Legend of the Weeker: Reckoning

Synopsis: The episode opens with Darken Rahl talking to a bunch of Mord Sith. One of the Mord Sith, Cara tells him that he will be hard to find. The show cuts to Zedd talking to Kahlan about whether they should try the Confession/Power of Orden canceling out thing. Richard comes over and convinces her to try it. While he gets the power of Orden, Kahlan confesses him. Before it has a chance to work, Rahl and the Mord Sith interrupt him. Zedd tries to stop them but his Wizard's fire is turned against him. When Kahlan comes to, Rahl tells her that the Wizard is dead and the Seeker is no more.

Rahl takes Kahlan prisoner and tells her that he wants her to be her queen. She refuses and he tells her that Richard could not have survived. Meanwhile Shota watches as Richard fights with Cara in some desolate place. Shota is then apprehended by the other Mord Sith. Richard is fighting Cara while some men attack them. As Richard chases them down he is approached by someone who lets him know that it has been 60 years since he disappeared and Darken Rahl's son, a confessor, rules like a tyrant. He is also told that Kahlan, Darken Rahl's wife has died a long time ago.

Kahlan is trapped in a dungeon but she can communicate with Shota who tells her that Richard is in the future. Cara attacks Richard but he lets her know that they are in the future. They decide to work together for a little while. Kahlan, despondent over Zedd's death and Richard's disappearance tries to figure out a way to send a message to Shota. She talks to Darken Rahl and agrees to be his queen.

The show flashes a year into the future. Kahlan is pregnant with Rahl's child. She tells her chambermaid that she needs her help. She tells her to tell Richard in the future that he needs a Confession, Power of Orden, and Agiel to get back to their time. Kahlan gives birth to a son. Darken Rahl convinces her to not kill the baby. She raises the boy as the years go by. Meanwhile Richard and Cara decide to try and kill the Master Rahl together. They spend time eating worms and hanging out naked in bed together.

Kahlan begins seeing that her son is horrible and she must kill him. She tries but is stopped by a boy that he confessed. Her chambermaid is killed by Rahl and she is to be executed by her willing son. Richard and Cara enter the palace but find it in ruins. They run into Shota who tells him the story of the Master Rahl who is afraid the ghost of Kahlan. Turns out that as soon as Kahlan was executed, the kid killed Darken Rahl.

Shota goes to be confessed by the Master Rahl. She tells him that Richard needs the power of all three things. Richard uses the power of the Boxes of Orden while Master Rahl runs in to confess him. His soldier shoot Cara but she is still able to hit Richard with the Agiel. She comes to and hits the other Mord Sith with an Agiel preventing her from killing Zedd. Darken Rahl appears but is too late. He tries to break up the Boxes of Orden and is consumed by their power. Richard tells Kahlan and Zedd everything that happened in the future that he prevented. He also agrees to stick around to help take care of the Midlands so that evil doesn't take hold in the vacuum of power caused by Rahl's death.

Commentary: Wow. What a way to finish the season. Richard travels 60 years into the future and must figure out how to get back. We also get an introduction to Cara who seems incredibly badass even for a Mord Sith. Her time travel induced truce with Richard was played out in an incredibly authentic way. On the other hand I wasn't incredibly impressed with Kahlan's story. I understand that they wanted to how much she loved Richard, but it was a little hard to believe that she would live this whole life just to get him a message. I think she could have thought the whole thing through a little better. Though she did manage to make the lives of the people in the Midlands better.

As much as I didn't buy the whole Kahlan lives a crazy life with Darken Rahl story, I was floored with Bridget Regan's performance. Watching that episode again it astounded me that this was a woman who just got into acting. The episode required her to showcase her entire range of emotions and she nails pretty much everything from the start of the episode where Kahlan worries about confessing Richard to the end scene on the beach. I really hope that there are more episodes in the future that allow this kind of range in the characters.

Kahlan sure made a gamble that Richard would be able to return to her time. Rahl had already said that the explosion should have killed him. Then Shota warns her that he needs to perfectly recreate the types of magic or else he is going to die. Kahlan's reaction? Yeah let's go have a kid with Darken Rahl and be his queen until he kills me. Also why didn't Darken Rahl kill Shota? What possible use could she have to him. He already defeated the Seeker. Did he also forget that she cannot die of old age.

