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5.18 Archangel Duncan: "According to Landry, it's coming for me." Richie: "Yeah. Well, I'm not going anywhere." What were they thinking? Yes, I know what they were thinking. What's the most exciting, dramatic way we could possibly write Richie out? They probably weren't thinking, hey, what could we possibly do to piss the fans off as much as we possibly could? But that's exactly what they did. It wasn't just killing a friend, like Sean Burns. Since immortals can't have children, their most intimate, important relationship is the one of teacher and protege. Richie was an orphaned teenager when Duncan "adopted" him at the beginning of the series; in every way that mattered, Richie was Duncan's child. Four years of raising Richie, teaching him to survive, and it was all wasted. Killing him in such a stupid way robbed Richie's death of the impact he deserved as an important character in the series. Yes, the Richie character had run its course. I had no objections to them writing the character out; it was past time. But literally *anything* would have been better. They didn't even need to address the situation, since Richie wasn't in every episode, anyway; they could have covered the actor's departure with one line. Richie is on a road trip in South America. Richie is racing bikes in Texas. Richie is in love with a girl who lives in Sweden. Anything but this. I understand they were trying for a specific change, to expand on the whole "chosen one" theme, Highland child, winter solstice, a thousand year cycle of evil, yadda yadda yadda. It might have worked if they had done it with more care, although it was probably too late in the series for such a big theme change. And as I've said way too many times by now, magic and mysticism never really worked on Highlander. These immortals worked best as secret beings compelled to play their deadly game, alienated from the real world of ordinary mortals. You'd think the producers would have realized this after five seasons. As usual, with episodes I hate, I try to mention the stuff I liked. It was great to see Valentine Pelka as Kronos again, although there wasn't enough of him; Kronos was a character that deserved a long story arc like the one they gave Kalas, not just a two-parter. I was moved by Duncan, silent and prostrate with grief, presenting his sword to Methos as if begging him to take his head. And I especially loved Joe crying in Methos' arms. It was the best scene in the episode, the one with the most genuine emotion. Flashbacks: -- 1625 Scotland. Duncan had been immortal for three years and still didn't know what he was when he encountered an immortal seer in a cave. Who had been waiting for him for six hundred years. Uh huh. Even Duncan looked around the cave skeptically when he heard that one. -- Duncan's first quickening. The seer essentially beheaded himself. I honestly don't think that's possible. It was way too much of a stretch, pun intended. -- There was a brief flashback to Horton's death in, was it the second part of "Counterfeit?" Horton died so many times that I honestly lost track. -- Richie got a "farewell to the character" flashback montage, with musical accompaniment by Jim Byrnes. That was nice. Bits and pieces: -- I'll admit Duncan losing his mind was somewhat frightening. A demented, hallucinating immortal with a sharp sword and a lot of practice dismembering people is nothing to sneeze at. But they already did it in season three's "Shadows", didn't they? -- Always avoid creepy demonic statues, especially at archaeological sites. I think I'll add this to Billie's rules of television. -- I just now realized that the evil taking the form of dead people to talk to Duncan strongly resembled the First in the final season of Buffy. Except that one of them was Richie, and Richie wasn't dead yet. -- Tons of seeping Dennis Berry fog, this time colored a jarring and improbable red. The Latin chanting in the score bugged me, too. Were they deliberately going for something that felt like a cheap takeoff of The Exorcist? -- Adrian Paul's hair looked like his own in some scenes, and like a wig in others. He must have had his hair cut before the shooting was over. Quotes: Duncan: "What about paperwork? There must have been an official request to have the body exhumed?" Guy in cemetery: "In France, monsieur, paperwork is our national pastime." Duncan: "You find someone the right size, you put him in Horton's clothes, and it doesn't prove that Horton is dead, does it?" Joe: "Yeah, he's down at the park right now with Elvis and JFK, and they're listening to Jerry Garcia." Methos: "Millennium theory is nothing new, Richie. Every thousand years I hear the same stories." I love it when he says stuff like this. Methos: "Blind loyalty. Very common in the young." Joe: "Yeah. I guess that's why we both feel like rats." Richie stayed loyal to Duncan. And look what it got him. One out of four stars, Billie View all comments or post a comment. |
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