Five Torches (Out of Five)
Warning: The following review contains spoilers for the “Eternity” episode of Legend of the Seeker.
Every episode makes my heart ache a little bit more for Legend of the Seeker. Imagine if Xena had been canceled just as it really hit its prime. Or Buffy. Think of the great episodes we would have been robbed of. That’s exactly what’s happening with Seeker, and with episodes the quality of “Eternity,” it’s a damn shame.
The addition of Cara to the main cast this year was a brilliant stroke, and Tabrett Brethell is a stunning actress to watch. I’ve become so fond of her that this episode was devastating, but the very thing that made it such a bitter pill to swallow is the same thing that made it amazing.
Cara’s evil again.
Probably. Possibly. Well, it certainly looks that way, but it’s possible there’s some deception going on.
This episode earned its five torches for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that it really went there in terms of making its characters suffer. Seeing Cara being tortured at the hands of Darken Rahl was agonizing, but it was so rewarding to see what a bad-ass she was for the most part — how strong she was, and how resistant to cracking under torment.
(And is it pervy to mention how sick her abs were? That is a lady who knows her way around a sit-up.)
Sure, the plot once again featured a scenario where it was absolutely essential that the main four split up (amazing how often that happens), but all is forgiven for the situations that provided. Richard and Kahlan head off to find the Stone of Tears, which has proven to be the most elusive rock in the history of the universe, while Zedd and Cara head off with Cara’s friend and fellow Mord-Sith, Dalia, to protect the son that none of us knew Cara had, who just happens to also be the son of Darken Rahl.
Wow, so that’s a lot of new information. Fear not, though — the son was a red herring, and was actually killed at birth. But before we learn this, we see that Cara and Dalia are way, way more than friends. While miles away, Richard and Kahlan are controlling their hormones, Cara and Dalia show no such restraint. As the next scene picks up, Cara and Dalia are getting dressed, and it occurred to me how far we’ve come in the ten years since Xena went off the air.
Xena was a show very much about the love between two women, but the show was always coy about their relationship and never committed to their love being romantic and sexual. As Cara helped strap Dalia into her leathers after a night of lovemaking, it was cool to see that progress has clearly been made.
Another landmark of this episode is that the Stone of Tears actually gets found, but there’s a devastating last-minute revelation that Darken’s torturing of Cara actually worked and turned her back into an evil minion, and she steals the Stone and returns it to Rahl.
They could not have set up the finale any better than this, with the enemy possessing not only their magical object but also one of their own whom they trusted with their lives.
I don’t want to see this show go, but if this truly is the end, it looks as though it will be a fitting, exciting finale.
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Holy S%$#! Perfect title for the review of this episode. I think I might have to rank it as my favorite LOTS ep. Cara was my fav character in the books and is far and away my fav character in the show too. Tabrett Bethell does an amazing job bringing Cara to life. And in a page right out of Joss Whedon’s playbook, Cara gets brutally tortured in the episode immediately following the one where she had her most genuinely happy moments. She actually laughed when she could finally understand the wisp (i’m sure it was mentioned in the previous review that she managed to carry off whole scenes of talking her gloved hand just fine… no complaints here!). She was in such awe at the birth of the night wisps… and it was beautiful watching her tell Kahlan about it.
Very astute observation about the progress since Xena. 2 leather-clad women making out?? potential for serious sleeze. but it was handled perfectly. in fact, what was best about it is that it was a non-issue. even if cara is not the main character… they have sure come a long way. it is clear that after all the rape and torture, mord-sith have interesting ideas as to what is amusement. i sure don’t think there was any real love between the two (i dont think there was any w/ leo either) as i think cara is only just now developing that ability. after a season w/ richard, Cara only just last episode admitted to the wisp that she loves Richard et al. and this episode says they are her family. Ahhhh…. tear! (double tear b/c no sooner did that happen than it gets taken away from her) and well their relationship and Dahlia’s gambit does set up a half-decent reason for splitting up the gang. It also set up some nice moments including Kahlan asking Cara’s opinion of Dahlia and Zedd going w/ 2 mord-sith, both showing the trust they have in Cara. Oh and I loved the moment where Cara kicks Zedd to get him to stop sleeping. It was so little, but showed how she’s been around so much she knows how to get him to stop snoring. i know cara and cute should not go together, but it was.
