'Studies in Light'

[ithildin]

Highlander Season Two

Studies in Light, Air Date: October 1993

A fellow Immortal, Greg Powers, invites MacLeod to his photography showing. At the gallery, MacLeod becomes deeply disturbed by the violent images of his friend's work, but what becomes more disturbing than the fact that Greg's personality has been replaced by that of a hardened cynic. As he reviews Greg's work, he comes across a photograph taken of himself 50 years ago which triggers a flashback of a time he spent with a young photographer, Linda Plager. In a chance meeting, the now 73-year old Linda recognizes Duncan as her old mentor and lover of 50 years ago, which thoroughly convinces her nurse that she's senile. Upon learning that Linda is dying, MacLeod longs to tell her the truth.

Meanwhile, Greg seduces Richie into his destructive lifestyle and coaxes Richie into a dangerous motorcycle stunt. After a confrontation with Macleod, Greg snaps...frustrated by his inability to feel any real emotion because of the insulation from death his immortality gives him, he attacks Richie, and Linda, then fights MacLeod on the roof of the hospital. Only when MacLeod's sword is inches from his neck does Greg break down and face the truth that he doesn't want to die. ~ recap via tv.com

Comments

[macgeorge1.livejournal.com]

I did my own commentary, including reporting on what TPTB had to say about this episode, at:
http://wordsmiths.net/MacGeorge/episodes/Season2/Studies.htm

The commentary has my opinions scattered throughout with regard to specific scenes, and this is truly one of my favorite episodes of the second season, but some general observations at the time were:

In the flashback, Duncan is a kind of gopher, delivering medicines and shuttling things and people around during a cholera epidemic. Gregor is the doctor, trying hard but unable to save a lot of his patients. I think it is interesting that this is a consistent role for DM - medic, ambulance driver, resistance fighter. Did he not feel sophisticated or smart enough in his "book knowledge" to become a doctor, or was the more active role of physically moving people and things more suited to his personality? I personally think it was the latter. Given his persistent pursuit of physical activity of all kinds, it seems consistent that he feels most in control when he is moving in the physical world. While he certainly works at intellectual pursuits, those things that are most ingrained in his psyche as being "useful" are related to movement and action. Those are his strongest innate skills and the ones he relies on to prove his worth.

Tessa was lovely in this episode. She came face to face with one of Duncan's former lovers, now grown old, just as she would, someday. Yet she let him go to her without a word of reproach. How could she, after all, since if she did, she would be condemning Duncan for loving someone without reservation or regard to time or appearance - and that is what she wanted for herself, as well.

I also note that Duncan didn't carry a sword a lot the time in these Season Two episodes. He seemed frequently without one, and didn't carry one when he went to see Linda in the hospital. Intellestink.

[mackiedockie.livejournal.com]

I think Duncan's role as expediter may fit in well with his earliest training as the son of a clan chief. He's been trained to look at a situation from all aspects. He knows that a doctor cannot save as many lives if his basic supplies of medicines, bandages, clean water and food are choked off. Roles such as ambulance driver and sutler give him far more leeway to bypass bureaucratic channels in ferrying needed supplies in an emergency situation. His martial skills are a huge advantage in intimidating those who would otherwise commandeeer valuable assets.

The expediter roles also give him many options for independent action without being subject to military chains of command. While he cut a fine figure in uniform at Waterloo, I think he took Darius' words to heart and began to move beyond the role of pure warrior. In the long run, he may feel he makes more of a difference to the living as an independent operator, helping the experts like Gregor do their jobs with the best tools available.

[darthhellokitty.livejournal.com]

I wonder if it would be really hard for Duncan to sit still for long enough? I know in a lot of the times we see Duncan doing medical-assist type things, you just apprenticed to a doctor, and when he said you were a doctor, you were a doctor - whether that would take less or more time than our standard MD-getting process, I don't know.

Methos I can see studying for years, going back and getting re-certified every few centuries as much for the enjoyment of it as anything else. Duncan? A couple of semesters, and then somebody would need rescuing, or some love of his life would show up, or a Kimmie would need whacking...

[jotribe.livejournal.com]

Did he not feel sophisticated or smart enough in his "book knowledge" to become a doctor, or was the more active role of physically moving people and things more suited to his personality?
This is a very interesting question. I love seeing vulnerability in Duncn. I think Duncan wants to protect mortals, and you would think being a doctor would play into that. But I think he feels removed from the mortal world. Going to med school and working as a doctor would be too "mortal" a life for him, if that makes sense to anyone besides me...

The end scene always chokes me up. It's one of the best scenes that AP did in the entire series - IMHO.

and yeah, later in the series, after Tessa dies, after Darius is killed, after a million and one betrayals, he *always* has his sword.

[lastrega.livejournal.com]

I think (while I totally agree with what you've said) that there's also an element of Duncan's acute awareness of how temporary his time in any particular 'life' might just be and how quickly he may need to walk away from it. If he's only a spear-carrier, then he's not ultimately responsible for the care of patients and so, I'd think, he wouldn't feel as bad about having to do a flit.

Which, it suddenly occurs to me, sounds much more like Methos than Duncan, but Methos is the one who was a doctor. Go figure.

[keerawa.livejournal.com]

I would say that, in older times, doctors were FAR less useful than basic hygiene and supplies in saving lives. Those roles would fit well with his self-image of a providera dn protector.

In modern times, Duncan doesn't stay still long enough to become a medical doctor.