Discussion Post - "Bound": The Ties that Bind
Nicci, now powered with Richard’s han plus about a gazillion others taken from various Sisters of the Dark, casts a powerful spell binding her fate to Kahlan’s, thereby blackmailing Richard into helping her find the Stone of Tears. From that point “Bound” splits into two parallel story arcs held together by the fact that everything that happens to Nicci is also felt by Kahlan. It’s a contrived plot device, but the episode is still very powerful, giving us a poignant look at Nicci’s life and choices, as well as an intriguing glimpse into Kahlan’s childhood.
As it turns out, Nicci’s Maternity Spell is only the beginning. During the episode, Nicci, Kahlan, and Frederick - Kahlan’s father - each confront the many ways they have been bound over the years.
Nicci has bound herself to the Keeper in an attempt to regain a sense of control over her life. As an innocent novice she was brutally assaulted, only to be attacked again after the Prelate ordered her to forgive the man. She’s now consumed by her own bitterness and thirst for revenge, seeing nothing of worth in the land of the living.
As a young man, Frederick fell in love with a stone carver’s daughter and wanted nothing more than to marry her and learn her father’s trade. Forced into the Dragon Corps by a domineering father, he was confessed in battle by Kahlan’s mother and was bound to her for 6 years. At her death, in his own bitterness - and fear - Frederick turns on his children, keeping them bound and restrained, compelled to confess others at his bidding. He considers the years of his confession as time that is forever lost to him and is determined to regain total control over his life and the lives of his daughters.
Kahlan has to deal with the effects of being bound to Nicci. The sorceress deliberately seeks out pain and suffering in order to make Kahlan suffer, knowing, of course, that Richard - bound to Kahlan by love - will also suffer. I also got the sense that Nicci has such a deep sense of self-loathing that she seems to feel as if she deserves the pain.
Having a vested interest in keeping Nicci alive, Richard comes to her rescue several times during the episode. (Nicci needs Richard’s protection as it takes all of her power to hold the Maternity Spell in place). He not only saves her from the Sisters of the Dark, but, most importantly, says the words that set her out on her new path - “Your strength is yours and yours alone. What you do with it is up to you.”
By the end of the episode,Kahlan is freed from the spell by experiencing a stronger maternity bond - with her own mother, and she’s freed from years of repressed bitterness and anger; Frederick has gained some measure of redemption and freedom from his own guilt, and Nicci makes the decision to serve only herself, freeing herself, or so she thinks. In “Bound” we see glimmers of Nicci’s dawning feelings for Richard. Once she has regained her han, Nicci has him at her mercy, yet instead of forcing him to find the Stone of Tears, she walks away.
Some other random thoughts about “Bound”:
1. Confession=Rape - I don’t think it was accidental that the writers included Frederick’s story in the same episode as Nicci’s. What he did to his daughters was indefensible, but what happened to him was a complete negation of his humanity. He didn’t deserve to be confessed and clearly felt violated by Kahlan’s mother. The experience turned him into a vengeful man obsessed with bending others to his will. The whole idea of confession is even more disturbing and creepy when viewed through the lens of the once-confessed.
2. Kahlan and Frederick - I liked the way the episode handled their relationship. Father and daughter were finally able to listen to each other, and at least begin to understand each other. For the first time Kahlan heard her father’s perspective on his life with her mother - that couldn’t have been easy. Frederick finally was forced to see Kahlan as a human being he had deeply wronged out of his own bitterness and fear. They didn’t part as enemies, but they didn’t really part as family either. I got the impression that both would be quite content to never see the other again.
3. Snake-vine - Woven into the episode is a literal image of a creeping vine that invades the homes of farmers, binding and strangling men, women and children. It’s telling that when Richard wants to stop and help a farmer and his wife who ask for his aid (the Sword of Truth can cut through anything, even snake-vine), Nicci chides him and threatens to harm Kahlan if he goes off on another of his little rescue mission. Later, when Richard goes back to the farmhouse - he’s too late, man and his wife are dead - strangled to death.
4. Darken and Nicci - As usual, Darken only appears for a few minutes, bathed in green flame, to exchange a few words with Nicci. He does have a wonderful over-the-top comment at the beginning when he informs her that the stench of her failure to find the Stone of Tears has sickened the Keeper. Nicci’s verbal smack-down of Darken at the end is rather awesome - although I wonder if those words are going through her head at the end of “Tears” when she’s waking up to the rada’han around her neck.
I’m sure others came away with different impressions or caught things that I missed. What did the rest of you think about “Bound”?