Who Is Commander Ballantine in Willow? Meet Ralph Ineson’s Character

There are a lot of different characters in the new Willow series on Disney+, as some of these characters are protagonists, while some of them are antagonists. Of course, the antagonists can be anyone in a series where dark magic exists. One such antagonist that we saw in the Willow series was Commander Ballantine, who was clearly under the influence of the enemy. So, who is Commander Ballantine in Willow?

Played by Ralph Ineson, Commander Ballantine is one of the commanders of the knights of Tir Asleen and is presumably the knight that trained Jade as well. However, he fell under the influence of the Crone and was eventually manipulated into capturing Elora Danan when she escaped the kingdom.

Of course, Ballantine was never supposed to be an enemy of the heroes of the Willow series but was forced to be one due to the power of the great evil that Willow and the other protagonists seek to stop. It is also the fact that he was a knight of Tir Asleen that made him the perfect man to manipulate. So, with that said, let’s look at what we know about Commander Ballantine in Willow.

Who Is Commander Ballantine In Willow?

The new Willow series is one that’s full of different personalities that all have their own roles in the greater narrative. Of course, while the story focuses on Willow and the five other characters that were announced as the protagonists of the series, we also know that there are characters that will also play their own important roles in the adventure of the main cast.

One such character that appeared to have a good role as a supporting character is Commander Ballantine, who might not be one of the most important characters but looks like a character that should be able to help in the flow of the storyline. But who exactly is Commander Ballantine in Willow?

During the early part of the series, we saw Princess Kit honing her skills as a swordsman while training with Jade. After that, they were both asked to return to the castle because Kit was required to attend a dinner party with their guests from another nation. And it was during that sparring scene involving Kit that we learned that Jade seemingly wanted to be a knight.

When they got back to the castle, Kit needed to be a princess that evening. Meanwhile, Jade met up with a knight that told her that she should tell Kit about the fact that she got accepted as a knight-in-training and that she needed to leave as soon as possible. That knight was Commander Ballantine, who was one of the commanders of the knights of Tir Asleen and is seemingly familiar with Jade as he was the one who possibly trained her.

During that conversation, it was clear that Ballantine cared for Jade and had known her for years as he told her that he knew about the fact that she always wanted to be a knight and that she had worked harder than everyone else to be one. Jade, of course, thought that it was not the right time to tell Kit that she was leaving to become a trainee knight because Kit would feel like she was abandoning her during a time when her friend (and lover) needed her the most.

After that, the kingdom fell under attack as the monstrous forces of the Crone snuck into the castle. A battle occurred, as Commander Ballantine was one of those that fought a creature that the Crone sent to the kingdom. However, he ended up getting hurt and branded by one of the creatures, and this enemy spoke a seemingly foreign and unknown language while it was branding Ballantine.

Despite getting hurt in that fight, Commander Ballantine survived with nothing more than a wound near his left shoulder. But, as the series progressed, it became clear that this brand that the creature left on him was something that was planned by the Crone.

What Is Commander Ballantine’s Role In Willow?

During the night of the attack, the creatures that the Crone sent were able to abduct Prince Airk. As such, Queen Sorsha sent Princess Kit and a few others to go on a quest to recover the prince. Ballantine volunteered to go with the princess but was prevented from doing so because he had a post that he needed to keep in the castle. With that, Kit left with her questing party.

However, what Kit and the others didn’t know was that Dove had overheard everything and decided to go with them on that quest without their knowledge. She was in love with Prince Airk, and that meant that she wanted to help get him back. Of course, it was revealed by Willow that Dove was actually Elora Danan the entire time, as even her identity was kept a secret from her.

Queen Sorsha was one of the few people who knew that Dove was actually Elora. She found out that Elora had left the castle and decided to go with Kit and her questing party. That was when the queen realized that she needed to send someone after Elora so that they could get her back to the kingdom, which Sorsha thought was the safest place for her.

However, the truth was that the Crone had already taken control over Ballantine when he was branded during the attack. That meant that it was always within the plan of the Crone to take over Ballantine’s mind and to corrupt him so that he could be used as a pawn to get to Elora.

That was when Ballantine went out to find Elora together with a few knights as they got to the Nelwyn village and even threatened Willow’s daughter to reveal where the questing party went. Then, in the final scene of episode 2, Ballantine succeeded in taking Elora, as it was clear that he was acting under the orders of the Crone instead of the queen.

This means that Ballantine, who was a loyal knight to Sorsha and her family, had become a corrupted version of himself due to the powers of the Crone. That means that, while he isn’t the most important character in the series, he has become an agent of darkness in a manner that was well beyond his control.