Is anyone else excited? Tabrett Bethell will add an interesting dynamic to the series. As I’ve mentioned time and time again, I became a big fan of Legend of the Seeker about halfway through the first season when the show turned a corner and became lots of fun. Of course, I’ve never read any of the Terry Goodkind novels the series is based on, and that probably makes things easier. So bring on Season Two!

Please note that my delay in posting this review has nothing to do with my response to the season finale of Legend of the Seeker. I quite enjoyed the episode. Believe me, no one was more surprised than I was when, starting with the fourteenth episode of the season (“Hartland”) the show got really, really good. Until that episode the series was rather bland, with a few good episodes thrown in the mix.

Kahlan confesses Richard

For some reason, though, Legend of the Seeker turned a corner with its 14th episode. I don’t know why; did it take the writers that long to get comfortable with the show’s mythos? Did the actors and actresses finally connect with their characters? Whatever the reason, the show suddenly became enjoyable and, more importantly, a lot of fun to watch. I will say, however, that while “Reckoning” was an excellent episode it wasn’t exactly the ending I was hoping for with regard to Darken Rahl.

After everything that happened during the first 21 episodes of the season I was expecting to see an actual confrontation between Richard and Darken Rahl. Or maybe Richard would use the Boxes of Orden and the Book of Counted Shadows to somehow destroy Rahl and his mighty D’Haran armies. Instead, Richard was sent decades into the future, Kahlan was forced to marry Rahl and Zedd was killed. Obviously, Richard was able to return to the past/present and save the day. And then, in what felt like an afterthought, Darken Rahl showed up at the end of the episode and was promptly killed.

The magic that sent Richard to the future was impressive, I’ll admit that much. It took the convergence of the Boxes of Orden, Kahlan’s Confessor ability and a Mord’Sith’s Agiel to somehow fling him 50+ years into the future. Tagging along for the ride was a Mord’Sith named Cara. The two decide to team up. In the future, Darken Rahl’s son Nicholas rules the land. His mother? Kahlan. That means Nicholas is a male Confessor, both incredibly powerful and incredibly insane.

Kahlan in the future

Kahlan marries Darken Rahl and charges her handmaiden, Alice, with staying alive long enough to tell Richard everything. Everything changes when Kahlan gives birth to a baby boy named Nicholas. He grows up evil. Kahlan tries to kill him but fails. Alice has her throat slit in a gruesome scene and then Nicholas asks to be allowed to kill Kahlan himself. He later has his father killed as well.

Thankfully, an elderly Shota meets Richard and Cara in the future and tells them what to do. When Nicholas comes to confess Richard, he’s able to activate the Powers of Orden and Cara, despite being shot several times by crossbow bolts, manages to hit him with an Agiel. The two are sent back in time where Cara turns on her Mord’Sith sisters so Zedd is not killed.

Cara the Mord'Sith

At this point I assumed that the episode would end on a cliffhanger. There didn’t seem to be enough time left for anything substantial to happen. The episode surprised me, though, by having Darken Rahl show up in the last five minutes. He shoves his sword into the Boxes of Orden in an attempt to disrupt the transfer of power to Richard. Instead, the power consumes him. Darken Rahl is dead.

So there was no final battle between Richard and Darken Rahl. He never had a chance to use the power of Orden. Darken Rahl was killed by pure chance more than anything else. That was disappointing. I don’t know if that’s how Darken Rahl was killed in the book or not. If so, I wonder if readers found it just as frustrating.

Otherwise the episode itself was very good. It was interesting to see Kahlan married to Darken Rahl, scheming to get word to Richard and desperately trying to convince herself that her son isn’t a monster. And while it’s a little unbelievable that everything would fall into place so perfectly for Richard in the future (Shota being where she was, Cara agreeing to partner up, Nicholas Rahl not simply having the Seeker killed) that storyline was interesting as well.

I’m excited to see what Legend of the Seeker holds in store for us next season. Darken Rahl may be dead and gone but evil still exists. And as long as there is evil there will be the Seeker.

The penultimate episode of the season, “Fever” was exciting from beginning to end.  We learned at the end of last week’s episode (“Sanctuary”) that the only way for Richard to defeat Darken Rahl is to use the power of Orden. That power is split between the three Boxes of Orden (recall the events of “Bloodline”) and those three boxes have been scattered for safekeeping, with Richard’s sister Jennsen holding on to two of them.

Jennsen, who has been living with a nice family, is captured by D’Haran soldiers. She is able to toss the Boes of Orden into a lake before she’s savagely beaten. Elsewhere, Richard and Zedd realize that if Kahlan confesses Richard before he attempts to use the Boxes of Orden, he’ll be able to control the power and use it against Rahl. When Richard, Zedd and Kahlan arrive at Jennsen’s village they learn that it has been stricken with a deadly plague.

