Rise of the Titans Plot Synopsis
Set after the events of Trollhunters, 3Tales and Wizards, Rise of the Titans depicts the final battle between our motley crew of heroes and the evil Arcane Order. With the amulet destroyed, Jim is without his Trollhunter powers. Meanwhile, Earth-spirit Nari has defected to the Arcadians’ side, helping to turn the tide of battle. When Nari is kidnapped after a breathless fight on the underground, what follows is a mad scramble to try and save her while stopping the Arcane Order from carrying out their diabolical plan.
What are the Arcane Order trying to do?
In its simplest form, the demigods are attempting to destroy the world and create it anew. In doing so, this would wipe out all life as we know it on Earth and cause a mass extinction event. During the third season of Trollhunters, this Order managed to obtain the Genesis Seals, which are required to help in undergoing their task of taking over. Still in need of Nari’s magic though, the Order kidnap her. However, our group do learn about the Krohnisfere and the Ninth Configuration before she’s taken, given them crucial clues to work off.
How do the Arcane Order intend to destroy the world?
The Order intend to call forth the power of three different titans. The first is the Earth Titan, which appears in Brazil while a couple of kids are playing football. The Fire Titan rises up from the sea in Hong Kong and the Ice Titan near a remote outpost in Greenland. Interestingly, Arcadia is the center of the universe and these titans intend to reconvene there. They also intend to get their hands on the Heartstone. This revelatory tidbit is unveiled when a sticky page in Merlin’s book is uncovered. With the Earth and Ice Titan both defeated thanks to our heroes, this hidden page confirms Earth will be remade into the remaining element if the Titan gets the Heartstone. Due to the Fire Titan being the last one left, this would essentially turn Earth into a fireball.
What is the Ninth Configuration?
With Excalibur still stuck in its rock, Jim realizes near the end of the film that the Ninth Configuration is actually a reference to their own group. All our heroes we’ve followed across the different shows account to a grand total of 9 different people. Decoding Nari’s words, the entire group band together and touch the rock, which helps Jim lift the sword out and with it, the amulet stone. After defeating Bellroc and the Fire Titan with the sword, Jim wins the battle but Toby is badly wounded. Nari, Nomura and Strickler have also been killed too. Earlier in the movie, Walter sacrificed himself to stop the Ice Titan, bringing heavy tones of poignancy and sacrifice to this plight. Remembering Nari’s cryptic message about time unfolding differently before she died, Jim stabs the Krohnisfere and obtains the Time Stone. This allows time to revert back and undo what’s happened. And that’s what Jim does. He uses the stone and wakes up back during the first episode of Trollhunters.
Is Toby the next Trollhunter?
With time reversed, Jim is much more confident and outgoing in his endeavours. Time plays out in much the same way, but this time Jim encourages Toby to take a different route home. There, the amulet is discovered by Toby instead. This seems to hint that he’s the next Trollhunter. Now, questions can be raised around the macguffins and the ending itself. If Toby is the next Trollhunter, that would almost certainly mean time will unfold differently now. Based on the basic ideas of the butterfly effect, rewriting history like this essentially erases all of 3Tales and Wizards. That’s quite the kick in the teeth for long-term fans! While it’s unclear whether DreamWorks have more shows in the Arcadian pipeline, this ending is very much a love/hate affair. We’ll leave it up to you to decide what side of the fence you sit on!
Read More: Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans Review Thanks for reading our Ending Explained article! So what did you think of the ending? Did you enjoy it? Or did you think that final time rewrite was a bit of a cop-out? Let us know in the comments below!
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