Legend of the Seeker #15:Conversion/Season 1/2009

[Truth Seeker]

Conversion

While trying to rescue Chase's family from captivity, Richard finds himself face to face with the evil Darken Rahl for the first time.

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[Orius]

Good episode. It seems Rahl can actually fight, though he's a savvy enough evil overlord to not put himself in that position if he can actually help it.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Got to say I like the edger shows, where they touch on the evil characters.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Well that just about seals it for me. There are no "good" people in this show. First the confessers are a dark grey at best, but now the seeker chooses to allow thousands more to die so that he can save the life of his psudo-girlfriend. They better spend all next episode beating Richard senseless to press in the point that he is supposed to be the savior of the people, not his girlfriend.

 

[Orius]

I think you're being too harsh. He's young and he's horny. Do you really expect him to be thinking clearly?

 

[Felon]

Caught this on Hulu. I was disappointed by the pilot, so I hadn't been keeping up with it, but I quite enjoyed this episode.

So, are there any blonde people in the Seeker's world? Redheads even?

 

[Orius]

So, are there any blonde people in the Seeker's world? Redheads even?

Yes. There was that blonde girl Richard sort of "married" a few episodes back. And there was that redheaded kid that could read people's minds.

 

[Merkuri]

Did they ever actually pump lamp oil into the walls of buildings like that in the real world? I felt like that was either technology that was too advanced for the time period (though could possibly forgive it because the existence of magic changes a lot) or it would have been too dangerous to do anything of the sort. And since when is lamp oil black? I feel like some special effects person read "oil" and thought of petroleum oil.

I'm sorry, things like that annoy me.

Also, I couldn't help but notice that a couple "classic mistakes" were made, most notably the villain letting the hero live instead of killing him right away. I guess the reverse is true... if you are prophesied to kill a really evil man and you have his neck on the point of your blade just run him through!

Things like that are common to the genre, though. I liked the episode overall. I like the series overall, too, despite its little quirks.

There are no "good" people in this show. First the confessers are a dark grey at best, but now the seeker chooses to allow thousands more to die so that he can save the life of his psudo-girlfriend.

I think you meant to say that there are no perfect people in this show.

Richard is a classic young hero, cocky and in love. Plus, heroes of literature and movies are put in this position all the time. Save the woman you love, or save hundreds of lives. Very rarely does the hero actually choose to let his love die. He usually saves her or finds some way to save them both.

I wouldn't call Richard any less "good" (in the sense of good versus evil) because he chose to follow his heart and save his girl, especially since there will be more opportunities to fulfill the prophecy. It just means he's not a righteous but heartless bastard.

 

[Orius]

Also, I couldn't help but notice that a couple "classic mistakes" were made, most notably the villain letting the hero live instead of killing him right away. I guess the reverse is true... if you are prophesied to kill a really evil man and you have his neck on the point of your blade just run him through!

Well, you got to take into account that if Rahl kills Richard here, the protagonist bites it. Bad for drama. Realistically he might do that rather than taking the time to torture him, but it would be unsatisfying for the audience, and of course there are actor contracts to consider. Besides, if I wanted to see heaps of people dying like dogs, I'd read A Song of Fire and Ice.

 

[Merkuri]

Well, you got to take into account that if Rahl kills Richard here, the protagonist bites it. Bad for drama. Realistically he might do that rather than taking the time to torture him, but it would be unsatisfying for the audience, and of course there are actor contracts to consider.

I was just thinking about it from a realistic point of view. Have you ever read "How to be an Evil Overlord"? I think that's the name of it. It's an online list (or maybe it's taken from a book, I'm not sure) of "I shall" and "I shall not" things that smart evil overlords should or shouldn't do. There are a few like, "Shooting is not too good for my enemy," and "I will not gloat over my enemies condition before killing him."

Ah, here's a link. I don't know if this is the original, but it's the type of list I was thinking of. If Rahl wants to succeed he should really read this.

I am not saying the show would be better if he did all these things, but once you've read this list you really can't look at the stupid mistakes "evil overlords" make in the same way.