Richard and Kahlan leave to capture a local D’Haran commander so Kahlan can confess him. Zedd stays behind to help the villagers. He can cure a few at a time but must rest or else risk infection himself. Richard and Kahlan are successful in capturing the D’Haran commander but he is infected. Zedd has to cure him before Kahlan can confess him; Richard then takes the commander to search for Jennsen.

The villagers, frustrated with Zedd, attack him and Kahlan is forced to wade in. She saves Zedd but they’re both infected. Jennsen, meanwhile, has been brought to Darken Rahl with amnesia and he tells her that Richard is the one who beat her. Richard finds the Boxes of Orden in the lake and is attacked by D’Harans. The commander is killed and Richard takes a bolt to the shoulder but survives.

At the village he finds Zedd and Kahlan in bad shape. He decides to use the Power of Orden to kill Rahl and take poison to kill himself so he doesn’t use the Power of Orden for evil. Rahl, however, has sent Jennsen with a cure for the fever and instructions to steal the Boxes of Orden. Richard gives the cure to Zedd and Kahlan and then races after Jennsen. She soon remembers everything and the two share an emotional reunion.

As the episode comes to a close Rahl is notified that the Seeker has the Boxes of Orden. He orders his armies pulled back. There will soon be a reckoning. I’m hopeful that said reckoning doesn’t end with a cliffhanger. There’s a good chance it will, though, because that would be par for the course with action/adventure shows like Legend of the Seeker. I wonder if Rahl will actually be vanquished in the season finale and/or next season’s premiere.

I’ve been told that in the novels, even after Rahl is defeated there is still plenty of evil for the Seeker to battle. So it stands to reason that the television series can continue long past Rahl’s downfall. I’ve never found Rahl a very compelling villain so I’m rooting for him to be killed by Richard sooner rather than later.

What an odd episode this was. It was yet another good episode (I’ve lost count) but still an odd one. It was a continuation of a plot point introduced in the previous episode (“Cursed”) about another existing copy of the Book of Counted Shadows. While searching for said book Richard, Kahlan and Zedd visit a library, meet a librarian, her daughter and their friend, a painter. Dramatic happenings ensue.

The library is a pretty big one, with lots of books and scrolls and all manner of other library things. Livia, the librarian, has been trying to finish her late husband’s work (he was killed by D’Harans) and find another copy of the Book of Counted Shadows. That’s the book that Richard was given in the pilot, the one that was supposed to teach him all about being the Seeker, only to quickly lose it. If I recall correctly he burned it rather than let it fall into the hands of Darken Rahl.

Unfortunately for Richard, Kahlan and Zedd, they aren’t the only ones looking for the book. Darken Rahl is aware of its existence. And he’s sent soldiers ahead to find it before he himself drops by. Livia has her own problems. Her son, Aidan, has been getting into trouble. James, a family friend, uses his magic painting skills to send the boy into a painting for safekeeping.

While Richard goes to look for Aidan, Zedd turns invisible and heads to the library to search for the book. Things go awry quickly. James soon sends Livia, Richard, Kahlan and himself into the painting. And then he paints the entire library (with Zedd inside) as well. Zedd’s powers are useless in the painting. Only James’s work. When Darken Rahl learns that the Seeker is inside the painting he promptly burns it.

James doesn’t have time to paint everyone back outside individually. But he can paint the library with everyone inside it. As the flames burn ever closer to the library’s walls the painter paints furiously. At the last minute he finishes. The library is safe. James, however, is killed. Livia and Aidan are sent off to safer pastures with thanks.

The Book of Counted Shadows is left with Richard. Leafing through it he learns that the only way to kill Darken Rahl is to use the power of Orden. That means the three boxes of Orden have to be brought together again and Richard has to use them himself. The last time he did that (in “Bloodline”) he became almost as evil as Darken Rahl. So that’s not good.

The idea of a painter being able to paint people into his paintings is a novel one. It worked pretty well, too. because the only magic that worked inside the painting is James’s, Richard and Kahlan could have lived a nice life together without having to worry about Kahlan confessing Richard. That’s the approach James tried to use to convince them to stay. Kahlan, at least, thought it would have been a nice place to visit. Too bad James was burned alive.

So the question now is whether or not Richard & Co. can gather the Boxes of Orden again. And if so, can Richard control their incredible power long enough to destroy Darken Rahl? There are two episodes left in the season. I assume it will be the finale before Richard and Darken Rahl actually confront one another. Will we have a cliffhanger? We’ll see.

