HLS5: 'The End of Innocence'

[ithildin]

Highlander Season Five

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

Comments

[amberleewriter.livejournal.com]

This is one of the episodes I don't rewatch often and, frankly, I'm not sure why. There's quite a lot about this episode I like. In fact, it's one of the better ones over all for casting, acting, script, and camera work (though I'm not that hot on the quickening).

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.