Time Bandits Season 1 Episodes 7 and 8 Review: Ice Age / Home Again

Time Bandits has kept things fairly light and silly. While Kevin’s parents were turned to coal in the second episode, the series hasn’t really slowed down to adequately touch on Kevin’s trauma — it’s just one wacky adventure to the next.

However, that changes on Time Bandits Season 1 Episode 7 and 8, “Ice Age/Home Again.”

Kevin reunites with his sister Saffron, adding genuine pathos to the ongoing plot and depth to his family life.

Before “Ice Age,” Saffron was more of a caricature than a three-dimensional character. She was an over-the-top little (now older) sister who used to bully her brother.

While the character continues to have her aggressive attitude and condescending personality, underneath it all is a little girl dying to see her family again. She puts on a brave face with her brother but is more vulnerable than in the early episodes.

Kiera Thompson brings a lot of depth to her performance as Saffron, and she genuinely has good chemistry with Kal-El Tuck, who plays Kevin. When she discovers her parents have turned to coal, rather than be upset, she decides she’s going to help Kevin save them.

In terms of humor, the funniest part of “Ice Age” is that Saffron taught all the cavemen to talk. The cavemen end up speaking in internet lingo and preteen slang. It doesn’t get old hearing cavemen say “sick” or “LOL.” It’s certainly a refreshing take on caveman stereotypes.

The term “YOLO” is used several times during the episode, and that feels the most dated part of the language.

“Home Again” has the gang return to Kevin’s and Saffron’s home — yet this time in 1996.

Other than the fashion and the use of an old-school Gameboy, the episode doesn’t fully take advantage of the setting or time. 

Once again, Saffron has the best material of the episode. She decides to meet her six-year-old mother in the 90s. As she freshens up in her mother’s childhood home, it dawns on her and the audience that she hasn’t seen a mirror in three years.

Add in the fact that she hasn’t seen her parents for that long, Saffron has become an unexpectedly tragic character in the show.

Kevin’s journey in meeting his kid’s Dad is more joyful, with the two bonding over a Gameboy and Kevin’s quirky vocabulary.

The biggest laugh of the two episodes comes at the end, where it’s revealed that Kevin’s and Saffron’s interference in their parents’ past did change their fate.

However, rather than become competent or trained, Mr. and Mrs. Haddock simply surrender to Fianna before they are turned to coal.

The rest of the bandits take a backseat in these last two episodes. There’s a funny moment in “Home Again” where they see a portal of themselves from the future. They then must interpret the message of their future versions, including why Bittelig was missing.

With Pure Evil holding their parents hostage, the Haddock siblings are set to rescue them. Times Bandits has hit its third act, and the characters have a clear goal.

“Ice Age” and “Home Again” provide the series strongest pathos yet. Saffron went from a nearly despicable character to a complex human being. If Time Bandits continues this emotional depth, it may lead to a satisfying climax.

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New episodes of Time Bandits stream Wednesdays on Apple TV+.

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