Hope Has A Warrior

Legend of the Weeker: Eternity

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 03:15:00 +0000

Editor's Note: As in "It has been an eternity since I posted." Ta-dum-tish. I have been traveling the world and got back not too long ago. I am doing these episodes in the order I am watching them so try to avoid spoilers in the comments. Yes I am that dedicated that I am not watching the finale until I can blog about the two previous episodes. I really am going to try to catch up but I have no idea how long that will take. Also I am going to stop doing Notable Quotes. They take forever. If you want you can post yours in the comments and I will add them. User generated content people!!!!

Plot Synopsis: The episode opens with Richard and Cara trapping a Mord Sith who was following the gang. She tells Cara that her son is in danger. A son fathered by Darken Rahl. Apparently this was an honor and the sons were taken to be raised by the Dragon Corps as soldiers. The palace where this was taking place was raided and the boy taken by the Sisters of the Dark. Richard sends Zedd with Cara to get the kid back, while Kahlan and him will continue in search of the Stone of Tears. Splitting up always works so well for these guys, why wouldn't it work now.

We then cut to a guy delivering some groan-worthy lines to a pretty lady. Unfortunately when he tries to touch her, he passes right through her. Hearing a noise she takes off her ring causing him to disappear. A man approaches her and tells her that the Seeker is getting close. In reality, Richard and Kahlan come to a cliffside. The compass tells them to go through it and so they enter a hidden cave through the cliffside.

Kahlan and her Mord Sitth friends are talking about Zedd snoring and their quests when all of the sudden they start to make out. Odd.

Meanwhile, Richard and Kahlan set up a cute camp in the hidden cave. They talk about how nice it is to be alone together. They have a romantic talk about imaginary children. They also start making out. Kahlan also confesses that she is having difficulty keeping apart from Richard when they are alone.

Cara and her little Mord Sith friend talk about running away from their respective duties but decide that it probably wouldn't work out. Richard and Kahlan make their way through the cave and come out of another secret fake cave wall. They emerge in a utopian place complete with crazy sun temple and a bunch of good looking people greeting him. They tell him that they have been waiting for him and show him the Stone of Tears.

Then they tell him a story about how these guys waited thousands of years to give him the Stone. Apparently the Stone is magical. They also tell them that they cannot leave. These guys also tell them that they are destined to repopulate the world after it is destroyed. Richard tells them that he is leaving. They say that they will not stop them but pray for the Creator to help them. They also cannot leave.

Cara is betrayed by her friend and a bunch of Mord Sith attack her. She then wakes up chained up by Darken Rahl Sucky. He tells her that Zedd is alive but her son died the day he was born. He starts to train her again. Cara's friend gives some food to Zedd and then starts to train Cara herself. She also talks to Cara about their memories together. Unfortunately Cara is not impressed and head butts her.

Meanwhile Kahlan and Richard climb a cliff to get out of their crazy valley. As they reach the top, Kahlan slips and falls. Richard reaches the top but then ends up at the bottom. They realize they are trapped. They go back to the guardians but they just start praying nonsense.

Darken Rahl has troubles breaking Cara but then the Sisters of the Dark show up and he strikes a bargain with them. They cast a spell on the agiel that Darken Rahl is using to make it more powerful. She begins to get hurt by it.

Richard and Kahlan talk about actually going through with the plans of the crazy religious nuts to repopulate the world. Some girl approaches them to give them some fruit. She unwittingly drops some knowledge that only someone who recently lived in the real world would know. The girl tells them that she has a magical ring that allows her to communicate with the outside world. They use the ring to talk to the girl's friend and tell him to find Zedd.

Darken Rahl completes Cara's training and tells her to kill Zedd. She decides not to and attacks Darken Rahl instead. She kicks Darken Rahl a couple of times for good measure. Zedd saves the kid from a couple of bandits and communicates with Richard. They can't break Kahlan and Richard out but decide to try to transport the Stone of Tears out.

They get it out but Cara attacks Zedd and takes it. The compass begins working again so they use it to get out of the valley, reuniting the two lovers and what remains of the gang. Cara brings the Stone of Tears to Darken Rahl. Fantastic.

Commentary: Well isn't that just terrible. They finally get the Stone of Tears, which as I have put it before seems like it took the better half of an afternoon. Then they go and just give it all to Darken Rahl. Also have we determined if this is all bad? Doesn't he want to close the rift anyways so he doesn't end up in the Underworld again? He does a lot of wheeling and dealing but it doesn't sound like he really wants the world to end.

I can't really say that I enjoyed this episode. It seems like the leader of the Stone of Tears cult was laughably bad. His commentary kind of made me want Richard to run him through with the Sword of Truth. I also didn't really like Richard and Kahlan's interactions in this episode. It all seemed kind of juvenile, like teenagers making out in the car and trying to decide whether to go all the way. It was also a stretch that Richard might suggest that they go along with the crazy religious folks' plan. Do you not know anything about genetics man?

Now the whole Cara being trained by Darken Rahl was a mixed bag. First of all since when does Darken Rahl know how to train people. I feel like that was just retrofitted into the story. It was also a bit tired. Haven't we already been here. However, I kind of liked Darken Rahl's decision to go to the Sisters of the Dark to ask for help. Thinking outside the box there. The betrayal at the end also really surprised me. I don't know of it is a condemnation for the fact that most of the time the show is pretty cookie cutter, or praise for a worthy twist. But there you have it.

I'm not sure where they are going with the Cara is a lesbian thing. Once again some consistency would be nice. We had hints of Cara's lifestyle in the beginning of the season. Then we were silent on the topic matter. A bunch of readers suggested that there were feelings that Cara was feeling towards Kahlan in the Desecrated episode. Then we get to a point where she has a hidden girlfriend. I feel like there is some good material there but the writers can't figure out a way to mesh it into a consistent story.

Richard and Kahlan's Romance Index: 7 out of 10.

It was mushy but they really had some romantic moments. The time in the cave could have been great and maybe it did show off the difficulty of their situation. Their talk about their kid being strong enough to fight off Cara's and Darken Rahl's kid was interesting. I also really liked Kahlan's harsh reaction to the one girl's commentary about difficult it was to be with someone and not be able to touch them.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 3 out of 10.

He seemed very sure of himself when trying to convince Cara not to kill him. Also when he lost the Stone he was kind of overly hard on himself. But nothing too creepy.

Editor's Note: Have your own favorite quote from the episode? Did we forget to mention your favorite moment and now you're angry? Leave it in the comments and we'll update with the best of. Like the blog? Sign up to receive our Feed through Feedburner.

Legend of the Weeker: Walter

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Thu, 06 May 2010 02:57:00 +0000

Editor's Note: No pictures or quotes for this one. Maybe I will post some later if I have time. I am going on vacation next week and I want to be at least somewhat caught up. You all come here for the biting commentary anyways right? Right? It probably doesn't matter, pretty soon this will become a blog about a raccoon that lives in the White House and advises Obama. What else am I going to do with the hopehasawarrior.com domain?

Plot Synopsis: The episode opens with a Sister of the Dark summoning Darken Rahl. She shows him the scroll that she stole from Richard last episode. He tells her to take the scroll to the temple of the Mord Sith and hand the scroll to him. How? Mystery. Meanwhile Richard and the gang stop at a tavern to get some food. The tavern keeper is very nice to the gang but there are two guys who prefer the order and rule of the good old days when Darken Rahl was in power. One tells a story of a guy who used to parody Darken Rahl because of an uncanny likeness to him.

Apparently, the one guy was a D'haran captain brought him to Darken Rahl to act as a decoy. They convinced Darken Rahl to keep him on after some torture and training. The guy, whose name was Walter, acted for a while as Darken Rahl and the captain was his friend. They narrowly escaped when the palace of D'hara fell and lost track of each other. The captain then found Walter in the same tavern. They made a plan to rob the Mord Sith using their ruse.

At first they convinced the Mord Sith to give them the treasure. The captain also asked for a bath and dinner, while Walter found a fancy with one of the slave girls. Urrgh. Walter convinces the Mord Sith to hang out with the captain and they then get the treasure and load it on a wagon. They nearly escape to a boat to the south, but are stopped by Darken Rahl's trusted advisor who knows about the ruse.

They attack each other and Walter is discovered. Just as they are about to kill him, Darken Rahl appears and orders them not to kill Walter as he may still be useful. His advisor and the Mord Sith take Walter to the Mord Sith dungeon as the captain finishes the tale at the bar. We then find Walter sitting in the dungeon.

Richard and the gang are attacked by Sisters of the Dark and their slowly flying dacras. They slay another dozen of them as one finally manages to hit Zedd with one. She is too busy standing around and gets confessed by Kahlan. All the while the Sister that had the scroll arrives at the palace and summons Darken Rahl. He says that it is time for Walter to die. The slave girl that Walter was nice to overhears their plan. She poisons Walter's guards and they escape into the countryside.

They run into Richard and the crew. Richard and the gang stop their pursuers. As Zedd burns the bodies, Darken Rahl appears and tries to convince them to kill Walter and reincarnate himself. His collateral is that otherwise he will convince the Sister of the Dark to burn the scroll without which Richard cannot stop the Keeper. They decide to switch Walter's body with one of the mindless and soulless bodies of the D'harans they just killed. I know they aren't really D'harans but it is easier to think of them that way. That way they are not killing Walter.

They switch out the souls and Cara brings back Walter in the soldier's form. Nice job Walter. Darken Rahl is reincarnated in Walter's former body. Welcome back Darken. Just as he is enjoying being alive, the confessed sister stabs him with a dacra. The gang uses this as insurance policy to ensure that Darken Rahl gets the scroll to them. He orders to prepare the treasure and he wants to go to Ravensburg with the treasure and the scroll. Unfortunately for the gang, this was a hidden message to his advisor that he is in danger.

As Darken Rahl hands over the scroll, they contemplate not letting him go. Too bad the archers that the Mord Sith brought kill the sister. Darken Rahl slinks away as a fight breaks out. After making a pretty sweet last stand statement his advisor is burned to death by wizard's fire from GUESS WHO? Walter and his slave girl escape with the treasure and he heads to the bar to hang out with the captain. They are delighted to see each other and head off to their southern paradise. Meanwhile Darken Rahl enjoys an apple and stalking a pretty girl at a market.

Commentary: Alright so they brought back Darken Rahl towards the end of the season. Which makes sense, he is clearly one of the most interesting characters in the show. Also I guess that it isn't that surprising that some of his Mord Sith and loyal D'haran soldiers are still around. Still I can't shake the feeling that he won't be around forever. If I was a writer or producer of this show, and from my nearly stream of consciousness posts you all can tell that this would likely be a disaster for all involved... still IF I was a writer or producer, I would identify who are the cooler enemy characters and keep them around for a while.

It should come as no surprise to anyone with more intelligence than that of a houseplant, that people like to see developed antagonists. Would Star Wars have been better if instead of Darth Vader, Luke and company fought an unseen head of an evil bureaucracy who subcontracted all of his tasks to Jabba the Hutt? I was pretty excited to see Darken Rahl's advisor. Maybe Darken Rahl, him, and some of the Mord Sith could form a bad gang in contrast to Kahlan, Richard, and the rest. Could be interesting right? Wrong. Burned to death in the first fight.

It was a pretty interesting plot twist to have half the episode devoted to how Darken Rahl kept a personal body double. I rather liked the plot line with the guy at the tavern telling the less than courageous story about how he was a captain in the D'haran army. It was nice to see them get back together in the end and head off towards the southern seas. On the other hand, I feel like Richard and the gang didn't have much to do this episode. Once again, they slaughtered another dozen of the Sisters of the Dark like they come in bulk packages from Costco.

I hate to say it but it really seems like they ran out of plot this season. I believe that I have said it before but I think that they could just go get the Stone of Tears any time they want. Last season there was a quest. It was good to cheer for the protagonist who had to overcome incredible odds with the help of the love of his life and some old sage. This season the stakes just aren't the same. They raise the bar with this Keeper that wants to destroy all life, but the quest just doesn't seem as all encompassing. Here's hoping that the end of the season gets better.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 2 out of 10.

No real good moments between the two of them. It would also be nice to get some more movement on the romantic subplot between the two of them. Last season it seemed like every single episode there was some sort of moment between the two of them. Shouldn't they be off trying to find a Rada'han or something? Anything to advance the plot?

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 7 out of 10.

Anytime that Zedd tells you that they have special "magical" means to do something, your gut instinct should be to run far far away. It worked out alright for Walter, but generally his "magical" plans involve creepiness. And fatherless children. Also, I like how Zedd has turned into a hungry flamethrower this season. Always eating and burning things. Why did you have to burn the advisor though? He was so cool.

Midlands Bulletin: Legend of the Seeker Cancelled

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Sad as it is for me to report it looks like after two seasons, Legend of the Seeker has been cancelled. Michael Ausiello from EW.com is reporting that he has multiple sources confirming that the show has been cancelled. Sorry to hear that our friends will not be returning. I am not sure whether the show can end up somewhere like the SyFy channel. Hopefully this ends up being the case but this does not look good at all.

As far as this blog goes, should the worse happen, I will finish recapping all the episodes and then leave the blog as is. As long as Blogger stands, you can come back here and check out old times. Again sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Sad times indeed.

- Misha

Legend of the Weeker: Vengeance

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 02:49:00 +0000

Plot Synopsis: The episode opens with a monk passing away in a winter castle. The other monks worry that he will reveal their location to Darken Rahl. Sure enough Darken Rahl interrogates the old man on the location of his father. Apparently these monks knew all about him. The episode shifts to Thaddicus who is accosted by Darken Rahl. He tells him the location of his father since apparently Panis Rahl has killed Zedd and Thaddicus's father. Thaddicus heads out to convince Zedd to go after him.

He meets up with them using the Mapmaker's cool map. We watch a flashback on how Panis Rahl deceived their father and killed him using a Zedd disguise. Zedd apparently took an oath to kill him with Thaddicus. They head off on a revenge road trip. We then watch a flashback, on how Panis Rahl and young Zedd used to be friends, and how Zedd's father tried to tell him that teaching magic to a Rahl was a bad idea. Zedd didn't listen. Panis later convinced Zedd not to go home to make peace with his father, using some hot princess.

