'Free Fall'

[ithildin]

Highlander Season One

Free Fall, Air Date: October 1992

A beautiful young woman, Felicia Martins, throws herself to her death, only to revive with the realization that she is an Immortal. She seeks out Duncan MacLeod as her mentor, and becomes amorously involved with Richie Ryan. But there is much more to this "ingénue" than meets the eye. She is in fact a long-time Immortal, engaged in a wily scheme to trap MacLeod and acquire his Quickening. MacLeod must see through her subterfuge in time to protect not only himself, but also Richie. ~ recap and quotes via tv.com

Quotes below the curtain





Cominski: Well, we do have a dead woman down at the morgue.
Tessa: Aren´t they usually dead - or do you sometimes make mistakes?
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Richie: What was I supposed to say, 'I'm sorry you're having a bad day, now get lost'?
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Tessa: (to Felicia) I may not be able to kill you, but I'll give you a facial you won't forget!
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Richie: I'm young, my libido's in meltdown!
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Next up will be Bad Day in Building A.

Comments

[eveningblue.livejournal.com]

I know this is not a big favorite, but I really like this episode! In fact, it's one of my favorite in all of Season One, mainly because: Joan Jett! I love her and I think she did a pretty good job, considering she is not an actual actress. Her hazy, spacy act in the first half of the show worked for me--I really had no idea what was going on, or if she was who she said she was.

The woman who played Tessa, however, who does call herself an actual actress, continued to prove to me that she has little-to-no understanding of how to deliver lines. (Consider that "facial" line quoted above--I had to rewind several times to figure out what she was saying. And I don't think it was just the accent that gave me trouble.)

We do get evidence in this ep that a Quickening can have certain...er...effects on one's libido. I'm not sure if it's made so explicit anywhere else in the series as when Felicia practically attacks Richie in bed.

I'm glad Duncan let Felicia live...but disappointed that she never came back.

[kethali.livejournal.com]

Huh. And here I thought I was the only one who wasn't besotted with Tessa. I mean, I like the character just fine and I've no argument that Alexandra Whats-her-name is pretty but her acting abilities never had me convinced either--and I totally agree, it's not the accent at all. She especially grates on my nerves during arguments--be it with Duncan, Richie, or some guest star--when she is attempting to portray a high degree of emotional involvement and winds up overdoing it to the point my teeth begin to ache.

[holde-maid.livejournal.com]

I've no argument that Alexandra Whats-her-name is pretty but her acting abilities never had me convinced either

Interesting. It's the reverse for me - Alexandra Vandernoot is not my type, but I wouldn't complain of her acting, seeing how danged hard it is to act in a language that is by NO means your mother-tongue.

[kethali.livejournal.com]

She's not my type either but it's not like the woman is an eyesore, right? And hey, I understand firsthand about the difficulties of dealing with a language you weren't born to; I am even willing to give that it well could be part of the reason her acting is abysmal. Thing is, it frankly doesn't matter to me why it's abysmal, just that it is. And it irritates me all the more because, once again, I actually have nothing against the character and might have enjoyed her had the casting been different. Thank God for small miracles that took the actress out in the 2nd season.

[eveningblue.livejournal.com]

Thing is, it frankly doesn't matter to me why it's abysmal, just that it is. And it irritates me all the more because, once again, I actually have nothing against the character and might have enjoyed her had the casting been different. Thank God for small miracles that took the actress out in the 2nd season.

Agree, agree, agree. I'm sorry, I don't care what the reason is. This is real life, not kindergarten; you don't get an 'A' for effort. I was relieved when she was gone in Season Two (though of course I felt sad for Duncan).

Also, I agree that I might have liked her more if she'd been played by someone else. This is one of those cases, for me, in which a character is written better than she's acted. I mean, the "facial" line is great! It's just not delivered well.

(I think we're in the minority, though, among fandom fans. When I first started watching the series and reading Highlander communities, I was surprised at how bad I thought she was versus how much fans seemed to love her.)

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

A good friend of mine stopped watching the show after Tessa was gone. It just wasn't the show she'd grown to love anymore.

I don't recall have any real strong feelings about her acting, but it has been so many years since I've seen a first or second season ep.

[beccadg.livejournal.com]

A good friend of mine stopped watching the show after Tessa was gone. It just wasn't the show she'd grown to love anymore.

I absolutely adore Duncan/Tessa. I count it as an OTP inspite of liking Duncan/Amanda. I was pissed at first when Tessa was killed because I hadn't learned the actress wanted out. After I learned that I accepted it. I just never stopped loving Tessa.

[cyberducks.livejournal.com]

I love Tessa and AV's acting. I don't like the first season very much at all, and Tessa is my favourite part in it. I was very upset when the character was killed off. One of my favourite AU scenarios is Tessa meeting Methos.