2.10 – Perdition – Legend of the Seeker Review

Posted by Samuel Walters

“Perdition” is a meandering, uneven episode which, like its main character, is aimless for much of the story. There’s some action, some character and so forth. But the emphasis is in all the wrong places. To be fair, the final sequence is fantastically written and executed. But it’s not worth the pedestrian buildup. Worse still, there’s a lingering question: How did the events of this episode (and the two preceding it) affect our heroes in any meaningful way? Again, the benefits are significantly outweighed by wasted efforts.

The episode opens with Richard waking up in the Temple of Prophets — with the events of the previous episode having been nothing more than a dream. Instead of Richard having left the Temple, he learns that he’s been there all along … for seven years, in fact. Not only is he perplexed by this, but he’s utterly crushed to learn that Kahlan (who has arrived at the Temple) is married with a young daughter. Kahlan tells him that the Stone of Tears has been destroyed and that the Keeper’s forces are, literally, at the gates to kill the last remaining people left alive in the world.

If it sounds like a bad dream, well, that’s because it is. Richard has wandered into the Valley of Perdition — a particularly nasty place which forces people to live out their worst dreams until they simply die. As a concept, it’s actually an interesting kind of idea. The execution, though, leaves a whole lot to be desired. For starters, the episode spends far too much time in Richard’s “hell.” As important as it is to help the audience realize just how bad things are for Richard, the events there are ultimately pointless because the never happened and don’t bring Richard to any great self-realization. At best he finally realizes that it’s all fake and simply walks out. the episode spent an inordinate amount of time in this world and its presence is little more than a glorified plot device.

More interesting (though not really interesting enough) are the events happening around Richard’s plight. Nicci (Jolene Blaylock) escapes and sets out to hunt down Kahlan. Cara and Leo have sex. They, along with Zedd and Kahlan are trapped inside the Temple of Prophets, only to be released moments later. Everyone converges on Richard. And then there’s the big final battle which, at the very least, was entertaining and fun to watch.

Of the various machinations seen in the episode, the one with the most value is the relationship between Cara and Leo. The episode really doesn’t pull it off plausibly enough. But if we accept that Cara did indeed have feelings for Leo, then that fact makes the episode’s outcome all the more poignant — indeed, it provides the one bit of actual character development we see out of the three-episode arc involving the Temple of Prophets. Put simply, Cara’s love for Leo helps humanize her much further, making her more sympathetic and compelling. Hopefully these developments won’t be ignored in future episodes.

*Big spoiler below*

The final battle sees Nicci and the Sisters of the Dark confronting Zedd, Kahlan, Leo and Cara — and Verna, who finally stands up to her ruler. Nicci is extremely powerful, but she is unable to kill Kahlan because Leo sacrifices himself. Moments later Richard appears to confront Nicci and Zedd is finally able to defeat her. It’s nicely paced and thrilling to watch. And Leo’s death is sure to leave its mark on Cara. This is easily the episode’s best moment.

Of course, what goes unanswered (unless I somehow missed it) is what has happened to Richard’s Han (magical force) now that Nicci is dead. Did it just disperse? Did he get it back? The episode was unclear about it.

Overall Grade: C-

“Perdition” just doesn’t make the grade because it wastes too much time on Richard’s torment. The story would have been bettered served by replacing one of the action sequences in Richard’s head with a scene that gave Leo something important to do (like saving Cara or stopping banelings or something more momentous than picking a flower). Doing so would have helped Leo’s character feel more fully realized and not like some pointless stand-in while Richard wandered through the desert. Doing so would have also made his death that much more significant.

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