The Best Musical Moments of GALAVANT

As far as musical comedies series go, few can top Galavant, brought to life by the help of Glen Slater and Alen Menken - whose work you probably know from Disney classics like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Many of the songs featured in Galavant are instant hits, sprinkled with jokes, fourth-wall breaks, and a dash of dark humor.

If you haven't yet watched the series, I recommend this video from Jenny Slater on YouTube:

(Warning: Contains Spoilers!)

Then She'll Be Mine

After forcing Madalena to marry him, Richard struggles to win her affection. Throughout the season, he tries many things to win the heart of both her and his subjects, but keeps failing spectacularly. She'll Be Mine is Richard's first musical number in the show. Believing that Galavant being alive is the reason Madalena has not warmed up to him, Richard sings about all the ways he would like to torture him.

Richard:

I want to hurl him out a window

I want to stab him in the eye

I want to liberate his head from his neck

And then punt the bloody wreck sky-high!

Once Galavant is out of the picture, Richard proclaims he and Madalena can 'do it' at last, and with renewed high-spirits, he can even start a genocidal war...making the rest of his court do a double-take.

Comedy Gold

So determined to get Madalena to like him, Richard doesn't notice how often she sneaks away with the court Jester. When he does discover it, instead of killing the Jester, Richard believes that if he can learn to be as funny, he can woo Madalena. If that doesn't work...then he'll kill the Jester. Unfortunately for the Jester and the court, Richard's sense of humor often involves bodily harm.

Jester:

The crowd will be rolling!

Richard:

Or heads will be rolled!

Jester:

Not with all this comedy gold!

Maybe You're Not the Worst Thing Ever

Galavant has a knack for semi-romantic love songs, the first of which is Maybe You're not the Worst thing ever, sung between Richard, Madalena, Izzy, and Gal when they all come to realize maybe the person they're stuck with isn't completely horrible.

Galavant:

And though you're so annoying

Izzy:

So easy to despise

Richard:

And though there's something scary

behind those cold dead eyes

Madalena:

And though I'll never like you

All:

It's nice to realize

Maybe, I shouldn't quite say never

Maybe, you're not the worst thing ever

The Lords of the (Technically Next to the) Sea

Gal, Izzy, and Sid are captured by a band of shore-bound pirates thanks to a stuck ship. Aside from robbing passerby's, the pirates fill their time with fixing drinks on the lawn, sustainable gardening, and making home-made organic deserts.

They're the Monks

The group stops at a monastery to refuel, bath, and gives Izzy the chance to confess her guilt about leading Galavant into Richard's trap. The twist? The monks have taken a vow of singing, lead in song by guest star Weird Al-Yankovic.

Monk:

Fetch the holy water

And holy soap as well

Because holy guacamole,

that one reeks to holy hell,

and we're the monks!

Hey-hey, we're the monks!

Secret Mission

Arriving in Valencia, Galavant and the others are thrown in the dungeon. However, Madalena stages a coup by writing to Richard's older brother, interrupting his revenge against Galavant. Not only does Richard's brother challenge him for the throne, he forces Gareth, Richard's bodyguard, to be his champion, leaving no one to fight for Richard except...Galavant, who volunteers to fight on the condition that Richard frees Valencia when he wins.

The night before the fight, Gal and Richard form a surprising friendship over a pint of ale, bonding over the one thing they have in common - getting screwed over by Madalena.

The two come up with the ingenious decision to kill Richard's brother while he sleeps - in the form of a loud, rowdy drinking song that carries them all around the castle until they forget what they were doing in the first place.

My Moment in the Sun

Galavant does not shy from poking fun at its own genera, and Moment in the Sun is one of the best examples. As the stakes rise, Galavant reaffirms his role as the hero, accompanied by a classic hero's ballad - sort of. Galavant's 'moment' is doomed to be a short one.

Chef and Gwynne

Galavant is full of sweet romance plotlines, including Chef and Gwynne, two servants with dreams of a life together despite the harsh realities of medieval peasant life. While Gwen has a more pessimistic view of the world, Chef argues that their crumbly life will be a little bit better lived together.

