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Highlander Season Five
Next week: Glory Days
The End of Innocence
Air Date: Oct. 1996
The last time Richie Ryan saw Duncan MacLeod, MacLeod was about to take his head. He was stopped by Dawson's bullet, but Richie's world was shattered. Now Richie's back -- kicking butt and taking heads. One of those heads belonged to Carter Wellan, and now Wellan's good friend Haresh Clay is out to avenge his comrade. MacLeod has his own long-time grudge against Clay, who humiliated and destroyed one of MacLeod's finest teachers. MacLeod must try to rebuild Richie's trust while they vie to be the one to face Clay in combat.
~ recap via TV.com
Next week: Glory Days
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no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 04:42 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 04:54 pm (UTC)From:Thank you :) I'm rather pleased with how it came out.
(And your comment made me realize I used my default instead of choosing an icon for the post. I suppose I should change it since Methos isn't even in the episode. Not that I have any Duncan icons in rotation [g])
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 04:58 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 05:11 pm (UTC)From:I'm shallow, I remember most that the guy who played Clay was cute. He showed up on General Hospital a few years alter, which was nifty.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 05:20 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 05:27 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 05:12 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 05:17 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 05:25 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 07:14 pm (UTC)From:Plus, Duncan looked damn hot in this episode.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 07:16 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 07:25 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 07:29 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 07:56 pm (UTC)From:Do tell? I've never heard of it (that I can recall), so enlighten me [g]
Well, not that *I* would notice or anything, you understand. But before I get into that - let me say that I agree completely with MacG's comments. As I usually do, only she can articulate her (our ) thoughts much better than I can.
It starts here
I had to lighten these a bit
Someone *coffs* was really getting into that scene.
Now, the quickening. You really *have* noticed, right?
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 08:03 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 08:06 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 08:15 pm (UTC)From:Well, it may be famous, but I don't recall anything about it when the episode first aired, and since I mostly only pay detailed attention to Methos episodes post being on the air, I must have missed it.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 07:32 pm (UTC)From:http://www.wordsmiths.net/MacGeorge/episodes/Season5/Innocence.htm
My summary comments: The theme of the episode is an admirable one, but there was something essential lacking in its execution. The characters of Graham Ashe, Carter Whellan and Harrish Clay were all well drawn in only a few short scenes, the flashback was terrific (and it was nice to see a tacit recognition of a long term, positive homosexual relationship), and we saw Joe and Duncan and Richie work through what had been completely fractured relationships, trying to find some sense of common ground and peace. It was past time for Richie to grow up and realize that Duncan was human and fallible and didn’t have all the answers to life’s problems. Unfortunately, the episode centered on Richie’s angst and it came across, to me at least, as a typical overwrought teenage response to stress, which was that everything in the universe was all about *him*. He was petulant, rude, nasty and generally obnoxious. I didn’t find his fears particularly sympathetic because he was so utterly, completely self-involved.
Reacting to the trauma of his teacher’s attack with anger and acting-out is not particularly surprising, but I find it a little hard to reconcile his initial reaction to Duncan’s attack to his later attitude. Richie knew about Coltec and the Dark Quickening and appeared to initially understand what was going on (“Joe, he needs help!”), but evidently he quickly decided to completely dismiss any explanation for Duncan’s behavior other than that his hero was suddenly just a bad guy following the TCBOO rule – in other words, it had nothing to do with Coltec or a Dark Quickening. It was All About Richie (typical teenage reaction).
I didn’t really blame Duncan for getting exasperated with Joe, given the recent awful history and multitude of deaths (including Joe’s near-death) because of their friendship. In the end, it was a real risk to encourage Joe to rejoin the Watchers. How could Joe not find himself betraying his oath again and again, how could there not be more irreconcilable conflicts potentially costing more lives? I can only assume that Duncan felt they had learned some lessons that might avoid that. Duncan the Ever Hopeful. That’s our guy.
One line I thought was particularly interesting. When Duncan is heading out to fight Clay, he tells Richie, “If he takes me, he’ll take you, too.”
“Then don’t let him.”
To me that seems deliberately evocative of Young Duncan’s line advising Older Duncan how to defeat Kantos: “Then don’t listen.” I still maintain that the key to defeating Kantos had nothing to do with earplugs, and everything to do with Duncan’s restored faith in himself. It is a recurrent theme that we see in this episode, again in the AAA arc and even in the final episode of the series.
