Crystal Ark
Beastmaster Episode Review
In which Dar needs new family.
What Happened
King Zad goes on a rampage, trying to destroy every trace of Dar's father King Eldar. His entrance into a nearby village prompts Breon and Rhana to run, each carrying half of a tablet entrusted to them by followers of Eldar. Breon gets away, but Rhana gets captured by Zad.
Rhana manages to stand up to Zad fairly well, but eventually tells him about a temple built by Eldar that is out in the desert. Dar finds Breon's half of the tablet, but Breon dies on the way out of Xinca, and Dar is forced to rely on Dartanus for guidance to the temple.
Dar rescues Rhana from Zad. The restored tablet tells about a nearby cave, where Dar finds a crystal pyramid with animal symbols on the sides. Dartanus tells him that Eldar turned his wife and children into animals and hide them from Balcifer and Zad.
If Dar manages to find them, he can keep them safe inside the ark until Balcifer is defeated.
What We Learned
- Zad is tired of hearing about King Eldar.
- Tao learned a couple of fighting tricks.
- Marc Singer hasn't learned to act.
- Shortcuts are often more trouble then they are worth.
- So are spirit guides.
- Every time you take the wrong path, you follow your own footsteps.
- Dartanus won't always be around. (Is that a threat or a promise?)
- Who would have thought civilization would be so fragile?
What Did I Think?
In terms of this particular episode, Rhana held her own against Zad, but on the other hand, we had to put up with whiny Breon... and Dartanus.
On a larger scale, we have to set-up just how Dar is going to get his family back, and I suppose this episode does that well enough. I have to wonder, however, why Zad is so hell-bent on destroying all signs of King Eldar's rule when everyone's been wandering around for two years without hearing so much as a whisper of his name. Wouldn't Tao already know about things like a great honking temple to King Eldar? This is his own backyard, after all?
I'm already tired.