HIGHLA-L Digest - 15 Feb 2004 to 16 Feb 2004 (#2004-35)
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Mon, 16 Feb 2004 22:00:03 -0500
There is one message totalling 144 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Season Two dvd: Unholy Alliance II
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Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 18:02:40 -0500
From: kageorge <kageorge@erols.com>
Subject: Season Two dvd: Unholy Alliance II
COMMENTARY: David Abramowitz speaks of the difficulty of managing a story
segue between Vancouver locations and Paris locations. Creating an Immortal
like Xavier was good for that since he was such a really bad guy, Duncan
would gladly follow wherever he went to catch him, especially since he was
now tied up with Horton, who was responsible for the death of his friend and
mentor, Darius. DA spoke of the necessity of bringing in a French character
as a requirement of their Canadian/French partnership. They brought in
Maurice, a "wine-loving, fun-loving" character, which didn't go over well
with their French partners, who thought the character was going to be "a lot
more philosophical and have intellectual questions to ask rather than, "I
wonder what we're doing for dinner tonight?""
Bill Panzer talked about the difficulty of shooting in Paris, especially
combined with some bad weather and bad luck. There were rains flooding the
river, so they couldn't shoot where they were originally supposed to, so
they "sort o' moved a couple of streets away and started to shoot." Somehow,
crowd control got out of hand and "there's our guys running around shooting
caps and making a lot of noise and falling down dead, and there are
civilians wandering through the shot." They didn't have the right permit,
the police arrived and took the production manager to jail. So, while the
pluses of Paris are fabulous, every once in a while, "you have to deal with
the French." And BP says, "We weren't asked back."
OUTTAKES: There is a brief bit where Gillian Horvath shows a shot of the
floodwaters covering the area where the barge was usually parked.
EPISODE: This is a continuation of the previous rather convoluted episode,
so the tale begins with a rather lengthy "last week on Highlander"
summation.
Duncan stops Renee from going in to see Charlie and Renee uses the
opportunity to ask DM out to dinner. Duncan ends up cooking for her at the
loft. They talk a little about past relationships, and it turns out they
both lost the last people they loved. They dance (conversationally) around
what they would like to know about each other with regard to the
investigation, but their almost-kiss is interrupted by Joe.
In the elevator, Joe tells Duncan that what's done is done, and nothing he
can do will take it back. "You're the Immortal, you should know that better
than anyone," he says in frustration, and notes that they trusted each other
once based on "nothing more than a feeling." He gives Mac an address where
he says he can find Xavier and Horton. Mac chooses to believe him, and slips
away from Renee, leaving her in the lurch.
Without getting into all the painful details, Duncan follows Xavier to
Paris, and Renee follows Duncan. The barge has been moved because of
flooding, and we see DM spend a few moments of solitary, sad reflection on
his memories of Tessa to a chorus of "Dust in the Wind". Then we are
introduced to Maurice, "from the boat next door. He is a moocher who enjoys
good food and wine, and has even used Duncan's toothbrush.
Renee and Duncan eventually track down Horton, Xavier and the mercenaries,
who attack, but Renee intervenes, taking a bullet in the shoulder in the
process. Xavier runs, Duncan runs after him but Xavier is gone. Instead, he
finds Joe confronting Horton at a boat tied up out in back. Joe shoots
Horton, who falls into the water. Duncan looks surprised and impressed and
tells Joe he would have done it, but Joe tells him, "We make mistakes, we
clean 'em up." Joe looks shaken and starts to walk away, but Duncan stops
him, telling him, "I'll see you around."
There's a brief scene between Duncan and a wounded (but okay) Renee, ending
with a sweet kiss.
Duncan sets Maurice on the trail of someone who orders Persian caviar of a
certain description. A drunken Maurice reports back, having found Xavier's
address.
At last Duncan and Xavier have their final confrontation, and we are not
surprised who wins, are we?
[SIDEBAR: The actor who plays Xavier (rock singer Roland Gift), got a lot
better with each fight scene, and this is a pretty good fight, overall. I
love the little trick DM does when he uses his foot to flip a fallen sword
into his hand. The Quickening in this is also interesting, and it seems
clear that Duncan has at least some capacity to deflect the energy away from
himself, giving some credence to the notion that after he beheaded Kalas in
Finale II at the end of Season Three, that the destruction of the general
area around Kalas' headquarters was deliberate.]
There is a final scene between Renee and Duncan in a park, where Renee makes
her interest very clear (if it wasn't already). She asks, "Do you think,
someday, that you and I." she shakes her head. "Oh, God this is
embarrassing." Then she laughs. "How come you haven't come onto me yet?"
[Hmm. He's already kissed her a couple of times. <g> But I know what she
means. She has made all the moves, and he has just kind of gone along for
the ride. It seemed like at every turn he was still thinking and talking
about Tessa.]
"It's not me, right?" she asks.
"Right," he answers, then pulls her over his arm and gives her a soft,
smoochy kiss.
She walks away, headed back to Washington, and the camera moves past DM into
the woods where we see a lone figure standing, watching. It is Horton.
COMMENTARY: Some big stuff going on in this episode, but what is going on in
Duncan's head? I think he is still grieving over Tessa, and there is
something about Renee's independence and strength that is tugging those
strings. But he also sees her as an individual and is torn between wanting
to move on and grasp what happiness he can (as he says to his Immortal
friend's widow), and still too mired in grief to let his heart feel that
much. There is also the problem that she is a cop, and a curious one at
that, and represents a threat to his identity. So he ends up being entirely
reactive in the relationship, leaving Renee to make all the moves,
frustrating her and sending her mixed signals.
His friendship with Joe is never really shattered, although it comes awfully
close. He holds Joe at least partially responsible for Charlie getting hurt,
and for the death of his Immortal friend, because his saving and protecting
Horton allowed him to run amok. But Joe is nothing if not persistent. He can
't make it right, but he'll do whatever it takes to both stop the killing
and to repair his friendship with the Immortal he's been watching for 15
years, and of whom he says in the intro, "There can be only one. Let it be
Duncan MacLeod." First he dares visit Mac, even in the face of Mac's last
words to him ("The next time I see you will be the last."), and gives Mac an
address, practically begging him to believe him. Then, it is clear Joe is
"the friend" who let Duncan know Xavier had gone to Paris. Finally, Joe
steps up and in the face of Horton's plea ("But we're family!"), says
harshly, "I'll light you a candle," and pulls the trigger on his unarmed
brother-in-law.
And at the end, we still have Horton hiding in the distance, watching
MacLeod say his tender goodbye to Renee, and we know we haven't seen the
last of the bastard, yet.
I've never been fond of the "perpetual bad guy" story line seen in a lot of
super hero comics. Somehow, whether it's Lex Luthor, The Penguin, or
whoever, never getting closure on a bad guy is very unsatisfying, for me.
But Horton was such a really great bad guy, keeping him around for one more
round (well, one and half, actually, if you include the whole Ahriman
sequence) worked for me.
MacGeorge
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End of HIGHLA-L Digest - 15 Feb 2004 to 16 Feb 2004 (#2004-35)
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