It's time for the next disc of Highlander. This trio of episodes is particularly interesting for me because I don't think I've seen any of them before. I vaguely recall a disc being missing from my initial purchase of the series (once the DVD sets were a thing, I got S4 and S5 first, many years before I got the rest, as they were the main ones I saw growing up and had a desire to revisit).
I didn't worry about the missing disc too much, and acquired a new Season 5 later on along with the rest of the series that I didn't have. Fairly certain this was the missing disc given my total lack of memory of these three episodes, so there's a reasonably good chance that I've never seen this episode (or the next two) before. It's a unique opportunity to see something in this series for the first time and give impressions.
The next couple episodes are gonna be along very soon, as I continue this Lost Disc expedition. Might aim for Monday Night Highlander the next two weeks.
We get a very nice aerial shot of a cityscape in the rain.
The Lady of the Week, Jennifer, wakes up from a nightmare, and thinks she sees the ghost of her husband.
She goes out to a graveyard to visit his grave, despite the late hour. The guy in question is...
...Alec Hill, an immortal who was killed in a fight. She isn't taking it well, and seems to be losing her mind. Well.
Richie is practicing with his stick when he gets a visit from Jennifer, who clearly likes what she's seeing.
She's so cute. Probably one of the cutest Highlander women. Sorta looks like a taller, more elegant Natalie Portman.
After ogling Richie (about time he got some attention from a decent woman), she's happy to see her old friend Duncan.
Well, old friend from a few years ago, she is quite mortal. Unfortunately, she's here bearing bad news. Her husband Alec is no longer with us, and Duncan was good friends with him in the past.
So he's going to avenge Alec and take out the bad guy who killed him? Nice, simple episode. He'll probably also "console" Jennifer by nibbling on her neck and clavicle while the episode fades to credits.
...where has Cassandra been anyway?
Flashback time! Back in 1886, when people were first building San Francisco, Duncan helped Alec build his own house. Man, it was a different world back when people could just...build their own home and live there for generations. No slaving away to pay rent, no property taxes. No $80 excise tax bill that I keep forgetting to pay and why do they even want that from me anyway
Alec needs a house, because he's planning on marrying his longtime girlfriend:
The lovely Genevieve, seen here bringing them lunch while wearing a bonnet. She's just a swell person, never did anything to anybody. Probably doomed.
Our heroes stink, so she asks them to go scrub up with soap before she has to be around them, and they march off, leaving her totally unattended in the middle of nowhere. Uh oh.
Sure enough, an evil immortal shows up! This is the dastardly Kragen (with a hard K), a guy who makes a living out of whoring out women. Not sure what exactly this means, but Genevieve worked for HIM before she met her current boyfriend, and he wants her back! She fetched top dollar when she worked for him. Top dolla!
This leads to him trying to take her away as our heroes give chase. When it's clear he's cornered and can't get away from Duncan and Alec, he takes an "if I can't have her, no one can!" stance and...
...hurls both of them off of a cliff. He survives, she doesn't.
Alec makes Duncan promise to take out Kragen if Alec doesn't do it first, or dies in the meantime. Man, immortals are macabre. Well, Duncan promises, just one of a multitude of oaths he's had to make.
After this awful event, Alec spirals into a deep depression, but Duncan went and finished building the house for him. The one he would now live in alone.
In the present, Jennifer says that Alec was waiting for his previous woman's spirit to join with hers, as he believed that the spirit lives on. Kinda weird that he didn't want Jennifer for her own spirit, but okay. It sounds like Alec was hoping for some sort of freaky three-way with his previous woman and his current woman.
...also, that's right, he wasn't with anyone else for the past century. Zero women between Genevieve and Jennifer. A century of being single probably doesn't ring the same in the modern era of celibate young people as it did when this episode came out. Back in the 90's when people still actually looked at each other in lines and waiting rooms.
We go back to the 1800's and see that Alec whittled away the days in his house, playing piano, drinking, and taking drugs to ease his mental pain.
Duncan says Amanda is around, and tries to get Alec to clean himself up and go hang out with them on the town. To his credit, he really tries to help Alec here, but Alec's just got nothing in the tank. Also, he vehemently believes that the soul is eternal, meaning Genevieve's ghost is still around, and is going to show up any time now.
In a scene that resonates a lot more as an adult than it would have 30 years ago, Duncan gives up on trying to get Alec out of his own world, and wishes him a good night.
