I just watched the first three episodes of Legend of the Seeker.
The short version: NICE-LOOKING BUT DUMB.
I am a bit ambivalent about this show. Being a fantasy fan and having seen some really pretty picspams and read a bit of fic here and there, I guess I went into it with kinda high expectations. And was disappointed. But then again it's only the first three episodes. I guess I'll keep watching? (Mainly because I want to see the Mord-Sith.)
The show's not at all original: it's your standard Simple Village Boy is secretly a Chosen One whose destiny is to defeat the Big Bad kind of story. So blah blah blah, Richard has a peaceful life chopping down trees and building bridges in the forest, but suddenly Mysterious Woman appears with Mystical Talisman, pursued by Evil Forces, and then everything goes to hell and his father is killed and he's forced to leave his village and Face His Destiny. Yup, nothing new here. Almost identical plot to a million other fantasy stories out there.
I could enjoy it -- except for the parts that made me want to laugh, or facepalm. Or often, both. A lot of the plot twists are just silly. None of the characters ever seem to question anything any of the other characters tell them. They just believe it!! Whether it's two bounty hunters deciding to team up, or Kahlan going from the opinion that "the Seeker should look after himself" to the opinion that "the Seeker's duty is to help others first" in just one episode, just because Richard managed to save one guy, or people going "Oh, Seeker, you have opened my eyes to how good is better than evil! Henceforth I shall do good!" -- it makes everyone come off as rather stupid and simple. Decisions are made hastily and without much obvious forethought. The people stand around, discuss the problem superficially, go "okay, let's do this!" and walk off to do it. Without a plan. Which is dumb, because while Richard is a naive village boy, Zedd is a really old and experienced wizard and Kahlan is a kickass warrior woman. They are capable of so much better.
There are plotholes! Not particularly big ones, but annoying nonetheless, because they distract me so much that I can't focus on the show. Like: how did Kahlan escape the soldiers in the beginning? They were on horses! She was kneeling beside the lake! Please don't tell me Kahlan can outrun a horse. Actually, maybe she can, considering that when Richard got kidnapped and she got knocked out, she came to and somehow managed to travel fast enough to come ahead and intercept the wagon he was being transported in anyway. And when the soldiers came knocking at Richard's house -- there was such a long convenient pause before we saw them riding to the door and the actual knocking so Richard's dad could help him escape through the back. Which is contrived and also silly, because any smart soldier would send guards around to the back to make sure no one escaped while they were messing around at the front. How did Kahlan find Zedd, since he was a superpowerful wizard in hiding for twenty years? Kahlan, why are you wearing your impractical billowy white dress again when Chase's wife gave you a much more sensible looking brown tunic thing just now? (And your billowy white dress was covered with mud three scenes ago! Did you stop by at the medieval laundromat while you were searching the village for the Seeker?) Kahlan, why did you send Richard the village boy with Chase to hunt down the evil commander guy when you, the heroic lady who has travelled hundreds of miles through hostile territory, are obviously more fit for the task? Kahlan, why did you ask Richard, "What do we do next?" when you are obviously more experienced and well-equipped to make wise decisions? Please don't tell me it's because you are the Token Female Character/love interest and Richard is the Heroic Young Leading Hero. Richard has never touched a sword before: how on Earth does he manage to defeat a couple of dozen trained, experienced soldiers? Richard and Kahlan were hiding right behind the rock the soldiers walked past, it's impossible that they weren't discovered!! If Lily is so poor and starving and has to resort to stealing food to survive, how come she owns two horses and a wagon?? THESE PLOT HOLES, I CAN'T LET THEM REST.
The dialogue is really cheesy and melodramatic too. Zedd is the sage; he says all the prerequisite pieces of wisdom, like, "Think not of what was before, or what will be. Focus only on what is!" and "You cannot go back, you can only go forward!" Richard is the idealist, who talks about how it is his ~duty~ to help people and be a ~hero~. In those words. It makes me cringe. Especially because the acting isn't particularly good. Zedd and Kahlan are pretty well portrayed, Richard a bit less so, and everyone else frankly sucks. The soldiers, the bounty hunters, the shopkeepers...they're all a bit self-conscious, like they haven't really stepped into their roles. A bit exaggerated, which adds a comic atmosphere to the show which I don't think was intentional. It doesn't help that a lot of them have really obvious American accents. Richard in particular has a horrible accent.
