It doesn't help that the characters seem to be allowed to switch from talking dour fantasy-novel heroes to bored millennials whenever the mood strikes them - perhaps something that might have to do with this being MTV.
The good outweighs the bad in a series that is still finding its feet. Here's hoping the second series is a less bumpy ride - and that Wil stops clumsily losing the Elfstones.
The fact that the mostly inert The Shannara Chronicles is utterly familiar on both levels is a reminder that a truly vibrant fantasy story requires some sort of invention.
The truth is, genre-loving families and fantasy fans who want to travel to another world but don't want to fork over the admission to a multiplex (or a premium channel) could do worse than this.
The world-building is imaginative and impressive, but the mythology is exhausting to keep up with, especially when the reward is basically a romance-novel version of The Lord of the Rings, complete with courtly hand-kissing and sexy elfin bubble baths.
Whatever visual beauty this pretender to Game of Thrones' high fantasy throne does possess is undone by wooden performances, formulaic execution and dialogue so howlingly bad it resembles subpar fan fiction.
The Shannara Chronicles can't help but show off how cool its various magical storylines are, and in doing so it shows off its shortcomings. Its characters are fairly weak, with the exception of Manu Bennet's Allanon, though its setting is gorgeous.
