Chosen: Part 1

I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of the book series this TV series is based on, but this episode got me a bit interested. OK, I wasn't expecting this beginning of the episode to be a masterpiece because it does have some of the same fantasy cliches we've seen a million times before, but I think the world introduction was well-done. It had some very nice scenery and the CGI, while not the best I've seen, was at least tolerable enough. Also, the character introduction wasn't that bad at all either and have some potential to be compelling. And then you have a music score that, while too electronic in some parts, does have an atmospheric quality throughout the episode.

What got me interested in this episode, however, was the two casting choices. Manu Bennett, who most people remember as Slade Wilson (Deathstroke) from CW's Arrow, does make a very good character in Allanon and John Rhys-Davies as the Elven King (which is ironic, considering he played Gimli in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy) did seem to have fitted the role really well. As for the actors who played the main leads, they did fine. Not as interesting as the two actors I already mentioned, but they tried their best with what they were given.

Overall, this episode isn't quite a strong start, but thanks to it's world introduction, I got interested I decided to watch other episodes, but not the entire first season, which I'm planning to for this month.