Also lmfao the special effects. They're very smooth, but REALLY LULZY. Slow motion Matrix-style dodging of arrows! Slow-motion swordfights! Slow motion riding of horses! Ooh shiny magic. Why does Kahlan's glowy magic stone also produce a mysterious, unexplained breeze that ruffles her hair dramatically?
LMFAO SEE I WASN'T JOKING ABOUT THE SLOW-MOTION...
And I'm sorry, but am I supposed to be shipping Richard/Kahlan? Obviously they're meant to be together, since Richard is the Hero and Kahlan is the Female Supporting Character, but...nu-uh.
I like Kahlan. She's strong. She's a strong woman who is entirely dedicated to her task of finding and protecting the Seeker.
Unfortunately, the Seeker in question is an idiot. I think his idiocy is supposed to be endearing, actually. But Craig Horner, who plays Richard, can't quite pull it off. He can't give the character the depth and inner decency needed to garner the audience's affection. Richard's courage comes off as cocky arrogance. His determination comes off as willful stubbornness. His loyalty to his adopted father and home comes off as narrow-mindedness. The ~nobility~ he displays in going out of his way to help other people comes off as hollow and fake and naive. His rejection of Kahlan and Zedd and the change they bring to his life holds none of the fear or vulnerability that would characterise the base motivations of a good-hearted but simple village boy: we only see anger and belligerence behind his actions. He is, altogether, a rather unsatisfying hero.
Especially because he does stupid things, and yet everything is okay in the end. (See Exhibit A: Defeating Battalion of Soldiers with Sword You Have Never Used Before. Even Though You Have Never Used Any Sword Before.) There are no repercussions for his mistakes, nothing bad that happens in the first two episodes -- the death of his father, the destruction of his village -- is portrayed as his fault. And maybe it isn't, but if he had been faster, or more willing to listen to Zedd and Kahlan -- it could have been prevented. He showed no sorrow over his fellow villagers' betrayal of him. He showed no remorse over the first killing he committed. (Simple village boy, when did you get so jaded and cold that you can stab a fellow human being through the stomach and feel nothing? In two days?) Richard does stupid things, and Kahlan and Zedd have to come in and pull him out of trouble.
And Kahlan likes him. By the end of the three episodes, she thinks he has proved himself as a Seeker. By what? Killing a few soldiers? Doing stupid things and rushing in to save people without thinking? She thinks he's worthy -- of the Seeker's mantle, and of the romance they are obviously being set up for. That really pisses me off.
Because she is a much stronger woman than that. Kahlan is a woman dedicated to her cause, and she's not going to be distracted from it by a pretty face. By the pretty face of a stupid village boy who doesn't know a thing about how the world works. But of course he's the Hero and she's the Token Female Character, so obviously they are going to fall in love. And start hugging and opening up to each other about their tragic pasts and giving each other sex eyes two days into their acquaintance.
Kahlan, you deserve way better than Richard.
The thing is that LotS is not an intelligent show. It is 100% blatant and cheesy, from the plot to the dialogue to the fight scenes. It's all the common tropes of fantasy distilled into a highly-unsubtle, low-level entertainment television series. Am I impressed? No.
But on the other hand, it is a really pretty show.
Like, really really pretty.
It was mostly filmed in New Zealand, and the cinematography -- the composition, the colours -- is gorgeous.
Gorgeous scenery (mountains, forests, streams, rustic little villages...) :
Gorgeous Richard (so I don't care much for his character, but he is real eye candy. I have a thing for eyebrows rofl.) :
Gorgeous Kahlan (seriously, how pretty is she? Look at that little smile! Is she real?) :
*totally smitten*
So I guess I will keep watching for the eye candy and pray that the writing and characterization improve. And I really want to see the Mord-Sith.
