6 - Elixir

Information

Title: Elixir
Episode number: 6
Production number: 103
Director: Charlie Haskell
Writers: Mike Sussman
US Air date: 29th November 2008
UK Air date: 27th August 2009
Gallery: View Elixir images

Synopsis

Richard, Kahlan and Zedd discover that peddlers are selling the villagers of Drundril elixirs, potions that temporarily give them magical powers. Searching for the makers of the potions, Zedd confronts a wizard who was once his student, but is now a dangerous and powerful rival.

Review by Tracy Casebere

Everyone, calm down, it's alright. You're not watching the half-naked chef. It's Legend of the Seeker. So what if Richard is busy chopping fruit for Zedd's breakfast? And so what if he's half naked whilst doing it? The sword has to be used on something because it's clearly not being used to smite Darken Rahl. According to Zedd in the previous episode, it's been two whole months since we, the viewer have seen the luscious, shiny hair of Darken Rahl. And we miss it.

But like most scenes of Richard without his shirt on, there is a point to it. No really, there is. And it's not to point out that he looks really, really good, rather to learn something very important, "To see that which is not there, gaze upon what is." Quite frankly I'd rather take the melon and dash it at Zedd's head. He can slice his own damn fruit.

Following on the fruity theme, things start to get a little awkward between Richard and Kahlan when he accidently (yeah right) spies on her bathing. With his attention solely focused on Kahlan's... hair, he doesn't notice when a thief suddenly comes out of nowhere and steals their horses. Some quick thinking from Richard ends up with him chasing after the young thief with Zedd's last "lesson" still ringing in his ears, "To see that which is not there, gaze upon what is." Like his bloody fist. One swing from the thief and Richard is left on the ground, horseless and probably wondering how he was beaten by a teenager.

Luckily, Kahlan is good with geography and she works out where the thief was headed. After a bit of grumbling from Zedd, they go in search of the horses. What they are greeted to is a drug riddled town, full of corrupt money makers and penniless peasants. The drugs are in fact magical potions - and they come in all sorts of colours, like a rainbow, only you won't find a pot of gold at the end of one, or a bag of Skittles, just the bottom of an empty glass with the need of wanting more, and more - until you've sold every last one of your possessions to buy some.

This is a town in desperate need of a little Seeker TLC and as expected, Richard does what he does best: he helps them. On his way to sorting out the towns problems, the trio are attacked and Zedd is taken. Who is the captor though? In a nutshell, it's an old friend of Zedd's who just so happens to be selling potions to the town in exchange for money, which in turn will be used to buy and assemble an army against Darken Rahl. So in actual fact then, it's for a good cause. Isn't it? Not all good intentions lead to the best course of action (god listen to me, I sound like Zedd.) The magic being sold to the town is made from the magical life force of dark wizards and sorcerers who are working for Darken Rahl. For your information, stealing magic from a wizard is like taking the very life from them. And believe me when I say Zedd is horrified to learn his old friend's methods. So horrified in fact he refuses to have any part in it, which leads him to having his own magic siphoned to stop him from putting an end to their "business", sorry, "war strategy."

With no chance of Zedd escaping without his magic, it falls to Richard and Kahlan to rescue him. Having had a success, (albeit an unintentional one) with a magical potion earlier on in the episode, Richard decides the only way to find Zedd is to use another such potion. A moral argument ensues between Kahlan and Richard, with Kahlan telling him not to take the easy way out, and that magic like this should not be relied upon; instead he should rely on his own instincts. Richard may be the Seeker, but he's very inexperienced and to that end, is unsure of himself, especially when magic can so easily manipulate and sometimes even create "instincts." Going against her advice, he acquires another magical potion and sets about finding Zedd. This all goes very well until he's knocked out by a guy Kahlan confessed earlier on and by the time he's come round, the potion has worn off.

Now he has no choice but to work things out for himself to rescue Zedd. A wise man once said, "Think of the solution, not the problem," and Richard does just that. They find Zedd, they get his magical power back and they save the town in one fair swoop. But this episode has opened up a whole new can of worms. It questions the use of magic, of the person casting it and their intent. Magic isn't evil, nor is it good; it's "complicated."

Perhaps in the end, it will take more than a magical sword to kill Darken Rahl.