Not only did this episode have solid performances by the main characters, the secondary characters were awesome too. Darken Rahl goes from creepy to menacing as he cares about his kid. The kid is a perfect Children of the Corn type and that moment when he has his friend give him his thumb as a gift made my skin crawl. I also loved Cara's attempted seduction of Richard. The whole thing felt pretty realistic even with Richard having a moment of doubt. My only question was 'Why was she naked?' The answer is probably 'Why not?'

Richard and Kahlan's Romance Index: 9 out of 10.

I can't give it a 10 out of 10 because they didn't get to roll in the hay. Other than that it was about as romantic as it gets between the two. She lived a life with Darken Rahl solely on the hope that Richard would find her message and figure out a way to return to his original time. When he came back to the world and defeated Rahl his first reaction was to kiss her. Awesome.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 3 out of 10.

Short of getting roasted to a crisp he didn't really do anything creepy. He did backhandedly suggest that Richard stick around and help them keep evil out of the Midlands.

Notable Quotes:

Kahlan: "What if... what if we're wrong? What if this is some kind of trick?"
Zedd: "You've always put your faith in the Seeker. Even before you knew his smile or the sound of his voice. And that faith has been rewarded time and again. Now is not the time to waver."

Darken Rahl: "If I was simply to take what I wanted, you would already be in my bedchamber."

Richard: "I'm sorry. I'm in love with someone else."
Cara: "Who said anything about love? I'm talking about pleasure."

Darken Rahl: "It's just you and me now Nicholas."
Nicholas Rahl: "No father. It's just me."

Richard: "Kahlan, when we first met you told you'd give your life for the Seeker... and that's what you did... even when it looked like you had no hope... you loved me across time."

Kahlan: "Richard, you've done everything we've asked of you... and more. No one can blame you if you want to go home."
Richard: "I am home."

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Legend of the Weeker: Fever

Synopsis: The episode opens with Jennsen feeding a family. A man named Sean runs in telling her to run with the Boxes of Orden because D'Harans are coming. Close to being captured Jennsen throws the boxes into a lake. The show cuts to Richard reading the Book of Counted Shadows. He is trying to figure out how to use the Boxes of Orden safely. Richard and Zedd decide that he must be confessed and use the Boxes at the same time.

They walk up to the house where Jennsen is hiding but there is a big red X on the door. Sean attacks Richard and then tells him that Darken Rahl has unleashed a plague onto the village. Zedd will try to heal people by drawing the sickness out and putting it in himself. Darken Rahl is keeping Jennsen prisoner. She has suffered a head injury and doesn't remember anything. He starts to tell her a story that Richard has attacked her.

Richard and Kahlan head to a garrison to try to procure a cure while Zedd starts healing people. Darken Rahl starts spinning a web of lies to make it look like Richard is terrible, using the story how he used the Boxes of Orden. She remembers the story of how she was attacked. Richard and Kahlan attack the D'haran soldiers but it turns out that the soldiers have been infected with the fever.

Darken Rahl gives Jennsen a kitten which she loves. Richard brings back the commander to Zedd while the sick people get really upset that they plan to heal a D'haran instead of villagers. Darken Rahl then tells Jennsen that he is the brother of her and the Seeker. He tells her the story of Panis Rahl his father. He tells a backward story placing himself in Richard's background. Gullible Jennsen listens to this and decides to help Rahl.

Zedd heals the D'haran commander and Richard goes with him to get Jennsen back. Jennsen begins telling Darken Rahl about her escape with the Boxes of Orden. While this is happening, Richard is tracking her moves. He figures out where she put the Boxes just as Jennsen tells Rahl where she put the Boxes. Rahl sends a quad to the lake and one of them manages to shoot Richard with an arrow. He still kills everyone and gets the Boxes of Orden.

