Lower Decks

Legend of the Seeker
“Mirror”
Originally Broadcast the Weekend of Saturday, April 25th, 2009

This was a great episode. Easily my favorite of the season (and series) thus far. It was just plain fun and as I have mentioned in the past that is all I’m looking for. There are only four episodes left before the season finale next month but given how Legend of the Seeker has improved since March (specifically the episode “Hartland”) there’s always a chance one of those four episodes will top “Mirror.”

There wasn’t anything terribly original about this episode. The idea of having two of the main characters in a television show face off with less reputable folks impersonating them isn’t new. But “Mirror” did a fantastic job with the concept and I was very impressed with the way Craig Horner was able to bring the impostor Richard Cypher to life. Recall that I was less impressed with Horner’s performance in “Revenant” when Richard’s body was taken over by the spirit of a former Seeker.

This time, though, impostor Richard (I can’t remember any of names of the characters in this episode) was a far cry from regular Richard. Horner varied his entire portrayal to depict impostor Richard. It was hilarious watching him and Bridget Regan play their impostor roles. The scene in the D’Haran prison cell when impostor Kahlan tried to seduce the guard only to discover he was more interested in impostor Richard? I was almost laughing out loud.

The best part of the episode, hands down, was the lake scene when impostor Kahlan convinced Richard to go skinny dipping with her. Putting aside the fact that Bridget Regan is a very beautiful woman, the way the scene played out was brilliant. Plus, it set up the following sequence when Richard and Kahlan realized what was going on.

I could go on and on about this episode. It’s the only one so far that I’ve actually wanted to watch again. I don’t even have anything bad to say about Zedd. Actually, I liked his role in this episode. When he was impersonating the woman from the bar at the end of the episode and commented on how difficult it is to run around with breasts, it was almost as if the writers speaking directly to me and my complaints about how Kahlan’s outfits have been needlessly complex throughout the season.

I’m genuinely looking forward to next week’s episode. Even if it doesn’t match “Mirror” in terms of sheer fun value, I’m convinced that Legend of the Seeker has turned a corner. I’ll be watching next season. Until this episode, that wasn’t a given.