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.
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