Meanwhile Richard, Kahlan, and Cara run into some old guy, all of whose papers have floated away. He tries to join Richard on his quest since apparently he knows how to use the Stone of Tears. Cara seems suspicious. Apparently this instructive scroll is locked away in a wall and only this guy knows where it is. On top of that snowy mountain, Zedd and Thaddicus kill a bunch of monks. They think they kill Panis but unfortunately it was another monk's disguise. While they are burning bodies, Darken Rahl appears and lets them know where Panis Rahl is. He is disguised as old scholar helping out Richard.

Richard has a nice fireside chat with the guy who we now know is Panis Rahl. Panis tells him that he is proud of him. In the morning Zedd and Thaddicus ride in and try to kill Panis, Richard protects him in the confusion. We then have an Empire like moment of Panis admitting he is Richard's father. Panis tries to convince everyone that he is not a bad guy. Apparently, Panis's baby was cursed by a wizard. He let it die and then had a Mord Sith revive it. That was why he went to Zedd's father dressed as Zedd. Zedd's father had been convinced by Shota's vision of Darken Rahl's patricidal rise to power.

Thus what Panis did was just an act of revenge. He also admits how much he admired Zedd and could not sacrifice his first born son. Panis decided that the way to make everything better was to sire Richard. Nice. Darken Rahl, worried that they might get the instruction scroll gets the Sisters of the Dark to steal the scroll from Richard. He also tells them to kill Panis.

Panis opens the wall and gets the scroll and then gives it to Richard. Panis suggests they kill him, but Zedd stops him to stop all the murdering. Just then the Sisters of the Dark attack. Most of them are slaughtered but the leader manages to get the scroll, and another one throws a dacra at Zedd. Panis steps in its way sacrificing himself. Everyone is really sad as he dies. It's very moving. He goes to the underworld where Darken Rahl forgives him and hugs him. Thaddicus leaves everyone, strangely only saying goodbye to Zedd. Zedd also tells Richard that the greatest sin one can commit is to do the work of the Creator. Zedd apparently cast the fertility spell on Panis. Basically this is all Zedd's fault. Thanks a lot. Richard then gives him some good old fashioned self confidence and they head off on their way.

Commentary: I love how family of the main characters shows up for one episode to get killed. Are there any episodes where a family member shows up and is not murdered? Though I suppose siblings are safe as Thaddicus, Jennsen, and Kahlan's sister are still around. Parents though... Done. We found out that Panis Rahl actually wasn't that bad of a guy. He just made bad decisions. It was clear how killing his own son would be difficult. I love how his resolution was just to have another son. Yeah that will do it. Also it was pretty clear how the scholar was going to be Panis Rahl since the guy playing him was John Rhys-Davies. He was great though. He belongs in a fantasy universe.

Alright my knitpicking with this episode has to do with the Sisters of the Dark. How many of these women are there? Every single episode a dozen of them get destroyed. I thought this was like an exclusive club. Apparently you just sign up in some forest stand in the Midlands and they hand you a dacra and a red dress and let you go fight the Seeker. Also when that one was on the roof above Kahlan, why didn't she just throw her dacra instead of slowly jumping at her allowing Richard a jump save. They also probably want to upgrade those dacras for something that flies faster. How many time is someone going to step in front of one. Maybe just some regular daggers. Or anything that doesn't fly with the velocity of a beach ball.

I liked how they brought Young Zedd back. Did anyone notice whether Panis Rahl was the same actor? The whole flashback thing had a pretty cool continuity feel to it. I feel like when they skip forward or back there is certain disconnect with the present but this felt right on. I also like that we are just not going to talk about how Zedd and Thaddicus slaughtered those innocent monks. Never happened. Panis Rahl was a strong character due in no small part to Rhys-Davies acting chops. I thought the relationship between Zedd and Panis in both the past and the future was very believable. Young Zedd totally would have bailed on his wizard duties to hook up with some princesses. Everyone is having a good time.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 4 out of 10.

They held hands. She uncomfortably smiled when Panis suggested how great it is to save the world with someone you love. Does he have experience here? Bet he never had to deal with the Confessor Conundrum. He probably wouldn't have resisted like Richard. How terrible it must have been for a pretty girl to grow up in D'Hara with Panis and Zedd running around. They didn't have an abstinent role model like Richard. I guess things are better?

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 5 out of 10.

He wasn't outwardly creepy but I just can't get over those poor monks. They had knives Zedd. You burned them to a crisp. All they were doing is serving the Creator in the wintry castle. Now they are rewarded with Darken Rahl's torture in the Underworld. Yeah Zedd... you're a great guy!

Notable Quotes:

Thaddicus: "Please Zedd. While father was being killed, I just stood there like a trembling lamb and did nothing. Don't make me do nothing now."

Panis Rahl: "Zedd is telling the truth. I am a scholar, but I am also Panis Rahl... your father."

Panis Rahl: "I want you to know son, you have been in my heart from the moment I heard the prophecy of your coming."

Darken Rahl: "I forgive you father. Do you forgive me?"

Richard: "All we can do is make the best choices we can... and keep putting one foot in front of the other."

Legend of the Weeker: Desecrated

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:05:00 +0000

Editor's Note: So once again real life has gotten in the way of my blogging. I apologize everyone. I will try to get posts about the episodes I missed to have the whole compilation. Reader's Digest version, I liked Bound and did not like Creator.

Plot Synopsis: The episode opens with Cara complaining about the food or lack thereof to Richard. Kahlan runs up and tells them that Zedd has been attacked by gars in the town. When the gang gets there, it turns out it was all a surprise birthday party for Richard. They town has declared this a day to honor the Seeker. Richard and Kahlan dance. The gang also catches a show from a magician.

The magician does a trick where he makes Kahlan and Cara disappear. He then makes five guys stand up and orders Richard to kill them over the course of a day or else Kahlan and Cara will die. He disappears using some magic dust leaving a journey book to make sure they are still alive. Richard learns that apparently the five guys did not fight in the war while the five sons of the magician all died. It was a lottery to decide the military draft.

They figure out that Kahlan and Cara are in a tomb and try to search them but there are too many tombs. Zedd goes to the magician's house to search for clues. At his house they realize that the magician has gone crazy over the death of his sons. Richard also figures out that the lottery has been rigged so that the five people could not be picked. Kahlan and Cara try to get a message to Richard that their tomb has no marking. However the magician intercepts it and sends them to another tomb. There they unleash a freaking mummy.

The creature is apparently called a Nygax. It is a creature created by a sorcerer to take revenge on someone's enemies. The magician sends it after his victims. I'm going to call it "Revenge Mummy." Kahlan and Cara try to put out the torch which Kahlan tries to do by getting half naked. The duke of the province tries to justify his actions via utilitarianism but everyone is not buying it. They try to set a trap but one guy fled the scene and is attacked by Revenge Mummy. Richard stops him and kills Revenge Mummy. Unfortunately Revenge Mummy consisted of bandages and they take control of Zedd who grabs the dude who tried to escape and heads off.

Revenge Mummy aka Zedd brings the body to the magician and Richard tracks him. Kahlan and Cara complain about the air and talk about Kahlan talks about killing herself and letting Cara bring her back with the breath of life. Cara talks about killing herself. Awkward. The duke's son complains that he was paid for keeping friends safe. Another son is being a jerk but Revenge Mummy Zedd kills him. Richard confronts the magician and tries to convince him to stop the mummy tomb madness. The magician decides to kill himself instead.

Richard finds both books and the wondering dust. He also finds a map of the necropolis and the map for the tomb where Kahlan and Cara are. Meanwhile Kahlan and Cara are talking about their feelings. Everyone is having a good time. They consider each other friends and hug. Aw. Then Cara tries to kill herself and a girl fight starts. The duke now tries to booby trap the palace to kill Revenge Mummy Zedd. Man what an ass. The air in the tomb runs out just as Richard breaks into the tomb.

Richard stops the duke from blowing up Revenge Mummy Zedd. Cara then uses her agiels to free Zedd. Revenge Mummy then takes control of the duke. His son takes off for the crypt to bait Revenge Mummy duke. Richard locks himself in the crypt with the Revenge Mummy duke, the duke's son, and then uses the magic dust to transport himself and the duke's son outside leaving Revenge Mummy duke trapped in the tomb forever. As they walk away Cara tells Kahlan that she actually doesn't mean anything to her. Richard then complains about her poor party planning abilities. Poor Kahlan.

Commentary: Someone had posted earlier that they were upset with the lack of progress with the main mission and I agree to an extent. My problem is with their whole mission in general. First of all it seems like if they actually went through with it, it would not take all too long to find the Stone of Tears. Some episodes they are just about to find it and then you have episodes like this where there is a freaking Revenge Mummy. Additionally, the main problem that the Keeper presents, the banelings, only occur when it is convenient. All this can be explained away by the location of the rifts and the prophecy about Kahlan but I just feel as if the plot last season was more conducive to an epic quest. Then again, I am the person who didn't like Lord of the Rings because I always wondered why they didn't use those giant Eagles to just fly the ring to Mordor. But I digress.

This kind of stuff seems to flow naturally for the show. If it wasn't for the fact that we have forgotten about the Stone of Tears, the plot was a bit of fun. It does seem like a retread of other stories I have read or seen but then again so is pretty much everything in this show. I don't think that anyone watches Legend of the Seeker for new groundbreaking fantasy stories. Episodes like this are campy without being cliche. Plus I am a fan of cross genre adventures. How awesome would Lord of the Rings had been if at one point Frodo had to fight Dracula? Also I like how we are going through standard monsters. We have the mummy and we had the wolfman last season. Who's next? Frankenstein?

Cara admits that she considers Kahlan a good friend. Good I thought that there was some doubt there. I mean they have only been fighting together forever, saving each others lives, and Kahlan even spared Cara's life at one point when she had all the reasons to have her killed. I guess pretty soon we are going to find that Kahlan and Richard have feelings for each other. I suppose we aren't really going to see significant character development but this whole bit felt forced. I do suppose it was important for Cara to admit but I would rather have the development focused on new facets of characters.

I feel like my favorite part of this episode is that apart from the ridiculous Revenge Mummy, there was at least some thinking behind the general theme of the episode. We had to consider the fairness of a draft, the powers of the rich and privileged, and the theory of utilitarianism. Granted these were handled in a rather simple fashion but at least these felt like real characters that may inhabit this world. What was the point of the margrave in Princess? Try to be attractive?

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 6 out of 10.

Despite Kahlan's aforementioned poor party planning abilities, (No cake?) she and Richard shared some tender moments. There was the dancing, the dramatic rescue, and they kiss a lot and act like a couple. Man Richard has the patience of a monk. Mad props.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 4 out of 10.

His body was taken over by the Revenge Mummy. I don't know how many creepy points I can assign for this. Technically it is the Revenge Mummy being creepy. Then again you really couldn't tell. For all I know, the Revenge Mummy had no effect and it was Zedd the whole time. Who knows. Also the points don't matter and I decide he gets 4 points of creepiness.

Notable Quotes:

Cara: "What does it say?"
Kahlan: "You have one day until the sands run out. And when they do, so does your air."
Cara: "You were right... This party is lots of fun."

Richard: "There's only one reason to make some tiles weigh more than the others."
Zedd: "To know which ones not to pick."

Duke: "How can you judge me Wizard? When you learned of the impending massacre at Brennidon, did you save every child that was in danger? Of course not. You saved the most important one. Him!"

Cara: "There's noone a Mord Sith should hate more than a Confessor. I was trained to hate you... but I don't. And I don't want to die without you knowing that I consider you to be my friend."

Kahlan: "I'm sorry you didn't get a night of fun... not even on your birthday."
Richard: "Well you sure know how to throw a party. Can't wait to see what you do next year."

Legend of the Weeker: Princess

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 01:32:00 +0000

Editor's Note: Sorry this is so late. Will try to catch up in the coming week.

Plot Synopsis: The episode opens with the Sisters of the Dark killing Sister Portia. A Mord Sith then reinvigorates her with the Breath of Life. Sister Nicci takes her place in an underworld switcheroo. Meanwhile as the gang sits around a fire, two gars take Kahlan away. Apparently some rich lord captured her. He is really rich and in his castle, magic has no effect. He declares that he has plans for her and puts her in a cell with his wife.

Sister Nicci summons Darken Rahl and demands an oath of immunity from death for her and her friends. Zedd decides that Cara will take place of a princess that the lord wants to replace his aformentioned dungeoned wife. She has to act like a princess. Meanwhile Richard will act as her brother, and Zedd takes the place of her aunt. She also has to answer every question in poetic verse. It is as painful as it sounds. She completely screws it up when meeting the Margrave. Zedd pretending to be the Duchess tells the lord that Cara is weary.

Meanwhile Kahlan is hanging out with the former Queen in the dungeon. She keeps trying to build up the queen's confidence, but she is completely subservient to the rule of the Margrave. Zedd keeps trying to train Cara, but to no avail. The Margrave's assistant develops a crush on Richard and he uses it to explore the grounds. Richard tries to get in the dungeon but it is locked solidly with the Margrave's key. Zedd tells Richard to seduce the Margrave's sister. Who happens to be quite homely.

Richard is unable to get to the dungeon and then is stopped from hooking up with the sister because the other girl in competition for the Margrave's heart tells on him. Cara recites some poetry about how she tortured and killed a slave and Zedd offers for her to take the Margrave on a hunt. The Margrave offers to spare Richard's life if he promises to marry his sister.

Cara decides to ignore all the rules set for her and kills the Shardrin and eats his raw liver. She decides to seduce the Margrave the old fashioned way. He seems pleased. Later as they are having dinner, Sister Nicci and her friends interrupt the banquet. She gives the Margrave her contract with the Keeper. Kahlan tries to convince the queen to fight back against her captors but she seems hesitant. Cara interrupts the Margrave's meeting with Nicci to get him into the bedchambers. She attacks him but he is able to fend her off.

Just then Nicci discovers Richard and Zedd's ruse about who they are. A fight breaks out and she heads to the dungeon. Kahlan breaks free as well and they kill all of the Sisters save Nicci who decides to jump out the window. They all leave the palace and the former queen comes with them. The Margrave awakens and realized that all the women left and he is alone. Kahlan makes fun of everybody because they look silly. Yay, everyone is having a good time.