Meanwhile the men at the camp attack Zedd and Kahlan is forced to confess one of them. She becomes ill in the process and Zedd is incapacitated. Darken Rahl decides to send Jennsen to Richard with what appears to be a cure. He has her go to Richard and try to get the boxes back by convincing him that she escaped. Richard gets back to the camp but sees Zedd and Kahlan in a bad state.

Richard plans to go to Rahl with the Boxes of Orden and take a suicide pill right before killing Rahl. Before he has a chance to leave, Jennsen meets him with the cure. He gives it to Zedd and Kahlan but Jennsen runs off with the boxes. Richard chases her down, being an awesome tracker and all, and realizes what happened to her. He then tells her the story of what happened to her about the boxes. She realizes that he was awesome all along.

D'haran soldiers attack the two of them while they are having a nice moment. Richard fights them off and comes back to the camp where Zedd makes fun of him. He tends to a recovering Kahlan and tells her that she must confess him.

Commentary: This was a pretty exciting lead up into the season finale. I always say that that the darker episodes are far better than the lighter fare. It becomes difficult to root against Darken Rahl when he is a more abstract villain. When you think about it we are asked to cheer on Richard who is basically on an assassination mission. The only way that this is possible is when we see how much of a bastard Darken Rahl really is. In this episode he unleashes a horrible plague on an unsuspecting village.

So we find out that Darken Rahl is actually Richard's brother in this show's universe. As I understand it, this isn't the way the book goes. I love how absolutely everyone of significance is related in this story. Seriously the ruling despot is related to the only pristinely ungifted one, who is related to the Seeker, who is related to First Wizard. That is some kind of family. I keep waiting to see how Kahlan fits into all this.

Ok I know that Jennsen is supposed to be a simple peasant girl, but she has got to be the easiest person in the wordl to convince of something. I can understand that Darken Rahl created this complicated lie. How in the world did Richard manage to convince her so fast? That was pretty hilarious.

Over the course of the episode, Richard figures must get Kahlan to confess him while he has the Power of Orden. I love that they are just guessing on whether this will actually work. Sounds like pretty circumstantial evidence. If I was Richard I would be a little bit worried. What if it doesn't work and you just have to walk around being her slave forever? I guess there are worse ways to pass the time. If I was everyone else I would be kind of worried too. What if Richard becomes an all powerful ruler like Darken Rahl? Just seems a little risky.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 6 out of 10.

Richard offered to sacrifice himself for her. You don't get any more in love than that. It also begs the question whether or not the Boxes of Orden will be a cure for Richard and Kahlan's love problem. The only reason I didn't rate the index higher is because they didn't spend a lot of time together in this episode. That and it doesn't really mean anything.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 6 out of 10.

I was a little disturbed by the fact that he had to take on the disease onto himself. Also while I don't agree with the sick villagers, he was kind of playing God, deciding who lives and who dies. I can kind of understand when they were pissed that he healed the D'haran.

Notable Quotes:

Zedd: "The Power of Orden possessed you. Now you must learn to possess the Power of Orden."

Sean: "Be careful not to touch anyone. If you do the fire will leap from their blood into yours."

Darken Rahl: "I didn't know how to tell you this Jennsen but you, Richard, and I share the same father."

Darken Rahl: "Have Mistress Cara gather her sisters of the Agiel."
Egremont: "My lord, perhaps you can negotiate a truce with the Seeker."
Darken Rahl: "It's far too late for that."

Richard: "You have to confess me.

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.

Inside Zedd's Robes: Penultimate Edition

Upcoming Events: It's the second last episode of the season. Some crazy stuff has got to go down. We know that Richard must now use the Boxes of Orden to defeat Rahl. The only question is how will he do it. TV Guide has the following:

Darken Rahl captures Richard's sister Jennsen and poisons her mind against her brother. Meanwhile, Richard, Kahlan and Zedd aid villagers after Rahl unleashes a plague on them.

Sounds like Rahl is getting pretty desperate. Episodes are also getting more intense which is when this show is at its best.

Blog News: So I secured http://www.hopehasawarrior.com as a domain. You can feel free to use that or just use the old address. We are getting more readership but still not enough for me to get off of the Blogger hosting. Speaking of which if you like the blog, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed at Feedburner. Thanks for all the support.

