This is the first episode in which Daniel Goddard, playing Dar, the heroic title character, falls victim to one of those beefcake-bondage tortures so dear to the creators of these costume-adventures. Held tight by a quartet of beefy guards, he's laid face-up on the ground in a spreadeagle position with his hands and feet tied to wooden poles. These poles are attached to two teams of oxen which, urged in opposite directions by shouting, whip-wielding guards, begin to stretch their victim like a prisoner on a medieval rack. (The head guard tells Dar he wants to watch him die "in several different pieces.") Rather than having his arms and legs ripped out of their sockets, however, Dar mentally communicates with the oxen who stop their pulling and even take steps backward. This allows Dar to slip out of his bounds and break free.
As torture scenes go, this one isn't particularly effective. Dar never seems to suffer any real pain, just some brief discomfort, and his ability to put an end to the torture takes away any real sense of danger or jeopardy. However, Daniel Goddard's physique is put on effective display, even his unshaved armpits, though one wishes his body could have been given more of a glistening sheen of sweat.
As torture scenes go, this one isn't particularly effective. Dar never seems to suffer any real pain, just some brief discomfort, and his ability to put an end to the torture takes away any real sense of danger or jeopardy. However, Daniel Goddard's physique is put on effective display, even his unshaved armpits, though one wishes his body could have been given more of a glistening sheen of sweat.