Commentary: Ugh. I waited for a while to watch this episode, and it really wasn't that great. The scenes where Cara was trying to recite poetry was wince inducing. The whole Zedd as a woman thing did really not work for me. I mean I guess it would be possible that he could be a women, although not really. There was no way I could believe that someone would fall in love with him. Also the fat princess was a bit cliche. All these things kind of made the show distracting to watch.

Replacing Sister Nicci's character with the blonde who looks like she would be astounded by simple facts was also a bit distracting. She was pretty enough but lacked the gravitas that Jolene Blaylock carried. I understand that acting schedules don't always work out but I wish they would have thought this out earlier. On the other hand, Nicci and her massive powers are now back. I wonder if this means that Richard will one day get all his Han back.

I don't really have a lot to write about in this episode. Short of the return of Sister Nicci, the plot was not advanced in the slightest. It really wasn't clear how the Margrave gained that much power nor did he lose anything short of his pride. A bunch of the Sisters of the Dark were killed. How many of them can there be? It seems like every episode they figure in, a dozen end up dead. They should look into new careers. Plus we got to see Cara wearing something different than her Mord Sith outfit. Nice.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 3 out of 10.

No time for romance when Kahlan is captured by a creepy dude and kept in his inescapable dungeon. Kahlan also took time off from pining for Richard to teach the Margrave's wife how to believe in herself. Richard did take the time to stop his quest to go after her, but then again he has to keep her alive at all costs anyways.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 10 out of 10.

Zedd cross-dressed for the majority of the episode. He also spoke in pentameter. Lastly he pretty much seduced the Margrave's right hand man. Excellent work Zedd. I can't really think of anything he could do that would be creepier than his work in this episode. Zedd has set the bar very high.

~~Notable Quotes:~~ Zedd's Poetry:

The night was a tumult
of thunder and storm.
But ever since then,
it's been lovely and warm.

If I may request your,
permission to speak,
Oh great one before whom,
the mighty are meek.

When her mother was killed
in a fall from the saddle,
She was raised by her father
on the trail of [UNCLEAR].
Though deficient perhaps
in the making of lace,
She has mastered the arts of
of the hunt and the chase.
The forests of Rothemberg,
so I am told,
Are teeming with Shadrins,
ferocious and bold.
Would it be asking a favor
too terribly blunt,
If I begged you to give us
the thrill of the hunt.

Anyone figure out what Zedd said in the UNCLEAR section above?

Midlands Bulletin: Outlook grim for third season

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:09:00 +0000

Things look grim for our heroes indeed as season three of Legend of the Seeker seems to be in trouble. K Site TV has gotten in touch with an executive at Tribune Entertainment who has effectively stated that the show would not be returning for a third season. As Tribune is the company that distributes Legend of the Seeker on channels such as WGN, this would effectively mean that the Legend of the Seeker would be cancelled.

However! As we know in the Legend of the Seeker universe, just because things look like they are dead does not mean they will stay that way. Mike Sussman, a co-executive producer for the show posted the following on his Twitter today:

Everyone, please, chillax. #LegendoftheSeeker has *not* been cancelled. Plans are ongoing for season three. Spread the word.

It seems to be up in the air right now so call, write, and scream from the rooftops that you want to see the show return for a third season. I will post more information as I get it.

Legend of the Weeker: Hunger

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:01:00 +0000

Plot Recap: This episode finds Zedd's brother Thaddicus, you might remember him from the episode Confession . He delivers a chest of potions to the mapmaker, whom you might remember from the episode Bounty episode. Meanwhile, Richard and the gang runs into a woman who tells that people have abducted her people. Cara recommends ignoring her but of course the gang goes to help, following Richard. They approach a group of bandits and take them on. Cara chases one of them down and has her throat slashed. She dies and heads off to the underworld to converse with Darken Rahl.

Seriously is everyone coming in for a visit with Darken Rahl? She demands the deal to make her a baneling. Meanwhile the mapmaker finds a vial of Shadow Water in Thaddicus's trunk. Thaddicus strikes a deal for them to become partners. Darken Rahl is hesitant to help her, but eventually agrees to make Cara a baneling. She comes back but does not tell Richard of her troubles. In the town, a group of banelings is taking turns killing prisoners on a rack. Apparently, some entrepreneurs have created a kill-for-hire business where you can buy people you can kill to delay the baneling curse.

Thaddicus and the Mapmaker have come up with a business of their own. Apparently the Shadow Potion cures people of the baneling curse. They begin to get greedy and diluting it with water to make more money. Meanwhile Cara is geting impatient with the lack of killing that she is doing. She kills the guy who created the kill-for-hire business. Eventually they reach Sebastian the Mapmaker and Thaddicus stopping a couple of unsatisfied customers from killing him.

The unsatisfied captain is sent back to the underworld, where he tells Darken Rahl about the cure. Meanwhile Zedd finds out about the Shadow Water, which was found by his father. There are only a couple of drops left, but the Mapmaker has a machine that makes maps. Zedd creates a map usig the machine to lead them to the source of the Shadow Water. Thaddicus offers to come with them to help distribute the water. Unfortunately it is a three day ride, and Cara has to kill a few more banelings along the way.

She kills one D'haran one night but there are no more people around. Darken Rahl comes to tempt her to tell her the location of the Shadow Water source. She refuses so he suggests killing Thaddicus. She calls him over to gather wood but can't kill him at the last moment. She begins to pass away with Zedd having no power to help him. At the last minute, Thaddicus walks over to her with a knife in his hand so she can stab him.

He dies, goes to the underworld, and under torture from Darken Rahl tells him where the Shadow Water is located. A revived Cara and Richard run there to get some Shadow Water to cure her of the baneling curse. As they get there, Darken Rahl opens a rift to suck up all the Shadow Water. Richard manages to scoop up a little bit in his hand. It is enough to cure Cara. She gives Thaddicus the Breath of Life and he survives. Thaddicus is repentant about telling Darken Rahl. Zedd forgives him and he heads off on his way. Cara thanks Richard and Kahlan for helping her. Kahlan admits she would have likely taken the deal with the Keeper had she been killed as well.

Commentary: They clearly were not going to kill off one of the primary character so the Cara going off to the underworld was yet another one of those "Just Visiting" trips. Though I must say I was a little worried for a little bit. Cara is one of the best new developments this season. It was a little unclear why she did not initially tell Richard of her problems being a baneling and all. She is usually pretty upfront about her problems. Her plan wasn't exactly clear anyways. Cara seemed pretty determined to take the deal almost immediately, not really thinking about the consequence. The whole idea of hanging out in the underworld with Rahl wasn't incredibly appealing.

I understand that they need to keep Craig Parker around but everyone going to the Underworld every other episode is getting a little bit tiresome. Who is this Keeper guy anyways? Can't he find some people who used to be really good prison guards an just have them guard the new entries into the Underworld? He could just have some pictures of Richard and his friends. That way any time they come to the Underworld he could just keep them there. No deal. No talking. Just grab them and put them into an Underworld dungeon. The way this season is going, the Keeper would win in a few weeks.

This wasn't my favorite episode. While I like Ted Raimi's Mapmaker character, Thaddicus sort of annoys me. I don't find that he moves the plot along and I think I would have been just as satisfied if they never brought him back. This would have added a bit to Zedd's character who has become a bit stale as of late. Instead the status quo is maintained. I also am not the biggest fan of this. It would have been nice to know that there is an antidote to the whole baneling craze. This way Thaddicus could have also had something useful to do. In the last scene we learn that despite his selfless sacrifice at the hands of Cara, Thaddicus did not actually learn a thing. He just goes back to peddling Tonic Mud with the Mapmaker.

There really was not going on in this episode. Some people decided to become entrepreneurs by kidnapping people and then charging people to kill them. That was slightly grotesque. Richard continued to get distracted from his quest to stop the Keeper. It was a bit more disquieting this time around as he is working with a deadline. Although with the new prophecy about Kahlan all he really has to do is keep her alive. Which is cause not to hurry I guess. I feel like the Keeper isn't really fleshed out as a villain. The main bad guy seems to be Darken Rahl. And he is grossly incompetent aiding and abetting the gang of heroes to consistently escape his Underworld hangout.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 3 out of 10.

They really did not have much to do. They hung out and rescued some villagers. He still loves her. She him. Everyone is having fun. Except Cara I guess with the whole getting killed thing. Oh well. Kahlan admitted that she might be willing to take the Keepers kill-to-stay alive deal for the three points.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 5 out of 10.

He was very threatening when talking with the Mapmaker. There was also his handyman repair work with the Mapmaking machine. Zedd hanging out with his family is always good for a few creepy moments. He is so loving. And creepy.

Notable Quotes:

Richard: "If you take us to where your husband was grabbed, we can pick up the trail of the wagon."
Cara: "That will take days."
Richard: "We'll get back to looking for the Stone of Tears. Right now, this woman needs our help."

Darken Rahl: "Cara! How delightful! I knew it was only a matter of time before your misguided loyalty for the Seeker got you killed."

Cara: "I want the deal."

Mapmaker: "It wasn't my idea. I was helping out a friend."
Thaddicus: "Hello brother."

Zedd: "Few could withstand the torments of the underworld Thaddicus. Even fewer would sacrifice their life for another.

Kahlan: "If I was faced with the same choice... eternity in the underworld... or come back... help Richard... be with him... I might have made the same decision."

Legend of the Weeker: Torn

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 03:11:00 +0000

Plot Synopsis: In this week's episode we find the gang following the compass to the most romantic spot in the Midlands. Unfortunately they come along some corpses hanging after being tortured to death. They find a seal of Aydindril on a sign near them. Apparently some guy named Fyren has taken control of Aydindril and is ruling with an iron fist. A wizard steals an amulet from the crypt and uses it as he is killed. The amulet takes him to Kahlan.

They decide to split up with Kahlan and Zedd heading to Aydindril and Cara and Richard maintaining the search for the Stone of Tears. As they take the amulet, Kahlan splits up into two people. One remaining with Richard and the other heading to tend to her duties in Aydindril. To make matters easier I will refer to the one that stays with Richard as Passionate Kahlan and the one with Zedd as Dutiful Kahlan.

The Passionate Kahlan decides to go to Aydindril thinking that Zedd will be in trouble. Meanwhile, Dutiful Kahlan who is hanging out with Zedd immediately runs over to Prince Fyren and confesses him, rightfully taking the throne of Aydindril. Unfortunately the power of the Mother Confessor is only transferred to Dutiful Kahlan. Passionate Kahlan realizes that she has lost her power in the midst of battle. She is upset by the lack of her Confessor power.

Meanwhile Dutiful Kahlan is reviewing edicts. She is surprisingly harsh to the letter of the law. Zedd realizes that something is wrong but he maintains his loyalty. As Passionate Kahlan and Richard are spending the night, Passionate Kahlan suggests that they sleep together seeing as she doesn't have her powers. Surprisingly, Dutiful Kahlan has decided that Fyren will sire the next Confessor and sleeps with him. This gets PG-13.

About as PG-13 as this show gets.

As the sun rises, Passionate Kahlan becomes way too clingy. She starts talking about children and never leaving. Ugh! She also starts being all jealous when Cara takes a leaf out of Richard's hair. Richard has to stop a girl fight which causes Passionate Kahlan runs off all huffy. It becomes clear that Passionate Kahlan has all the emotions and Dutiful Kahlan has kept all the prudence. Richard comes to the same conclusion and they head off to Aydindril.

Dutiful Kahlan conflicts with Zedd over her taking a new mate. She also disbands the Council of the Midlands citing their incompetence. Zedd discuses this with a local wizard and is captured as the other wizard has already been confessed. Dutiful Kahlan sentences Zedd to hang for treason as Passionate Kahlan, Richard, and Cara run into the square. Everyone is confused.

Richard goes to see Dutiful Kahlan and asks to see Zedd. Zedd explains how the amulet split up Kahlan. Richard decides to debate Kahlan to try to get her back together. His general thesis rests oh the fact that Dutiful Kahlan lacks compassion. He then shows off Passionate Kahlan. Dutiful Kahlan is pretty snooty and Passionate Kahlan begins to fight with her. Neither wants to go back to being one person. A fight breaks out. Cara stops the wizard but Dutiful Kahlan manages to confess Passionate Kahlan.

Too bad for Dutiful Kahlan, Cara stops her and threatens to kill her. Before things are set right, both claim that they could be with child. JERRY! JERRY! JERRY! Zedd checks them out and neither are with child. Awkward. Zedd puts them back together again. Seeing that the other wizard is not confessed anymore they realize that the two people were in fact destroyed. The newly put together Kahlan has no memories of what happened. Although she wishes that remembered her tryst with Richard. She chooses to have her sister rule over Aydindril with the reinstated council as she will continue on the quest with Richard. Good times.

Commentary: Obscure references to tabloid talk shows from the nineties aside, Richard finally hooked up with Kahlan! Or rather with a version of Kahlan that has limited logic capabilities. Apparently, from the last five minutes, we are just going to ignore this. Since the Kahlan version that he slept with should have never existed, then in naturally follows that anything that she did was invalid. Seems kind of immoral to me of Richard. The obvious excuse is that he had no idea that this wasn't the actual Kahlan but the point seems moot. At the end of the day you slept with a girl and then had her killed. Awkward.

So I am going to go off on a bit of a nerd tangent and talk about the similarities between this episode and the episode of the original Star Trek called The Enemy Within. In it, Captain Kirk is split into a good and evil persona. While the good Kirk is compassionate he is completely unable to make hard decisions lacking the uncaring evil side. In our episode, the two parts of Kahlan were split in a similar way. Individually they are bad as a ruler and lover. Additionally, in a personal pet peeve that I already mentioned, the two parts of Kahlan, which were two distinct beings were destroyed at the end of the episode. Doesn't this trigger a moral alarm bell for anybody?

The split between the two parts of Kahlan wasn't completely clear to me either. Kahlan's dutiful side seemed to certainly have emotions, just lacked those emotions that she had for Richard. However the duties of the Mother Confessor seem to be about more than just ruling over Aydindril. There wasn't a clear split between the two Kahlans. Dutiful Kahlan was just a jerk, and Passionate Kahlan was a clingy wench. I couldn't think of a single clear split between them. Emotional and rational seemed to be natural, but both Kahlans had inclinations towards facets of the other. I guess the split could be between the Kahlan that wanted to be with Richard and the one that wants to go home and rule Aydindril but that seems illogical.

