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Episode Reviews

Perdition

Richard awakens back at the Sister’s temple again, but all is not as it seems. Meanwhile, Kahlan, Leo, and the gang make their way back to the temple to find Richard and make sure he is safe.

Leo and Kahlan talk of old battles

When last we left Richard, we saw him escaping from the Prelate and her Sisters of the Light who wanted to keep him there and prevent him from giving the Stone of Tears to the Keeper. Meanwhile, Kahlan, Leo (Matthew Le Nevez), and the gang are following the compass, which is leading them back to the Sisters of the Light.

This week, we find Richard is mysteriously back at the temple again, confused as to if what was happening was real. Of course, the events of last week were in fact real, and Richard is just having an intense hallucination as the result of his wandering into an old trap made by the old wizards to protect the temple. It’s a common TV plot device, where our hero, captured by the enemy, is forced to live out some type of false reality in order to keep him out of action or get information out of him. Here, the wizards force the victims to live out there worst fears until they eventually die themselves.

It seems though that Richard has multiple different fears in his life. First and foremost is the obvious thought that the Keeper is able to destroy the land of the living, killing everyone and everything, but that is not the only fear Richard has. His other big fear is that during his time away from Kahlan, she will fall in love with someone else. For a long time, Richard has abided by the thought that he and Kahlan cannot be together. His greatest fear though, is that Kahlan will find a way to get around her confessor powers (in this case, having them stolen), and then she will still end up with someone else anyways (in his mind, Phillip the new seeker).

His final fear though is his actions (letting Cara inside) directly provide the final victory for the Keeper, whose army wipes out the last of the living. Of course, we the viewers get a small tease of Kahlan and Cara fighting to the death as a distraught Richard looks over Kahlan’s dying moments reaching out to her husband.

Back in reality, Sister Nicci (Jolene Blalock of Star Trek Enterprise), still holds all of Richard’s magic, and manages to escape with the aid of the Keeper. This of course leads to a final battle between our heros and her Sisters of the Dark (probably the most uncreative name ever), which results in the mutual death of Nicci and Leo the Seeker.

I guess I should have seen Leo’s death coming. With the return of Richard, there is no reason to have two seekers, and there was plenty of play between Cara and Leo, an obvious lead in to a tragic ending for someone. I guess I’ll miss Leo though, as he was a lot less whiny than Richard was and much more charming, as evidenced by his ability to get a smile out of Cara.

Overall, while being a pretty good episode, I’m glad we are out of this current side story with Richard’s wizard training, which got absolutely nowhere it seems. I look forward to the continuation of the regular storyline where our adventurers look for the Stone of Tears and stops the Keeper.

Interesting Observations

  • Time passes slower in the old world than it does in the regular world. How much time has passed while they’ve been inside, and how much more power has the Keeper gained since?
  • The Prelate is a pretty obnoxious jerk it seems, blinded by her own faith towards prophecy, that can even change on it’s own!
  • In lieu of the standard Richard shirtless scene, we get a Leo shirtless scene.
  • While Leo and Cara are together, how does Kahlan and Zed not notice? Weren’t they just on the other side of the cave?
  • You can break though the trap by sheer will of mind and not accepting it as reality? Would Richard have been so fortunate if he wasn’t the last person alive, with no one to kill him?
  • Cara’s ability to reflect magic includes the Sisters of the Dark’s (and probably Light’s) magic.
  • Why didn’t Cara reflect the fire ball as well? Why did Leo have to take it?
  • With Nicci seemingly destroyed, what happened to all of Richard’s magic? Is it destroyed as well?

By Kien Tran

Based in Dallas, Texas, Kien Tran is an avid television enthusiast. After spending hundreds of hours wasting away on a couch, he decided to actually do something creative with his hobby and created this very blog.

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