Well, it wasn’t better than “Mirror” but “Cursed was still a good episode. That makes six in a row that I’ve enjoyed, I think. It was a dark episode, with family betraying family, family killing family and witches cursing kings. Also, a terrible beast, a blood rage, an enchanted scepter and the return of a mysterious book…

Richard, Kahlan and Zedd are asked to meet with King Gregor to help him with a grave matter confronting his kingdom, which is one of the few to stand up to Darken Rahl. Something is killing his people. A beast known as a Calthrop (one of the few things D’Haran children are taught to fear). They’re shocked to learn that King Gregor is in fact the Calthrop. He’s been cursed by the witch Shota. Technically, he asked her to help him protect his kingdom and the curse was her way of complying with his request.

Unfortunately, each and every night King Gregor turns into the Calthrop and kills indiscriminately. He kills his own wife, the queen. Zedd puts together some magic chains to bind King Gregor and then goes off to try to talk with Shota. Richard and Kahlan stay to watch over King Gregor. Kahlan and the king’s daughter (whose name I can’t remember) ride off to help some stranded people and King Gregor turns into the Calthrop and busts out of the chains. Richard chases after him.

During the ensuing fight the king is killed, Kahlan is taken by the throes of the Con Dar (the blood rage) and almost kills Richard, and the princess learns that her father was the Calthrop. She ascends to the throne. When Zedd returns he reveals that the Calthrop was the only thing keeping the D’Haran’s at bay. They decide to cook up a fake Calthrop to trick the D’Haran’s but the king’s brother, a traitor, has other plans.

The princess, who is now the queen, inherits her father’s curse and also becomes a Calthrop. But a magic choker is able to keep the beast at bay (the king’s brother had unlocked it, allowing the Calthrop to get lose). The D’Haran’s are stopped and once again believe the kingdom to be home to a Calthrop. Richard wants Kahlan to try to harness the power of the Con Dar but even Zedd can’t help her with that. Oh, and Shota has told Zedd that a second Book of Counted Shadows exists.

The Calthrop was nasty, I’ll admit. I wasn’t thrilled that the brother turned out to be a traitor. That was cliched. I was surprised when the princess-turned-queen turned into a Calthrop (the king’s scepter was cursed; whoever wields it becomes a Calthrop). Kahlan’s continued struggle with the Con Dar, first introduced in “Conversion,” was a nice bit of continuity. I hope to see more of that in future episodes. If she can find a way to control it, she’ll be even more powerful.

It was also nice to see Shota again. Recurring characters help flesh out the series. We first met her in “Identity” but in this episode she’s quite a bit more helpful and works alongside with Zedd. It wasn’t a funny episode like “Mirror” but it was another fun episode and that’s enough for me.

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.

I hate to sound like an odd broken record but what is going on with Legend of the Seeker? This is the fourth episode in a row that I’ve really enjoyed. It’s really shocking the way the quality of the series has turned around recently. Admittedly, Zedd wasn’t in this episode, which always seems to help, but recall that he was in last week’s episode (“Bloodline“) and I still thought it was a solid episode.

“Deception” introduced a devastating new D’Haran weapon: Whisperers. It kills everyone within a specific radius and Darken Rahl is having his forces use it on towns and villages in an attempt to flush out the Seeker. Richard and Kahlan, returning to Cowley Glen to retrieve a recipe for Zedd, find everyone in the village dead. They then stumble upon a band of rebels fighting a D’Haran patrol. After helping out, Richard and Kahlan introduce themselves. Kahlan confesses Carver Dunn, one of the D’Haran soldiers, and learns that the Whisperers are being kept at a nearby D’Haran fort.

Richard poses as Carver Dunn and infiltrates the fort. He soon becomes a confidante of the fort’s commander, Captain Ensor. Kahlan, meanwhile, is disturbed by the behavior of the rebels. They want to kill the real Carver Dunn even though he is confessed and no longer a threat. After Richard frees a captured rebel from the fort (who is the brother of the rebel leader), the rebels attack a D’Haran convoy and capture a box of Whisperers. They decide to use it on a nearby town that is sympathetic to Darken Rhal. Captain Ensor’s family lives there.

Kahlan heads to the fort, posing as Dunn’s wife, and tells Richard what is going on. The two ride off to try to stop the rebels, followed closely by the D’Harans. A battle ensues. One of the rebels — the one freed by Richard — threatens to kill everyone with a Whisperer. Kahlan kills him and the Whisperer goes flying. Both Richard and Ensor make a run for it. Richard is able to defuse it. Ensor thanks him for saving his family and then attacks Richard. They fight. But Richard won’t kill him.

