So...new love
Dec. 15th, 2010 02:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jedi_of_urthOkay, so in the course of a few days I basically inhaled 'Legend of the Seeker.' I still don't know if I'm really obsessed with the show or it was just really nice to feel the rush of new fandom love again. But I have thoughts...
NEW SHIP!!!. Richard/Kahlan is like the most epic thing...well maybe not ever but it's up there. Going in, somehow I had the idea they were a Robin/Marian type ship (which I didn't like) but it turns out their basically the adult Aang/Katara with a bit of Ned/Chuck thrown in. They're both bad-asses, and together they're unstoppable, they make each other more awesome not less so. And in a, to quote the show, "Undying love that can never be consummated." So it satisfies my need for angst along side my need for brilliant epic love stories.
Kahlan is totally my favorite character, followed by Zedd. Of the three leads Richard is actually my least favorite and I like him best in 'make shmoopy eyes at Kahlan' mode because he does do good shmoopy. But they're all pretty well done.
I actually thought Cara's redemption arc was really well handled, most shows can't get me to go along with it, but this one almost completely does. And Rahl is surprisingly charming for a bad guy. I would never root for him (he's not exactly Guy here, even if he IS quite attractive) but he's interesting (when he's not just serving as the mouth piece of the Keeper, that was boring).
On one hand I wish the show had continued, because they were obviously setting up for more but...I also like happy endings and as is the show basically ended with "And they lived happily ever after" so I'd be hesitant to say it HAS to come back.
Now, for the less that stellar aspects of the show. Because there were definitely a few.
While the female characters are great, they also have a bit of virgin/whore split going on. Kahlan walks around in white and is basically untouchable by any man, while the Mord Sith run around in tight red leathers and are all for sex and torture (mostly the later). I don't know if that falls under Goodkind's books or if that got exacerbated in the show. So I have a little bit of issue with the role of women in the series, and would probably have more if they weren't pretty well written in spite of that fact.
And, as is the trouble with a lot of fantasy stories, the sense of scale is totally lost. When the plot requires it it takes them weeks to get anywhere, but when the plot requires them to ride back and forth across the country in a few days they can do that. So it's hard to get a good sense of how much time is passing. I don't even want to think of how many times they doubled back over themselves in season 2, especially since there was supposed to be a sense of urgency to it that the longer they took the more people died and became zombies.
Overall I enjoyed the show, it reminds me a little of Robin Hood (which I loved) but more serious and plotty; a little of Merlin (which I'm kind of apathetic towards) without so many things that I personally find eye-rollingly stupid in that show; a little of Lord of the Rings (duh). But it's its own show, just reminiscent of other fantasy/adventure stories.
Anyway, I recommend it, or want people to have seen it so I can talk to them about it.
NEW SHIP!!!. Richard/Kahlan is like the most epic thing...well maybe not ever but it's up there. Going in, somehow I had the idea they were a Robin/Marian type ship (which I didn't like) but it turns out their basically the adult Aang/Katara with a bit of Ned/Chuck thrown in. They're both bad-asses, and together they're unstoppable, they make each other more awesome not less so. And in a, to quote the show, "Undying love that can never be consummated." So it satisfies my need for angst along side my need for brilliant epic love stories.
Kahlan is totally my favorite character, followed by Zedd. Of the three leads Richard is actually my least favorite and I like him best in 'make shmoopy eyes at Kahlan' mode because he does do good shmoopy. But they're all pretty well done.
I actually thought Cara's redemption arc was really well handled, most shows can't get me to go along with it, but this one almost completely does. And Rahl is surprisingly charming for a bad guy. I would never root for him (he's not exactly Guy here, even if he IS quite attractive) but he's interesting (when he's not just serving as the mouth piece of the Keeper, that was boring).
On one hand I wish the show had continued, because they were obviously setting up for more but...I also like happy endings and as is the show basically ended with "And they lived happily ever after" so I'd be hesitant to say it HAS to come back.
Now, for the less that stellar aspects of the show. Because there were definitely a few.
While the female characters are great, they also have a bit of virgin/whore split going on. Kahlan walks around in white and is basically untouchable by any man, while the Mord Sith run around in tight red leathers and are all for sex and torture (mostly the later). I don't know if that falls under Goodkind's books or if that got exacerbated in the show. So I have a little bit of issue with the role of women in the series, and would probably have more if they weren't pretty well written in spite of that fact.
And, as is the trouble with a lot of fantasy stories, the sense of scale is totally lost. When the plot requires it it takes them weeks to get anywhere, but when the plot requires them to ride back and forth across the country in a few days they can do that. So it's hard to get a good sense of how much time is passing. I don't even want to think of how many times they doubled back over themselves in season 2, especially since there was supposed to be a sense of urgency to it that the longer they took the more people died and became zombies.
