The Earl of Sandwich steals the show in Time Bandits

“Hello everyone. Shushie.”

This is how the Earl of Sandwich gets the attention of a room full of people in this episode, so I thought I’d give it a try. Anyway, The Bandits have fallen on hard times and are sitting around a campfire munching on sticks (and twigs, for a treat). As hungry as they are, what better destination than the 18th-century estate of the Earl of Sandwich, just in time for a big party? That’s where the Bandits are headed, albeit unintentionally (Widgit still sucks at directions) after the Supreme Being bursts into their woodcutting. Except it’s not SB, just his three-faced suit with one of his two sidekicks named Jasper inside. He’s shown up to warn the Bandits about SB’s plan on Earth 2 to destroy all of creation and start over. Yeah, that’s pretty much all Jasper does here: deliver that warning, then retreat for the rest of the episode. Okay, sure, now the team knows what the Jaspers know, and that’ll probably come up later. But for now, the Bandits’ plan remains the same: run from everything, all the time, until Penelope is challenged to a duel and decides it’s important for her to maintain her image as a courageous woman.

Overall, posturing is a recurring theme in this episode. Everyone seems to have an idea of ​​how they want to be seen by others—as the “actor of the group” (Alto), as the world’s greatest lover (Cassanova), as the inventor of the sandwich (the Count of Sandwich)—but on some level, they’re all a bunch of imposters. For example, as soon as the Bandits arrive at the Count’s castle, they’re turned away for lack of stylish, fashionable clothing. However, that’s nothing a trip to the pantry and Alto’s sense of theater can’t fix. A few cleverly placed placemats, a splatter of flour on the face, and even a cauliflower floret behind an ear allow the gang to blend in enough to at least gain access to the fancy party. They pretended to get in.

Speaking of Alto’s acting skills, after a particularly convincing performance Hamlet In a monologue that only raises eyebrows (“Shakespeare of the eyebrows”, as they say), a theater owner offers him a role in a show the next day. He ducks out of the curtain, however, admitting that he’s never really acted before. So the cast member, the master of disguise, has never been on stage before? Interesting. But he can deliver an impassioned speech when needed to save a friend (specifically Penelope from her duel).

About this duel: You guys, the team ate The pineapple that the Earl of Sandwich had rented from someone to display in his home. He didn’t even own the item. He caught the bandits with a mouth full of fruit, and is now in debt in pineapples. At first, he challenges young Kevin to a duel, because not only did he eat with the others, but he also disputed the Earl’s claims of inventing the sandwich, claiming that he actually got the idea for canapés and pitas from the Mediterranean. Penelope argues, “Come on, he’s a kid! No one’s going to want to see that. He’d suck at it.” So he challenges her to a duel instead, and she refuses to run, choosing to defend her honor. This sets off hell for Kevin, who still carries his charred parents in his bag. He doesn’t want to lose Penelope too.

So yeah, the Count is a fraud. (What aristocrat isn’t?) He didn’t actually invent the sandwich, and he’s also terrible at dueling. When it comes time for him to confront Penelope, he fires his gun into the air, and he’s shocked that Penelope actually tries to shoot him. He explains that no one shoots to kill in polite society, but he’s so offended that she aimed at him that he challenges her to another duel. She ends up running, as she always does, but Fianna drops out of the sky just in time and wastes no time with formalities; when offered the gun, she simply shoots him in the chest at point-blank range. The Count collapses but reveals a secret: he had hidden a sandwich in his breast pocket to stop the bullet! Of course, it didn’t stop the bullet at all. There’s clearly a hole in that thing, and the ridiculous guy is probably going to die. It’s kind of sad, because it was hilarious – the best part of the episode and the highlight of the entire series so far.

Rune Temte, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, Tadhg Murphy, Charlyne Yi and Lisa Kudrow in Time Bandits (Photo: Apple TV+)

The weakest part of the episode is Casanova’s involvement. He shows up as a guest at the Earl of Sandwich’s party and, in keeping with the theme, he’s also a bit of a fraud. He’s got undeniable charm, women swooning left and right when he swings his hair in their direction, but when he becomes obsessed with Judy, who doesn’t care about him, a big question arises. He says he’s “the greatest lover in the world”, but Judy asks, “Oh, is that like a list someone published or is that a list you published yourself?” and he has no answer. The whole joke of this character is that he’s obsessed with people who don’t want him. He even flirts with Fianna as she rushes after the Bandits, before she scares him off with her sparkling eyes. It’s a good bit, but not the best. It goes nowhere.

The episode ends predictably enough, with the Bandits heading into a portal to somewhere else, but it “doesn’t feel right.” It’s not golden and pretty like their portals tend to be, but gray and stormy. They’re still falling through as the credits roll, leaving us to wonder where they’ll end up. Are they destined for Pure Evil? For SB? Or will they just end up in another time period like they always do?

Even with the parts of the episode that feel a bit tacked on and the less funny bits, there’s enough here to make it worth watching. The Earl of Sandwich’s shenanigans offered pure, unabashed silliness; Alto’s ridiculous costumes elicited a few laughs as other elements of their outfits were revealed from different angles; and the little, mysterious hints about the events to come left just enough intrigue to keep us curious. Now, let’s go ahead and try saying “shushie” in more contexts. It might catch up!

Scattered observations

• • It took me a while to notice that each intro has little pop-up images, key frames for the upcoming episode, floating in the glowing wires of Cat’s Cradle. It’s cool, and if parents pay more attention than I do, it could be a good pre-teaching tool to show kids what to look for in each episode. I may be giving the creators too much credit here, projecting educational intentions because I’m familiar with teaching things through my day job. But if you watch together tuberculosis With a child in your life, this might be a fun way to invite discussion and make them think you’re a killjoy nerd.
• • Saffron has been thrust into the snowy world of the Neanderthals. She just lands there, sets up a little camp under a rock (Fianna’s Rock?), and Kevin’s “family,” dressed in rags of animal skin, finds her. That’s all Saffron can do in this episode.
• • The gang keeps finding themselves in what is now England, as they keep trying to get Kevin back home and get the time period wrong. It’s a convenient excuse to keep going back to see the country evolve, given that it’s the protagonist’s home country, but I really enjoyed the variety of portal locations this season.
• • Kevin frees a small dog from a cage early in the series, and it comes back to bite Fianna in the legs, slowing her down just enough for them to escape. This loop was neatly closed, but others were left open, including the Jasper case and the Saffron situation. I have no problem with the Saffron case remaining unresolved, but it seems like they didn’t do anything with the Earth 2 reveal. It doesn’t seem to concern the characters at all. It’s like Jasper didn’t say a word.
• • There’s also a very quick scene in the Middle Ages, where the two detectives searching for the map found anomalies that indicate the bandits had been there. This scene is short but feels earned. It fits into the themes of rebellion and questioning authority that have been a constant this season.
• • The stick/twig thing has been brought up a few times. In the first episode, Kevin’s mom jokes that a gift shop in Woodhenge would probably only sell sticks, then a stall in the medieval episode actually sells sticks, and we’ve now seen the crew eat sticks a few times. Maybe there’s something to that? Or maybe the writers are just having a bit of fun.