Lower Decks

The following review contains spoilers for Legend of the Seeker through the current episode, “Home” originally broadcast the weekend of February 21st, 2009.

The first new episode of Legend of the Seeker in several weeks wasn’t much of an episode.  It was, like Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s much maligned “Shades of Gray,” a clip show.  There’s never a real need for a clip show but to show one halfway through a show’s first season?  That’s unnecessary.  And to make it the first episode after a three week hiatus?  That’s just cruel.  The framing device used to introduce the clips was weak but at least it was connected to one of the continuing plot lines of the series.

Richard wakes up and finds his brother Michael looking over him.  He’s shocked, given that the last time he saw his brother Michael attempted to have him arrested.  But he’s even more shocked when his father walks in, alive and well.  It’s all a dream, of course, brought on by powerful magic that only two wizards can wield.  One of them is Zedd.  The other works for Darken Rahl.

Due to the vicinity of three stars to the moon (or something like that), Richard has been placed in a sort of coma that makes him think he’s surrounded by friends and family.  While Kahlan and Zedd furiously try to bring him out of the coma, Darken Rahl tries just as hard to get Richard to spill the beans on where he hid the box of Orden.  In his dream, Richard recounts his adventures as the Seeker to his father and brother and Zedd (who is not a wizard).  Clips from previous episodes are used to depict these adventures.

Richard comes very close to telling an old friend of his where he hid the box.  Kahlan, though, is begging him to wake up and she starts crying.  Her tears fall on Richard in his dream and he wakes up.  Darken Rahl is furious that he didn’t get what he wanted.  But Kahlan and Zedd are overjoyed.  They go with Richard to dig up the box.  All is well.

According to the official Legend of the Seeker website, this was the 14th episode of the series to be produced.  But it was the 12th aired.  I don’t remember seeing any clips from episodes that haven’t aired yet (the next two episodes to air were the 12th and 13th to be produced).  But I thought that box of Orden had been hidden away by Zedd during the last new episode, “Confession.”  In this episode, however, Richard still has the box.  So either I missed something or we’ve got ourselves a continuity error. [Edit: In the comment section, skritek has explained that the box of Orden wasn't hidden away by Zedd in "Confession;" Zedd just got the key to the hiding place.]

Obviously, given that “Home” was a clip show, it isn’t easy to compare it to other episodes.  Still, if the clips hadn’t been used, it might have been an okay episode.  We learned about Richard’s past and his relationship with his friend (whose name I don’t remember) and Kahlan got to save the day with her tears after Zedd’s powerful magic couldn’t tear Richard out of his coma.  But the clips really ruined the episode.  It’s really not worth watching even by fans of the series.  And I doubt it will encourage new viewers to tune in next week.