox. lol