Cool Stuff on the Interwebs: There is an interview with Craig Horner on E! Online. It has a few spoilers about the end of the season so read at your own peril. What he has to say about the development in Richard's character:

Richard's going to have a lot of struggle with his magic and his powers, and he has a bit of a dark side to him that he's going to have to learn to explore and control. I'm really excited about that. I hope that comes about.

As I posited earlier, episodes with a darker theme are definitely the meat and potatoes of this show. Pretty awesome to see that this is how this season will end.

Moments in Bruce Spence's Career: This is the greatest clip I have ever seen. I have no idea what the hell is going on. Bruce Spence has apparently assembled a robot out of construction trucks and going on a rampage against what are possibly vampires.

In the middle there is a man dancing with a panda. Watch it in all its glory.

The Illiterate Midlands Peasant Returns

The IMP returns! Again! After my second diaspora away from the interwebs I have come back (again) to comment on the best show on television at 9pm Saturdays (at least that's when it comes on where I live--hooray for DVR technology).

After a few lackluster episodes (in my un-humble opinion) I have enjoyed the reunion of Zedd to team up with the unfulfilled lovers--his dodgy personal traits and creepy wisdom are what push the show from "ok" to "I think we should start a blog about this show" level of entertainment.

Turning to the most recent episode (Sanctuary), there was a lot to like. Magical paintings, Kahlan and Richard staring at each other for uncomfortable lengths of time, a creepy painter-stalker detached from reality, and Darken Rahl trying to burn Richard alive...in a painting. However, as usual, there were plenty of WTF!? moments.

First, WTF?! was up with the use of the transporter special effect whenever anyone went into the painting? Was it an homage to Star Trek's release this past week? I guess I understand using a similar visual (there's only so many ways to demonstrate transporting someone), but I swear they used the same sound effect. I kept waiting for Richard to beg Scottie to beam him up out of the painting.

Second, WTF?! was up with Richard's fight against the elite D'Haran soldiers inside the painting? I understand when 4 soliders get beat up by the Seeker with the Sword of Truth, which gives the wielder the strength of a hundred men. But when Richard went into the painting he was not the Seeker, he was just a dude named Richard with a sword. I understand that Richard has been dealing out death with his sword practically non-stop for the entire season. I assume he knows how to use a sword. But he was fighting the special forces of the D'Haran army and all they managed to do was knick his arm. And there were 4 of them and one of him. WTF?! Also, wouldn't Richard's entire fighting style be premised on being vastly stronger than everyone else since he is the Seeker? Wouldn't that put him at a distinct disadvantage when fighting inside the magical painting where he has no power?

Speaking of the magical painting, WTF?!! Seriously, there is this uber-powerful magic that any artist can learn how to use? How about this plan, the painter paints Darken Rahl, trapping him in the painting, and then burns it. Boom, problem solved. Everyone is happy in the Midlands. If that stalker James learned the magic I think Zedd could figure it out.

Last, WTF?! was up with the librarian's kid? She's gone for a couple days at work and he decides to go begging on the street to make money? They never really have a conversation about that aftr she finds him. I get that there are bigger fish to fry (like being captured by soldiers and trapped in a painting), but kids generally don't turn into Oliver Twist when their mom stays late at the library. WTF?! Also, how big is this town that no one knows the kid is not the librarian's son? It's a famous library in what looked like a small town. I am guessing the head librarian's son is pretty well known and couldn't just go begging people for money in the middle of the town without someone being like "Hey Aiden, go home to your mom. I'm not giving you any money you little prick. O, and by the way, your dad sucked, I'm glad he's dead." Ok, maybe not that last part.

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Legend of the Weeker: Sanctuary

Editor's Note: I misheard the librarian's name when I first posted this. Her name is Livia not Olivia and she is played by the lovely Michelle Langstone. Sorry about the confusion.

Synopsis: The episode opens with a woman transcribing some books. A guy walks by and gives her a picture of her son. She starts worrying about her son and runs off letting an old man read what she has read. The old man tells Darken Rahl about that she has been searching for the Book of Counted Shadows. Darken Rahl heads off for the library and Richard, Kahlan, and Zedd are there.

