A Legend of the Seeker Sex Rant in re: "Bound"
I think they should have called episode 2x14 "Raped" rather than "Bound." I was unsettled by a whole lot of this episode, actually. I mean, there's Nikki's story. There's Kahlan's "my dad made me help him rape people" story. There's the whole part where Nikki tries to essentially rape Kahlan by trying to have sex (not only sex, but ROUGH sex) with that man, and then with Richard. Kahlan’s father makes a comment about the possibility of being turned into a “love slave” by his daughter. This whole episode is one loooong bad touch. I really think it sheds new light on how exactly this whole series works.
It's probably the darkest episode so far, come to think about it. I've always been struck by the way this band of "Good Guys" kills EVERYONE they fight with. They're supposed to be out to save the world and all the innocent lives in it, but when they come across a band of "Bad Guys" they hack each and every one of them to pieces (except for the ones Kahlan confesses...) And yet I can deal with that! Gratuitous violence is tolerable since it's so EPIC and BADASS and the point is to be EPIC and BADASS.
"Bound" is really making me think about how much Legend of the Seeker is driven by the use and misuse of sex and how it severely damages the characters, especially the female characters. I've made it this far with the "oh, poor Kahlan, she's so frustrated" mindset, but I think an argument could be made that she’s gone far beyond frustrated into they realm of severely fucked up. Earlier in “Fury” Zedd is worried about the darkness in Richard, but I doubt that Richard is the one we need to worry about in this season. “As long as the Mother Confessor’s pure heart beats, the Keeper is doomed to fail.” I’ve made the joke over and over again: don’t try and KILL Kahlan, try and SLEEP with her. And now I feel terrible because I think that I could be more right about that than I though.
The way I see it: Kahlan’s spent her whole life with the fear that her own sexuality can and will always utterly destroy her partners. That’s an absolutely TERRIBLE thing to saddle someone with. If Kahlan (in her right mind, not split or possessed or otherwise under the influence of POWERFUL MAGIC) were to ever have sex with anyone, her worst fears would be realized and I think it would destroy her. (Or come close to it. I don’t really think anything could destroy Kahlan entirely.) If she sleeps with Richard, she’ll spend the rest of their lives wondering if he feels the same way her father did. If she sleeps with Cara (indulge me…), Cara will die in horrible agony. I’m actually getting really upset about how damaged this poor woman is. (Good)Sex is natural and healthy and fun and no one should ever be made to fear their own sexuality that much!!!
It's probably the darkest episode so far, come to think about it. I've always been struck by the way this band of "Good Guys" kills EVERYONE they fight with. They're supposed to be out to save the world and all the innocent lives in it, but when they come across a band of "Bad Guys" they hack each and every one of them to pieces (except for the ones Kahlan confesses...) And yet I can deal with that! Gratuitous violence is tolerable since it's so EPIC and BADASS and the point is to be EPIC and BADASS.
"Bound" is really making me think about how much Legend of the Seeker is driven by the use and misuse of sex and how it severely damages the characters, especially the female characters. I've made it this far with the "oh, poor Kahlan, she's so frustrated" mindset, but I think an argument could be made that she’s gone far beyond frustrated into they realm of severely fucked up. Earlier in “Fury” Zedd is worried about the darkness in Richard, but I doubt that Richard is the one we need to worry about in this season. “As long as the Mother Confessor’s pure heart beats, the Keeper is doomed to fail.” I’ve made the joke over and over again: don’t try and KILL Kahlan, try and SLEEP with her. And now I feel terrible because I think that I could be more right about that than I though.
The way I see it: Kahlan’s spent her whole life with the fear that her own sexuality can and will always utterly destroy her partners. That’s an absolutely TERRIBLE thing to saddle someone with. If Kahlan (in her right mind, not split or possessed or otherwise under the influence of POWERFUL MAGIC) were to ever have sex with anyone, her worst fears would be realized and I think it would destroy her. (Or come close to it. I don’t really think anything could destroy Kahlan entirely.) If she sleeps with Richard, she’ll spend the rest of their lives wondering if he feels the same way her father did. If she sleeps with Cara (indulge me…), Cara will die in horrible agony. I’m actually getting really upset about how damaged this poor woman is. (Good)Sex is natural and healthy and fun and no one should ever be made to fear their own sexuality that much!!!