In the present, Jennifer believes that Alec is still around, since she keeps seeing his spirit hovering about. Duncan says that death is death, even for them. Jenny however has completely bought into Alec's theories about ghosts and reincarnation, and thinks Alec is still hovering around.
Can we address the elephant in the room that Jennifer and Genevieve are possibly related? Alec took a hundred years between wives, and when he finally got another one, it was the great-granddaughter of the previous one. ...or did they just happen to have the same name? Genevieve seemed a bit young to have had a kid already. Maybe she was just in the same family, like Duncan's hot cousin from Homeland?
I'm going to guess that they aren't related, and have the same last name because of Alec. The impression I got was that he and Genevieve were merely engaged, not married, though. Maybe Alec took Genevieve's last name to remember her by, then passed it to Jennifer when he married her. Their similar first names are just coincidental.
In other news, the Watcher Chronicles for these episodes are really good and I should be reading them more often. So Kragen travelled really far to find Genevieve. Impression I'm getting is that she wasn't with Alec for very long (as in months), especially considering how long her loss incapacitated him. However, I suspect these kinds of things are different for everyone, and losing even a one month relationship could be a huge loss to someone in a way that might not make sense to someone else.
Back to the present, Jenny has one request: That Duncan keep his promise to Alec to hunt down Kragen if Alec never does. It seems Kragen turned up in modern-day San Francisco, and Alec was on his way to whack the guy when he met his demise. So, chances are that Kragen himself slew Alec. That isn't a certainty, but either way, Kragen was responsible for Genevieve's death so he has to get whacked before Alec's soul can be at peace. And Genevieve's for that matter.
So...are Alec and Genevieve together in the afterlife? What about his current romance with Jenny? What happens when Jenny shows up in the afterlife in a few decades? A freaky throuple? Does she find someone else in the meantime and join that person in the afterlife? How awkward might the afterlife get if people still have their human foibles when they get there?
These are the things I question. Always had an issue with Titanic and how at the end Kate Winslet's soul goes off to be with a guy she knew for a few days when she was 20. What about her husband she had multiple kids with over decades? When he shows up in the afterlife a few years later and she's already taken, does he do that confused Travolta meme?
Duncan tasks Richie with hanging out with Jenny and keeping her company while he goes off to deal with Kragen.
Are we sure we want THIS GUY to keep a vulnerable young woman company for several days?
Richie is laying on the charm. They even lit a candle!
Alec's Ghost must be FURIOUS. If the situation were reversed, Alec would be single for another century, and here she is a year later about to hook up with Young Richard.
Jenny gets a full manspread going to establish dominance.
Her: "I don't think I could be one of you guys, going through everyone you know eventually dying"
Richie: "Well, I just try not to think about it"
Bro you've been immortal for like 3 years
AH! JESUS!
Jenny sees Alec's ghost superimposed on Richie. He thinks she's into him, but in actuality maybe she's just drawn to his Alec-ness.
There are a few things this could be:
-She's hallucinating out of grief
-She really IS seeing Alec's ghost, which has joined with Richie so that he can bed his woman again through him
-This isn't a ghost at all, but rather Alec's actual energy, absorbed by Richie somehow. But how would Richie have...
Joe pulls Richie aside to tell him that Duncan's going after the wrong guy and that it was in fact RICHIE who killed Alec. Another casualty of Richie's year of being pissed-off and getting into fights. How many people did Richie kill in that year? We need to start calling it the Path of Rage.
Richie tries to get some distance on Jenny, but she isn't having it, and shows up at his place later needing help with her insomnia.
Jenny: "I read in Cosmo that having orgasms is really good for curing insomnia"
Yes, thank you for that info Jenny.
This leads to them hanging out on Richie's couch. Bro
I mean, it's great that something nice is happening to Richie for a change, and showing her a good time is a noble goal, but he's doing this knowing that he MURDERED HER HUSBAND.
We can't pass too much judgment on the guy though. Out here on the mean streets, it's kill or be killed. Much like Richie's time in the clink.
Go on, Richie. Tell her ya did it!
..yeah, good luck with that. With that skirt Jenny's wearing, Richie's hormones are going BONKERS.
Elsewhere, the dastardly Kragen is working as a porn director. So back in the day he was a pimp, now he's a porn director?
Little does he know that Duncan just pulled up outside.
This actress is actually absurdly hot, and informs Kragen that her contract says no nudity. Wait...he's making pr0n using actors with "no nudity" clauses? ...........and he wasn't aware of this beforehand?