They don't find a librarian but introduce themselves to the gatekeeper. He tells him that the librarian, Livia, went in search of her son. Her son is begging on the street and is harassed by some local gangster. The kid steals the guy's wallet after being extorted and he hides in the painter's studio. Zedd, Richard and Kahlan show up at Livia's place.

The gangsters threaten the artist but he hides the kid. Livia tells the gang that she would help the Seeker but won't do it without her son. Richard offers to find the son. Right as Livia offers to help Zedd and Kahlan she is transported to a field with her son. Thanks to a magic picture:

Richard still runs off to the town to search for the son. The artist, James, teleports himself to the field as well. Apparently he can create worlds inside his painting. The D'harans arrive at the library and force the gatekeeper to go to find Olivia. He is saved by Zedd and Kahlan while Richard finds out that the boy went to James's studio. As the Seeker arrives he paints the library into his painting world causing it to be transported to the magic world.

He tells them that magic will not work in the painting world. Zedd, Livia, and her son are captured. The artist can only paint people out from inside the painting. He agrees to paint Richard into it. Kahlan and Richard talk about how nice a world without magic would be. He goes into the painting and kills a D'haran quad and then storms the library. Zedd knocks out the commander of the D'harans.

Darken Rahl gets information from that gangster who directs the D'harans to the studio. Rahl promptly kills him. With Richard's help Livia finds the second Book of Counted Shadows. James goes to his magic world with Kahlan and intends to stay there with everyone. Rahl captures the gatekeeper while everyone tries to convince James to let them leave.

Kahlan figures out that James is in love with Livia. Rahl lights the painting on fire lighting James's magic world on fire. James quickly paints the library back into the real world sacrificing himself in the process. The gang quickly escapes. from the D'harans. Livia gives the Book of Counted Shadows to the Seeker and goes to find the resistance with her son. Kahlan and Richard talk about how cool visiting the world without magic would be. Richard learns from the book that he must reassemble the Boxes of Orden.

Commentary: Overall a pretty good episode with a lot of exciting action sequences. The only thing about this episode was that the magic painting, which was a central tenet of the plot, seemed ridiculously powerful. Couldn't the guy just paint Darken Rahl and then light the painting on fire? Also I loved how you didn't even have to have any magic background; all you had to do is be a painter.

We got to see more three dimensional development in Darken Rahl. He had both the opportunity to seize the power of the Book of Counted Shadows versus killing the Seeker and his friends. Of course with Rahl being pretty evil he decides to try to kill the Seeker by burning the painting. It ended up being the right decision in this case but he was definitely conflicted. He also showed his badass side by killing the gangster who was trying to sell information about the Seeker. Which kind of begs the question if you are just going to kill all the informants won't they stop coming eventually?

So Richard got the Book of Counted Shadows back through a plot loophole. Now he can use it to defeat Darken Rahl. It is pretty interesting that someone decided to create a copy of the book and then hide it in a public library using some sort of library scavenger hunt. Good thing that one of Darken Rahl's more scholarly soldiers didn't stumble across it.

It's great how Kahlan and Richard keep running into people that have metaphorical connections to themselves. Well in this case the people were a direct comparison to them. James and Livia had their magical world in which they could escape the troubles of the Midlands. This world was perfect for Richard and Kahlan to escape to. This has been happening over the length of the series such as when they met that one guy liked the girl with the flower.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 6 out of 10.

Their feelings are now out in the open. Apparently it's bad enough that even random strangers that they have just met can now pick up on their feelings. Talk about sexual tension so thick you can cut it with a knife... or a sword. I also loved how they are clearly talking about using the magical painting world for hooking up. Awesome.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 3 out of 10.

He didn't do anything overtly creepy. He was pretty useful with all the library stuff. I give him a couple of points for his overall demeanor and his deep voiced yelling.

Notable Quotes:

Zedd: "Far be it for us to question the instincts of the Seeker."

Kahlan: "Magic has its uses but sometimes it... keeps people apart."

Zedd: "What we value most is often closer than we think."

