'Through A Glass, Darkly'

[ithildin]

Welcome to the seventh installment of Methos Episode discussion. You can find the last one, for 'Methuselah's Gift,' here. All episode discussion links can be found over on the sidebar.

Through A Glass, Darkly, Air Date: May. 1996

MacLeod's old friend Warren Cochrane is hiding a horrible secret he can't bear to remember. Realizing that an Immortal who won't remember what he is is soon a dead Immortal, MacLeod tries to help Warren by reminding him of the history they shared together, of their battles for Scotland's freedom, and of their mission to return Bonnie Prince Charlie to the throne. But MacLeod might have helped his friend more by letting the past stay buried.. ~ via tv.com

Next up will be Till Death [bounce]. Look for it on Thursday.

One quote below the curtain





Duncan: You know, I never know when you're kidding.
Methos: Part of my charm.

Comments

[amonitrate.livejournal.com]

despite it's annoying bits I've always liked this one. The mourning is very well done, subtle and quiet. And I like the questions it raises about immortal memory. We always take the memory flashbacks at face value, assuming that what we see is what happened. This episode makes you wonder if all of MacLeod's memories are unbiased, or if we're seeing his interpretation of events.

[unovis-lj.livejournal.com]

*g* I have a weakness for heros with skewed visions of reality. I wouldn't want to propose a mentally unstable MacLeod as One True Interpretation, but that would be an awful lot of fun to play with -- especially considering To Be/Not to Be's wonky vision of life without St. Mac.

[(Anonymous)]

mmm. He doesn't even have to be mentally unstable, just biased. I totally take TBNTB as biased, a figment of Mac's imagination, and not the actual alternative reality. the vision of Amanda especially rang false.

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

We used to have FB perspective discussions a lot when it came to Forever Knight -- especially season one! As far as Highlander goes, realistically, you'd think that yes, what we're seeing is Mac's interpretation of events, but I suppose in practice, it probably isn't. Though if we were seeing his POV, it brings up all sorts of interesting possibilities.

I liked a lot of the interaction between Duncan and Methos in this one, and as you said, the grieving is handled well. And totally off the wall, one of my favourite Scottish songs is "Will Ye No' Come Back Again?", so that provided a very nice touch for me, though I wasn't at all fond of the version they used.

[enchantersnight.livejournal.com]

I didn't like this episode as much as some of the others but that may have been because of the depressing subject matter. It did make me think about the fB's though and whether they are Duncan's interpretation or not.

I found the whole "bonnie Prince Charlie" thing very sad I almost preferred Warren's version of events as it kept the great man great (could someone clarify what happened at the end)

I am embarrassed to admit I don't really remember Methos in this one *blush* I do recall something about leaving while Duncan was arrested but that is about it any reminders welcome :)

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

One of the things I liked was the realistic take on Prince Charlie, and another reason pairing that particular song with the episode was so heart tugging for me :)

Methos... the episode opens, if I recall, with him at Alexa's grave. He's with Duncan, and as they are leaving the cemetary, they feel the buzz of another immie. Later on, Duncan gets Methos to go through Watcher records to get the scoop on his old buddy. The end of the episode, Duncan asks if Methos would take the chance to forget his past and start over, and Methos says, no, because then who would remember Alexa? (I'm paraphrasing horribly, I know)

[(Anonymous)]

ya, I think TPTB probably meant the flashbacks to be "reality" and not a biased interpretation. But to me that's not as interesting as the flashbacks being colored by POV.

The Methos/DM interactions had interesting undercurrents. There's Methos referring to the Watchers as "we". There's the sense that DM is aware of Methos's sorrow, and maybe isn't sure what to do with it. He's just a bit awkward, even as he's trying to be comforting. Also, Methos seems a bit deflated when he realizes Mac has come for information. All very subtextual, and maybe just my interpretation.

[amonitrate.livejournal.com]

oops, that was me

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

The Methos/DM interactions had interesting undercurrents. There's Methos referring to the Watchers as "we". There's the sense that DM is aware of Methos's sorrow, and maybe isn't sure what to do with it. He's just a bit awkward, even as he's trying to be comforting. Also, Methos seems a bit deflated when he realizes Mac has come for information. All very subtextual, and maybe just my interpretation.

No, I don't think it's just you. I sensed some of that too -- you just do a much better job of voicing it than I do :)