What would happen to an immortal who died for the first time as a child? Intriguing idea.
But I think it worked better in theory than in execution. Or maybe the writing just wasn't on target. Because, see, the problem was that we knew right away that Kenny was an immortal bad seed because he knocked out that poor old man with a brick just to steal a sandwich. We spent the entire episode waiting for the light to dawn on Duncan and Richie, and it took way too long. It's too bad, too, because if Kenny had been what he pretended to be, stumbling over Duncan and Richie would have been his salvation.
Kenny actually pouted about losing Duncan's attention to Anne. Was Kenny a mental adult who retained childish habits as camouflage because no one expected him to act like an adult? Or was he arrested mentally and emotionally as well as physically?
Even after learning that Kenny had been killing for centuries, Duncan was still ready to excuse him because he was just "trying to survive." Was it just Duncan's conspicuous gallantry? The same tendency to protect the helpless that made Duncan an active abolitionist? Kenny managed to stay alive and is still out there. It doesn't feel right, knowing he's still on the loose hitting old men in the head with bricks and killing schoolteachers' wives.
Things are now moving quickly on the romance front, and Duncan and Anne have gotten to the point of smooching on the couch. But exchanging information is a mine field. What do you say when everything is a lie? Buffy the Vampire Slayer had the same problem when she dated normal guys. Which was probably why she mostly dated vampires.
Flashbacks:
— 1862 Virginia. After a Civil War ambush, Duncan discovered a little immortal drummer boy, and left him with someone for, like, five minutes while he went back to the escaped slaves he was smuggling. And someone beheaded the immortal kid, that fast. Are there really that many nasty immortals out there? If so, how did the kid stay alive as long as he did?
Bits and pieces:
— The score included tinkly offkey nursery rhyme Exorcist-like music. Unnecessary reinforcement that things weren't quite right with Kenny.
— Kenny was a clumsy attempt at a character similar to Claudia in Interview with the Vampire.
— Duncan's encounter with Dallman Ross in the alley was marked by much, much fog. It was a Dennis Berry episode.
— Kenny told Richie that he'd never be able to drive a car. But Kenny drove a car just fine when he was trying to run Anne down.
— Kenny was the thirteenth evil immortal with a K/C name.
Anne: "Tell me about your family."
Duncan: "They'd seem really old fashioned to you."
Anne: "Now aren't you just a little bit young to be such an old grouch?"
Two stars,
Billie
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Billie Doux knows that there can be only one.
Rewatching this series after years and really enjoying your reviews. The Kenny episode is such a memorable one not because it was particularly well done but because it’s so disturbing. Duncan is right: What choice does Kenny have? He can’t count on always finding a protective immortal, or that the protector would be able to survive, let alone protect him. Plus his mind creepily matured while his body stayed 10. It’s either stay on holy ground forever or do what Kenny did. And that includes breaking the law just to feed and clothe himself. He can’t exactly get a job. Couldn’t they have had a rule where an immortal had to die after coming of age for the immortality to kick in?
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