'Finale'

[ithildin]

Welcome to our second installment of Methos Episode discussion! You can find the first one, for 'Methos' here.

Finale Parts One & Two, Air Date: May 1995

Amanda accidentally helps Kalas escape from prison by trying to do MacLeod a favor and kill Kalas for him. After an attempt on Maurice's life thwarted by MacLeod, Kalas kidnaps Amanda to use as bait against MacLeod, but Amanda manages to escape.

Meanwhile, Christine Salzer, the widow of a Watcher killed by Kalas (in "Methos") decides to get her revenge on Immortals and Watchers alike by exposing their secret to the media. Dawson and Methos team up to try and talk Christine out of it, but she's determined to take a computer disk with the identities of all known Immortals and Watchers on it to a newspaper publisher. Dawson, desperate, tries to kill her outside the newspaper building, but is stopped by MacLeod and Methos. Christine enters the building and the Immortals and the Watchers know their lives are about to change forever.

As Christine tells her tale to the newspaper publisher, MacLeod and Amanda, knowing their world is about to end, finally admit they love each other. Kalas kills Christine and the publisher and steals the computer disk before they have a chance to spread the story. Kalas offers MacLeod a deal -- MacLeod offers up his head or the contents of the disk are made public. Dawson and the Watchers attempt to find Kalas, but this only results in more dead Watchers.

Methos tries to talk MacLeod out of it, but MacLeod agrees to fight Kalas on top of the Eiffel Tower. Kalas is defeated and the resulting Quickening, amplified by the Tower, sends a power surge that disrupts every computer in the vicinity -- including Kalas'. The information on the disk is destroyed and Immortals and Watchers maintain their anonymity. ~via tv.com

Next week, we'll move on to Season Four with Chivalry and Timeless (I love Chivalry!)

A few quotes below the curtain





Joe: What were you thinking about?
Methos: I wasn't thinking, I was improvising.
Joe: By cutting yourself open? It took you five thousand years to come up with that?
Methos: What were you expecting? Einstein? Freud? Buddha? I'm sorry, Joe, I'm just a guy.
Joe: I guess next you're gonna tell me there's no Santa Claus.
_________________

Methos: "The passion of youth."
Duncan: "Boys will be boys."
Methos: And "every cloud has a silver lining."
Duncan: What d'you mean?
Methos: If you die, Amanda will be free to date.
Duncan: That's a comfort.
___________________

Methos: I was in Rome once, ninety-three AD, Coliseum, I saw Christians facing the lions. Some of them looked almost happy to die for their faith.
Duncan: Your point or we just strolling down memory lane here?
Methos: But afterwards the only ones looking happy were the lions.
Duncan: This isn't about faith.
Methos: No, it's about sacrifice. It's a hell of a thing to be a martyr, MacLeod, and that's what Kalas wants; he's pushing all your buttons.
Duncan: Well, I'm open to suggestions; enlighten me.
Methos: Maybe Amanda's right; you fight your best fight.
Duncan: What, every man for himself and to hell with the rest?
Methos: So what if the world finds out. Life is about change, civilizations rise and fall.
Duncan: This isn't about civilizations, this is about people. Amanda, Dawson, Richie. Our world is not an ant farm.

Comments

Re: The Look (of love?)

[(Anonymous)]

I agree. The dynamic between Duncan and Methos and the two of them with Joe is terrific. It comes across as people who really want to be friends, but, like in real life, do not always agree with the other person or what they are doing. They need the time to work things out, but above all, they know that the person is worth knowing and having as a friend. Does that make sense?

As for the looks, they were there from the start. Personally, I think both Peter and AP are natural flirts and whether they intended it or not, they competed with each other to see who could win the audience via "flirting with the camera" whenever they were on screen together.

No doubt a form of sniffing and pawing behavior albeit subdued.

Roberta

Re: The Look (of love?)

[eveningblue.livejournal.com]

The dynamic between Duncan and Methos and the two of them with Joe is terrific. It comes across as people who really want to be friends, but, like in real life, do not always agree with the other person or what they are doing. They need the time to work things out, but above all, they know that the person is worth knowing and having as a friend. Does that make sense?

Absolutely. They seem to be on the same wavelength, even if they don't always agree. They also all trust each other, which is a highly valued thing in an Immortal's life.

Duncan has the type of personality that just attracts people to him. I think Finale parts one and two are two of my favorite episodes because my favorite of Duncan's circle--Methos, Joe, and Amanda--are all involved.

Interesting analysis of The Looks. I see them flirting with each other more than with the camera, but I am wearing my Slash Goggles, so of course that's what I see.

Re: The Look (of love?)

[pat-t.livejournal.com]

Exactly right! And you have to remember, AP and PW knew exactly what they were doing. The nose painting was not scripted in Chivalry. That was ad-libbed. Some of the slashiest shows were the ones that Adrian directed. And Peter has talked about being told to lie on Duncan's bed in Messenger. He said he asked them if they knew what that looked like. He said they said they did and he said "well okay". He was all for it.