I love how this episode yet again shows off Richard's debating skill. Him and Kahlan should join up with the Midlands debate team. Like I mentioned before, it was a bit strange as to why Dutiful Kahlan was such a jerk. I get that she wanted to help the people of Aydindril but was enacting a bunch of archaic laws the best way to do so? She also seemed to delight in her position. That wasn't logical or rational at all. She was just annoying. Though it was fun to see this devious side of Kahlan. As always Cara proves to be an invaluable asset to the gang with her grabbing Dutiful Kahlan just in the nick of time.

Richard and Dutiful Kahlan Romance Index: 0 out of 10

Dutiful Kahlan wasn't having any of Richard. Unless you count impassioned pleas of debate, little romance to be had here. Plus she hooked up with Prince Fyren... many times.

Richard and Passionate Kahlan Romance Index: 10 out of 10.

She was everything he ever wanted. For a night. Then she saw Cara harmlessly cleaning a leaf out of his hair and got all controlling and needy. And he just wanted things to be cool. This is probably about as much romance as we're going to get out of these two. It was strange that Whole Kahlan wasn't more upset after the fact. "So let me get this straight... you slept with one half of me?"

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 10 out of 10.

If you saw the episode you know what I am going to say. Zedd apparently can moonlight as a gynecologist who can detect pregnancies. While staring straight ahead with a dead serious look on his face. If I was either of the two Kahlan's, I would definitely ask for a second opinion.

Notable Quotes:

Kahlan: "I wish I didn't have to go."

Dutiful Kahlan: "But Fyren and I have been intimate... many times."
Zedd: "Both of you are nothing but magical fragments. Conception under such circumstances would be impossible."

Kahlan: "Richard there are some things that you told me that I'm glad I don't remember. Some I wish I did."

Richard: "You know I'd understand if you did want to stay."
Kahlan: "I'll always be torn... But I can only be in one place at a time. And right now that place is with you."

Legend of the Weeker: Perdition

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:36:00 +0000

Plot Synopsis: Richard is awoken by Sister Verna in the Palace of the Prophets. He believes that he has escaped and thinks this is a trick. Sister Verna leads him to Kahlan who introduces him to her daughter! Then her husband, Phillip, walks into the picture. She tells him that he has been gone seven years, there have been three Seekers named, and the underworld has taken over. Richard doesn't believe any of it. He goes to the Prelate, who tells him he is a full blown wizard and he is just confused.

Banelings break into the gate and Richard uses some wizard powers to stop them. He tries to inspire confidence, and we zoom out to see him wandering around a desert. The Prelate and Sister Verna see him wandering around and explain that he is trapped inside experiencing his worst fear. They refuse to help him. Instead they walk up to Sister Nicci who is held prisoner in the palace.

The rest of the gang, is following the compass to Richard and/or the Stone of Tears. Leo talks about birds with Cara in yet another awkward conversation. Nicci is being interrogated by the Prelate. She gives her the names of other Sisters of Dark. In the mean time, those sisters infuse a spider with magical powers and it frees Sister Nicci from her Radahan. She breaks free and meets up with the other Sisters of the Dark. They tell her of the new prophecy.

In the process of searching for Richard, Leo tells Kahlan a story about how hearing the stories of Richard's exploits helped him beat an enemy back. She seems to be warming to the idea of him as a Seeker. Meanwhile Richard is still struggling with the desert. In his dream he lets in all the banelings by believing that Cara was not one of them. They kill everyone, including Kahlan and her Seeker husband and daughter. Elsewhere, Zedd becomes slightly worried about Richard. Leo takes off his shirt by the fire. They... errm... "wrestle around" for a bit.

The next day he tries to talk to her about the night before. He also tries to give her a flower. Doesn't work. Kahlan tries to have a girl talk with her. They then reach the Palace of the Prophets. The Prelate lies to her and attempts to seal the palace. In his fantasy Richard meets with Darken Rahl who tells him that there is noone left to kill him, so now he has to wonder around a wasteland for the rest of his days. In the real world, Kahlan begins to sense that something isn't right with the Prelate. Cara confesses her feelings for Leo. Aww yeah!

Another Sister comes to deliver them food. Kahlan reads her and realizes that they have been had. They go yell at the Prelate to let them out. The Prelate stabs Zedd with her Dacra which can only be removed by a Sister of the Light. A bunch of Sisters arm themselves, as do Leo and Cara. Kahlan threatens to confess a sister. This Mexican standoff continues for a while until Sister Verna pulls out the Dacra. She is sick of listening to the Prelate and helps the gang escape and head out to meet Richard in Perdition.

Zedd goes to get them right as they are attacked by Nicci and the Sisters of the Dark. Zedd goes down by a blast from Nicci. Richard is still hanging out in his desert. He now sees a vision of Kahlan who tells him to take her hand and commit suicide to the underworld. Richard realizes that Kahlan is lying to him and realizes that the whole thing was an illusion. He snaps out of his dream and goes to help his friends.

As the fight continues, Cara stops one attack on Kahlan from Nicci. As she gears up a lightning attack, Leo jumps in the way of it. NOOOOOO LEO!!!!

RIP Leo. Just as things look grim for our gang of friends, Richard picks up the Sword of Truth in one of the more badass scenes I have seen in this show. He stops Nicci's attack with the Sword of Truth. As he is holding her back, Zedd blasts her with Wizard's Fire. Nicci and her sisters are defeated and Kahlan and Richard share a passionate kiss as Sister Verna and Zedd look on. Cara, meanwhile, is grieving over Leo's charred corpse. Poor Leo. They burn his body and Cara leaves the flower he gave her on his body and admits she had feelings for him. She gives Richard back his compass and they get back to their quest.

Commentary: First of all, let me say that this was one of the more exciting episodes of Legend of the Seeker this season. The fight at the end was pretty exhilarating and I guess I'm just a sucker for those "saved you at the nick of time" moments.

However I can't help but notice that we've had this plot line already. Richard gets trapped in a world and the gang has to work to get him out. Sounds a lot like the episode Home. Any time anything weird happens to Richard he should automatically assume that it is a ruse. Also I was curious about Richard's Han now that Sister Nicci was killed. Does the Han revert back to him? If not, can he ever get that back? It seems that being the most powerful wizard of all time would be kind of helpful when fighting everyone.

Oh Leo. You only made it through two episodes before being fried like a burger at the Fourth of July. At least he went out like a hero for Kahlan. She didn't even have to confess him. Speaking of that, Kahlan is a bit like a black widow. How many guys die, immediately after being confessed by her? With all the confessing she has done, I think I can count on one hand the confessed people who survived. Back to Leo, his relationship with Cara was just getting off the ground. They hooked up after hanging out in the rain. I'm sure all that leather and rainwater is a bad combination. It will be interesting to see how's Cara demeanor changes. Will we see her picking flowers and playing with chipmunks? Unlikely.

You can add the Prelate to the list of worthless characters in the Legend of the Seeker universe. Her prophecies have to be some of the most useless things. They appear every couple of thousand years. And then they are incredibly specific to the current cause-du-jour. I mean if they were waiting a thousand years for that Mother Confessor prophecy, how long are they gonna have to wait for the next one? And nothing important happened in between prophecies? They couldn't have gotten a prophecy to like stop a famine sometime in the last millennium. Lastly her solutions to her problems always seem asinine. Seems like her plan is always some kind of nuclear option that involves a bunch of people dying. You would figure that a leader of a group of deeply spiritual people would have more humane plans.

Speaking of the Sisters of the Light, their spirituality was never really explained. In Richard's dream world, their beliefs caused them to commit mass suicide. The whole idea of the Creator as a balance to the Keeper seems strange. Is this world analogous to ancient Greece where everyone went to the Underworld? Or are some people allowed into a Legend of the Seeker heaven? Seems like the former is true, but I am not sure. I also loved how the dresses that Sisters of the Light wear reflect how attractive they are. The more attractive ones have low cut dresses. The homelier ones have are completely covered up, Amish style. It also would have been nice to get any sort of explanation as to why Kahlan changed her dress. Is she ever going to go back to the Confessor's white? I feel like this part of the story was just cut out and they never went back to explain it.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 7 out of 10.

Richard's love for Kahlan is what breaks Richard out of the Valley of Perdition. That has to be some love. His first action as soon as he gets out is to pick up the Sword of Truth from a smoldering Leo and then block a shot of magic lightning directed at Kahlan. After Sister Nicci is defeated, Richard grabs Kahlan and shows her how much he has missed her. As Zedd and Sister Verna watch... Which leads us to:

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 7 out of 10.

His weird smile while watching Kahlan and Richard make out? What the hell was that? You couldn't turn away and go see about that Seeker-pro-tempore that you had named just a few weeks ago? That's his freshly charred corpse over there. His interaction with the Prelate were also pretty awesome. I love it when Zedd threatens other senior citizens.

Notable Quotes:

Sister Verna: "She's gone."

Prelate: "And she's taken Richard's magic with her. The most powerful Han the world has ever known."

Leo: "A rider arrived, with news that the Seeker had driven back the D'harans at the Battle of Rising Ridge. It was one man against hundreds. It inspired us.. to break through the D'haran line."

Kahlan: "I hope you get a chance to tell him that story."

Leo: "I will."

Leo: "Where I come from the man does that."

Cara: "Then what are you waiting for?"

Zedd: "You better hope your magic is faster than wizard's fire."

Richard: "You don't know how happy I am to see you."

Inside Zedd's Robes: Yes We Still Do This Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:52:00 +0000

Blog News: Unfortunately it appears that I have a conflict on Mondays this spring that will prevent me from getting Legend of the Weeker posts out on Monday. It also has been taking me longer to get the posts up lately, so I am going to go for Wednesday. I will try to get the reviews up on Tuesday but that seems hopeful. Hopefully you all can log in on Wednesdays.

Despite my slow posting our blog is attracting more and more readership with about 500 hits per day. Not too bad for the self-appointed third best Legend of the Seeker blog. We have also link-partnered with Factpile. This is a site that compares how heroes from various universes would match up against one another. They have a lot of Legend of the Seeker content there, so check it out if you ever wanted to know who would win in a fight between Richard and Link from the Legend of Zelda. Good stuff. A link has been permanently parked in the Links section.

Cool Stuff on the Interwebs: Jolene Blaylock who plays Sister Nicci is pretty popular from her leading role on Star Trek Enterprise. Here she gives an interview on what it was like to be on Legend of the Seeker and all about the show:

Upcoming Events: After this week's episode we have a week off. After that the episode will be Torn. In an interview with E! Online Bridget mentions that some fun times might be ahead:

But according to Bridget, there is some good news for Richard-Kahlan fans in this scenario: "I'm shooting a love scene on Tuesday with Craig. It's nerve-racking. I have to work on not blushing all day. The grips and lighting guys are like your brothers, and I just don't look at them in the eye all day."

Read the whole interview. It's good stuff.

Roles in Bruce Spence's Career: Did you know that Bruce Spence was in a rock and roll road movie. I bet you didn't.

Oh you could have taken that guy Mr. Spence. Definitely.

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Legend of the Weeker: Dark

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 02:37:00 +0000

Plot Synopsis: In this episode we find Richard and Sister Verna approaching the Palace of the Prophets. Richard is still having headaches which will apparently be healed by the palace. Inside the sisters are singing hymns. Fun. Richard meets the Prelate who is the leader of the Sisters. One of the sisters dies by bleeding out the eyes. Annalina the Prelate covers it up by telling everyone she had a heart attack. When Richard discovers that she has been killed by poison, the Prelate tells him that she took her own life.

Some annoying sister runs into them, and as Sister Verna is distracted another sister, Sister Nicci, runs up and tells him to trust noone. He later meets her after hours where she tells him that time passes slower in the palace. For every day that goes by in the palace, ten days pass outside. Apparently the Prelate ordered the Sisters not to tell anyone of this. She then senses the Han inside Richard. Apparently Richard is the most powerful wizard ever. Nice. Nicci tells him that she believes the Prelate wants to train Richard for personal gains. Richard accosts Verna with this information. Sister Verna shows him the prophecy that he will obtain the Stone of Tears and then give it over to his enemies.

Meanwhile, Kahlan is upset over Richard's Sword, missing him. Cara tells him not to worry. Zedd visits a creek to ask Shota who he should name as the new Seeker. After a month of searching for him they find this guy:

Zedd names him as the new Seeker. Awesome. The compass begins to work once again and they head off to search for the Stone of Tears. He also tries to hit on Cara. Just then they are attacked by banelings. They defeat them with ease. The new Seeker kind of freaks out.

Meanwhile Richard is learning elementary wizarding lessons. Sister Nicci sneaks him a Radahan that he can use to contain his headaches. Richard attempts to escape but is stopped by Sister Verna. (Who stabs him?) He awakes to the Prelate and a few Sisters. The Prelate then shows Richard that half the sisters are actually Sisters of the Dark. She also mentions that he is needed to fight an enemy after the Keeper is defeated. Sister Nicci tries to convince Richard that she is actually not evil. He gullibly accepts this as truth. Of course Sister Nicci is evil. She plans to absorb his Han. To gain power she absorbs the Han of another Sister of the Dark that she kills.

Cara and Leo the new Seeker have a weird awkward conversation. He apparently is fantastic with the ladies. He asks he if she can train a chipmunk. She laughs. It's awkward. Later she walks up on him training and goes to spar with him, but ends up saving his life from a Sister of the Dark. Before Kahlan can confess her, she kills herself. The gang splits up with Kahlan and Cara going to help Richard and Zedd and Leo going to find the Stone of Tears.

Richard tells Sister Verna that he has agreed to give his Han to a Sister of the Dark and escape. He's a smart guy. He also steals Verna's knife. Richard also busts out the Wizard's Second Rule to convince Sister Verna to help him. He goes to give his Han over to Nicci. Just as he does so, Sister Verna places a Radahan on Nicci. Richard escapes the gang of Sisters with Nicci remaining a prisoner. As he walks out, a new prophecy replaces the one about him being doomed to fail. It tells that as long as the Mother Confessor is alive, the Keeper cannot win. Leo's compass yields him and Zedd to Kahlan and Cara. They head off to find Richard.