Kragen: "How do I reach these KEEEDS?"
After ushering everyone out of the room, he starts badgering her about not DOING WHAT SHE'S TOLD, only to get hit with The Buzz.
This is an easy day at the office for Duncan, no moral quandaries about this one.
Kragen has a cool sword, looks like a big two-hander. He remembers Duncan from back in the day, mainly the look on Duncan and Alec's faces when he yanked Genevieve off the cliff.
This is a good brawl because it takes place on a soundstage, allowing both of them to slash up various props.
Meanwhile, Richie and Jenny are GOIN' AT IT.
After a surprisingly tough fight, Duncan finally gets the better of him.
"You should see the look on your face."
Thish ish! The Quickening!
They absolutely OBLITERATE the soundstage for this one.
This reminds me of the age-old question...who cleans up after immortals? Fixes everything up, disposes of the bodies, etc. How did Duncan just waltz in and out of a busy soundstage and leave this kind of disaster and just get back on a plane without even batting an eye about any of it?
The John Wick movies, which are the most Highlander-y thing since this series, explain this a bit better. Whenever assassins (the immortals of the Wick universe) engage in mortal combat, there are cleaning crews that operate in secrecy and cover their trail to preserve the secrecy of the order. Maybe the Watchers do something similar here, helping make sure the immortals aren't ever exposed (while not interfering)? Who knows.
Meanwhile, while Duncan is risking his life...
Richie: "Man, I am fully spent."
Jenny: "Get ready to be spent ALL THE TIME, because now you have me!"
Richie: "Guess who has two thumbs and doesn't need to look into women's bathroom windows anymore? THIS guy!"
Then...she calls him "Alec"
Duncan is back from his trip...and in no mood for anybody. So Richie decides this is a good time to tell him the bad news about accidentally killing Alec and accidentally banging his wife.
Hey Richie, remember what happened the last time you ran into Duncan in this room wearing this outfit?
Duncan goes full "you did What" at Richie's revelation that he slept with Jenny.
Come on, how many grieving widows has Duncan "consoled"? What a hypocrite.
However, Duncan's so tired that he quickly forgives Richie. There's something else though. Richie's panic is palpable as he explains that it was HE who killed Alec.
He didn't know, not until yesterday.
Alec was actually the instigator of the fight. Richie's bike broke down, Alec happened to be driving up (on his way to fight Kragen), Richie's broken-down bike was in the way, Richie got sassy, so Alec got out of the car and drew on him.
Also, there was PLENTY of room to go around Richie. It isn't like he was blocking the whole street.
Nice attention to detail here, as Richie has his old pre-S5 sword.
I didn't give this sword enough credit, it was actually really nice (though his second sword is much more his style, looks more formidable, and is all-around most likely a deadlier weapon).
Duncan shows no mercy on Richie, telling him to get out of town and never see Jenny again, etc. Yo, Richie defended himself, just like Duncan has been teaching him all this time. This is frustrating.
Richie wants to tell Jenny the truth and thinks she'll understand. Duncan, as judgmental as he's being about the fling, is completely correct when he says SHE WON'T.
"Run away, Richie! Run far away!" says Duncan in a Scar voice.
"What about Jennifer?"
"I'LL deal with Jennifer."
Maybe Duncan can bed Jennifer next to console her. #It'sOkayWhenHeDoesIt
Later, Jenny thanks Duncan for avenging Alec. Duncan lies a lot and lets her think Alec's killer is gone.
Richie is packing up to leave town when Jenny shows up.
She's ready to move on from Alec. Ready to move on...with Richie! She read in Cosmopolitan that the best way to get over a guy is to get under another guy!
Richie tries to hold her at bay and tell her it isn't going to work and he's sorry but he has to go.
Jenny: "You're just doing that thing men do where they bed you and then lose interest! I know how this goes! In Cosmo they said that-"
Yeah, anyway, Richie lets her know that it was actually HE who killed Alec, he had no idea who Alec was, it was self-defense, and Alec started the fight. Glad he mentioned that part.
Jenny flies into a complete fit, yelling at Richie a lot before doing her new signature move, "grab purse and run away"
Richie, who has now taken up Alec's smoking habit, explains the situation to Joe and how backed into a corner he feels. Every time he tries to do the right thing, it just seems to mess things up more. Really though, the only debatably bad thing he did in this episode was sleep with the wife AFTER he knew the truth about Alec. He should have made himself scarce after he found that out.