Livia: "In his heart, James was a good person. Try to make sure his sacrifice wasn't for nothing."

Richard: "It says there's only one way to defeat Rahl. To vanquish the master of all the Seeker must wield the Boxes of Orden."

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.

Inside Zedd's Robes: Final Stretch Edition

Upcoming Events: Another new episode this weekend and it should be a good one. We learned last episode that it should be a high stakes race. TV Guide has the following to say:

Richard, Kahlan and Zedd race to find a duplicate copy of the Book of Counted Shadows before Darken Rahl gets his hands on it.

I know some people were worried about departures from the books where the Book of Counted Shadows was important throughout Richard's quest against Darken Rahl. This is a way for the writers to resolve that problem.

Cool Stuff on the Interwebs: Bridget Regan is back from what I assume is the end of the season and she did an interview with a local New York TV station:

It's mostly fluff and girl talk. Like the "what would you say to the following celebrities" part? What the hell was that? Bridget did mention how much she gets along with Craig Horner. You can definitely tell these two get along great. Like "peas and carrots".

Moments in Bruce Spence's Career: This is a picture of Bruce Spence from the movie Solo. Presented without commentary:

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Legend of the Weeker: Cursed

Synopsis: This episode opens with Kahlan and Richard stealing honey from some bees. Just like Pooh bear. They go to meet King Gregor who has not been succumbing to the D'harans. He needs the Seeker's help from something worse than D'harans. Cut to a shot of a woman mauled by a monster. Dramatic pause!

Marius, the brother of King Gregor meets the gang. Turns out a monster has been terrorizing the countryside. The king then tells them that the beast is the king himself. He made an alliance with Shota from Identity to protect his kingdom forever. The king is transformed into a Kalethrop which is a monster that terrorizes D'harans. He tried using a Rada'Han collar but it didn't work. He eventually murdered his queen.

The king has tried to kill himself but he can't be killed. The only thing that can kill him is the Sword of Truth. Zedd goes to Agaden Reach to try to convince Shota. She doesn't want to because she can see the future of the kingdom falling. Kahlan talks to the king's daughter who is worried about some children that are still out in the woods. Meanwhile, the king turns into a monster and escapes, smacking Richard in the head along the way.

A fight breaks out. Kahlan worried about Richard, turns to the Con Dar. She distracts the monster long enough for Richard to stab him with the Sword of Truth. She almost confesses the Princess. Zedd comes back and warns of Shota's vision about D'harans taking over the kingdom. Richard decides that they will keep the legend alive. They decide to slaughter some sheep and also put some chimes out in the forest.

Kahlan puts on the Rada'Han collar to suppress her magic. Unfortunately there is a spy in the castle and the D'harans learn all about her plans. While hanging chimes in the forest, Richard and Zedd hear a Kalethrop. Scary! Richard quickly figures out that Marius is the spy. He chases down Marius but the other guards attack Kahlan and the princess.

Zedd goes to Shota and she tells him that she cursed the scepter. Thus the princess has become the Kalethorp. Richard brings Marius back and meets Kahlan. She confesses Marius for being an ass, and tells him to go be the bait so that they could get the Rada'Han on the Kalethorp. They do and before they have a chance to prepare the D'harans attack the castle and are captured. Richard gets his hands chopped off so that he can't escape.

Of course this is a vision that Shota and Zedd are watching. They make a solar eclipse happen. The princess turns into the Kalethorp and slaughters several of the D'harans and the rest run off. Shota propositions Zedd and he turns her down. Because self-respect is the best kind of respect. Kahlan gives the princess the Rada'Han deciding that her power is a part of her. She also tells Richard that she couldn't summon her power. Zedd runs up and tells that there is another Book of Counted Shadows. They race off to get it before Rahl.

Commentary: I definitely like when the show goes darker as opposed to comic. This lends itself well to the action sequences. It is also good that they are really trying different things to spice up the show. It really wouldn't work too well to have Richard just killing D'harans every day. The source material is pretty dark so episodes like this explore this aspect of the story. While this show is pretty sanitized, (we rarely see any blood spatters or guts), there are pretty dark undertones to this journey.