Commentary: Well it didn't take too long to train Richard to be a wizard. He solved that problem by giving away all his Han. This seems kind of sketchy. I mean how can he just give away all of his powers. Though I am sure that this is not the last time that we have heard from Sister Nicci. She was definitely an interesting character but she could not have been more obvious when trying to convince Richard about her true intentions. It did however look like he was buying it for a while. Of course in the end Richard shows off why he is the Seeker of Truth. Though I guess without wizard powers now.

We added a significant plotline with the Sisters of the Light and Dark. It would have been nice to get some exposition as to how this whole deal occurred. A little bit of explanation would have gone a long way. Though I suppose that would require Richard to be separated from the gang for a little too long. In any case it seems that the Sisters will be a pretty important group of characters. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole spirituality thing of the Sisters. They seem to have a deep spiritual connection with the creator. It isn't clear if this Creator is tangible like the Keeper is. Will he (or she?) be able to help Richard in his time of need?

Back in the Midlands, the gang took a month to find the new Seeker. He wears leather and immediately struck up the fancy of Cara. They took some time to spar. The chipmunk conversation was incredibly wince-inducing. However it was great to see Cara open up a bit. Kahlan's tongue-in-cheek comment about how she has never heard Cara laugh was pretty funny. Meanwhile Zedd was hanging around to provide strange references and name Leo the new Seeker. Does anyone seriously see any way out for Leo except death? Is he just going to give back the Sword of Truth to Richard? And what is going to happen with Cara's feelings towards him?

On a closing note it was interesting to see the prophecy work itself out. Which kind of begs the question of what was the point of the prophecy. If the future is predetermined, how can Richard do anything to change it? For that matter what exactly did Richard do to change the prophecy. Just ignore the Sisters and give his Han away. It may be that him giving away the power of the wizard will be what changes the prophecy. In any case it seems that protecting Kahlan will now be at the top of Richard's to-do list. I am sure he doesn't have a problem with that. Lastly there was a throwaway line that Richard will have to fight a war with an even more powerful enemy after the Keeper is defeated.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 2 out of 10.

The only thing that occurred between them was Kahlan crying over the Sword of Truth and Richard looking wistfully at her dagger. Hopefully he will be able to get back to her soon.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 5 out of 10.

He had a creepy reunion with Shota. Their relationship is pretty incredibly weird. He also kind of gives Leo some pointers on being a new Seeker and also how to hit on Cara. Lesson: Don't try. I like how he just uses whatever power he feels like. When fighting banelings, wouldn't it make sense to use wizard's fire and not the weird air push thing he does.

Notable Quotes:

Kahlan: "Don't you feel anything?"
Cara: "The Mord Sith believe emotions must be governed. Sadness, remorse, love.. these feelings make you weak."

Zedd: "Though the forces of evil are sworn to bring about your death, still will you go on?"
Leo: "I will."

Zedd: "Trying to show chivalry to a Mord Sith is like dancing with a bear. It doesn't work and someone is likely to have their head bitten off."

Richard: "Either way I'm getting free. In one instance the Sisters will be safe. ND in the other they will probably be slaughtered."

Sister Verna: "As long as the Mother Confessor's pure heart beats... the Keeper is doomed to fail."

Legend of the Weeker: Light

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:59:00 +0000

Plot Synopsis: The episode opens with Denna breaking in on a sewing circle. The gang catches up to her. They're chasing Denna since she stole the compass. Denna hurts a few of the nuns and then escapes with Richard and the ladies on her trail. Turns out she did the old switcheroo and Denna ends up capturing Zedd. She gets him to cover their tracks, which he does but still leaves flower breadcrumbs. Unfortunately, Richard has been getting debilitating headaches. A few slightly creepy nuns approach and tell them that he is becoming a wizard. Apparently there is something called Han that flows through wizards and it will kill Richard if he doesn't fix it. They are Sisters of the Light and want to take him to the Palace of the Prophets where they will train him to become a wizard.

One of the sisters takes his pain away and dies from it. Kahlan convinces him to go to cure himself and they have a heart to heart about leaving. Cara unsuccessfully tries to come with. Leaving, Richard argues with Verna about wizard stuff and visiting the old world. Zedd continues to be harrassed by Denna and realizes that she picked the flowers that he was leaving out. Cara and Kahlan continue to track him but are attacked by a group of D'haran soldiers. They dispatch them but Kahlan is dinged up. She confesses one of the soldiers who tells her where to find Denna.

As Richard and two of the Sisters are walking along they are attacked by a creature called a Mriswith, which is cloaked and takes one of the Sisters. Richard wants to search for it but the leader Sister does not want to. She takes Richard to a friendly village. The leader tells him that the road is swarming with Mriswith. They apparently were a group of wizards who transformed themselves to win a battle. Nice dedication to the cause. The village leader offers to sacrifice some political prisoners to distract the Mriswith but Richard is having none of it. Meanwhile Zedd turns two corpses that Denna kills into his and Denna's duplicates, but gets her to leave the compass to the Stone of Tears.

Sister Verna tries to get Richard to sacrifice the prisoners. Richard continues to reject this idea. He instead convinces her to free the prisoners. The leader of the prisoners, a woman named Du'Chaillu tells Richard that they were tricked into coming to the village. They escape and are apprehended by the villagers. However the Mriswith attack and Richard says that they are going to fight them. In the Midlands, Kahlan gets her wound infected. Cara seals the wound with her agiel causing Kahlan to pass out. They then come upon Zedd's and Cara's fake corpses.

While Denna and Zedd hang out eating food. He tries to talk her out of training him. She tries to force him to eat but he spills his drink on it. This causes a cloud to come up. Kahlan correctly relaizes that it is a tracer cloud over Zedd. Richard and his new friends reach the Mudflats where he can see the footsteps of the Mriswirth. The leader of the prisoners is captured. Richard enters the Mriswirth lair kills one and it turns out that it was the other Sister. The Mriswith have been transforming people that they capture into their own kind.

Denna keeps harassing Zedd. He then tells her that she has no friends. BURN! Zedd also tells her that her attempts to gain power will attract Richard's attention. Just as she is about to change her ways. Cara kills her. Zedd laments about this for a second, but then forgets about it and asks about Richard. Richard frees Du'Chaillu who is being held in a larva sack. She tells him about other prisoners and Richard frees one and then the leader of the villagers is already turned and promptly dispatched. The villagers and their enemies decide to work together to kill the Mriswith. Zedd and Kahlan decide to name a new Seeker. The episode closes with Richard talking to Sister Verna about loved ones and being apart from them.

Commentary: So the gang splits up yet again. This time it looks like it will go on for a long story arc unless wizard training takes like a day. I still think the show works best when everyone is together. However it might be nice for a break in the pace. The plot lines were getting a bit stale before this. It will be also be interesting because Richard has never been separated from the gang. He will be all on his own with the slightly creepy Sisters of the Light. In the meantime the rest of the gang has to press on to try to find the Stone of Tears and to seal the veil.

Starting off with Richard, how does his becoming a wizard affect his Seeking? He will obviously gain new powers. Along with the Sword of Truth, will be this too much power for Richard? We know that Zedd is already worried about him gaining too much power like his ancestors. Gaining a brand new set of wizard powers will not do much to alleviate those fears. I also question Richard and Kahlan's judgement sending Richard off with these creepy sisters. They are a bit too similar to those people in the park that you get your kids to stay away from.

The other half of the gang heads off to find the Stone of Tears. To do this they are going to have to name a new Seeker in the interim. I take it this new Seeker is going to conveniently die as soon as Richard gets back. Though Zedd also named himself Seeker in the Wizard episode and then Richard got the name back when he came around. I guess the Seeker-pro-tempore rules are not very well explained. Best of luck to this new Seeker. May you die acceptably.

With Richard off in Wizard school (Hogwarts?) the interactions between Kahlan and Cara are now in central focus. I actually thought that these were a bit forced this episode. The whole Cara being tired but too proud to admit it and projecting on Kahlan seemed trite. Kahlan passing out after having her wound sealed was a bit sitcomish. There were some good moments and since the focus will now be centered on this relationship, it will probably get worked out. Speaking of Kahlan, what was with her dress and boots? First of all, shouldn't she actually wear the Confessor's white dress? Probably not since she looks fantastic and a half. Not sure about the makeup though.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 7 out of 10.

It is really hard to gauge this index. They love each other. They can't have sex. In this episode, they have a passionate goodbye kiss. Good times. I will have to think of some other index. Let me know in the comments if you have any good ideas.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 6 out of 10.

This metric will never go anywhere. Hanging out with Denna he whined and refused dinner. He then finally gets through to Denna with the incredibly jerky comment that he has more friends with her. She actually gets upset by this and reconsiders her ways just long enough to get shot by Cara in the back. Zedd wistfully watches her fall down a cliff and then proceeds to get over it in about 10 minutes.

Notable Quotes:

Kahlan: "I can't live in a world without you."
Richard: "Kahlan..."
Kahlan: "Richard, if you love me. You'll do this."

Richard: "Once you've found Zedd and the compass, you may have to name a new Seeker to find the Stone of Tears."
Kahlan: "Richard..."
Richard: "The quest is bigger than one man. Take it."

Richard: "I love you... and I will be back."

Cara: "Looks like he was able stab her. Before she killed him with the agiel."

Richard: "You said these cloaks draw their power from Wizard's blood right? Then we'll see if you're right about me."

Richard: "How can you bear to be away from your loved ones for so long."
Sister Verna: "As long as you keep them in your heart you take them wherever you go."

Legend of the Weeker: Resurrection

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:48:00 +0000

Plot Synopsis: To open the episode we find our friends fighting a large group of D'haran soldiers. Kahlan confesses one of them and he tells that a General Griggs is trying to take the throne. We later find the good general commanding to destroy a village with a whisper, the WMD from episode Deception. He is then invited by a naked lady to an unknown event. The gang catches up on the camp and splits up with Zedd and Kahlan going to stop the whisper from going off and Cara and Richard going after the general. Kahlan and Zedd run up to the village about to be destroyed. Zedd casts a deafness spell protecting the village.

Richard and Cara catch up to the General who is visiting a brothel. The brothel is run by none other than Denna, the Mord Sith who trained Richard. She tells them that the general is gone. However he is being trained by Denna who is building some sort of weapon. Tricky one that one. Richard sends Cara to meet Kahlan and Zedd. Before she has a chance to leave, Denna tries to get her to switch sides. Meanwhile Richard is being seduced by a prostitute. She feeds him a story about a son. Sounds kind of fishy. She tells him that the General has never left and there is some meeting of D'haran commanders.

Just as she is about to tell Richard everything, Denna barges in. She tries to seduce Richard, his woman is being captured outside. Richard tries to help her but is drugged by a dart. Denna takes Lucinda prisoner, has her slaughtered, and puts the spirit of another Mord Sith into her body, so she can stop Kahlan, Cara and Zedd from rescuing Richard. Richard is captured and Denna tells him that she needs a claim to the actual throne of D'hara.

As Cara is waiting for Zedd and Richard, she is attacked by Lucinda. Kahlan stops her. Just then Lucinda tells them that she is Dennee, Kahlan's sister. While Richard is captured by Denna, she has the general kill himself. She then kills Richard. Kahlan has a debate with her sister about Cara. Just then Cara realizes that her agiels are not working, which signifies the death of Richard. He's busy hanging out in the underworld with Darken Rahl. Darken Rahl tells him that Denna plans to put the soul of General Griggs into Richard's body.

The general's soul is transferred into Richard's body and he is brought back to life by Denna. He assumes the title of Lord Rahl in Richard's body. Richard takes command of the armies of D'hara in a pretty badass way.

New Dennee and Zedd go to find the sorcerer at the palace. New Dennee manages to confess the sorcerer but he tells that he can only bring back either the Seeker or the Lucinda. Kahlan and Cara break in. Kahlan kills Richard and just then the soldiers run in. They are about to kill the ladies, but the confessed guard from earlier runs in with a whisper, threatening to kill everyone. Seeing their Lord Rahl dead, and not wanting to hear the shadow people, the soldiers withdraw leaving Denna alone with Kahlan, Cara and Richard's body. Kahlan and Cara leave with dead Richard.

As they prepare the ceremony to return alive old Richard, Cara apologizes to New Dennee. The sorcerer brings back Richard's soul and Cara brings him back with the Breath of Life. He kisses Kahlan and is overjoyed to see everyone. They leave New Dennee with Lucinda's family and the confessed soldier. They then leave to find Denna who stole the compass pointing to the Stone of Tears. What a jerk!

Commentary: Uh... what just happened? There was so much going on in this episode I had to keep rewinding back and figuring out who was who. We saw the return of Denna, as well as the semi return of Dennee. Man you just can't keep that girl down. She has now come back from the dead twice, after extended periods of time where everyone thought she was dead. Hopefully she can stay out of trouble for a while. As for Denna it is always interesting to see her. She is a pretty well developed multifaceted character who is constantly causing trouble for Richard.

On the topic of people not staying dead, how many times will Richard visit the underworld this season. I'm betting on five visits and about twelve interactions with Darken Rahl. By the way how ticked off do you think Darken Rahl is getting? For that matter the Keeper must be furious with him. It's not really clear why the Keeper keeps him around as a right hand man. He may have been the cat's pajamas in the world of the living but he is completely incompetent in the world of the dead. So far he has managed to close the gates really really slowly when Zedd and Richard were almost trapped and burn Richard while he was in the underworld. That's the best you can come up with? Fail!

You know who was awesome in this episode? Cara. I really appreciated her presence in this episode. She is like the red devil on Richard's shoulder telling him to take control of D'hara and rule it with an iron fist. However, she defers to Richard on her decisions for various reasons, not the least of which is that he saved her life on several occasions. You can definitely tell from the conversation that she has with Denna that she would like nothing more than Richard claiming the throne of D'hara. By the way, how useful is her Breath of Life thing? It's like a video game if one of them dies, they can just call her over and revive them. Good times.

