Web Video / Walking in Circles

"...and we were walking in circles again and again and again and again..."

— Garand, Once per Episode

Walking In Circles is a comedic fantasy web series by Adam Rady and James Rodehaver. The first season was released in 2011, the second in 2014.

The series concerns a a newly formed group of adventurers led by Krag, a barbarian prince. He's joined by Markus, a disillusioned Squishy Wizard, Angie, a friendly Druid, Alex, a stoic knife-wielder t and Garand, a Quirky Bard with no fighting skills. Uknown to his companions, Krag hired them to help him slay the dragon that killed his father. The group will have to take several levels in badass along the way if they are to have a chance, though.

The series parodies common fantasy tropes, particularly those common to tabletop RPGs. This is especially true of the first season, which is shot in the manner of a Mockumentary. The second season revolves around Krag trying to get rid of a curse and is much more drama heavy.

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Walking In Circles contains examples of:

• Annoying Arrows: Downplayed, since while none of the characters are immobilised from arrow shots, they are treated like serious injuries for the most part and Quigly is clearly shown to be in the wrong when he pulls an arrow out of Markus' chest.
• Barbarian Tribe: Krag comes from one.
• Blood Knight: Krag and Alex both throughly enjoy violence. In fact, when Krag is doing his Rousing Speech to try to convince the others to help him hunt down a dragon, all he says to her is "you'll get to kill something."
• Butt-Monkey: Angie seems to be the only one who likes Garand.
• Cerebus Syndrome: The second season was hit hard with this.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: The whole conversation surrounding Garand being an elf is made to sound like he's gay.
• Drama Queen: Garand is dramatic in everything he does, from mourning his lute to celebrating his victory over the sirens. This is one of the main reasons the others find him annoying.
• Embarrassing Middle Name: Markus' full name is "Markus Leslie Waldorf Ignacious Brown" which Angie finds very amusing.
• Fantastic Racism: Towards elves.
• Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Apparently, Krag wanted to be a dentist in the past, which his father did not approve of.
• Faux Documentary: While the characters talk directly with an interviewer in some of the interview scenes, outside of those there's no indication of it being a documentary. All of the documentary elements are dropped in the second season.
• Friend to All Living Things: Angie doesn't even want to kill the dragon at first.
• Granola Girl: Angie.
• I Am X, Son of Y: He's Krag, son of Horace.
• Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards: This trope could be why Markus is generally much less useful in a fight than Krag and Alex.
• Lovable Coward: If you like him, Garand.
• Magic Music: Initially parodied in that Garand seems to think think this is the case with his music when it really isn't. Played straight in a later episode when Garand saves the day by fighting off sirens with music.
• My God, You Are Serious!:
  Krag: "(Talking about dragons) We could always hunt one of those down. Slay it."
  Angie: "You know, if you have nothing to contribute, you just shouldn't say anything."
  Markus: "Are you serious?"

  Krag nods
  Markus: "Shit."
• Once per Episode: Garand sings part of "The Tale of Garand and Friends" in the beginning of every season 1 episode but the first.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Garand.
• Psycho for Hire: Alex's main motivation for being in the group seems to be getting to kill things.
• Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits: As something largely based on common roleplaying tropes, it's a given that the group is like this.
• Rousing Speech: Krag gives one in episode 4 of season 1.
• Shoo Out the Clowns: Garand dies at the start of the more serious season 2. Subverted when Quigly is introduced not long after and fills a similar role doing season 2.
• Shout-Out: Krag asks Quigly if he's ready to "boldly go" in episode 7 of season 2.
• Skewed Priorities: Garand is more concerned with losing his lute than with the appearance of a demonic tax collector.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Quigly for Garand.
• Squishy Wizard: Markus is largely useless when he doesn't have any supplies for his spells.
• Teeth Clenched Team Work: None of them seem to really like each other all that much. Krag thinks all the others are weaklings, Markus thinks he's smarter than everyone else, Angie can't stand how callous the others are about violence, everyone except Angie think Garand is annoying and they're all scared of Alex.
• The Heart: Both Garand and Angie fulfill this role at different points and in different ways.
  • Garand often tries to mediate between different members of the group, such as when he tries to stop Krag's and Markus' arguing over who should lead with the suggestion that they should put it to a vote. Furthermore, he sometimes works as The Face, such as when talking to the wannabe vampire in episode 5.
  • Angie is the characters with the strongest sense of right and wrong and often suggests peaceful ways of dealing with problems.
• The Load: Garand in season 1, Squire Quigley in season 2.
  • Garand has no fighting skills to speak of. The sword he carries is even a fake.
  • Quigly expects adventurers to act like the knights he's read about, comes up with very implausible plans, is extremely gullible and has no fighting skills.
• The Medic: Angie.
• The Other Darrin: No less than six actresses have played Alex. Used deliberately to underscore her mysteriousness.
  • Discussed in episode 5 of season 1 when they all start doubting whether it's really Alex who's following them.
• The Quiet One: Alex almost never speaks.
• The Unpronouncable: The dragon's name, to Garand's depair ("How am I supposed to put that in a ballade?")
• Title Drop: Once per Episode, as it's a part of Garand's song.
• Token Evil Team Mate: While the group isn't exactly full of good people, Alex is scary.
• Tranquil Fury: Alex gets angry enough to kill more or less everyone in an inn, but [1] he expression stays the same.
• When I Was Your Age...: Krag's father Horace tries to claim they didn't have weapons when he was Krag's age. Krag then points out that the hammer he carries used to be Horace's.
• You All Meet in an Inn: It's revealed that Krag invoked this trope. Krag theorises that this is why he's Surrounded by Idiots:
  "Next time I do interviews, it will not be in a bar, because when you're in a bar you drink, and when you drink you hire people who can do lute riffs behind their back and not people who can guide you through unfamiliar forrested areas."