I was super psyched about this episode – but also a bit worried. Why psyched? Do I even need to answer that question? A whole hour of two (hot) brothers, Richard and Darken Rahl, stuck together on a quest to save the world! I’d watch that reality show … Keeping up with the Rahls.
Why worried? The truth is I like my villains evil — not troubled, not misguided, not slightly naughty — eeeevil. Mwahahahaha!!! I didn’t want Master Rahl to lose his edge in this episode.
I have a love-hate relationship with stories in which the good guys’ nemesis suddenly ends up joining the good guys, always because he was “forced” to by some contrived set of circumstances. Here is one example that I can think of: In Stargate, the system lord Ba’al ends up working with the heroes on a number of occasions. This Ba’al was a badass who tortured the lead character, Jack O’Neill; later on, when they kept bringing Ba’al back, he turned into a joke. My point is, I don’t like it when the bad guys lose their badness while “reluctantly” working with the heroes, and I didn’t want Rahl to lose his in this episode.
So did they water down the wicked? No, thank the Creator (or perhaps the Keeper in this case). The episode is titled “Extinction” because Rahl wiped out most of the night wisps in order to force Richard to let him go on the quest so he could take credit for saving the world. This mass murder alleviated my fears about Rahl going soft now that his apple craving had been satisfied. And as the end of the episode and the preview for next week indicates, Darken Rahl is by no means done trying to kill his “dear brother.” (Do you think Richard grinds his teeth every time Rahl calls him that?)
This episode successfully maintained Rahl’s character while also developing it a bit. In particular, I found the “it’s nice to be with family” conversation very interesting. Rahl constantly reminds Richard of their connection by calling him “brother,” and it shows how much he craves the familial love that he never experienced. Even if Richard despises him, Rahl still enjoys having a bond with him. He’s needy and greedy for love. He tried to force it from his subjects and from the Mord-Sith, but I think he imagined that Richard was such a softy that he might actually acknowledge him as a brother. Richard never does.
A few more comments on “Extinction”:
Clacked by Ruby T.
on May 02, 2010 @ 09:34 EST5EDT
Nice review Ruby. I thought that this was a pretty awesome episode as well. They really ramped up the dramatic tension by splitting the heroes up into smaller groups and giving them important tasks to accomplish. I’m always a little wary of talk of the previews of next episodes because I think I can figure out too much about what is going to happen from them, but I guess it doesn’t matter if I get a little spoiled about future episodes.
Speaking of future episodes I see that you don’t mention that the scuttlebutt online is that the show is canceled. Is that true? Is this the final season of the show? If so I think the show has only been improving in the drama and acting department and I’ll be sad to see it go. It seems like it could have gone for a few more seasons and maintained its consistent excellence.
ABC wanted to continue the show but the lead funding source pulled there money so this season, the second season, will be the last.
Yes, as far as I know, this is the end for Seeker. Very disappointing, because as you said, the show was getting better (and I thought the first season was already great). With so much source material, they could have done several more seasons – maybe brought in the Imperial Order and Jagang. But without TV stations willing to keep it on the air, a syndicated show like Seeker is doomed. Dooooooooomed! *cue dramatic music*
Well they should at least get to do some straight to DVD movies or something. I’m sure this season will wrap up to everyone’s satisfaction, but I can’t help but feel that the writers were trying to build up a larger narrative arc that we will never see completed. Especially with the revelations about Darken Rahl we learned in this episode. I guess the Raimi/Tappert team has Spartacus on Starz, but here’s hoping all the actors, writers, crew, special fx people on this show get more work soon. They did an awesome job.
I guess this is the norm for cult favorites: a show is absolutely loved by a group of people instead of just mildly entertaining the masses. It’s more about money than storytelling. Its like Firefly all over again, but at least they got 2 seasons out of LoS.
I really liked this episode, not only because of Lord Evil Hotness, but because Cara showed the most empathy seen yet. She’s really starting to step out of her Mord Sith roll, which is probably important considering the preview for the next episode. My favorite moment was when she was when she was boasting to the night wisp, not expecting a reply and then gets called on it!
I’ve been looking online to try to see if anyone had talked about something that I thought was quite apparently wrong with this episode. If someone could explain it to me, I would really appreciate it. Why doesn’t Darken Rahl have his powers anymore. The Keeper said it was because his body is different, but your Han is attached to your soul. This has been shown quite a few times in the show. Does this make any sense to anyone else?
Hi Chuck. I also found that statement to be confusing. In this very same episode, Kahlan, while talking to the night wisp, mentioned that she AND HER SISTER are the last Confessors. Now Kahlan’s sister was brought back in much the same way that Darken Rahl was brought back – her soul basically took residence in a new body. Kahlan’s words to the night wisp imply that her sister is still a Confessor – i.e., she still has her powers even though she is in a new body. So for that reason, I thought Darken Rahl should also have his powers. And as you pointed out, the magic comes from a person’s Han, not their physical body. Additionally, power comes from the mind (i.e., knowledge). Rahl should still have his Han and his knowledge; therefore, I totally agree that it doesn’t make sense that he is without his powers. Clearly, this was done in an attempt to explain why he didn’t just use his powers against Richard and Co. in this episode.
Exactly, Ruby! Not to mention sister Nicci. She’s the sister of the dark who stole Richard’s Han. She was also brought back and she’s just as powerful as she was before. Maybe Darken Rahl doesn’t have his powers due to some crazy thing involving the keeper, but if so, it should’ve been explained. They just explained it as different body. This make no sense at all.
In an earlier episode, I don’t recall which, I believe it was explained that the magic of the confessors works differently from the magic of the Rahl bloodline. A confessor’s magic is part of her soul. The Rahl magic was part of their genetic make up. I’m not sure about wizards, but Richard is a special case because he is the combination of two powerful bloodlines – the Rahls and Zed’s wizard heritage.
O.K. That makes more sense. Thanks!