Since Something Wicked and OMTM all the characters are among the walking wounded. Unfortunately, in this episode they were generally unpleasant to one another throughout in a way that diminished them all, making it difficult to watch (for me at least) and thus while there are things about it that I like (the kata, the flashback, the scene between Joe and the pretty bartender), it is not a favorite.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 07:39 pm (UTC)From:Thank you for your comments. I always find them fascinating, and don't always take the time to tell you that.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-06 02:28 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-06 02:32 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2008-03-06 03:15 pm (UTC)From:I felt as if there was a shift for Duncan with this episode and that he gained a certain level of acceptance about the existence of the Watchers and their purpose (or what that purpose should be at any rate). Prior to the "tag" at the end of this episode I always felt Duncan partly resented the very idea of the Watchers; that if they disappeared or the organization imploded/was wiped out it would have been just as well in his book. While he had a certain respect and like for Joe, the fact he was a Watcher only really came to the forefront of his mind when he wanted information. I felt like this was a natural outgrowth from the episode "And They Also Serve" when Joe offered up an actual chronicle -- not as a weapon or information in a hunt, but as a reminder of a happy time in Duncan's life.
I also felt that Duncan might be making a calculated risk with Joe for his own gain. With Joe inside he could keep an eye on a group in turmoil which had faction(s) that might be a threat to him (and all other Immortals). Joe is a known quantity to Duncan. While they might have tension because of the fact that Joe's a voyeur to Duncan's life, Duncan has come to respect Joe and think of him as a man with honor and principals. Duncan knows that Joe will stand up for "the right thing" even if it means going against what the Watchers have to say about it. I think Duncan would far rather have Joe inside where he can be a force for change (and somewhat of a spy) than outside where he can only be just a friendly neighborhood bartender.
And I kept wondering why Joe didn't say, "And you couldn't have said something before I ripped the skin off my arm? Shit! It fuckin' hurt! And now I have to get a new tattoo? Thanks for nothin', Mac." *g*
Overall, I really like how the tension played out. Yeah, it's not very nice and they all are rather hurtful to one another but I think that's actually the reality of the situations. You often hurt the ones you love.
no subject
Date: 2008-03-06 02:57 pm (UTC)From:Both the A and B stories deal with the fallout of previous episodes and deepens understanding of the characters. Neither story overwhelms the other. While Richie takes center stage, the side bit with Joe is an important continuation of the previous season closer. This conflict of Joe's – to be a friend or keep his oath – keeps coming up and never really gets resolved. The tension of Joe's "job" and how he became Duncan's (and Richie's) friend in the first place is, IMO, an important element in Joe's character. This conflict of honor and ethics, the constant exploration of both, is one of the things that makes Highlander unique.
I like the fact that when Richie came back to town he didn't automatically "make up" with Mac. The guy had trust issues (and rightly so). One of the reasons I never connected with Richie is that he always seemed to be attached at the hip to Mac; as if he couldn't have a life of his own, hold down a job long, or climb out of his slacker ways long enough to grow up. This episode confronts the idea that Richie isn't just Mac's sidekick anymore. It is dealt with openly and, in the moments when Richie gives Mac a ration of it and tells him he's going to deal with his own issues and he's his own man actually make me like him. I'm just sad they didn't seem to continue in this line a more for the character and show him doing more of his own thing in the manner they did Joe. If they'd kept Richie's character on the kind of course he started in this episode I think it could have been really interesting. However, as they say, the show is called Highlander. Perhaps developing Richie's character in that way would have split that dynamic in a way they didn't care to go. At any rate, this is one episode where I didn't think of Richie as someone who ran to Mac to get out of a jam or whined all the time or acted like an idiot and refused to listen to reason.
Then there is Carter Wellan and Haresh Clay. As usual, casting did a great job with this pair. In particular, I enjoyed Haresh. I liked the interaction of these characters and aside from any slashfan goggles thought they really seemed like a team – two men who, at the very least, cared deeply for one another and got along well enough to stick together for nine hundred years. The "C" story, if you will, of their relationship is one that captures the fan fiction writer's imagination. I felt so bad for Haresh when they were at the cemetery and he spoke to Duncan. "Do you know what it's like to have a friend for nine hundred years, MacLeod? I've known him longer than you've been alive. He was my squire and my companion on one hundred campaigns on five continents. Now, he is gone." And the cut shot to Richie only made the scene more interesting. It looks as though he really understands what his head hunting does to others. He is willing to pay the price for his own actions.
Finally, the fight. This a nice one. The long tracking shot and the physicality of the choreography makes for good tension. You actually believe Haresh could win in this one in spite of the name of the show. And of course, the infamous, "It's what we do."
As I say, I really don't know why I don't watch this one more. Time to fix that.