ANd just recently - they didn't sit in one another's lap at the con just because it was cozier. They are well aware of the Duncan/Methos dynamic

Re: The Look (of love?)

[pat-t.livejournal.com]

Not to mention this little quote from a Peter interview:

Question: How did you feel about Methos getting his first on-screen Quickening?

Peter: I thought that the homoerotic overtones of that scene were undeniable.

Question: I wondered if you noticed....

Peter: Did I notice? Why do you think I'm on all fours at the end? Yes, I was fully aware of it. I was a conscenting adult. You'd have to ask Adrian if it was good for him.

I *don't* think it was innocent flirtation with a camera. Those boys were being naughty and they were full aware of what they were doing when they were doing it.

Re: The Look (of love?)

[eveningblue.livejournal.com]

Whoa! Where is that interview from?

I showed a friend of mine the double Quickening from "Revelations" recently, and she was like, Oh my God, Methos swallows???

It's so refreshing to see actors who are not embarrassed to talk about this stuff. I'm so used to them denying denying denying any homoerotic overtones, or just acting really uncomfortable when the subject comes up.

Re: The Look (of love?)

[pat-t.livejournal.com]

The interview was in the book "Highlander: The Complete Watcher Guide" by Maureen Russell. I bought it from the official Highlander store years ago. But I would think you could get it other places. I haven't looked. And he talked about lying on Duncan's bed at a con that I have on tape. I think it was Access.

Re: The Look (of love?)

[eveningblue.livejournal.com]

okay I just watched the Quickening scene in "Chivalry" and he's not on all fours at the end. Was he talking about some other Quickening? Or did they cut the end of the scene?

Re: The Look (of love?)

[pat-t.livejournal.com]

lol, he was talking about the Double Quickening in Revelation 6:8. I don't think he really counted the one in chivalry. That actually wasn't even supposed to be a quickening in the show Chivalry. At the end of the scene in Chivalry, Peter was just playing around and threw his hands out and started screaming in fun. He thought that would be cut. But in post, they decided to add some lightening to it and kept it in.

Rev 6:8 was the first scripted - actual quickening that we see Methos take on film.

Re: The Look (of love?)

[eveningblue.livejournal.com]

Gotcha.

(see below)

Re: The Look (of love?)

[eveningblue.livejournal.com]

Okay, never mind, he was obviously talking about the double Quickening in "Revelations." Which I just re-watched. Not only is he down on all fours, he's also moving in a very...suggestive way.

Re: The Look (of love?)

[(Anonymous)]

"The nose painting was not scripted in Chivalry. That was ad-libbed."

I had often wondered if that was scripted or ad-libbed. It is one of my favorite moments in the whole show. The way Methos eyes crinkle and scrunch, then open with the most adorable smirk on his face. At that moment he became my favorite character, up to then it was fascination and infatuation. After that, MMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!


Roberta

Re: The Look (of love?)

[pat-t.livejournal.com]

Nope, Adrian and Peter have *both* said that it was not in the script. Peter didn't have a clue and Adrian just did it in the moment. And I read in one interview where the director said that it was only done in the one shot - the last one and they decided to keep it in.

Re: The Look (of love?)

[(Anonymous)]

Pat_T

Thanks for the little scene shot, it is adorable. I really do love that scene. For me, that is where we see the REAL Methos for the first time. The look in the eyes, should I be amused, or should I eviscerate you!

Roberta

Re: The Look (of love?)

[(Anonymous)]

Oops hit post to soon. Of course if it was not scripted, then it is more likely Peter's reaction. Maybe he was thinking the same thing. Or, at least, good thing this is your (AP) show, or else you would be dead right not. Either way, someone on the writing staff definitely picked up on the subtext and ran with it. And I am so glad they did.

Roberta

Re: The Look (of love?)

[pat-t.livejournal.com]

But then Peter was still in character. He was reacting as Methos. Honestly, I think you were absolutely correct the first time. They have both talked about how they get lost in the characters. And they sometimes keep in character even after the scene. Peter had talked (and Adrian too) about how hard it was after taping the Jimmy scene. Just because of the emotions between them after such a scene. They didn't talk between takes because it was still so raw and painful.

Re: The Look (of love?)

[eveningblue.livejournal.com]

The look in the eyes, should I be amused, or should I eviscerate you!


Ha! Yes, exactly.

I think we also see the "real" Methos in the dojo, when he craftily gets Duncan's sword away from him.

Re: The Look (of love?)

[(Anonymous)]

"when he craftily gets Duncan's sword away from him."

Agreed. 5,000 years would give you a long time to learn to read people. For Mac, being the clan leader, protector is everything. For Methos, the wolf in sheep's clothes costume was ideal. I often wonder if Methos did not set the whole thing up. Picking Paris, getting to know Joe via the watchers, the Adam facade, all with the intent to one day meet Duncan and play on his weakness to protect.

Let his guard down and then when the time was right. When he no longer needed Duncan, BAM! Off with the head.

Roberta