Overall I enjoyed the show, it reminds me a little of Robin Hood (which I loved) but more serious and plotty; a little of Merlin (which I'm kind of apathetic towards) without so many things that I personally find eye-rollingly stupid in that show; a little of Lord of the Rings (duh). But it's its own show, just reminiscent of other fantasy/adventure stories.
Anyway, I recommend it, or want people to have seen it so I can talk to them about it.
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Date: 2010-12-15 10:09 pm (UTC)ahahahahaha. Let's just say "it falls under Goodkind's books" and leave it at that. If anything, it probably got toned down from how it was in Goodkind's books, seeing as how I've seen so many people who have high standards for the portrayal of female characters fall in mad love with this show. And the books...uh...don't meet with that approval so much, to put it lightly.
I have not seen the show, but I have read about 7 of the 10 books, unfortunately. They started out okay and then got appallingly bad in so many different ways, which is why I quit reading the series. I'm given to understand that the show doesn't contain most of the things that REALLY turned me off to the books, but I go back and forth on whether I want to give it a try. On the one hand, I like some of the themes and the characters, but on the other hand, I'm afraid it's so tainted by how much I HATED the books that I'm not sure I can give it a fair chance...
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Date: 2010-12-15 10:57 pm (UTC)Hmm...I'd be curious to see your reactions to the show, but I can definitely understand how your falling out with the books would influence your opinion of it. I enjoyed the show but haven't read any of the books (can't decide if I want to either), so I don't really have any crossover opinion.
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Date: 2010-12-16 02:36 am (UTC)Cara's redemption arc is one of my favourite redemption arcs. I think part of what makes it work for me is that she was taken as a child, which means that she never really had much of a choice in whether or not to become a Mord Sith and so it's not until she meets Richard that she really has any concept that there *is* another way to live your life.
While the female characters are great, they also have a bit of virgin/whore split going on. Kahlan walks around in white and is basically untouchable by any man, while the Mord Sith run around in tight red leathers and are all for sex and torture
Yeah, it was definitely there and it was problematic, but I always felt like the show sort of skirted around... addressing it directly? Like I felt more like they played up Khalan's "virgin" aspect mostly to play into UST love story with Richard. And also Khalan was so awesome I could forgive a lot lol.
p.s. Is there any way I could persuade you to watch The Vampire Diaries? I would be really interested in hearing your thoughts on it and I think it is the kind of thing you might like. And also I love it so and want to share my love with the world. :D
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Date: 2010-12-16 05:25 am (UTC)it's not until she meets Richard that she really has any concept that there *is* another way to live your life.
Yeah, I haven't given a lot of thought to why her's works when others don't for me but that's part of it. Another part is that it was a light switch change, it actually was a character arc and I'm happy to give them points for that.
Like I felt more like they played up Khalan's "virgin" aspect mostly to play into UST love story with Richard.
Yeah it was largely there to be their magical chastity belt. Which brings me to another thing I loved about the show: it had a OTP and damned if they stuck to it. Your OTP can't have a traditional type relationship? Well they're still going to be madly in love with each other anyway and none of this so common letting it stop them from being in love.
The virgin/whore split also bugged me more in s1 than it did in s2, I think for a few reasons, such a Cara joining the team, Richard and Kahlan had kind of figured out how to live with their magical chastity belt, Kahlan not wearing white so much (I do think the wardrobe choices in s1 were part of my annoyance).
And also Khalan was so awesome I could forgive a lot lol.
Isn't she just? I think the show's gender issues would have been a lot more glaring if Kahlan wasn't so freaking awesome. Cara too, but main my girl Kahlan.
Is there any way I could persuade you to watch The Vampire Diaries
Your posts on the subject have perked my interest more than most things I've heard (although the last show you persuaded me to watch was HIMYM and we have pretty different opinions on that one, so...). I'm thinking about it, but for the moment I'm basking in the new love of LotS.
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Date: 2010-12-16 05:41 am (UTC)And Cara's backstory is so sad that it's hard not to feel sorry for her. I mean she was basically trained as a child soldier (and in a way, there's something comically childlike in the way she doesn't really understand other people's emotions and relationships), and I think the show did a really good job of revealing Cara's damage + making her better again.
Kahlan not wearing white so much (I do think the wardrobe choices in s1 were part of my annoyance).
Yeah, that definitely helped lol.
Your posts on the subject have perked my interest more than most things I've heard (although the last show you persuaded me to watch was HIMYM and we have pretty different opinions on that one, so...).
\o/ I actually feel kind of like I go against the grain in TVD fandom? Which is an unusual experience for me lol. So I am used to people not sharing my opinions. I would be very curious about yours, though! :)