Duncan: "Just a bad habit."
Master thief and acrobat, beautiful and devious, Amanda is a major breath of fresh air in the Highlander universe.
Finally, not an evil immortal, not a good immortal... Amanda is an interesting immortal. Tessa showed jealousy this time, and rightfully so; Amanda made Duncan's relationship with Tessa look even more boring than it actually was. In fact, the chemistry between Duncan and Amanda was so strong that it elevated this only so-so story and made us want to see more of her. And of Duncan reacting to her. Because as fun as Amanda was, the real revelation in this episode was a new side of Duncan.
We finally got to see a more playful and even mischievous side of our hero, and it was very becoming. Duncan had fun with Amanda. She made him laugh. He still cared about her, even though he didn't appear tempted to cheat on Tessa. Duncan and Amanda had an on and off relationship for at least 250 years, and that's a mighty long time. Maybe not a relationship with depth, but certainly one that's fun to watch.
Richie was bowled over by Amanda. I got the impression that if she weren't more interested in Duncan, Amanda would eat Richie for breakfast. But at the same time, one of the best things about Amanda is that while she's morally ambiguous, she's not malicious. She's like Jessica Rabbit; she's just drawn that way.
Flashbacks:
— 1804 Bavaria. Amanda framed Duncan for her jewel heist and even allied with another immortal, Zachary, to do it.
— We didn't see it, but the last time Duncan and Amanda saw each other was in 1926. (Or was it 1936?) And Duncan mentioned a time in Constantinople, 250 years ago. 1743?
— Two of Amanda's last names were given as Darrieux and LeFauve.
— Loved Duncan cutting off half of that guy's mustache.
Bits and pieces:
— Randi was back in the cast, but we didn't see her. I wonder if they filmed something with her and had to cut it?
— Duncan once worked in a circus as an equestrian and knife-thrower.
— Amanda and Zachary drew their swords out of another dimension. Duncan at least had a long coat.
— It must have been cold while they were filming, because you can see the actors' breath at various points during the episode.
— Amanda told Richie that she knew Richard the Lionheart and "his lion heart wasn't his only animal attribute." And she told Tessa that she knew Rodin and modeled for him. Amanda is an historical name-dropper.
— Zachary Blaine was a better immortal villain than most. The actor, Jason Isaacs, is now better known for playing Lucious Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies.
— Zachary drove a car off of a car transport truck. Aren't they chained on?
— The name of the circus was spelled two different ways on signs right next to each other: Boremann and Boreman.
— The beautiful Elizabeth Gracen, who played Amanda, was once Miss America.
— "The Lady and the Tiger" is of course a reference to the classic short story about a man who must choose a door, without knowing whether he was about to get death or love. Appropriate.
— I loved the way Amanda took Zachary's head and just shrugged at Duncan. She even stole his quickening.
Quotes:
Richie: "Ah. The roar of the crowd, the smell of the... ah... "
Duncan: "She's stolen my horse."
I loved how Duncan almost smiled when he said this, like he was thinking, of course Amanda stole my horse.
Duncan: "And you're sure you've never seen him before."
Amanda: "If I owned a Bible, I'd swear on it."
The producers must have looked at this episode and realized that they were going in the right direction. "Band of Brothers" was the first step up. "The Lady and the Tiger" was the second. Three out of four stars,
Billie
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Billie Doux knows that there can be only one.
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