I’ll agree w/ Leo a little bit that it was sort of hokey that the sisters of the dark created a super-special agiel to torture cara with. But she was immune to the regular agiel (loved the book reference to dividing your mind) and what could be more painful to someone who is becoming human than feeling all the pain of all the people she tortured. Actually I amend myself, it was hokey b/c it was the sisters of the dark (yawn.. dont 10 die every week?)… and not b/c they made the agiel different. i felt so horrible for Cara to lose everything she had been gaining all season long. She has come soooo far. And her journey has been (for me) so much more interesting than the quest for a rock. So much so that when she was broken… i was more concerned w/ saving Cara than w/ saving the world.
richard and kahlan were doing something this epidode weren’t they? hmmmm… oh they met some creepy old folks, found and lost the stone of tears they’d been searching for the whole year.. and re-enacted Cliffhanger. But who cares? we need to save Cara people!
Seeker has always had that Disney-vibe to it, when I think it would have been much better served by a darker, premium channel edge. Way too much wandering around the woods (And just how does richard know exactly where they are all the time when he grew up in Hartland pre-boundary?) until someone pops out (how does everyone stumble on him so easily and know immediately he is the Seeker when there hasn’t been one for years) and suddenly the quest is derailed b/c Timmy is down a well again.
I gave the series a shot b/c of its producers’ pedigree.. though that made me leery too since I think they royally mucked up Xena starting in about season 4, but that is the subject of another long-winded comment. I liked it enough. In between seasons 1 and 2 i read all the novels… where i really fell in love with the characters. ok, richard was still annoying and i had to skip through some of his soliloqueys… and a few of the middle novels are just downright bad, but i came to love the characters so much that i was really excited for season 2. however, there were points this year where i was one of those whiny book fans lamenting the divergence from the source material, but this ep was not one… which just proves you can veer from source and do well when you write a GOOD story. if the episodes had always been this quality… it would’ve been a hell of a show. atleast seeker is going out w/ a bang.
thus ends my dissertation on this kick-arse episode.
“i sure don’t think there was any real love between the two (i dont think there was any w/ leo either)”
I completely disagree with that! I’m too lazy/tired to explain it now, other have done it already on LiveJournal, at least the Cara/Dahlia part. About Leo: just watch Perdition (and Unbroken) again and tell me that there wasn’t love between them… They were travelling together for weeks (at least), don’t forget that either.
About this episode: Cara’s part was simply amazing, Tabrett Bethell did a brilliant job! If she doesn’t get an Emmy nomination (for this or another episode), there is no justice…
The season finale is going to be hit our hearts!
Jennsen’s not a Rahl. She’s Richard’s half sister from his mother.
Sorry, now I think I remember, you meant that there is no living son for Darken Rahl.
@ Leo “(i.e. from Resurrection, we know that Richard is the only surviving Rahl bloodline person)”
I don’t remember what was said in that episode, but wouldn’t the presence of old Olivier Panis Rahl contradict this previous statement ?
Plus is Richard’s sister Jennsen a Rahl in the tv series ?
I think that there might be some other Rahls somewhere.
“And is it pervy to mention how sick her abs were?” No way…some of us watch this show eagerly waiting for the chance to admire Richard’s beautiful core. Am I wrong, ladies? :)
This episode was so awesome! Definitely five torches! I’m not sure I believe Cara is broken…she’s so bad-ass, how could she be? Darken Rahl is no match for her! This season has me firmly planted as a Cara/Tab fan. Steph - I completely agree with you! Who can deny those lips?
Bring back our Seeker!
Holy S%$#! was right!
Great review. I couldn’t agree more with the 5 Torch rating.
Caras’ apparent return to Rahls’ side left me a bit stunned. When she fought for Zedd, I thought “Wow, all the torture Rahl put her through didn’t succeed in turning her back to him as he thought.” I hate the thought of the season (and quite possibly the series) ending with Cara fighting to do Rahls’ will. It just ain’t right!
And, speaking of Rahl…Now, THIS is the Darken Rahl we’ve all come to know and love.(!?!)….at his cold-bloodedly, evil best. I love this character, wicked though he is. Evil just doesn’t get any better than him.
