Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Time Bandits season 1.
Summary
- Time Bandits season 1 ended with a cliffhanger setting up a potential season 2 with new missions for Kevin and the time bandits.
- Changes to the movie ending were revealed in the final episodes, including a missing time map and a surprising twist with Susan being alive.
- Kevin's plan to trick Pure Evil and the offer from Supreme Being hint at potential storylines for a second season of Time Bandits.
Time Bandits season 1 featured a cliffhanger ending that could potentially set up a second season, with a new mission for Kevin and the others. Creators Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi have revealed they are working on plans for Time Bandits season 2, but there’s no news yet on whether the Apple TV+ show will be renewed. The adaptation of the 1981 fantasy adventure movie took the original premise and expanded upon it across 10 episodes.
Some of the biggest changes to the Time Bandits movie ending were revealed in the final two episodes of season 1. The series, like the movie, was building up to the confrontation between Kevin, the time bandits, Pure Evil, and Supreme Being. However, they had different outcomes. The Time Bandits movie also had a cliffhanger ending, but it never had a sequel. If the 2024 fantasy show receives a second season, it could open up even more possibilities for the Time Bandits franchise.
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Time Bandits follows an 11-year-old boy named Kevin who joins forces with a group of time-traveling thieves who round out the show's main cast.
Time Bandits Season 1's Cliffhanger Ending Explained: What Happens Next
The Map Is Missing At The End Of Time Bandits Season 1
Since Kevin’s parents were coaled at the end of Time Bandits season 1, episode 2, he has been on a mission to go back in time to save them. They appeared to succeed in Time Bandits season 1, episode 8 when he and his sister Saffron altered history and their parents survived Fianna’s attack. However, they were captured by Pure Evil, which meant their mission wasn’t finished, as they had to rescue them from him. To do this, they had to give him the time map, but they managed to escape and free his parents without giving up the map.
Yet, when Kevin went to return the map to Widgit after they’d left the Fortress of Darkness, it had been replaced by something else. It’s unknown where the time map is at the end of Time Bandits season 1, but it’s not with Kevin or Pure Evil. There’s a chance Supreme Being somehow managed to take it back with his powers, but it’s a major question that won’t get answered unless there is a Time Bandits season 2. With Kevin’s parents saved, getting the time map back would be an entirely new mission.
Susan's Death Fake-Out In Time Bandits Season 1 Explained
The Leader Of The Time Bandits Was Found Alive
Throughout Time Bandits, the bandits mourned their fallen leader, Susan, who had fallen off a cliff and been run over by a boulder before they met Kevin. This left Penelope to take her place, though they insisted they shared leadership responsibility equally for appearances. They needed to find the missing piece of the time map to get to Pure Evil’s Fortress of Darkness, and Cassandra suggested they go to the place where they last saw it, as it would likely be there. That place turned out to be where Susan had died.
In a plot twist, Susan was dead, she had just run away from the group. She was tired of living life as a time bandit, constantly escaping death just to steal some items. Susan pointed out that they hadn’t accomplished anything they’d set out to do, though she didn’t clarify what this was. Additionally, Susan left because she’d fallen in love with Gavin, Penelope’s fiancé, who had also disappeared. She had taken a piece of the time map for herself so she could still travel, but she had been hiding out with Gavin.
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While Penelope had been looking for him and stealing items to bring to him when she did, he’d been building a new life with her former friend. Though this was obviously hurtful, Gavin and Susan did save their lives and help bring them to the Fortress of Darkness. The time bandits’ confrontation with the pair made them reevaluate their purpose. Fortunately, they realized they’d found a new one thanks to Kevin and Saffron.
Kevin's Plan With Pure Evil & Time Map Trick Explained
Kevin Made Pure Evil Believe He Gave Him The Time Map
For Kevin to free his parents in the Time Bandits season 1 finale, Pure Evil demanded he give him the map. He wanted the map to make the world miserable, but he also made promises to the bandits that he would give them the lives they always wanted. He showed them what their futures could look like if he had the map, but Penelope, Kevin, and Saffron were adamant he didn’t give them the map, even when others, like his parents, tried to pressure him.
After some arguing, Kevin gave Pure Evil the lunch box he’d put the time map in, and Pure Evil freed them and his parents. Unbeknownst to Pure Evil, Kevin and Saffron switched lunch boxes while everyone was distracted. This meant Kevin didn’t actually give Pure Evil the time map in the Time Bandits season 1 finale. Yet, someone else must have taken the map, since it wasn’t in the lunch box when Kevin went to give it back to Widgit.
What Supreme Being Promises Kevin & Why He Wants Him To Spy On The Time Bandits
Supreme Being Promised Kevin A Better Version Of His Life
Just as Pure Evil made promises to the time bandits to try and convince them to give him the maps, Supreme Being did the same with Kevin. Earlier in the Time Bandits season 1 finale, Supreme Being briefly kidnapped Kevin and showed him what could happen if he gave him the map. He knew Kevin wanted to save his parents, but that he didn’t necessarily want to return to his old life the way it had been before he met the time bandits.
Supreme Being told Kevin he could give him a new version of his parents, ones who really cared about his interests. He could also stop Kevin from being bullied. To do this, Kevin would just have to spy on the time bandits and report what they said back to them. Kevin kept this a secret from the time bandits, but it didn’t seem like he was giving any information to Supreme Being, especially when he learned about his plan for Earth 2.
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The Real Meaning Of The Time Bandits Helping Kevin & Saffron
The Characters Became Like A Family In Time Bandits
The initial plan for confronting Pure Evil and saving the Haddocks was to have Kevin and Saffron go into the Fortress of Darkness alone without the time bandits. The time bandits were just supposed to drop them off, but they changed their minds and tried to come inside to help the children. Earlier in the Time Bandits season 1 finale, when Susan pointed out that they hadn’t accomplished anything they set out to, Penelope countered by saying that might be true, but they had become a true group thanks to Kevin and Saffron.
It took them some time to bond, but by the end of Time Bandits season 1, they proved they really did care about each other. Their willingness to potentially sacrifice themselves for Kevin and Saffron proved this. When Pure Evil tortured those Kevin cared about the most, he didn’t go after his parents. Instead, he went after the time bandits and Saffron. Kevin and Saffron might have been working to save their parents, but they also found a new chosen family in the time bandits.
How Time Bandits Season 1's Ending Sets Up Season 2
The Time Bandits Need To Get The Time Map Back
Time Bandits season 1’s cliffhanger ending opens a lot of possible storylines for a potential Time Bandits season 2. While Time Bandits season 1 was spent trying to keep the time map from Pure Evil and Supreme Being, season 2 would likely focus on finding the map. If Supreme Being had it, they would also have to stop him from using it to reboot the universe to make Earth 2. This storyline would help Kevin fulfill Cassandra’s prophecy of saving the universe.
With the characters having bonded, Time Bandits season 2 could further explore their dynamics as a team as they work together. With their parents saved, they wouldn’t have to worry about that either, freeing Kevin and Saffron up to join the bandits in their mission. Without the time map, the format could change, as it would be hard for them to travel through time and meet different historical figures in Time Bandits season 2, creating some interesting new directions for the series.
Time Bandits (2024)
Eleven-year-old Kevin joins a group of time-traveling thieves on a comedic and perilous adventure. As they navigate through various historical periods, they embark on a mission to save Kevin’s parents and ultimately the world, blending humor with high-stakes drama in this adaptation of Terry Gilliam's cult classic.
Release Date July 24, 2024
Seasons 1
English (US) ·