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Reign: The Conqueror Volume 2

The incomprehension continues! So does my indifference, nay loathing, of Alexander, the main character of Reign. If you saw the previous installment of Reign, you’ll understand that Reign: The Conqueror “follows” Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Mediterranean in a pseudo-futuristic setting, where horses are the main mode of transportation but cult assassins can fly.

After viewing the second disc in the set a few times – just to make sure I wasn’t missing something – I finally put my finger on why I haven’t become entranced with the series: the disjointed nature of the episodes. While there are connections made between episodes, they’re subtle or only given the barest of coverage. And there’s the continual problem of the producers assuming the viewer knows something about Alexander the Great. In the case of this disc, there’s just not enough explanation of what’s going on.

In Episode 5, the philosopher Diogenes offers much-needed comic relief for the series – finally. But I like him for a couple of other reasons: he lives in a barrel and slams Alexander back into line. However, he doesn’t show up again in the remaining two episodes and his existence isn’t ever really explained, even though he gets Alexander thinking about being “a God of creation” rather than a destructive force.

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Episode 6 shows that Alexander didn’t pay much attention to Diogenes advice as he’s on the brink of attacking Persia. But instead of plunging on into a lot of action, there’s much background information on Alexander’s parents and the pagan ritual that brought them together. The ritual manages to be disturbing without offering much in the way of information of what kind of pagan ritual it is.

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The Gordian Knot appears in Episode 7. What’s a Gordian Knot? My advice, go to the library and check out The History of Alexander the Great by Scot McKendrick (or consult the ever-handy Cartoon History of the Universe). Basically, the Gordian Knot is a tangle of rope that can’t be undone because the ends are not visible. (Take a look behind your PC or entertainment unit and you’ll get an idea what I’m writing about.) Alexander solves the Gordian Knot by simply cutting the whole thing in half. His reward, besides fulfilling a prophecy, is the servitude of Philippos, a doctor from the school of Hippocrates.

And that’s pretty much where it ends. The promise of a mammoth battle with a Persian army is averted at the last moment by the appearance of dozens of assassins after Alexander.

Overall, Reign is far from gripping unless you know your ancient history and don’t mind the stylistic twist. I had much hopes that the second disc would draw me into the overall story, but so far, Reign has failed to do so. It’s an animated drama that fails to make you care about what’s happening between the characters or any of plots.

- Omni

(August 10, 2003)