This week's episode was pretty impressive. The A plot with Talon, Janzo, etc. going through the ancient puzzles and deathtraps was your standard tomb-crawl narrative, but the B plot with Tobin and Munt traveling to Tobin's kingdom was impressive, with some good character interplay and some spectacular location work. Munt is blossoming into a really interesting, complex character, and he has a good rapport with Tobin. And those giant stone archways they passed through were amazing. I thought they must be some ruins of Roman aqueducts carved out of the bare stone somehow, but I looked them up, and apparently they're natural features that Serbia is famous for:
https://4x4.serbianoutdoor.com/stone-bridges/
I agree with
@Christopher that they did a great job of making Munt very likeable. I don't know if anyone caught it...but when to 2 arrived in Tobin's home city, it was Munt, who was essentially the pizza delivery guy, who was greeted as everyone's friend, while the ruler of the town, who everyone
should have known, was ignored if not secretly despised. As Tobin was observing this, i hope this builds him up into a
better leader and person. But i fear for Munt...i wonder if this sets him up for a heroic sacrifice (with Tobin pledging to be the man Munt is)? I hope not, but it would definitely be dramatic.
I found it a bit contradictory at first -- the traps were designed to select for good people, yet the prize is a harmful one? But I guess the traps weren't selecting for goodness so much as selflessness and communal spirit -- sacrificing oneself for the group, sticking together rather than splitting up, etc. (though I'm not sure how the darts and swinging blades fit the theme). So that fits with a prize that entails subsuming everyone into a group consciousness.
My take is that the challenges weren't just testing their selflessness, but also their intelligence, bravery, resourcefulness, etc. Hence, that final obstacle course to make sure that the power was won by somebody who was exceptional in all respects, not just in character.
No point in handing the Sacred Gift over to somebody who doesn't have super survival skills as well. You want them to live long enough to use it wisely.
I would agree with
@Greg Cox ... though, even though the priestess was the one driving the quest, did she actually contribute, certainly in the way Janzo and the others did?
To answer
@Christopher 's thought... it seems like the prize is like the ring from Lord of the RIngs.. and because the priestess REALLY wasn't as worthy as the others, that is why it is corrupting her. However Zed's admiration of her, makes me feel like she isn't a "bad" person per se, but not quite as worthy as the others would have been.
Oh, that's a good catch, I didn't put that together.
I have to admit, I am kind of missing Robyn Malcolm as Elinor, anyone know why she left? It doesn't say anything about The Outpost on her Wikipedia page.
Maybe they just decided Elinor's storyline had come to an end.
The one I miss is Amita Suman, who doesn't seem to be back this year. Naya hasn't even been mentioned.
I am wondering if it is both a story thing, but also a cost thing? Not that the 2 actors probably cost a lot, but considering their cost saving measures (i.e. filming in a Eastern European country), but they probably needed those salaries for the Priestess and her daughter. I thought ELinor was hilarious too, but they already did what they did with Glen on the Walking Dead -- fake ONE death (i.e. the end of Season 1, where it seemed like she was struck down), so the next time, it had to be for real. ,
