1.06 – Elixir – Legend of the Seeker Review

Posted by Samuel Walters

seeker-106-elixir

“Elixir” is a story about a town which sells magic on every street corner. The illicit black market brings the worst sorts of outlaws and makes the “honest” townsfolk live in fear. Enter the Seeker. He makes it his mission to aid the village and free it from the dominion of black magic and the black market. Predictably, things do not go as planned. And the episode becomes a tale about temptation and betrayal – and whether or not the ends justify the means.

By way of setup, there is a scene in which Zedd teaches Richard to use his skills to see beyond what is in front of his eyes. It’s an amusing scene, reminiscent of many of Luke’s Jedi training moments, but it establishes an important plot point – that Richard has the skill to solve problems all on his own. Of course, this will come into play before the episode is concluded, but the scene itself works on a number of levels, especially by deepening the character arcs. It comes to its conclusion when Richard stumbles onto a bathing Kahlan, which also continues to complicate their personal relationship.

Unfortunately for Richard, while he is distracted (quite understandable) the horses are taken by a horse thief. The pursuit of the thief leads the trio to the nearby village of Drendril where we are introduced to magic being sold in small vials on the streets and in the local pub. Once the villagers learn that a Zedd is a wizard, he is taken captive (using the bottled magic) and taken prisoner by a wizard that Zedd once thought of as a friend.

The scenes between Zedd and his old friend, Jeziah, reinforce the episode’s themes of betrayal and whether or not the ends justify the means. Jeziah uses a rare stone to drain the magic out of wizards working for Darken Rahl and then sells the distilled magic on the streets of Drendril. Jeziah claims that this is to make enough money to raise a militia that will overthrow Darken Rahl. But, of course, in the process, he bleeds the town dry and makes a mockery of the magical powers that he ought to hold in high reverence – as Zedd does. Jeziah’s ultimate motivations are suspect, but even if he had the best of intentions, his character becomes evil through the means by which he chooses to fight against Darken Rahl.

This idea is also at the heart of the story involving the attempt by Richard and Kahlan to find Zedd and rescue him. After realizing that magic can help him locate the things he wants, Richard decides to use the bottled magic once again to find Zedd. This leads to a confrontation in which Kahlan tries to convince Richard that he doesn’t need to use magic as a crutch – that he has his own skills that can be used to track and find Zedd.

To further complicate matters, the true nature of Kahlan’s “confession” is explored through Rimus – a former thief and magic peddler. As it turns out, after a Confessor uses her powers on someone, that person’s emotions become fixated on the Confessor. This detail helps complicate magic not as a force of good or evil, but as a means which reflects the intentions of its user.

Ultimately, Richard has to rely on his Seeker abilities, rather than on magic to find and rescue Zedd. This happens in a final sequence which echoes the lessons Richard learned in the opening scene and brings the episode to a natural (if somewhat predictable) conclusion.

Overall Grade: B

For the most part, “Elixir” succeeds because the character interactions are very strong. The general predictability of the story is a detriment, but it is also offset by the valuable and worthwhile themes explored through the narrative. The building complexities of the relationship between Kahlan and Richard are also given a light, but necessary touch, leading to bigger issues down the road …

Topics: Fantasy, TV Reviews
Filed under: Legend of the Seeker