This episode wasn't bad. But it wasn't exactly all that good. Plus it was recycled; the "bad son of a good diplomat" was the plot of season one's appallingly bad "Nowhere to Run."
I honestly think they were going for thought-provoking. Who was really the villain here? Willie Kingsley the immortal was fun to be around, but he was also a centuries-old con man who fleeced countless victims. (Plus, he killed an innocent man. Oops.) Edward the diplomat was supposedly a good guy, but he lied to protect his murderous son. Steve was an unrepentant killer, thief, and drug addict, and didn't seem to care that his father died in his place, but he supposedly had a deprived and difficult childhood. Not that that is ever an excuse for murder.
There wasn't even a resolution to the story. Did Willie leave well enough alone and go off to find another partner for his scams? (I assume he did. I think Duncan coming after you with a sword would be a pretty powerful deterrent.) Did Steve turn himself in, check into rehab, or both? (Again, Duncan probably had a hand in that, as well.)
After years of loving Alexis Denisof as the wonderful Wesley on Buffy and Angel, it was weird to see him play someone so sinister. With an American accent, even. (Yes, I know he's really an American.) Interesting coincidence that "Nowhere to Run" featured Anthony Head as the diplomat. Wouldn't it have been fun if they had cast him as the diplomat in this one, instead?
The ambiguity of the plot went with Duncan's need to move away from the constant violence in his life, even while being drawn back into it. He finally picked up his sword again, but he didn't kill Willie. Yet, anyway.
Flashbacks:
— 1836 London. Willie Kingsley had a dueling scam going with a mortal partner. Duncan was Willie's second. This scene reminded me a little of the silly dueling scene in the original Highlander movie.
— 1969 London. Willie Kingsley and his girlfriend Mollie had a car accident scam down to a science.
Bits and pieces:
— Still no Methos and Amanda. Yes, let's add cast members and never use them, shall we? No Joe either, for that matter.
— For the second episode in a row, Duncan was friends with an older, mortal man. It again felt unlikely and way too convenient for the plot.
— Edward's office looked like a parody of a Fourth of July commercial. There was an American eagle statue hanging practically over Edward's head, and a jungle of plants behind him flanked by flags.
— Willie may have had his faults, but at least he was with the same woman for twenty-nine years, and they were happy. So he wasn't evil. He was a criminal, so he goes on the list. Willie Kingsley was the 46th bad immortal with a K/C name.
I sort of want to give this one an A for effort, but I don't think it was a three star episode,
Billie
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Billie Doux knows that there can be only one. And that's Methos.
Just an aside, since I don't remember this episode very well and completely forgot Alexis Denisof was in it. But I just wanted to say that it is pretty funny hearing him speak with his native American accent. I don't know if you've ever seen Alyson Hannigan's show, How I Met Your Mother (which btw is fantastic) but Alexis Denisof was on a few episodes of it. There he played an American, smarmy reporter. It was pretty funny to see. And yet surreal lol.
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