It will be interesting to see what happens now that Richard can see that the majority of the D'haran army will be willing to follow him if he truly wants to. While taking the throne has been something that Richard was too busy for, he is definitely not above taking it should the need arise. If the Keeper's army actually approaches, he will need the D'haran to fight them off. Of course that will play into the Keeper's bring the dead people back strength. All crazy things that Richard has to consider. At least he didn't get another bombshell dropped on him this episode. I swear the next person he runs into is going to tell him some absurd technicality that he has to abide by. Like only being able to fight with one hand.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 7 out of 10.

First thing that Richard does when getting back from being roasted with weird green fire by Darken Rahl is to start a makeout session with Kahlan in front of all their friends. Way to be awkward. We haven't had any so close but so far away moments between Richard and Kahlan. I feel like one may be in the pipeline.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 4 out of 10.

His deafening spell was pretty quick thinking. Then he begins to talk about the various woodlands creatures that probably survived. Thanks Zedd. I like the plan to send New Dennee in to confront the sorcerer and then stopping him at the last minute. Needless danger! YES!!!

Notable Quotes:

Denna: "Tonight... It seems the pleasure is all night."
Richard: "Denna?"

Denna: "Safe journey Cara. I'll take good care of Richard."
Cara: "If he has so much as a scratch when I get back... You'll be sorry."

Cara: "If the bond has been severed, it can only mean one thing... Richard is dead."

Darken Rahl: "How wonderful to see you again my brother. Welcome to the Underworld."

Richard: "I didn't think I was going to see you again... Any of you."

Legend of the Weeker: Fury

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:29:00 +0000

Plot Synopsis: The episode opens with Richard and Cara tracking a deer. Richard tries to teach her how to track with minimum success. They hear a scream and stop a few barbarians slave hunting a group of people called the Minders. They're a bunch of peaceaholics who refuse to fight even against some bandits that stole their village and have been kidnapping them into slavery. The Minders refuse Richard's help. As he walks away his compass points back to the Minders' camp. Just then the elder's son runs up and asks for Richard's help to train them to fight.

After a Braveheart-esque speech on the benefits of fighting, half the camp decides to join Richard. As he tries to teach them to fight, all the Minders pass out with their eyes glazed over. Apparently they were hit by a binding spell, which reins in powerful emotions such as anger, lust, or revenge. Zedd offers to remove the spell but is hesitant to do so. Richard says to risk it. After the villagers get healed they ask to fight again. Back to training montage.

Cara hunts down some fawns for Zedd and the villagers. They are also vegetarians too. Bunch of hippies. As they're picking berries they are attacked and Cara fends the bandits off. While training one of the guys challenges Richard. He strikes Richard's face and Richard gets furious and disarms him holding him at the point of a sword before Kahlan stops him. He angrily tells her to leave him be. Side effects of the spell perhaps? Kahlan dutifully reports to Zedd.

Apparently the sword was glowing which signifies Richard's anger. Zedd runs off to talk to Richard but before he has a chance, Richard leads a raiding party to steal weapons from the bandits. One of the villagers manages to kill a bandit to prevent the alarm being raised. Richard then antagonizes the villagers further to take back the village. They raid the village slaughtering the bandits.

The rest of the gang as well as the Minders elder go to the village to see Richard's path of destruction. Kahlan and Cara run off to get Richard who plans to burn the village to the ground. They try to stop him and Richard knocks Cara out with the Sword of Truth. Kahlan disarms him causing him to return to normal. Richard convinces the Minders elder to heal Cara. Zedd tells him a story that there was madman who led the people of this village in a bloodthirsty campaign. The wizard who defeated him, cast a binding spell causing the Minders to become so peaceloving.

The madman was an ancestor of Richard so that's why everyone was listening to him. WHOA! Zedd explains with an elementary school experiment that now the people, Richard, and his Sword are bound together. Zedd suggests that there was something he needed to do or learn here as nothing happens by accident. Just then, the bandits approach. Hesitant to use the Sword of Truth and with a hobbled Cara and Zedd, Richard gathers everyone to stand off against the bandits.

The bandits seeing that they are outnumbered reconsider fighting. Just before their leader is about to order the attack, a man who was healed by the Minders elder speaks up that she is honest and trustworthy. The bandits decide to leave. Richard tries out using the Sword again with the villagers restrained. Zedd eggs him on telling him to bring out all of the things that make him angry. He ends the lesson directing his anger at Zedd nearly killing him in the process. The compass beings to point east and the gang heads off in search of the Stone of Tears. Kahlan and Zedd have a discussion worrying about the Rahl ancestry in Richard and the effect that it might have on him in the future.

Commentary: Yet another episode of Legend of the Seeker borrowing heavily from the Star Wars series. This time we find out that Richard is not as good at controlling his emotions as he seems. Since the Sword of Truth draws from his rage, something about those Minders did not let him control his anger. Did anyone else not fully understand the explanation that Zedd gave with the vinegar and baking soda? Why exactly is it that these three things combined caused Richard to go off the deep end? I can understand why the people freak out, but why him?

Richard once again has something working strongly against him. Now he can't lose control of his emotions or else this group of people will freak out. It seems pretty weird. Richard did get to work out some of his latent anger issues. He came out as against his father and brother being killed. He also was not happy about Darken Rahl, not being able to be with Kahlan, or that Zedd dragged him into this thing being the Seeker and all. I guess we all now know about what Richard is thinking the whole time.

I did love the differences between Kahlan and Cara. Kahlan was really understanding of the Minders situation. On the other hand Cara was all about teaching them how to be violent. It was great to see Cara's reaction to all the peaceniks and their ways. It was interesting to see that the power of the Sword of Truth is enough to overcome Cara's power of the Mord Sith. Though this makes sense since Richard learned this power through his training with Denna.

Lastly, I was not sure what the point of the Minders was. There is a pretty terrible movie called Never Back Down. The theme of the movie is that violence is not the answer. In the end, the main protagonist has to resort to violence to solve his conflict. Here there was the same theme but backwards. Richard is teaching everyone that violence is the answer to their problems. That violence ends up harming everyone and cunning and nonviolence carries the day in the end. Though they kept the trained soldiers in the village and also Richard needed to teach them to fight to fulfill his quest. Paradox!

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 7 out of 10.

When reciting all the things that keep Richard up at night, he names not being able to be with the woman he loves. Zedd kind of tells him to get over it. Thanks grandpa. There was also that look that Kahlan gives him when he talks about fighting. They may not be able to get together but what they feel for one another can't be stopped with simple magic.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 6 out of 10.

Zedd your healing abilities were a bit creepy. Lastly his therapy session with Richard was pretty creepy. Actually I wouldn't mind Zedd yelling things at me that I was concerned with. Then he could cavalierly dismiss things that was concerned about until I actually insulted him. That would be sweet.

Notable Quotes:

Richard: "I don't like leaving those people by themselves."
Kahlan: "They have a right to follow their own beliefs."

Zedd: "Cara! If Richard is truly out of control, then maybe only Mord Sith magic can stop him from using the sword."

Richard: "We're going to burn them while they sleep."

Zedd: "Lots of people can't be with the ones they love. Some of us have even lost their children. You don't see us flying into rages. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?!?"

Kahlan: "Richard learned to control the sword. He mastered the rage."
Zedd: "Yes. He controlled the Sword today. What about tomorrow?"

Midlands Bulletin: Blog Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:20:00 +0000

Hey all. Apologies but I am still behind on my blogging. Look for the Legend of the Weeker about Fury tomorrow. The one about the following episode will be upcoming at the end of the week. Then we should be back on a regular schedule. I also hope to get a few guest posters to provide some more content but we shall see how that goes. Thanks for your patience.

Legend of the Weeker: Wizard

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:41:00 +0000

Plot Synopsis: The episode opens with Richard guiding the group with the compass. Zedd complains that he needs to stop and get some food at a tavern. Heh... old people. Fortunately Richard spots a persimmon for him to eat. Unfortunately, the persimmon is cursed. Zedd begins forgetting everything and after knocking out Richard, runs off to a local brothel. After some magic tricks to create some coins he goes after a particular lady of the evening.

Before the fun is about to start Cara arrives. However, before she grabs Zedd, Shota transports him to her cavern. She tries to convince him to name a new Seeker and take over the world together. Shota transforms him into a young man. She then tells him to get the Sword of Truth from Richard. Meanwhile, Richard and Kahlan kill a shadrin and get attacked by some local soldiers working for some corrupt lord. Zedd and Shota manage to steal the compass and Sword of Truth.

Zedd ditches Shota and comes back to get that prostitute that he's become a fan of. He turns her into a princess and all of her prostitute friends into maidens. Zedd then proceeds to pull up a palace out of the ground. Shota runs into the rest of the gang and lets Richard know that he is prophesied to fail in his quest to defeat the Keeper. She tries to enlist Cara's help but Cara brutally says no and takes her prisoner.

Meanwhile Zedd has fashioned himself a king. He is told of the problems that the Keeper has been causing. Zedd then proceeds to name himself a Seeker since he cannot trust Richard with the responsibility as he is prophesied to fail. The local evil lord comes to the castle, and is promptly killed by Zedd's Wizard's Fire. He is sent back to the underworld and is returned to life by Darken Rahl. He then proceeds to snipe Zedd's princess with a crossbow.

Salindra, the newly dead princess/prostitute, is convinced by Darken Rahl to help the Keeper by trying to bring Zedd, the Sword of Truth, and the compass to the underworld. Zedd continues to try to revive her and she implausibly revives even after turning cold. She then convinces him using the old Br'er Patch argument to go into the underworld and fight the Keeper. Realizing that Zedd will kill them all if they attempt to recover him, Shota and the gang decides that Richard will try to talk to him.

That does not work. Zedd casts a spell on Richard freezing him in place and causing Kahlan and Cara to emerge. Zedd heads into the rift to the underworld. Once inside the rift, Zedd begins turning old. Freed from his spell by Shota, Richard follows Zedd into the rift telling Kahlan to stay out because someone has to. Richard gets real old in the rift as well. Rahl tries to stop them both as he has been given dominion over the gates of the underworld. He fails miserably for no reason.

Richard drags Zedd out of the underworld. Salindra dies from not being able to keep her side of the bargain. Cara forces Shota to break the spell. She then offers to kill Shota but old Richard claims that they might need her later. Zedd then transforms Richard into his youthful body. He reconfirms his belief that Richard is the only true Seeker and only he can succeed.

Commentary: A pretty standard memory loss episode. Except this one was totally awesome because it was Zedd who lost his memory. You know how we have gotten some creepy hints about Zedd's previous life time after time? Well it turns out the guy is kind of a jerk. An objectifying, misogynistic, self-absorbed jerk. Who likes to visit prostitutes. And build castles for himself. And name himself king and take his favorite prostitute as his queen. Alright!

You know who it turns out is completely useless? Darken Rahl. I love how the Keeper made him a gatekeeper for the underworld. He responds by completely failing to trap Richard and Zedd inside. They just walked away at a leisurely pace. You had them right there and you just let them get away. I could just see the Keeper furiously yelling at Rahl telling him to close the rift faster. Rahl would likely respond that he could do the job fast or do the job right.

First of all the prostitute that Zedd chose really was pretty. There was something pretty sweet about Darken Rahl just completely tearing her down while in the underworld. Of course she agrees and then is completely transparent about her intentions to betray Zedd. So apparently losing your memory also causes you to be blind towards people blatantly lying to you. I love that there was another prostitute who was all nice to Zedd. He repaid that kindness with likely leaving them forever.

Cara was pretty awesome in this episode. She immediately tracked Zedd down to a brothel. Her imperviousness towards magic really makes her an asset when dealing with the likes of Shota. It was also great that Zedd took my advice to completely ignoring Shota's so called "advice." He correctly assumes that he should not trust her as listening to her would mean that they would give the Sword of Truth to a person that Shota presents. Seems like a recipe for disaster. Of course that was smart Zedd and not young Zedd.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 2 out of 10.

Just a standard stay here while I go into a dangerous place without you speech from Richard. Nothing else really.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 9 out of 10.

I would give the full 10 but I don't know if it counts if he has a spell put on him. The points don't mean anything anyways so I think it is a fair grade. But c'mon. Eating the persimmons with juice dripping down his chin. Immediately heading to a brothel after losing his memory. Turning some guy into a mouse. Declaring himself king. Burning the lord instantly. So so sooooooo creepy.

Notable Quotes:

Shota: "You are the great love of my life, Zeddicus."
Zedd: "I'm not surprised."

Zedd: "As wizard of the first order I hearby name as Seeker of Truth and bearer of the Sword, Zeddicus Zul Zorander."

Darken Rahl: "They're all nice fellows to you... as long as they have a little gold in their pockets! On the other hand you're welcome to stay here with us in the underworld. The Keeper keeps a very special chamber of torment, for those that traffic in love"

Richard: "If Zedd and I don't come back someone needs to stay alive to find the stone. Kahlan this quest is bigger than any of us. Don't follow me."

Zedd: "You were always the Seeker, long before you first held the Sword of Truth. You faced death for me, literally."

We Will Be Back Soon

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:52:00 +0000

Yeah so real life got in the way of my blogging. Holidays, bad weather causing me to be sick, final exam and other non-blogging related activities. Posting might be a bit irregular in the next week or two. I'm going to do my best to catch up though. Stay tuned.

Legend of the Weeker: Touched

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:45:00 +0000

Plot Synopsis: The episode finds our heroes finding a night wisp. You might remember them from the series premiere. Kahlan asks for help finding any remaining confessors. One comes across a girl who apparently has a domineering father who won't let her travel or get married and locks her in a castle tower. Odd.

The gang decides to split up. Always a good idea. Kahlan and Richard will go with Flynn to find this confessor and Zedd takes Cara to Pemorah. Richard and Kahlan get to the castle only to learn that her servant poisoned her father and stole the confessor away. Apparently the father was confessed and taken as a mate with the confessor giving birth to this girl. Once the confessor died, the father locked her away in the tower. Meanwhile the servants try to sell her to some bandits who begin draining her power. With a droplet of it, the lead bandit confesses one of the servants and has him kill the other one.

Richard and Kahlan manage to rescue the girl, whose name is Annabelle, with an assist by Flynn. He gets confessed by her for his troubles. Kahlan explains her powers to her, and the fact that her father was killed. They plan to take her to get trained as a confessor. Flynn manages to become even more annoying. Zedd and Cara make it to Pemorah and are told that they need the person with the rune to get the Stone of Tears.