I am a bit ambivalent about this show. Being a fantasy fan and having seen some really pretty picspams and read a bit of fic here and there, I guess I went into it with kinda high expectations. And was disappointed. But then again it's only the first three episodes. I guess I'll keep watching? (Mainly because I want to see the Mord-Sith.)
The show's not at all original: it's your standard Simple Village Boy is secretly a Chosen One whose destiny is to defeat the Big Bad kind of story. So blah blah blah, Richard has a peaceful life chopping down trees and building bridges in the forest, but suddenly Mysterious Woman appears with Mystical Talisman, pursued by Evil Forces, and then everything goes to hell and his father is killed and he's forced to leave his village and Face His Destiny. Yup, nothing new here. Almost identical plot to a million other fantasy stories out there.
I could enjoy it -- except for the parts that made me want to laugh, or facepalm. Or often, both. A lot of the plot twists are just silly. None of the characters ever seem to question anything any of the other characters tell them. They just believe it!! Whether it's two bounty hunters deciding to team up, or Kahlan going from the opinion that "the Seeker should look after himself" to the opinion that "the Seeker's duty is to help others first" in just one episode, just because Richard managed to save one guy, or people going "Oh, Seeker, you have opened my eyes to how good is better than evil! Henceforth I shall do good!" -- it makes everyone come off as rather stupid and simple. Decisions are made hastily and without much obvious forethought. The people stand around, discuss the problem superficially, go "okay, let's do this!" and walk off to do it. Without a plan. Which is dumb, because while Richard is a naive village boy, Zedd is a really old and experienced wizard and Kahlan is a kickass warrior woman. They are capable of so much better.
There are plotholes! Not particularly big ones, but annoying nonetheless, because they distract me so much that I can't focus on the show. Like: how did Kahlan escape the soldiers in the beginning? They were on horses! She was kneeling beside the lake! Please don't tell me Kahlan can outrun a horse. Actually, maybe she can, considering that when Richard got kidnapped and she got knocked out, she came to and somehow managed to travel fast enough to come ahead and intercept the wagon he was being transported in anyway. And when the soldiers came knocking at Richard's house -- there was such a long convenient pause before we saw them riding to the door and the actual knocking so Richard's dad could help him escape through the back. Which is contrived and also silly, because any smart soldier would send guards around to the back to make sure no one escaped while they were messing around at the front. How did Kahlan find Zedd, since he was a superpowerful wizard in hiding for twenty years? Kahlan, why are you wearing your impractical billowy white dress again when Chase's wife gave you a much more sensible looking brown tunic thing just now? (And your billowy white dress was covered with mud three scenes ago! Did you stop by at the medieval laundromat while you were searching the village for the Seeker?) Kahlan, why did you send Richard the village boy with Chase to hunt down the evil commander guy when you, the heroic lady who has travelled hundreds of miles through hostile territory, are obviously more fit for the task? Kahlan, why did you ask Richard, "What do we do next?" when you are obviously more experienced and well-equipped to make wise decisions? Please don't tell me it's because you are the Token Female Character/love interest and Richard is the Heroic Young Leading Hero. Richard has never touched a sword before: how on Earth does he manage to defeat a couple of dozen trained, experienced soldiers? Richard and Kahlan were hiding right behind the rock the soldiers walked past, it's impossible that they weren't discovered!! If Lily is so poor and starving and has to resort to stealing food to survive, how come she owns two horses and a wagon?? THESE PLOT HOLES, I CAN'T LET THEM REST.
The dialogue is really cheesy and melodramatic too. Zedd is the sage; he says all the prerequisite pieces of wisdom, like, "Think not of what was before, or what will be. Focus only on what is!" and "You cannot go back, you can only go forward!" Richard is the idealist, who talks about how it is his ~duty~ to help people and be a ~hero~. In those words. It makes me cringe. Especially because the acting isn't particularly good. Zedd and Kahlan are pretty well portrayed, Richard a bit less so, and everyone else frankly sucks. The soldiers, the bounty hunters, the shopkeepers...they're all a bit self-conscious, like they haven't really stepped into their roles. A bit exaggerated, which adds a comic atmosphere to the show which I don't think was intentional. It doesn't help that a lot of them have really obvious American accents. Richard in particular has a horrible accent.