And, what was up with that Asa dude?? That guys’ eyes coupled with that constant smile just didn’t go together at all. He seriously creeped me out. I still get chills thinking about it.. *shiver*
I have not seen this episode yet, but as an old fan of Xena and the relationship between Xena/Gabrielle I find you saying this truly wonderful, because as you say it really shows such a progression on how the world views lesbian/bisexual relationships and that they shows are no longer coy about them and that they have become just as deep, meaningful and poignant as the heterosexual relationships which run along side them.
I loved the episode! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! I can’t believe Darken Rahl broke Mistress Cara!! Please, I need a season 3!
Personally I didn’t like this episode (although this is no doubt partly because I thought Extinction so great).
The writers just needed to get Zedd and Cara away from everyone else, but what reason did they make? The writers make a character that is Cara’s old girlfriend to tell her that her son who is clearly dead (i.e. from Resurrection, we know that Richard is the only surviving Rahl bloodline person) is still alive and needs her help.
The second cheesy plotline twist is that the Sisters of the Dark imbue dark spirits into an Agiel so that Rahl can actually break her. I mean come on! (Even though I would have been mad if they had broken Cara through conventional means).
Aside from that, the writers took my two favorite characters (DR and Cara) in Extinction and humanized them, a lot. I was so hoping to see a follow-up on that here, but it looks like the writers forgot about Extinction, where Rahl kind of sorta maybe admits that he likes his brother, and Cara smiles, a lot.
But all in all, it’s still a great show, and makes me look forward to the weekend even more than I already do.
And a plot twist I would love: Rahl knows that he deceived Renn, so he knows that if Richard did stuff with the Stone, he would fail. So he’s taking things into his own hands. But who am I kidding? =(
Can I just say that Cara’s little lick is something I won’t forget easily.
Oh, What a great episode! Cara\’s so great and Tab\’s acting skills are really impressive.
Please, season3!!
Agent 86:
There would be no need to kill all the males. Everyone would now be of the confessor species, which means there is no power wielded anymore by them.
Highly enjoyed all the Cara (and Dalia and Darken Rahl) scenes, but found Richard and Kahlan’s adventures with the Creator’s cult to be extremely boring and plain odd - especially the idea that Richard and Kahlan were somehow going to repopulate the Earth all by themselves which would require Richard to impregnate his own daughters (since any male child would be killed). I mean really? That was meant to be the Creator’s plan according to his/her/its cult? I get that they wanted an Adam and Eve vibe, but it just caused a major “ick” factor for me and I found it hard to believe either Richard or Kahlan could have considered it as a viable alternative to saving the world.
Of course, all things Cara were excellent and I also enjoyed the mostly mature depiction of Cara and Delia’s relationship. Of course any relationship between two hot blondes in skin-tight red leather catsuits is vulnerable to being nothing more than an excuse for T&A, but they did a decent job in creating a relationship between the two Mord Sith (or whatever it is that two Mord Sith have with each other).
Looking forward to the final two episodes. I hope we see the return of Kahlan’s white dress and Richard’s abs before the series ends. They’re essential elements to LOTS.
My word what a good week for Seeker.
This week alone we got:
An outstanding episode.
Terry Goodkind offically endorsing the Save the Seeker campaign and pledging to provide what ever help we needed.
We got news from LegendoftheSeeker.org’s Lots_Sponsor that his company has okayed a marketing campaign thus basically giving SOS a sponsorship ally in saving the show.
The Variety ad came out with the Hollywood Reporter ad to soon follow.
And now there are rumors that we might try to raise donations for a SOS commercial to put out into various Tv markets ala what the Farscapre fan’s did.
I have to give a collective hand to all the Seeker fans on running a great campaing to save our show.
I was waiting for you to give a 5 out of 5 to a season 2 episode, and “Eternity” really deserved it. “I don’t want to see this show go”, and apparently neither does Terry Goodkind, who’s now supporting the SaveOurSeeker campaign, http://www.saveourseeker.com/terrygoodkind.html
Fingers & toes crossed.
LOLing forever: “While miles away, Richard and Kahlan are controlling their hormones”
Just pointing out, I have previously given 5-torch ratings to Season 2 episodes. Episodes 11 and 12 both got 5 torches, and possibly one or two more. :)
Holy S%$#! indeed! I rate this episode a 10 out of 5!