Kahlan continues to tell Annabelle about the whole last of the confessors bit. They also talk about romance. It... err... doesn't work out too well. Flynn tricks Richard and Kahlan and takes the horses. To do this Flynn stabs himself. Then he gets to hang out and do stuff with Annabelle. He even tries to go back to meet Richard and Kahlan with the rune. Annabelle refuses and then confesses another guy. Or six.

Cara and Zedd attack the tomb and Zedd burns all the banelings. They head back to meet Richard and Kahlan. Annabelle then confesses Richard because she is a brat. Yeah that won't last too long. Kahlan tries to kill her but Richard stops her. Then Kahlan convinces the two to come to Pemorah. Zedd traps Richard and Flynn. Before they kill Annabelle they decide to try to use that sorcerer's draining crystal.

The gang grabs a locket from the tomb in Pemorah. Not knowing what it does, Kahlan and Cara head out to grab the sorcerer's crystal. They trick the sorcerer by pretending Kahlan is Cara's prisoner. Kahlan manages to confess the sorcerer and get the stone. Annabelle then suggests that Kahlan should... ahem... mate with Richard to produce another confessor. While under Annabelle's confession, her power would have no effect. They actually go through with this and start making out...

Heavily...

This gets slightly PG-13. Of course right before they are about to get down to it, Kahlan stops him because realizes that Richard is only doing this because Annabelle told him to. This whole show is like an awkward date. They then use the crystal to drain Annabelle of her power. Everyone turns out okay. Flynn decides to take off with Annabelle towards the ocean. Richard opens the locket and finds what appears to be a compass inside which is to lead his way... North!

Commentary: Can we please not have any more weird kids inducing complete awkwardness between Richard and Kahlan. It feels like half the episodes have this story line. We saw it in Listener, we saw it in Elixir,we saw it in Cursed. It's always a magical kid. Always making naive remarks that are incredibly apt to Richard and Kahlan's relationship. Not to mention the fact that Annabelle managed to make Flynn even more insufferable. Thank heavens he is gone!

All in all, the episode was in a lot of the places at once. Thank god the Flynn thing was resolved and we don't have to see him any more. It appears from the looks of things Annabelle won't be making a return either. Which is just fine by me. I don't mind them introducing other characters but one dimensional adventure stereotypes just aren't doing it for me. There are cool characters are out there. We need more Shota. Bring back Chase for that matter. Get him across the boundary.

The show this season might be spreading itself a bit too thin. There are too many storylines to keep track of. Last season, Richard was just going along on a quest to kill Darken Rahl and helping those he came across. This season we have the stopping the underworld arc. Richard is also officially the ruler of D'hara and is destined to fail in this quest. Now they have to deal with Kahlan being the last confessor. It makes episodes like this where everyone is everywhere a bit hasty.

On that note, what is the deal with the banelings. Richard came up with the idea that they have to burn the corpses when they kill them. Apparently now Zedd can just burn them right up. That should come in handy. They also need to stock up on some oils for some impromptu flame throwers. I thought the whole Pemorah tomb was a bit too easy to get inside. Seems like the Keeper should have sent more than a few guards. The give and take between Zedd and Cara was pretty priceless though.

Also for no reason... HD Porn!

Kahlan and Richard Romance Index: 8 out of 10.

So close yet so far away. I mean you knew that Kahlan was going to stop him. Kahlan doesn't stop believing in Richard even after he was confessed. Of course, Richard and Kahlan are still madly in love with each other and can't be together or else the whole show would be over. I might have to change this to how close did they come to hooking up index.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 4 out of 10.

Dude loves burning zombie soldiers. Soldier on. I also love him not being willing to use magic when alone with Cara. Come on Zedd you always liked strong women.

Notable Quotes:

Kahlan: "Our gift makes the kind of romance you've read about... impossible"

Zedd: "What's at stake is far too important to rely on probability."
Cara: "I don't believe you have the luxury of caution."

Flynn: "I can't say it's been fun. But it's been interesting."

Richard: "Kahlan, I can understand why you couldn't go through with it. But part of me wishes you had."
Kahlan: "Me too."

Richard: "We head north."

Legend of the Weeker: Broken

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:36:00 +0000

Plot Synopsis: The episode opens with what seems to be a blind girl releasing a raven into the air. It flies over a campground where Richard and Kahlan are sleeping, and transports Kahlan into a freaky world full of white roses that are dying. The creepy girl then lets Kahlan know that soon she will be the last of her kind.

Zedd interprets this as a sign from some desert dreamweaving peoples and Kahlan takes it to mean that soon her sister and the rest of the confessors will die. She begins to head there but is stopped by Cara who tells her that she was killed by her hand. Kahlan begins to go into the Con Dar. Richard holds her back long enough for Cara to run away. Flynn takes off but Zedd has spelled his shoes so they know exactly where he is headed. The gang tracks him with Kahlan temporarily forgetting about Cara but promising to kill her if she ever gets a chance.

Cara takes the opportunity to go to an inn and bed some stranger. The villagers attack her and tell her to leave town. Meanwhile Flynn has taken off his clothes thus shedding the tracking. Cara goes to her sister's place almost taking an arrow to her face. Her sister convinces her to come with her for some food. Cara changes into a dress, with some touching memories thrown in for emotion about their father and memories.

Soldiers burst in the door and take her away. Apparently her brother-in-law... not a trusting guy. The soldiers find Kahlan and ask her to execute Cara. This is how confession works on Mord Sith. Unfortunately Richard is not about to let that happen. They organize a mock trial. Law and Order, Midlands style.

Meanwhile Flynn is just stealing people's purses. He runs into someone who catches him. That guy sees his tattoo and offers to take him to Pemorah, find the Stone of Tears and split the profit. Richard gives an impassioned plea for Cara's life with Grace, Cara's sister, telling the story of when she was taken. She tells about her father and Cara bursts out with how she killed him. Someone get this girl a copy of the 5th amendment.

In the chambers Richard and Kahlan argue whether or not. Richard continues to tell the townspeople about Mord Sith training with Cara's help. Cara talks about how she felt that her father betrayed her and that was why she killed him. As Richard verbally parles with Cara her schoolteacher stands up and stands up for her. Kahlan instantly picks her up as a Mord Sith.

The townspeople order both the Mord Sith killed by confession much to Richard's dismay. The guy with Flynn starts to get annoyed with him and puts a paralyzing elixir in his drink and threatens to cut off his hand. Of course it was Zedd all along and he teaches him a lesson. Kahlan confesses the schoolteacher Mord Sith who instantly confesses that she tortured her father who never broke under the torture. They burned her father's throat causing Cara to believe that her father betrayed her. Kahlan refuses to confess her.

The townspeople then attack the gang with Richard killing several of them! One holds Kahlan and crossbow point threatening to kill her if she doesn't confess Cara. Richard frees Cara who kicks the crossbow out of the guy's hand. Richard and Kahlan send Cara away and have a heart to heart about her and the fear that Kahlan could be the last of the confessors. Flynn and Zedd meet up with Kahlan and Richard. Meanwhile as Cara leaves her sister, she walks outside and sees the gang standing there. Kahlan tells her that she needs her to come with the gang because if something were to happen to her, then the Seeker would need protection.

Commentary: Well we haven't had en episode like this before. I feel like the whole courtroom thing has been done before in other shows. The plot feels a bit like a TV trope. Though I guess with Kahlan's role as Mother Confessor it is to be expected. What I don't get is why the townspeople couldn't accept her rule. Isn't that the whole point of the Mother Confessor? If they want an executioner, did they really need Kahlan for it? Isn't asking her, just begging to come out disappointed?

Speaking of people not knowing their roles, what was with the
townspeople attacking Richard. Did they not know that he just almost singlehandedly took down the D'haran army. Then I thought they would be playing the Batman style of fighting where they don't kill people. Nope. Richard was just straight up running people through with the Sword of Truth. Even when the guy pointed that crossbow, at Kahlan I wasn't too worried because Richard always has that Jedi bullet time skill to stop shots with his sword.

A very Kahlan-centric episode. She brought back the Con Dar to try to kill Cara with it. So... hey there... that's a reasonable reaction. She then has her biggest conflict with Richard since the Denna episode. It seems like the Mord Sith bring out the worst in her. Then of course by the end of courtroom scene she realizes that Richard was right all along just as he has been in almost all situations they have been involved in. At some point I just want Richard to ask her if she ever gets tired of being wrong. Personally, I liked that they kept the gang together at the end of the episode.

Well for the most part. I cannot stand the Flynn kid. He needs to be destroyed. I was prepared to write a scathing blog post about how terrible he is but he prevented me from doing so with his late line about how Zedd's powers are irregular. I wrote about that last week. Get out of my head Flynn! But basically it just held off my wrath for another week. Shake my fist at you Flynn.

Also I thought that the whole Kahlan as a last confessor came out of nowhere. Why did they move all the confessors to an island and then kill them off like they were redshirts? It was almost as if it was an afterthought. Additionally, the whole plot of Sacrifice from last season fell by the wayside. Though it does solve the male confessor paradox that my roommate hated last year. P.S. Dreamweaving blind girl = Creepy.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 4 out of 10.

I can't just give points because they admit they love each other. They already reached that point in their relationship. What are they doing to advance their relationship? They did argue like an established couple. And of course Kahlan put her vengeance aside for a bit to make sure that Richard would be safe in case she died. Richard returned the favor by once again assuring her that he would never let anything happen to her.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 6 out of 10.

The guy has some very creepy tendencies. He tracks the annoying guy by enchanting his shoes. He also busts out the switcheroo mirror again. Although it was pretty clear it was him. And did anyone else notice that he threatened to chop off Flynn's manhood? Creepy.

Notable Quotes:

Townsperson: "And if the elders still want her dead?"
Kahlan: "Then I will carry out their wishes."

Townsperson: "Will the Mother Confessor abide by the wishes of our elders?"
Kahlan: "I will."

Richard: "The word of the Mother Confessor is final!"

Kahlan: "If I die, the line of Confessors could perish... forever."
Richard: "I'm not going to let anything happen to you... ever."

Flynn: "Don't get offended. All I'm saying is sometimes your powers seem a little... irregular."

Inside Zedd's Robes: Posting Quota Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 03:57:00 +0000

Blog News: I downloaded a new blog editor which I should be able to use to get faster and newer posts up. However I do expect some hiccups so if anything appears weird, either shoot me an email or leave something in the comments.

I also hope to get some guest posters from IMP and DharanSoldier. Look for those in the coming weeks.

Cool Stuff on the Interwebs: Craig Horner and Bridget Regan did a slew of interviews to promote the new season. I can't post them all here but most of them are very similar. They love the show, love New Zealand, love the story, and stay tuned to see what happens. I will post the interview from G4's hit Attack of the Show because I watch this show a lot. (read: I am a nerd)

Game Trailers - E3 2010 - Movies and TV

Generally good stuff. Also Ted Raimi, who you may remember from his role in Bounty as the mapmaker returns to the show. He also has a twitter page devoted to Legend of the Seeker. Pretty interesting to hear his thoughts (read his tweets?) about the show.

Upcoming Events: There's a new episode this weekend. TV Guide has the following blurb about the show:

Cara goes on trial for past crimes, and finds her fate in Kahlen's (sic) hands.

I guess the whole Cara vs. Kahlan thing is coming to a head. What I wonder is whether Kahlan will ever be able to trust Cara or are they going to with this distrust dynamic for a long while?

Moments in Bruce Spence's Career: Already referenced but I turn to Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left for one of Mr. Spence's most terrifying roles:

Let that burn into your mind for this week. You watched it. You can't unwatch it. Hope to get the recap Monday night again. See you then.

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Legend of the Weeker: Baneling

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:25:00 +0000

Plot Synopsis: We find our heroes in a gorgeous clearing with Kahlan and Zedd talking about how they distrust Cara. Richard meanwhile is checking his mark out in a reflection in his sword. Kahlan comes over and tries to to comfort him, which like, whoa. They trek to the abbey to try to find the abbott that knows where the Stone of Tears is. However, they find the abbey destroyed with no sign of the monks. Cara suggests that they were taken to a death camp.

The D'harans are busy killing prisoners for no reason. The gang rushes in and a battle breaks out. Kahlan confess one of the soldiers while Richard throws his sword and kills the commanding general. They free the children and a mother is reunited with her son. The second in command tells him that the abbott has been executed. Richard buries the bodies of the D'harans and the general nicknamed the General is transported to the underworld to chill with Darken Rahl.

Kahlan and Cara tell the villagers to either hang out or head home. The mother from earlier asks about a town in which her father lived. Cara tells her that the Dragon Corps has destroyed that town and Kahlan scolds her for not being more compassionate. It is also determined there isn't enough food to eat so Cara sets out to get provisions. She also gives a horse to a guy asking to bury his brother out in the country and attempts com-pas-sion. Doesn't work.

A monk from the abbott's order meets Richard and is told of the tear in the veil. He tells that the abbott kept a locket which would have been stored with the looted treasure from the D'harans. They go to check on the treasure and find the one guys dead brother instead. Apparently the guy peaced out with the treasure. Kahlan and Cara argue about whose fault it was and are interrupted when the monk finds a bunch of dead bodies who apparently were killed by the dead general.

They hide all the people inside the prison. Richard sets Cara out to find the dude who stole the treasure. Richard and Zedd check on the Butcher's grave and find him and all the D'harans dug up. The abbott they were looking for finds them. He was apparently in the underworld and now has become a baneling for the Keeper. He must kill in order to stay in the world and they decide to kill some D'harans. Unfortunately they are already dead.

The abbott who is unable to kill then dies. Again. Cara finds the kid trying to hook up with two girls. She starts to seduce with some conveniently muffled out phrases. She brings him to Richard, who sees the rune and they decide to take him with them after dealing with the undead soldiers. Unfortunately he is killed by that mother from earlier. He too is approached in the underworld by Darken Rahl but is resurrected by Cara's Breath of Life.