Did anyone else think that the monster was simply the Uruk-hai warriors from Lord of the Rings. It was almost like they opened a sealed crate that was hanging around from the Lord of the Rings set and were like: "We have to use this!" Not that I mind, I thought the monster was pretty well done and definitely added to the creepiness of this episode.

The really interesting thing about this episode was that while it definitely was centered around the gang, it showed a lot about the world in which they live. There is a real war going on here and there are people fighting for both sides. While Richard is the one who is destined to kill Darken Rahl, it is people like King Gregor and his royal family who will fight for the side of good in the Midlands. Although King Gregor didn't find the best way to help his kingdom, he always had his people's best interests at heart.

How great was it to have Zedd with the gang again. Even if he left pretty quickly to go meet up with Shota, he was still an important catalyst in the plot. His relationship with Shota is pretty interesting to say the least. No wonder he always heads off by himself. Also his reply to the guard about how he is one of the few to escape Shota was pretty badass. Episodes without Zedd are really lacking. His interactions with both Richard and Kahlan really do a lot to bring out those characters' personalities.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: 4 out of 10.

Aww, Richard gave her the honey that they stole from the bees. That's cute. He also taught her a valuable lesson about being herself. While her power may be a problem, it is really important for them to have her abilities. Richard may love her for who she is but you know he was a little ticked that she had to give back the Rada'Han collar. At least they could have borrowed it for a night or two?

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 7 out of 10.

Oh Zedd. You and your sexual trysts with women all over the Midlands. I guess we know he is okay because he uses magical protection. It's bizarre because he is supposed to be the voice of reason for these young beautiful people who can't get together or the world will be plunged into darkness. What kind of example is he setting for the young ones?

Notable Quotes:

Marius: "Few who have gone there have ever returned."
Zedd: "I know. I'm one of those few."

Kahlan: "Being a confessor is about certainty. Knowing the truth. When I'm in the Con Dar I don't have any of that."

Richard: "It's a part of who you are"
Kahlan: "When I'm in the Con Dar, I don't know who that is."

Kahlan: "My power is a part of who I am. I tried to deny it and it only put people in danger. I need to embrace it; learn to control it.

Zedd: "Shota showed me a vision... There is another Book of Counted Shadows."

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: Mirror

Synopsis: The episode opens with Richard making out with some super skank. All this while Kahlan waits for him, and she admonishes him for this. They show up in a town where a D'haran soldier is threatening the town to pay a tribute. Kahlan confesses him and they suggest that Richard and Kahlan will guard the treasury. After they are left alone in the treasury it is clear that these are impostors.

In the morning the leader of the town, whose wife Fake Richard was fooling around with, realizes that Fake Richard and Fake Kahlan have robbed the town. They were in cahoots with Gwildor, the guy pretending to be the D'haran guard, who has some sort of magic mirror. He turns them back into fat, unattractive thieves. They go to a bar to celebrate but the real Richard and Kahlan show up. Logically, the thieves decide to steal the Sword of Truth from the Seeker. Best way to do this is for Fake Kahlan to seduce Richard... by skinny dipping.

Fake Richard gets away with the Sword of Truth when Fake Kahlan kisses Richard. Nice.

Richard and Kahlan figure out that someone was pretending to be them and they set out to try to recover the Sword of Truth. Gwildor goes in to a D'haran camp saying that he can deliver the Seeker and Confessor. Elsewhere Fake Richard and Fake Kahlan decide that they are just going to kill Gwildor and take the spoils for themselves. So basically everyone is against everyone.

The D'harans capture Fake Richard and Fake Kahlan and Real Richard and Real Kahlan are attacked by the townspeople. Fortunately they escape with the help of that woman who Fake Richard was with. The D'haran captain comes to the bar and attacks the bar maid, Bianca. But it ends up being Gwildor, her husband. God this episode is confusing. He plans to turn over Fake Richard and Fake Kahlan over to a Mord Sith. Also they are weirdly erotic and Bianca asks Gwildor turns back into the captain before hooking up with her. Weird. After he leaves, Richard and Kahlan show up and the bar maid runs to warn her husband.