Richard and Kahlan destroy the rest of the Whisperers, realizing that nobody should have that sort of weapon. They are also disillusioned by the rebels. In resisting Darken Rahl, the rebels have become him, willing to kill innocent women and children. Meeting with Ensor’s family showed Richard that even the D’Haran’s are human. And yet, Ensor still wanted to kill him. War is complicated.

I’m not sure why Zedd wasn’t in “Deception.” I suppose he could be off hiding the Boxes of Orden. If he had been in this episode I don’t think he would have added much. Richard and Kahlan were able to handle everything themselves. Richard went undercover and Kahlan worked with the rebels. She tried to help Carver Dunn, who never wanted to be a soldier, and was distraught when he was killed. Now, more than ever, the Seeker’s mission is dire.

What’s this? Another episode of Legend of the Seeker I really enjoyed? That makes three in a row. Note that “Bloodline” saw the return of Zedd, a character I truly cannot stand. And yet, I still enjoyed the episode. Incredible! I don’t know what to make of this strange turn of events. It used to be a bit of a chore to write these reviews, because I had to sit and think about episodes that didn’t always entertain me. Now, however, I’m actually having fun with the reviews.

“Bloodline” marked the return of Denna the Mord-Sith (played by Jessica Marais). We were introduced to Denna, and the wicked Mord-Sith, in the eighth episode of the series, “Denna” (originally broadcast the weekend of Saturday, January 10th, 2009). I didn’t think much of that episode, calling it “my least favorite episode of the series to date,” but it did a fine job setting up “Bloodline.”

Recall that a few episodes back Zedd struck out on his own to hide the third Box of Orden, leaving Richard and Kahlan to adventure alone. At the start of “Bloodline” we see Zedd hiding the box in a field and then promptly running into Richard and Kahlan. He’s certain that the box, protected by some seven layers of magic, will be quite safe indeed. But Denna, after being tortured by Darken Rahl, isn’t going to be stopped by even one layer of magic, let alone seven. She’s nutty like that.

After tossing wave after wave of D’Haran soldiers at the field — they are all burnt to a crisp by Zedd’s magic — Denna forces a young woman named Jennsen (played by Brooke Williams) to help her by threatening to kill Tarralyn, her mother (played by Judy McIntosh). Jennsen, it seems, is totally immune to magic and can simply walk into the field and pick up the box. She does so despite her mother’s warnings and gives it to Denna. Has there every been a case of a child listening to their parent’s warnings when said parent is in danger?

Thanks to a warning spell placed on the box, Richard, Kahlan and Zedd are able to intercept Denna, grab the box and free Jennsen (who also can’t use magic, unfortunately, so she can’t use Denna’s weapon against her). But Denna gets away with Tarralyn who we learn is Zedd’s daughter, making Jennsen his granddaughter. And because Zedd is also Richard’s grandfather (as we learned in a previous episode), he and Jennsen are half-siblings. Phew! Good thing they didn’t get too close before finding that out.

There’s an understandable amount of anger from Richard, who is only now learning that he’s related to Zedd, but the family gathering is cut short when a D’Haran soldier rides up with a message from Denna: she’ll kill Tarralyn if she doesn’t get the third box. In an interesting twist, Richard and the others decide to offer Denna a compromise: they’ll give her the third box only if she’ll help them steal the other two from Darken Rahl.

Denna agrees but kills Tarralyn, promising to bring her back to life only when she gets the third box (she has until sunset to do so). Jennsen is able to sneak into Darken Rahl’s fortress and sneak right out again with the other two boxes. When they arrive to make the switch, Denna double crosses them (surprise, surprise) and asks for all three boxes. Instead, Richard arranges all three and absorbs the powerful magic of Orden himself.

Now unstoppable, Richard disarms all the D’Haran guards. Sadly, Denna was lying about being able to bring Tarralyn back to life. She’s quite dead. Richard has Kahlan kill Denna slow while the D’Haran guards fight amongst themselves. Zedd tries to talk Richard out of using his new found powers for evil but Richard tells him to shut up. He can’t stop Jennsen, though, and she pulls the boxes apart. Hurrah!

Tarralyn is buried, Richard is upset about what he almost did, and Zedd decides to leave two of the boxes of with Jennsen for safe-keeping. Denna, after begging Richard to kill her, instead is sent running. I hope we see her again. She’s become an interesting character, much more than the simply dominatrix we were first introduced to. I also hope to see Jennsen again. But most importantly, I hope the revelation that Richard is related to Zedd (well, it was a revelation for him) and has a half-sister isn’t ignored in future episodes.