He tells who killed him and then they lock the mother up in a cage. Meanwhile the baneling soldiers are told to get the kid with the rune on his hand. They attack the camp. Kahlan and the prisoners escape out a hole that Zedd makes in a wall. When the soldiers run in, Richard blows the camp up after the obligatory one liner killing all the soldiers inside. The mother's kid runs off with the monk while the creepy dude tries to hit on Cara. Doesn't work. As Richard gives an inspirational speech, it is shown that the kid was a baneling who kills the monk.

Commentary: Another mystery type episode with a bunch of other stuff thrown in. Kahlan and Zedd still don't trust Cara while Richard does. The Keeper is making things really difficult for Richard because now he has to think before he just runs in swords blazing. It was pretty exciting and the first time I watched it, I couldn't really guess who the actual killer was. Though it makes sense in retrospect. The kid being a baneling caught me completely off guard.

The Kahlan and Cara dynamic seems a bit forced. In fact there was a lot of weird switching in the pacing of the show. There was a bit of mystery as to who was murdering the D'harans. Also the end of the episode was like watching an action blockbuster complete with ridiculous lines and slow motion escapes from explosions. The whole adventure seemed like it was rapidly getting out of control. Whatever are Richard and friends going to do?

It seems Richard is getting quite aggressive in his leadership role. He thinks nothing of killing the prisoners to get some directions. Not long before this, Kahlan makes the claim that these people need to be brought to justice and not killed vigilante style. Apparently though when Richard needs to find the Stone of Tears then it's anything goes. The morality issues that arise from Cara being a part of the gang might be rubbing off on Richard.

Speaking of Cara rubbing off on people, do we really have to put up with the hand map guy? His awkward hitting on Cara was wince-inducing. The fights between Cara and Kahlan were pretty good though as it is interesting to see Kahlan out of her element. Plus she is definitely going alpha female with Richard.

I know I have said it before but the New Zealand landscape is definitely one of the best supporting actors in this show. The producers have added plenty of shots of riding through the New Zealand country side which is pure HD porn. Even when the action isn't great it always provides something nice to look at.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 4 out of 10.

I mean Kahlan had to check several times on that scar that Richard got from Darken Rahl. While these moments had some clear sexual tension, it was also slightly awkward. I also loved Richard THROWING the Sword of Truth to prevent Kahlan from getting nicked in battle.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 5 out of 10.

How many powers does the guy have that he didn't use last season. If I was Richard I would be so mad. I mean he has already used two powers that he really didn't bust out last year. Plus he set corpses on fire.

Notable Quotes:

Kahlan: "The spirit of the tyrant that you killed comes back from the grave and burns the mark of the Keeper on your chest. It's not nothing Richard. I wish I knew what it meant."
Richard: "What we do know is that we need to seal the rift between this world and the underworld... and to do that we need to find the Stone of Tears."

Darken Rahl: "You've served me well in life general. It is my hope that you will do the same for the Keeper now that you're dead."

Richard: "Did you see who did this?"
Monk: "It was the butcher. He's come back from the grave."

Richard: "Welcome back to Talthrane." EXPLOSIONS!!!

Richard: "If we have to kill to save an innocent life we'll do it. No matter how many souls the Keeper claims... As long as there are even a few people left to create life... And as long as people are willing to protect that life... The Keeper can't win.

Legend of the Weeker: Marked

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:57:00 +0000

AND WE'RE BACK!!!!

Plot Synopsis: The episode opens with a statue of Darken Rahl being pulled down like Dzerzhinsky in the Lubyanka Square. Rachel, from the Puppeteer episode and her legal guardian are there to see it. Meanwhile Darken Rahl is hanging out in the underworld all naked and stuff. Apparently the Keeper had a plan all along and now plans to use the death of Darken Rahl to take over the world.

Meanwhile the gang hangs out in a hall eating food and listening to songs about the Seeker. Rachel, somehow there as well, comes over to harass Richard and Kahlan about not being able to get married. Zedd distracts her by making a popsicle out of his cider just as a creature comes through the window and attacks, beheading a random dude. Richard distracts it, and rides out into the woods somehow procuring a horse nearly instantly. He then taunts the monster until it charges at him hurling itself off of a cliff that he was standing on. Richard then watches it walk away unhurt from the fall.

In the tower of the Mord Sith, Cara of the season one finale bathes with her Mord Sith pals. Sexy. Another Mord Sith, Triana tells her that they must go to the People's Palace to find out who is the new Lord Rahl. Cara instead suggests that they organize and police the territories. Triana challenges her authority and this is met by a friendly smack across the face and near drowning.

Richard, Kahlan and Zedd track the creature from earlier and find a crack to the underworld. Apparently, the Power of Orden that Richard used to kill Darken Rahl ripped the veil to the underworld. Richard swears to find the Stone of Tears and repair the veil. Just then D'haran soldiers come to the town and swear their allegiance to the Seeker calling him Master Rahl. He tells the story of Darken Rahl's father, who upon seeing how evil little Darken turned out to be, learned of a prophecy of Darken Rahl's brother killing him.

Apparently he seduced Zedd's daughter by pretending to be a male Abercrombie & Fitch model or a shepherd or something. They then made a baby. Upon this he made fun of Darken Rahl causing him to kill Panis and set Richard's humble beginnings in motion. All the while Cara makes out with Triana in a show of dominance. While Triana scrubs the floor, a vision of Darken Rahl appears telling her to tell Triana to kill Cara and start a special task.

Richard acts all big and tells Zedd to search for clues in finding the Stone of Tears. He tells Kahlan to defend the town. Richard then leads the D'harans to hunt the screeling and announces intentions to claim the throne of D'hara, rejecting a notion that he must kill his men to make people fear him. The Mord Sith attack Cara and cut off her hair leaving her to the screeling. Kahlan boards up the doors to a hall as the remaining Mord Sith attack.

As Richard tracks the screeling, the commander of the one battalion that he commands is killed by the resistance. Wary of the D'harans they almost come to blows as warning bells are heard from the town. They head back where Richard learns that seven girls were taken by the Mord Sith including Rachel. Richard plans to lead the D'harans against the Mord Sith as a D'haran threatens him. Richard slaps him down as the rest of his men pledge their allegiance.

They find Cara lying in the gutter. Kahlan goes to confess her but Richard stops her. Triana calls a friend and tells him of the Seeker's batallion. Richard forms a plan to extract the girls from the cave, but it will likely involve his men dying. Zedd meanwhile meets up with Shota who tells him that Richard Rahl is prophesized to fail in his quest against the Keeper. Three omens will foretell this. She tells him to name him a new Seeker or the Keeper will win blah blah blah...

Richard's men are trapped in a canyon without him as Kahlan and Cara climb into a canyon distrustful of one another. As the D'harans are losing, Richard and the resistance charge up and take control of the battle. Kahlan and Cara free the girls and then Cara kills Triana. There is a reunion in the town and just as Zedd is about to tell the gang what he knows, the screeling reappears. Richard taunts it again causing it to fall into a fountain upon which Zedd freezes it.

They decide to head to the Abbott to find the Stone of Tears. Richard decides not to claim the throne. The plan is to send Kahlan off to the Mother Confessor throne while Cara appears and pledges her loyalty to Richard. Before they get to Aydindril, Kahlan seeing that Richard and Cara are getting awfully cozy decides that they will head to get the Stone of Tears together. As Richard is sitting by the fire, Darken Rahl appears and tells Richard to quit his quest. He grabs Richard and marks him on the chest fulfilling the omens that Shota suggested will foretell of his failure to defeat the Keeper.

Commentary: Sorry for the length but there was a lot of exposition in this episode. We got to see that peace will not come easy in the new Midlands. Some in the D'haran military just want to serve Lord Rahl, while others don't buy fighting for the Seeker. To make matters worse, apparently some guy named the Keeper has had a plan all along. Now Richard will have to fight off the Keeper and try to keep the peace in the Midlands. Except the prophecy foretells that he's not the one that can do this. Oh noes!

There was a whole lot of smacking around going around in this episode. I may be hazy in my recollection but is this the way things have gotten done in this universe? I half-expected Richard to haul off and smack Kahlan sometime in the third act. What's worse is after all the posturing, Richard refuses to take the throne of D'hara. This seems a little hypocritical. So it was okay for Richard to kill off half of that loyal D'haran battalion in his mission, but he can't claim the whole pie. Slippery slope Richard.

How many things can go wrong for Richard to start the season? I guess the guy just can't catch a break. I was a little interested in why we are listening to Shota. Has anything she said ever come true? She was wrong when she first appeared, wrong about Kahlan betraying Richard, etc. At this point, they should probably give her the same kind of credence, that I give to the crazy guy on the street that I pass on the way to work that tells me all about the crazy pigeon conspiracy. I just say that I take it under advisement. Seems to me Richard is doing just fine, but that's just this humble blogger's opinion.

It was great to see Kahlan get all catty because Richard wants to hang out with Cara. Time to start employing those convenient waterfall showers, Kahlan. I didn't really buy the Mord Sith conspiracy. The whole Triana character just didn't do it for me. At first she challenges Cara, then doesn't, then listens to Darken Rahl's water ghost and does again. Finally, she refuses to kill Cara when Darken Rahl specifically told her to. This comes back to bite her and she meets an unspectacular death. It was also a waste of Charisma Carpenter whom I wanted to see more of.

A couple of shots of beautiful New Zealand that we HD-Pornoriffic. I also noticed some new music that they definitely went for. I guess the Emmy award money can come in handy.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 2 out of 10.

Nothing really happened to advance their relationship. A couple of glances towards Richard I guess. There was also the wince-inducing conversation with Rachel about marriage. What kid asks that? Kahlan's cattiness didn't work either. Was she seriously planning to confess Cara for no reason?

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 4 out of 10.

Zedd also has a freezing power. Thanks for using that last year Zedd. Though I can't really think of when it would have come in useful but I'm sure they could have found a time. His creepy tryst with Shota came up again. Also I love how indignant he got that his daughter might have been with Panis Rahl. We've met a bunch of weirdos that he's gotten with. Like father like daughter.

Notable Quotes:

Richard: "This happened when I killed Rahl. When the Boxes of Orden exploded."
Zedd: "Wizard's Second Rule: The greatest harm can come from the best intentions."

Richard: "Darken Rahl is dead. The war is over. Lay down your arms or you will feel my sword."
D'haran Commander: "We have not come to fight my lord. Master Rahl guide us. Master Rahl protect us. In your light we thrive. In your wisdom we are humbled. We live only to serve. Our lives are yours."

Shota: "We're all relying on the Seeker. But not Richard Rahl. It is written in the halls of Prophecy that Richard Rahl will fail in his quest to defeat the Keeper."

Cara: "If you're foolish enough to turn down the throne of D'hara, then you need me all the more."

Richard:"What about Aydindril?"
Kahlan: "I'll get there... When all this is over... But as long as you're still the Seeker... you need your confessor by your side. "

Inside Zedd's Robes: New Feelings Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:40:00 +0000

Cool Stuff on the Interwebs: So after a long hiatus, this blog returns with a vengeance. A little over a week is left until season 2 starts so get excited. The official Legend of the Seeker Site has a ton of new videos that the most dedicated of you have seen. I include the most important one:

But seriously if you like to hear about the show you should go there. The official site that is. Some of the stuff can be considered spoiler heavy but whatever.

Awards won: This blog has been officially named to the Fantasy Blogs up-and-coming list. It's a real honor and I'm happy that... no... just kidding. There's no such thing. The only thing this blog has going for it is that it is the self-proclaimed third best blog about Legend of the Seeker. Or, it was...

Anyways, the actual show Legend of the Seeker has won an Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition. I recently watched the first episode over again and the music there is actually really good. As someone who is living through an everlasting cold, Legend of the Seeker is definitely a great post-up-with-a-blanket-on-the-couch. If it comes out in Blu-Ray it might dethrone Planet Earth. Probably not though. Hey here is the Emmy promo video that the show put out:

Upcoming Events: The show starts up again the weekend of the 7th and 8th of November which is so soon. Get ready to see plenty of Richard, Kahlan, Zedd and other friends. Looks like Cara will be a prominent character this season. Good times ahead. Anyways TV Guide has the following:

Season 2 premiere: Richard inadvertently opens an entry to the underworld, unleashing a terrible evil. Triana: Charisma Carpenter.

You might remember Charisma Carpenter from Buffy, Angel, and the ABC Family comedy Greek (Which is awesome by the way). She plays a Mord-Sith with kind of a mean streak. It's just awesome to be getting back into the thick of it.

Blog News I am going to try to get the recap up at the beginning of the week. Hopefully by Monday. I hope to get some more content on the blog as well, so I'm bringing in a guest blogger. Hopefully we can be a little more regular with posting three times a week during weeks when there is a new episode. If anyone has further suggestions on the blog, please let me know.

Roles in Bruce Spence's Career: This is something called Crooked Mick of the Speewah. Bruce Spence seems to be playing a farmer who put his sheep on stilts. He can't seem to get them... you know what, I can't explain it. Just watch the video:

Oh so good. Every time I think I won't find a new role that Bruce Spence has played, something like this comes along. Just so fantastic.

Inside Zedd's Robes: Still Here Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Misha) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:38:00 +0000

Upcoming Events: Been real slow while we wait for November 7 to come. Here is a promo image to whet your appetite courtesy of the Official Legend of the Seeker Site:

Cool Stuff on the Interwebs: The three leads of Legend of the Seeker did pretty standard interviews with Sci Fi UK. There isn't too much groundbreaking materials here but it's always interesting to hear what the stars have to say about the show. Here they are: Craig Horner's interview, Bridget Regan's interview, and Bruce Spence's interview. Also if you're bored you can take a "quiz" from Sci Fi UK. Only take it if you're very bored, it's not incredibly enlightening.

Recently Kal commented on a blog post with a link to his own blog. Snark level high but in these slow times it's a pretty interesting look at the show.

Legend of the Seeker is also coming out on DVD on October 13. You can preorder the DVD from Amazon. A Blu-ray version is in the works but it isn't likely to be out until the holiday season. If I hear any more I will report it.

Roles in Bruce Spence's Career An actual serious role is presented here. This was an award winning short film called Australian Summer. The range of roles that Bruce Spence can play is incredible.

Well that's about all I have. If anything interesting comes up, I will be sure to report, until then keep yourself sane by watching reruns. Like the blog? Sign up to receive our Feed through Feedburner.