Also lmfao the special effects. They're very smooth, but REALLY LULZY. Slow motion Matrix-style dodging of arrows! Slow-motion swordfights! Slow motion riding of horses! Ooh shiny magic. Why does Kahlan's glowy magic stone also produce a mysterious, unexplained breeze that ruffles her hair dramatically?
Click to viewLMFAO SEE I WASN'T JOKING ABOUT THE SLOW-MOTION...
And I'm sorry, but am I supposed to be shipping Richard/Kahlan? Obviously they're meant to be together, since Richard is the Hero and Kahlan is the Female Supporting Character, but...nu-uh.
I like Kahlan. She's strong. She's a strong woman who is entirely dedicated to her task of finding and protecting the Seeker.
Unfortunately, the Seeker in question is an idiot. I think his idiocy is supposed to be endearing, actually. But Craig Horner, who plays Richard, can't quite pull it off. He can't give the character the depth and inner decency needed to garner the audience's affection. Richard's courage comes off as cocky arrogance. His determination comes off as willful stubbornness. His loyalty to his adopted father and home comes off as narrow-mindedness. The ~nobility~ he displays in going out of his way to help other people comes off as hollow and fake and naive. His rejection of Kahlan and Zedd and the change they bring to his life holds none of the fear or vulnerability that would characterise the base motivations of a good-hearted but simple village boy: we only see anger and belligerence behind his actions. He is, altogether, a rather unsatisfying hero.
Especially because he does stupid things, and yet everything is okay in the end. (See Exhibit A: Defeating Battalion of Soldiers with Sword You Have Never Used Before. Even Though You Have Never Used Any Sword Before.) There are no repercussions for his mistakes, nothing bad that happens in the first two episodes -- the death of his father, the destruction of his village -- is portrayed as his fault. And maybe it isn't, but if he had been faster, or more willing to listen to Zedd and Kahlan -- it could have been prevented. He showed no sorrow over his fellow villagers' betrayal of him. He showed no remorse over the first killing he committed. (Simple village boy, when did you get so jaded and cold that you can stab a fellow human being through the stomach and feel nothing? In two days?) Richard does stupid things, and Kahlan and Zedd have to come in and pull him out of trouble.
And Kahlan likes him. By the end of the three episodes, she thinks he has proved himself as a Seeker. By what? Killing a few soldiers? Doing stupid things and rushing in to save people without thinking? She thinks he's worthy -- of the Seeker's mantle, and of the romance they are obviously being set up for. That really pisses me off.
Because she is a much stronger woman than that. Kahlan is a woman dedicated to her cause, and she's not going to be distracted from it by a pretty face. By the pretty face of a stupid village boy who doesn't know a thing about how the world works. But of course he's the Hero and she's the Token Female Character, so obviously they are going to fall in love. And start hugging and opening up to each other about their tragic pasts and giving each other sex eyes two days into their acquaintance.
Kahlan, you deserve way better than Richard.
The thing is that LotS is not an intelligent show. It is 100% blatant and cheesy, from the plot to the dialogue to the fight scenes. It's all the common tropes of fantasy distilled into a highly-unsubtle, low-level entertainment television series. Am I impressed? No.
But on the other hand, it is a really pretty show.
Like, really really pretty.
It was mostly filmed in New Zealand, and the cinematography -- the composition, the colours -- is gorgeous.
Gorgeous scenery (mountains, forests, streams, rustic little villages...) :
Gorgeous Richard (so I don't care much for his character, but he is real eye candy. I have a thing for eyebrows rofl.) :
Gorgeous Kahlan (seriously, how pretty is she? Look at that little smile! Is she real?) :
*totally smitten*
So I guess I will keep watching for the eye candy and pray that the writing and characterization improve. And I really want to see the Mord-Sith.