Highlander (TV Series) For Tomorrow We Die (1993) User Reviews

Roland Gift make his debut as Xavier St. Cloud. How does an immortal heal? Boring side-story.

[reb-warrior · 7/10 · 3 March 2020]

Roland Gift from 'Fine Young Cannibals' make his debut in a role he'll recur for five episodes. He plays the villain Xavier St. Cloud. He's very slick and charming but extremely evil. His MO is to drop a canister of gas to kill people and then steal from them. He does this at a jewelry store and then goes to Darius' monastery to deliberately make a confession to Darius.

Xavier then uses a different name and approaches Tessa about donating an art piece to her fundraiser. Duncan flashes back to when he's a medic in WWI. Xavier gasses men on their payday and steals the money. He lost a good friend that day.

Duncan starts to track Xavier by figuring out more about his accomplice who was deliberately killed by Xavier. He goes to an old shady friend he knew back during WWII, Georges Dalou. Dalou believes Duncan is the son of the man he once knew. He helps Duncan make contact with the accomplice's mother. Keep an eye out for Dalou and Duncan's WWII history in season 3 episode 19 'Mortal Sins.'

Turns out Xavier planted a gas bomb in the art he donated. Duncan is in a car with Lebrun a few blocks away when he realizes this and jumps out of the car to run back to the fundraiser. I found this a bit silly. In the time Duncan took to run back to the fundraiser, he could have said a hundred times over "there's a gas bomb at the fundraiser, turn back!"

Duncan stops the gas bomb from going off and eventually faces Xavier. Xavier gets away, but not before Duncan cuts off his hand. I wonder if Xavier had grabbed his hand and held it against the stump if it would have healed? It's always sketchy when it comes to the re-healing of immortals. I mean immortals are literally blown-up at times and are completely healed in a couple of hours. When they're blown up, parts must get blown off, right? Guess it's just one of those things we have to overlook.

Tessa: "Maybe you should have told him."

Duncan: "Told him what exactly? That I met Xavier in 1917 and he was wearing a gas mask, but I'm not quite sure? How's that going to help him?"

The above quotes state that Duncan met Xavier in 1917. But later in the series, it's revealed he met Xavier in 1653 in Algiers in the episode 'Finale' season 3 episode 21. They cross paths again in 1806 in France, in 'Double Jeopardy' season 4 episode 19. So those later episodes aren't consistent with this one.

There was a boring side-story about Richie with an older married(unbeknownst to him) French woman. It wasn't interesting to me and just seemed out of place in the episode. Tho I did enjoy the humorous part when Tessa asked Duncan when was he gonna tell Richie the woman is married. I gave the episode a 7/10.

an interestin kinda expandable episode...and it does, kinda...

[jtsjtssmokey-703-366973 · 8/10 · 11 April 2014]

Roland Gift, character Xavier St. Cloud, RG really is a great bad guy with a touch of "class", or some will call it snobbery, which it is/was, first appearance and another with the flashback meet of Xavier and Darious. Also see and meet a mortal, Dalou, who has know Mac since he was a young man during WWII, as his older self, we see Dalou as a young adult or older teen in a diff epi, Dalou doesn't know yet that it is him, that Mac is not his "son".

Xavier, steals any and all he wants, kills mortals just because, hmm guess does the same for Immortals as he thinks he is the greatest (umm not going to be rude not my thing) "thing", then this time "confesses" to Darius to "mock" him also knowing Darius will keep the confessional well secret. When the poor cop we "met" before, LeBrun, asks Darius about it with the confusion of Xavier seen "dying" then getting up alive ?, church/Darius, asking if seen him getting yes but cant say, but does move turns pages in book which clues in Mac as to who it was...

LeBrun then sees Mac talking to the guy who fits the description plus the taping, asks where and how he met Xavier, Mac says the name wont mean anything and that if he did tell LeBrun would not believe him.

Tess is in charge of a fund raiser and Xavier "helpful" gives a rare statuette (bomb inside base) finds out time resets time for blasting says he will be late getting there. Those who attend are very well off and Richie met a "older" woman whom Tess already knew and who is married, but not for love, Renee married for money and Richie was her latest fling, Mac was the one to tell him she was married after Tess told him, was "gallant" in letting her go after he introduces himself as an associate of Tess, (he asks later if he was a fool) me, considering think was cute, she, Renee not so much.

LeBrun "picks up" Mac at the event and tells him about Xavier travels and known aliases, Mac realizing where the "gift" Tess was so happy about came from, knows it is bad, jumps out of moving car and runs back, hoping to get there, does, has all esp Tess thinking he lost it till he finds bomb and stops it, all there who see, sigh of relief, and one unhappy Xavier.

Xavier thinks he can get Mac at home, Mac knows this so not in his home, they start to fight, Xavier always a cheater with the poison gas, pulls one out but Mac cuts off the hand with it in it, Xavier jumps in and Mac follows. Morning has Tess out on deck (is that the name of it ? the outside and top of barge ?) Richie comes out, they wonder where, know where and then know he'll be home soon, see him tiredly coming home, he says nope Xavier got away almost before they ask and he says he is tired need sleep, head in...

over all good epi and we will see Xavier again...

Enter Xavier

[skteosk · 8/10 · 12 May 2024]

There's a distinct feeling of the show upping its ante in terms of villains. Xavier St Cloud is one of Duncan's most memorable opponents, utterly ruthless and utterly contemptible. He shows his cowardly side in running from Duncan on their first encounter, and clearly prefers to shoot sitting ducks, being prepared to kill a helpless Duncan in the flashback. But he gives Duncan a lot of trouble both in the way they try to out-think each other and in their final battle. If anything, his problem is that he tries to make things too complicated. Unfortunately, the show's aversion to obvious blood and gore makes it hard to tell what's going on at the end.

After St Cloud revives from the gas, he's able to walk around without protection even though there's enough still around to kill his associate in seconds. Is that the way it's meant to work?

Tessa has a decent role as an unwitting pawn of St Cloud, but the show seems to be struggling to know what to do with Richie, who's stuck with another girlfriend of the week, this time an older married woman. Still, the pay-off is better than I expected.

First appearances of Xavier St Cloud and Duncan's WW2 colleague. Georges Dalou: Xavier will be back next season in Unholy Alliance and Dalou in Season 3's Mortal Sins. Second appearances of Darius and Inspector LeBrun; Darius is back next episode and LeBrun in Saving Grace. In a nice subtle continuity moment, LeBrun never uses his shattered arm even though no-one comments on it.