Fours Torches (Out of Five)
Warning: This review contains spoilers for the “Marked” episode of Legend of the Seeker.
It’s baa-ack.
After waiting a good long while (Hey, Rob Tapert! Season premieres should happen in September!), the surprise hit of last season, Legend of the Seeker, opened the curtain for Act Two.
The action picks up right where we left off — literally, since at the end of the previous episode, they send Darken Rahl to Hell, and this episode opens on Hell, or at least the equivalent of Hell in this universe. Darken is in pain, naked and govered in goo, surrounded by literally thousands of other pained, naked, goo-covered souls. The opening vista of Hell is an astounding work of special effects, and reminds us with a slap in the face just how good this show looks.
Richard (who’s a little shaggier this season), Kahlan, and Zed are partying down with the townsfolk when a monster crashes the party, leading our heroes to discover a startling new development that just so happens to kick off a whole new plotline: turns out Rahl’s death caused a tear in the barrier between the Underworld and the world of the living, and because Richard killed him, well, it’s pretty much his fault.
But don’t worry, Richard! According to Zed, “Sometimes the greatest harm comes from the best intentions.”
Uh, thanks, Zed.
The big bad of the season is now clearly the Keeper, the lord of the Underworld…who wants everyone to be dead. Pretty basic, really. The way to defeat him is to seal the cracks between the dimensions by finding the Stone of Tears, which, wouldn’t you know, only the Seeker can do.
And to further complicate matters, there’s an addition to the group: Cara, who we last saw reluctantly helping Richard in last season’s finale. Things are a bit tense among the Mord’Sith now that Cordelia Triana is piping up about not being pleased with Cara’s behavior. While it was nice to see Charisma Carpenter on TV again, it was hard to buy her in this role, and the whole thing just felt like stunt casting. But maybe I’m just a curmudgeon.
All in all, the episode rocked. Great effects, awesome fights, and some pretty cool plot development about Richard’s lineage led to a strong season premier. I can’t wait to see what’s yet to come.
Similar Posts:
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- LEGEND OF THE SEEKER Episode Review (2-9): Richard Vs. Evil Nuns!
- LEGEND OF THE SEEKER Episode Review (2-12): Night of the Living Cara!
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yes, yes, yo! this is goody great
While I agree to the point of laughing when you call Anthony Head “King Giles” in your Merlin reviews (after all, as Uther, Head is basically playing Giles on a couple of cups of espresso), I feel you’re giving Chrisma Carpenter short shrift. I think she had already demonstrated on ‘Veronica Mars’ that she was capable of more than just one character and as Triana she displays a strength and laser-like focus no one suspected her capable of. While the Buffyverse and all it’s inhabitants will live on unaging in all our hearts, I really think we need to start letting the actors get on with their non-Whedon careers (except David Boreanaz-am I the only person that, every time I catch more than a few minutes of ‘Bones’, I keep expecting him to sprout fangs?)
I was kinda shocked by how bad her acting was…
I definitely like Craig Horner’s new look as Richard. To tell you the truth, he has never looked like Richard Cipher to me as I envisioned him from reading the books. The scruffy look makes him look a bit older and more serious.
I don’t think I like, though, how they de-freckled Kahlan. She is a gorgeous girl but I liked that she had freckles because it made her seem more human, I guess.
I like the direction they are going with the plot this season. I’ve read the book, The Stone of Tears, but I really don’t remember it that well so any changes they make won’t bother me.
Do you have an HD television? Because she still had plenty of freckles, but they were subtle…maybe they wouldn’t show up in a non-HD TV. ANyway, agreed, I love her freckles.
Not a bad episode, but maaaaaaan, a lot of exposition. And, frankly, it sounds like they just sorta reset the bar — changed the names of what they’re looking for/trying to achieve — to repeat the first season. Also, the “brother” storyline…I dunno. Hasn’t the whole “secret relative” already been done — not just in fantasy, but twice on this very show!
The secret relative thing was in the books, though. Except Darken Rahl is supposed to be Richard and Jensen’s father, not their brother. They need Richard to be the next Lord Rahl for later storylines to work, assuming they stick to the books for major storylines (Stopping Rahl with Orden, finding the Stone of Tears)
Very good episode.
I hope TPTB can maintain such a high quality of scripts, direction, stunts, acting (with the exception of Charisma - sorry, loved Charisma on Buffy and on Veronica Mars, but a Mord Sith she is not), etc for the remainder of the season.
Not sure how they’re going to manage balancing four main characters and I certainly hope Zedd doesn’t get shuffled off to the side to make more screen time for Cara (even though I have a major weakness for Cara).
I totally agree that Charisma Carpenter was out of place in this show. She was NOT NOT NOT right for the part and I was frustrated that they would turn to someone who is more well-known, anyways. One of the things I like about this show is that they are using a bunch of people that, at least to an American audience, aren’t as well known.
I agree with everyone else that it seemed like stunt casting. It seemed to me like it was too small a part for her. It just seemed like an awfully small part to go through the time, effort, and cost to fly her 17+ hours from the States to do. I think it was more for the sci-fi fans (and HUGE Buffy fan Craig) to see “Cordelia” than it was for the sake of the show.