Chef:

We'll have a dozen kids

Gwynne:

And maybe one won't die

In season 2, Gwynne and Chef escape to Hortensia, the kingdom ruled by Isabella's cousin. Though they are still servants, their chambers are a little bit nicer. Gwynne has trouble adjusting to the 'upper-lower class', is uncomfortable sleeping in a padded bed, and is still used to eating scraps off the floor.

Chef to Gwynne:

Babe, relax. We are officially big-pimpin'.

Both As Good as It Gets and If I Could Share My Life With You stay true to the servant's optimistic pessimism.

My Dragon Pal and Me

In season 2, Richard tries to help Galavant raise an army to rescue Princess Isabella from marrying her cousin. Unfortunately, Richard keeps ruining Gal's plans, even trading their only currency for a dragon - with a suspicious resemblance to a bearded dragon he names Tad Cooper. Richard's character arch is beautifully exemplified through his relationship with Tad Cooper, who no one believes is a real dragon, similar to how none of Richard's friends believe he can accomplish anything. But don't worry - a happy ending awaits the dynamic duo!

Dwarves and Giants

On his search for an army, Gal happens across a group of giants...who are actually rather averaged-sized. They agree to join Galavant on his quest if he helps them defeat the neighboring group of dwarves - also average-sized. The two groups are so much alike, they accidently hurt their own team-mates during battle. Uninterested in the dispute at first, Gal gets a change of heart when Richard joins the dwarves, and they two see it as the perfect opportunity to air their frustrations out on each other. Roberta is the only one of the three to see how ridiculous the whole battle is, and rushes to end the fight before Gal and Richard kill each other. The battle song is an instant earworm, paying homage to the whistling, finger-snapping gangs of the 1961 film West Side Story.

Maybe You Won't Die Alone

Exhausted by Richard tagging along in his quest, Gal tries to set Richard up with with his childhood friend Roberta. Even after Gal's committed attempt to create a romantic evening, Richard is helpless when it comes to love, and the night ends with his beard catching on fire.

Gal:

Gaze at the person across from you now

Feel the sweet spark of connection

If you don't manage to screw up somehow

Maybe you won't die alone

What Am I Feeling?

Another great thing about the show is that even the antagonists are written as fully rounded characters. As cruel and shallow as Madalena has been throughout the show, we get just enough of a glimpse into her deeper feelings to empathize with her. One such example is What Am I Feeling?

Madalena accepts an invite from her fellow queens, who bullied her when she was growing up poor. Now a queen herself, Madalena believes she is finally welcomed into their ranks. However, the dinner party turns out to be a brutal roast. The queens still view Madalena as an outsider, and she returns to the castle defeated. In the song, Madalena takes a rare moment to acknowledge her feelings that have been buried for years.

Gareth notices her distress and brings her a gift; the earrings of the queens...with their ears still attached. Madalena thanks him, sparking a new unfamiliar feeling.

It's a Good Day to Die

If you were in a battle to the death, would you embrace it and say "It's a good day to die!" or would you say "I'd rather die another day"? This is the sort of battle song that the 3 armies march to. The Valencian army, led by Gareth, embraces the possibility of death. While the Hortensia army, led by Izzy with make-shift weapons of pots and pans, are more hesitant.

Izzy and Hortensia Army:

It's a good day to die!

Thought not as good as other days

A Good Day to die!

But if there's one a little ways away

Well, then, hey-

We can reschedule

It's more than okay

Towards the end of the episode, the song is reprised after the protagonists are trapped by the zombie army, and it only gets better with a Game of Thrones joke thrown in.

Gal, Izzy, and Richard:

It's a good day to die!

Izzy's Mother:

Oh stop, this isn't Game of Thrones

Gareth:

We're not gonna die

Let's end the song and grow some stones and fight!

Will My Day Ever Come?

Richard has arguably one the best character arcs of the series. His goal to be loved and accepted by his subjects is constantly thwarted by himself and others. Believing he is about to die, Richard wonders if his chance to be great will ever happen in a song both funny and heartfelt.

Galavant and It's A New Season

To end this list, it would be a crime not to mention the titular character's theme song, a catchy, triumphant ballad packed with jokes and revisited in several episodes to serve as plot recaps.

While not as catchy as Galavant, A New Season has all the charm, and twice as many jokes and fourth-wall breaks. RIP to the poor Hortensia guy caught singing Galavant.

Galavant is available to watch now on Hulu.