Joe presents an interesting theory: Maybe Richie couldn't resist Jenny because he has Alec's persona. Maybe that same thing is what drew Jenny to him to begin with. In a weird way, this kinda confirms Alec's theories of the soul sticking around and trying to reunite with loved ones. For immortals, anyway. If so, it's actually kind of cool that Alec got to bed Jenny one last time, sort of.
Elsewhere, Jenny DEMANDS that Duncan kill Richie and avenge Alec.
What, is Duncan her errand-boy assassin? He already killed one guy for her this week.
The look Duncan gives her when she says something to the effect of "You knew Alec for 150 years, don't you know what that means", as if his 3 year friendship with Richie is completely overruled by a longer-term one, and as if this 25 year old has any idea what knowing someone for 150 years is like.
"You know what you are? You're a COWARD."
She then hits her finisher, the "grab purse and run away".
Duncan: "Jen you're being unreasonable!"
"UNREASONABLE? That's what I am to you isn't it! Just an UNREASONABLE WOMAN. Well let me tell YOU something, mister!"
Next she shows up at Richie's place, looking sexier than she has all episode with the slight wardrobe tweak of adding a top jacket. Turns out that black is Jenny's color, no doubt.
Things don't stay sexy for long, as she SHOOTS RICHIE.
Duncan happens to be right outside when this happens. I think he was trying to visit Richie before he left town. ...or maybe he was there to kill Richie.
DID JEN GET TO YOU, DUNCAN?? HOW MUCH IS SHE PAYING YOU??
With Richie incapacitated, Jen gets ready to use Richie's own sword to behead him. Remember a few minutes ago when these two were Making Love? Man, Richie finally had something good going on, but now this.
Duncan talks her out of swinging the sword. Well, she's got a lot of trauma and therapist visits ahead of her, but at least she isn't a murderer. That was the closest Richie has been to death since...well since Duncan beat him up.
We get a great final scene where Duncan tells a depressed Richie the importance of carrying all your losses with you, and how when you stop feeling them, you're dead inside. That's when Duncan will worry about him.
Richie is gifted his Omnigear sword...again. One of those scenes that makes you think maybe a Richie spinoff could actually work.
This guy was basically a one-dimensional "Highlander Bad Guy" immortal.
The world didn't appreciate his art, dammit!
It's safe to say that Gerard here "completed" his career.
Gregor Powers mention here. He's the immortal from "Studies in Light" in Season 2 who had a death-wish after becoming increasingly nihilistic and depressed for a long time. Duncan actually spares him at the end and his close brush with death was enough to wake him up and make him appreciate life again.
The "roster status" section is why you don't look at these before watching the episode. I, unfortunately, did, but I didn't really believe it. Actually assumed it was a typo and that maybe it was supposed to say Kragen (clearly the bad guy of the ep). So it didn't really spoil the ep for me or anything. I've got two more episodes that I haven't seen, so I'm excited about doing those next.
Will Alec's soul indeed get his vengeance on Richie from beyond the grave?
Watchers are supposed to be at least somewhat impartial, but this one calls Richie a "creep" and a "twerp". No mention that Alec started the fight. His being in a rush to meet Kragen explains why he was in such a trigger-happy mood, though. It IS a shame that Alec got whacked now, after being depressed and useless for so long. Guy turns his life around finally, guy loses it.
Thoughts on this episode... it isn't great. Having never seen it before, it was new, and that's cool, but it didn't feel new. Genevieve showing up and immediately being murdered reminded me a lot of Irina the Gypsy in that one episode. Most of this felt like we've seen it before many times over. However, Richie turning out to be the culprit was actually an interesting spin on things (and another example of how looking at the Watcher Chronicles before an episode is a bad idea).
However, Duncan's judgmental attitude towards Richie was kind of irritating, and Jenny completely flipping out at Richie (and never even giving him a shred of benefit of the doubt) was a bit much. Richie didn't do a good job asserting himself or explaining what happened either. He DID say that Alec started it, but never brought it up again and Jennifer seemed to not even register the self-defense aspect, continuing to call him a murderer as if he just chose to kill Alec because he felt like it or something. Kragen wasn't much of an antagonist and ended up being more of a plot element than anything else. And the Alec story in general was depressing. A bit of a "meh" for this one.
Yanno, sometimes I wonder if maybe Duncan has some unresolved anger towards Richie because he stood up and Tessa didn't.
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