Zedd was right to be worried about Richard not wanting to sacrifice his own grandfather should the need arise. We’ve already seen Richard risk his mission in order to save Kahlan. Have we seen him do the same for Zedd? If not, although I always assumed he would, now it’s a certainty. Too bad Richard’s mother had to die before the two could meet. That’s sad.

At the end of the episode, Darken Rahl issued a proclamation: until the Seeker, his Confessor and his Wizard are captured, he’ll be cracking down on his people. In other words, things are about to get even more depressing and dangerous for the folks in the Midlands.

At the end of my review for last week’s episode, “Hartland,” I wondered if Legend of the Seeker would be able to go two weeks in a row with episodes that I enjoyed and found fun.  Well, “Conversion” was a fun episode and I enjoyed it.  Has the show turned a corner and finally found its footing?  It’s too early to say for sure, of course, but for the first time I’m actually hopeful.  Of note, however, is the fact that the character of Zedd has been absent these past two episodes.  He’s my least favorite character and I’m sure he’ll be back before long.

“Conversion” saw Kahlan and Richard, along with Chase, attempting to free Chase’s family from the clutches of Wizard Giller, who works for Darken Rahl and has been trying to replicate the power of a Confessor. So far, he’s failed, and Rahl has decided to visit Giller in person. Meanwhile, a mutiny is brewing amongst Giller’s contingent of D’Haran soldiers. Unfortunately, during a battle the D’Haran charged with killing Rahl is himself killed. Captain Ericon, his uncle and the leader of the mutiny, is understandably upset.

Things get even more complicated after Chase’s family is rescued along with other captives. When his wife kisses him, Chase collapses. It turns out Giller was experimenting on her. So, Kahlan goes undercover alongside Chase’s wife and daughter so she get close to Giller and confess him. Meanwhile, Captain Ericon’s men are filling Giller’s fortress with dragon’s breath (an explosive powder) so they can destroy it once Kahlan escapes with Giller. If all goes according to plan, Darken Rahl will be killed in the explosion.

But all doesn’t go to plan. Giller has devised a potion that makes him immune to the power of a Confessor. Kahlan is captured. Richard, unwilling to let her die in the explosion, sneaks into the fortress and stops the dragon’s breath from going off. He then comes face to face with Darken Rahl for the first time. Until now, Rahl has been a bit of a disappointing villain. We haven’t seen all that much of him and what we have seen hasn’t depicted him as a decidedly powerful man. The battle between Richard and Rahl proves that Rahl can more than hold his own against the Seeker.

In fact, Rahl manages to beat Richard and chains him up in Giller’s laboratory. Richard is forced to watch as Giller uses the shurkia (magical tools that were used to create the first Confessor) to experiment on Kahlan. It is here that the episode takes a turn for the unexpected. Rather than Richard somehow escaping and saving the day, Kahlan is suddenly overtaken by the “blood rage” and becomes incredibly powerful. She kills Giller and in one fell swoop confesses two D’Haran guards and two Mord’Sith.

They attack Darken Rahl but he is able to kill most of them and escape. Richard is freed and rushes after Rahl. Sadly, Rahl manages to teleport away just as Richard strikes with the sword of truth. When he returns to Kahlan, she grabs him by the throat before the blood rage dissipates. They do manage to find a potion that will keep Chase from being injured by his wife. They give it to him rather than using themselves (it would keep Richard from being confessed by Kahlan should they take their relationship to the next level).

Bridget Regan did a wonderful job depicting Kahlan in the throes of the blood lust. I was a bit worried she was going to confess me through the television. Then again, I’ve always felt Regan was the strongest member of the cast (and I’m not saying that just because I think she’s gorgeous). Kahlan is also the most intriguing character on the series; at the end of “Conversion” we learn that she may be even more powerful than she imagined. The blood rage, or Con Dar, only pops up in a select few Confessors.

As the episode concludes, Zedd has sent a communication to Richard and Kahlan, asking them to meet him in the Morrow Woods, which just so happen to be located in Rahlia, where Darken Rahl has his headquarters. Rahl, meanwhile, is told that his wizard’s believe they are close to finding Zedd. So, future episodes will see Richard and Kahlan making their way deeper and deeper into territory strongly under the control of Darken Rahl. Whether they’ll be reunited with Zedd or forced to rescue him remains to be seen.

I really enjoyed “Conversion” and was glad to finally see Richard confront Darken Rahl in person. Plus, it was nice to have the character of Rahl fleshed out a bit. He’s a powerful magician in his own right and a talented swordsman. He also seems to have an affection for wearing skirts (or kilts or something like that) but that’s neither here nor there. I wonder who’ll claim victory when Richard and Rahl meet again.