Sunday, June 16, 2013

Sinbad - Queen of the Water-Thieves


After surviving the storm that killed the rest of the ship's passengers and crew, Sinbad (Elliot Knight), Anwar (Dimitri Leonidas), Rina (Marama Corlett), Gunnar (Elliot Cowan), and Nala (Estella Daniels) are taken captive by the Water-Thieves who confiscate their ship and deliver them as prisoners to their Queen (Sophie Okonedo). Stepping foot on land again for the first time since his curse, Sinbad has only a single day and night to try and charm the Queen and save himself and his friends who are meant to feed the cannibalistic tribe of Water-Thieves.

Despite bedding the Queen, Sinbad is no closer to saving himself or the crew he abandoned while seeking his own escape. Any remaining home is dashed by meeting the Queen's son (Robert Gilbert) who shows the arrogant thief the tragic end of all his mother's lovers. With time running out Sinbad takes a desperate gamble to go back for his friends (as well as the Queen's giant pet bird) as Anwar and Rina are forced to fight each other in the town's square for their survival.


Meanwhile back at home, Lord Akbari (Naveen Andrews) continues to search for the thief who killed his son, even going so far as to ignore his brother's strict orders and allow the witch Taryn (Orla Brady) to use the dark arts to find Sinbad. Tazeem (Robert Gilbert) helps smuggle Sinbad's mother out of the city, and far from the reach of Akbari, but Sinbad's grandmother (Janet Suzman) refuses to make the trip.

The home of the Water-Thieves could definitely use some more money for set design. And although Sinbad's big plan works, it does so far more on luck and chance than any quick thinking or skill. Despite the Queen's words of wisdom about who and what a true leader is, we still see little of those qualities from Sinbad. The subplot involving the Queen's pet works (even if its too easy to see coming), and the episode does offer insight into which members of the group are willing to fight for their lives and just how far some of them are willing to go.

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