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Highlander: Chivalry

Richie: "We have this thing between us, Mac. It's like an electrical connection. Why can't you understand that?"
Methos: "They didn't have electricity when he knew her."

This episode has always intrigued me.

Yes, we had yet another evil immortal slash former friend of Duncan's blowing into town and killing again, prompting Duncan to take up his sword. But there were some interesting dramatic differences. The evil immortal was a woman that Duncan had been involved with for quite a while when he was a lot younger. And it was Methos who took her out.

Up until now, we've seen Methos as a quirky but basically nice young guy who just happened to have witnessed five thousand years of history. Here, for the first time, we saw a more brutal side of his nature. He's not naturally chivalrous like Duncan, and it may not have anything to do with when either of them was born. Methos knew Kristin had to die, knew Duncan was having trouble with it, so he took her head. He didn't hesitate; he didn't even flinch. It makes one wonder what else we don't know about Methos.


Duncan has always been the adult among his immortal friends, taking the ultimate responsibility for doing the tough stuff. Here, he ceded that role to Methos, a sort of unspoken acknowledgement that Methos is an adult at Duncan's level. It added an interesting element to their developing friendship. And in the earlier scenes, their sparring had an intensity, an edge, pun intended, that we've never seen when Duncan sparred with, say, Richie. I'm not into slash, but it was almost sexual.

Why Methos did what he did was never clear. He never fell for Kristin; she didn't recognize him when he challenged her on the beach. Why was he so determined that Kristin should die? The inference was that Methos killed Kristin for one reason only: to protect Duncan. And that's really interesting.

Flashbacks:

— 1659 Normandy. Duncan met Kristin, and she washed, dressed, and screwed him. And ah, yes, the butt shot. Adrian Paul rose from a bathtub stark naked, and we finally got an eyeful.

— 1660 Normandy. Duncan had obviously been with Kristin for awhile and was chafing to be free with his new love when he discovered Kristin's true nature.

— Duncan said he met Kristin when he was only 75. But 1659 minus 1592 doesn't equal 75. It was a long time ago. Maybe he just forgot.

Bits and pieces:

— Methos introduced himself to Richie as Adam Pierson.

— Emmanuelle Vaugier played Richie's childhood friend and Kristin's near victim, Maria. Emmanuelle tends to show up in series that I like.

— The black widow who kills after mating. What a stereotype. Ann Turkel did well with a pretty much thankless role. And she got to do some heavy duty love scenes with Stan Kirsch, and that bathtub scene with Adrian Paul. There are worse jobs.

— Incredible clothes in this one, both in the present day (on Kristin) and in the flashbacks.

— And they were still working on the house. Duncan said they had three weeks to go.

— Kristin Gilles was the thirtieth evil immortal with a K/C name. She wasn't great with a sword; she killed with guile. I wonder if the name "Gilles" was an intentional choice by the writer.

Quotes:

Methos: "Candygram."

Methos: "You've got a friend, Richie Ryan. He met Kristin yesterday morning."
Duncan: "He didn't tell me that."
Methos: "Maybe he hasn't got out of bed yet."

Methos: "You're better with a blade than her, yes. You're stronger than her, yes. But if you keep letting her walk away, one day she gets lucky and takes your head. Yes!"


Duncan: "He's not listening to me."
Methos: "How could he? She's got him tingling in places he didn't even know he had."

Methos: "A couple of medieval songwriters come up with the idea of chivalry one rainy day..."
Duncan: "This isn't about chivalry."
Methos: "...and you embrace it as a lifestyle. You live and die by a code of honor that was trendy when you were a kid."

Methos: "Pick it up."
Kristin: "Who the hell are you?"
Methos: "A man who was born long before the age of chivalry. Pick it up."
Methos doesn't announce himself, the way most immortals do. He doesn't tell people who he is, even when he's about to kill them.

Love this episode. Four out of four stars,

Billie
---
Billie Doux knows that there can be only one. And that's Methos.

3 comments:

  1. This has always been one of my favorite episodes of the entire series. You get to see a much more edgy Methos, and you get to see much more of Duncan.

    *spoiler alert*

    If you you use slo-mo during what Highlander fans refer to as "the bathtub scene", you can definitely see at least one of Duncan's low hanging berries when he gets up. ;-)
    The actress who played Kristin once stated that she had the best seat in the house during that performance.

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  2. This ep had something far too rare on the series: Duncan and Richie having a good time together. The scene in the beginning, building the house, is one of my favorites in the whole series.

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  3. Methos was exceptional at risk calculation. Yes, he killed Kristen because she had to go. She would keep killing and would mostly likely keep coming after Duncan. Methos likes Duncan and wants him to stick around. But Kristen was also not much of a risk for Methos. He defeatedly her easily, almost lazily. He even took her on when she was exhausted from the fight with Duncan so it was even easier. That's our Methos. He knows when to run and when to fight, and to him, Kristen was a no brainer. Not because he wanted to kill her or was after her power but because as a matter of self-preservation, he thought it should have been an easy decision for Duncan and he wanted to make that point.

    ReplyDelete

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