HLS3: Take Back the Night

[ithildin]

Highlander Season Three

Take Back the Night, Air Date: April 1995

When Immortal Ceirdwyn and her mortal husband are gunned down by a street gang, she calls upon her skills as an ancient Celtic warrior to exact her revenge on the members of the gang, one by one. At the racetrack watching Richie's success at racing, MacLeod befriends a young pickpocket, the brother of one of the gang members, and learns of the killings.

MacLeod, who has known Ceirdwyn since before they helped smuggle Bonnie Prince Charlie out of Scotland in 1746, feels he must stop Ceirdwyn and make her see that revenge is not the answer -- a lesson she helped MacLeod learn in the bloody aftermath of Culloden. In return, Ceirdwyn helps MacLeod see that, although loving a mortal can be dangerous for the mortal, it is the mortal who must choose whether to take the risk. MacLeod calls Anne. Meanwhile, Richie "dies" in a firey crash during a race, a crash that also takes the life of the champion, Basil. ~ recap via tv.com

Next week: Finale I

(And I'll try and get the seaosn four poll up at some point today too.)

Comments

[amberleewriter.livejournal.com]

I am, in general, not a fan of the "Big Damn Hero" archetype. One of the reasons for this is that, often, this archetype is overdone: they are either given a "fatal flaw" so obvious that it becomes impossible for the reader/viewer to buy that the hero can't see their own issue, or they are so ideal as to be unrealistic and the reader/viewer can't identify with them.

"Take Back The Night" is one of the many episodes in Highlander that make me like Duncan even though he is, largely, based on the DBH. The Duncan of these flashbacks is one you could see going down another road and turning into a "Kimmie." He was bitter and full of vengeance. He was spoiling for a fight. His "noble" nature and his urge to protect his people had been twisted by a combination of long life and experience into something dark that might have consumed him. Many factors contributed in his turning from this path, but Ceirdwyn was certainly immensely important. The lesson he learns is that, at some point, there must be an end to violence -- that violence begets violence and that in the end all it does is turn you into what you abhor. This also sets up later episodes, such as "Forgive Us Our Trespasses," which continue to explore the idea of karmic retribution, the effect of violence, and what it means to have honor. The episode also deals with free will and decision-making. Mac warns Richie, much younger and still impulsive, that his choice of "job" might get him (and others) killed. Richie, like most young people his age, is sure he is right and keeps going down a path he is told is reckless. It's his choice to make and Duncan lets him make it. In the end, when Richie's choice ends in exactly the kind of scenario Duncan predicted, Duncan doesn't try to shelter Richie from the consequences of his actions. Ceirdwyn -- a well fleshed out and well-rounded female character -- is older than Duncan. Still, the lessons of her own life are forgotten in the heat of her passion and anger at the death of her husband. It shows the cyclical nature of life, even for an Immortal. Over and over you are presented with the same choices and situations. It is up to you how you respond. Each turn in the road gives you a fresh opportunity; the question is what you will do with the opportunity when it arrives.

Duncan once went left instead of right and nearly lost his soul in violence. Ceirdwyn helped him turn from that path. Duncan owes her much more than a debt of gratitude for this and, as such, he spends the entire episode trying to return the favor. I really enjoyed seeing that Duncan was a man that struggled with his choices -- and the results of his sometimes ill-advised actions -- just like Richie. Ceirdwyn's struggle shows that age and time will not save you from rash decision-making, only conscious thought and measured action can do such a thing and that you must make a choice each day about what kind of person you want to be.

Overall, this is one of the better episodes though I think it is missing a rather nebulous "something" that keeps it from going to the top of the list. Perhaps it is the pacing. As previously mentioned in MacGeorge's comment, this episode ran long and had some things I think were important cut out as a result. Still, it's a solid show that explores a lot of moral dilemmas and that is firmly about people and relationships -- a formula with at the writers of Highlander excelled. Had it not been for episodes like this one, Duncan would have remained for me a brash Big Damn Hero who doled out his idea of justice without being able to look in the mirror and see his own flaws. In "Take Back The Night" it is clear that Duncan has flaws and knows what they are -- that he struggles with them and that he feels guilt over his past mistakes -- and that is what not only saves his character for me, but makes me like him. He knows he makes mistakes but does the best he can. When he finds that he was wrong, he tries to make things right or to do better next time. He lives with his guilt and takes responsibility for his actions. In short, he is human even though he is Immortal. This is exactly the reason I watched Highlander and enjoyed it so much.