Fake Richard and Fake Kahlan escape by Fake Richard seducing the ONE gay guard and Fake Kahlan knocking him out. Gwildor, who is pretending to be the captain, talks to his wife and decides to send a quad of assassins to kill the Fake Richard and Fake Kahlan and go after the Real Richard and Kahlan with the soldiers. Zedd comes back, saves Fake Richard and Fake Kahlan from the assassins and quickly figures out that they are impostors.

Richard and Kahlan are captured by the D'harans while Zedd forms a plan with the impostors. Zedd confronts Bianca with Fake Richard and Fake Kahlan. Meanwhile, Richard and Kahlan are handed over to the Mord Sith. Bianca shows up with the Fake Richard and Fake Kahlan in tow and unmasks Gwildor using the mirror. The Mord Sith, as confused by all this as I was, goes with the approach to bring everyone to Darken Rahl and let him sort it out.

They come across Zedd tied to a tree. The Mord Sith heads to investigate. Oh too bad for the D'harans, Bianca turned out to be Zedd in disguise. He/She does this:

Everyone runs off but Bianca who is trapped in Zedd's body and Gwildor who are captured by the Mord Sith. Everyone turns back into who they originally were, except for Bianca who still looks exactly like Zedd. Her husband is all creeped out as they are led off to a fate worse than death.

Synopsis: I do not like episodes that have these magical spells that switch peoples identity. A pretty big theme in a previous episode: Identity. It really throws everything off and feels a little lazy on the writing part. I wasn't really impressed with the people pretending to be Richard and Kahlan. Everything was way too weird and confusing. It also does not advance the overall story very much. Oh well.

One thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was the D'haran guard that was gay for Richard. Why would the D'harans put one gay guard with an affection for the Seeker to guard THE SEEKER! Do they want to die? Even if the guy pretending to be the captain ordered this, didn't anyone think to be like: "Uhh so this guy is the Seeker right? With the Confessor? We should probably double or even triple up on the guard duty." And what a dereliction of duty this guard does. Yeah, just go right into that cell with the Seeker and Confessor to try to get a piece of ass. You'll be okay. Dumbass.

Finally Zedd returned in full form. He adds a necessary facet to this show that just isn't there when it is just Richard and Kahlan. It's part humor and part direction of their journey. When it is just the two, it almost seems like they are mindlessly wandering around. The other thing is that even though he is dead against the romance between Richard and Kahlan, their feelings feel far more fleshed out when he is there. A great example of this is the scene in the end where Richard tries to explain his time spent with Fake Kahlan. Zedd pushes him into the right thing to say. In this case, nothing.

It doesn't happen often with this show, but a few times I feel like when there is not enough depth in the plot, they really make the shots HD-Pornoriffic. This episode is also a great example of the dichotomy of what's prettier to look at in HD. All the New Zealand vistas or the leads who are also quite pleasant to look at. They started the episode with the skinny dipping so there was no way fans were going to look the other way. It is a bit disappointing to have episodes that are weak in plot. You can definitely tell the actors loved playing these diametrically opposite characters to the ones they normally play.

Richard and Kahlan Romance Index: Undefined.

I have no idea because I was too confused to keep track of who was who in this episode. Plus the added layer of the mistaken identities made it difficult to analyze the feelings between the two. There was that brief scene at the end, but I wouldn't classify that as romance. I really hope they do more to develop this important part of the story.

Zedd's Creepiness Factor: 4 out of 10.

He's back. And not that creepy. Though he did send Bianca and Gwildor to what is likely a horrible death. I also know that the ending scene isn't Zedd, but that is some creepiness when the woman is trapped looking like him for the rest of her life. How dreadful.

Notable Quotes:

Richard: "What if you lose control?"
Fake Kahlan: "Oh I can control myself. Question is, can you?"

Richard: "I was distracted."
Kahlan: "By a naked woman you went swimming with."
Richard: "I thought it was you."

Kahlan: "Zedd?"
Zedd as Bianca: "In a manner of speaking"

Fake Kahlan: "You may be the one true Seeker but you're not very much fun."

Zedd:"Sometimes I think there's entirely too much magic in the world."

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