Duncan struggled to decide on a course of action and waited too late to do what was best.
I very much like the character of Rachel MacLeod. It was so great when Methos asked her to come to Paris for Duncan's sake in the previous episode. I have no problem with Rachel and Duncan showing a little love for each other. After all, on their family tree they are separated by 400 years.
Personally I believe Duncan should have told Rachel that he is an immortal. I believe she could have handled that knowledge very well and she would have loved knowing for the rest of her life.
2 Reviews
I couldn't stand Mac's overwhelming hypocrisy. I ended up liking Kassim more than Duncan in this episode.
reb-warrior14 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Duncan saves the life of President Hamad, by stopping an assassin. Hamad's assistant is Kassim, who is an immortal. He and Mac know each other. Kassim was actually behind the assassination attempt. Hamad is a despot. Kassim wants Nasir, a minister of education, to become President. He the last descendant of a Moorish King whom Kassim promised one day his heirs would rule again. Now Kassim wants Mac to fulfill a favor owed to him and kill Hamad.
I wonder if it ever occurs to Duncan that if he had minded his own business at times that bad things wouldn't happen? Here we have Duncan, who is out with Rachel and "feels" an immortal nearby. He has to go investigate to find out who it is. If he hadn't done that, then none of the bad things that happened would have happened in the first place! If it were Methos, he would have gone in the other direction. No wonder so many people love Methos.
Loves seeing the flashback from 1755 North Africa. This is about 3 years before the events in "The Samurai" flashback. Duncan's new friend, Reza, is quite funny. Duncan and Reza had great camaraderie. Loved the other flashback with Kassim and his master.
I liked Kassim. He came from a world where keeping your word was a matter of honor. So does Mac. Kassim isn't evil at all. I loved his passion about keeping his word to his master hundreds of years earlier. Also, when Kassim wanted to fight Mac that first time and Mac didn't take out his sword, Kassim could have taken his head, but he didn't. So he's noble. I never believed for a second that Kassim would have killed Rachel later on in the episode.
Mac was reluctant to kill Hamad, a mortal, because it goes against his grain to kill somebody for no reason. In his case, he had no personal reason to kill him. Never mind that the man was a despot who killed many people and/or jailed them. Duncan: "Yes, but it's not for me to judge." Oh Mac, you judge people all the time. Especially immortals.
Later after Kassim is "killed" Mac visits Hamad and Nasir. He asks Hamad not to kill Nasir as payback for saving his life. Hamad who was already not happy that Mac went to see Nasir, kills Nasir anyway. Kassim said that Hamad would hurt Nasir because he would believe Nasir was involved in the second assassination attempt. But maybe he would not have, given that people in his country loved Nasir. The thing is, Hamad seemed spurred on to kill Nasir after Mac asked him not to. So in my opinion, Mac made things worse, and in fact, his brazen visit and request actually got Nasir killed.
Did Mac really expect Hamad, a despot, to keep his word? In fact, Hamad never agreed to anything, tho he said he owed Mac a favor for saving his life earlier. So Mac, who owed Kassim a favor, "a life for a life," but he himself did not keep his word, now wanted the exact same agreement from Hamad and for him to keep his word? Wtf, Mac???
When Mac didn't kill Hamad, Kassim wanted to fight Mac, "a life for a life." Mac said he wouldn't give his life and that Kassim would have to fight him for it. Later, after Hamad didn't keep his word(just like Mac didn't), and killed Nasir. Mac killed him. Little too late don't ya think Mac? Why do you get to kill Hamad for not keeping his word, but Kassim doesn't get to kill you for not keeping your word?
Hoo boy, Mac was a major hypocrite in this episode. I ended up liking Kassim more than Mac. Duncan really bungled things, and in the end, HIS revenge and HIS honor really turned me off. I wonder what happened to the country? Civil war? Or perhaps another despot took over. Either way, no descendant from Kassim's beloved master would ever rule again. Way to go Mac!
Thankfully Rachel left. She and Mac had no chemistry.
What could Mac have done given he didn't want to kill Hamad despite owing Kassim the favor.? He could have kept his word and killed him from the beginning. Usually, I don't advocate for Mac to kill people in cold blood, but in this case he did it anyway at the end when it was already too late. Why did the writers make Mac look so awful in this episode?
I can't stand Mac's overwhelming hypocrisy and I usually skip this episode despite the fact that I liked Kassim a lot. I gave it a 6/10. Would have been a 4 or 5 if I hadn't of liked Kassim and the flashbacks so much.
I wonder if it ever occurs to Duncan that if he had minded his own business at times that bad things wouldn't happen? Here we have Duncan, who is out with Rachel and "feels" an immortal nearby. He has to go investigate to find out who it is. If he hadn't done that, then none of the bad things that happened would have happened in the first place! If it were Methos, he would have gone in the other direction. No wonder so many people love Methos.
Loves seeing the flashback from 1755 North Africa. This is about 3 years before the events in "The Samurai" flashback. Duncan's new friend, Reza, is quite funny. Duncan and Reza had great camaraderie. Loved the other flashback with Kassim and his master.
I liked Kassim. He came from a world where keeping your word was a matter of honor. So does Mac. Kassim isn't evil at all. I loved his passion about keeping his word to his master hundreds of years earlier. Also, when Kassim wanted to fight Mac that first time and Mac didn't take out his sword, Kassim could have taken his head, but he didn't. So he's noble. I never believed for a second that Kassim would have killed Rachel later on in the episode.
Mac was reluctant to kill Hamad, a mortal, because it goes against his grain to kill somebody for no reason. In his case, he had no personal reason to kill him. Never mind that the man was a despot who killed many people and/or jailed them. Duncan: "Yes, but it's not for me to judge." Oh Mac, you judge people all the time. Especially immortals.
Later after Kassim is "killed" Mac visits Hamad and Nasir. He asks Hamad not to kill Nasir as payback for saving his life. Hamad who was already not happy that Mac went to see Nasir, kills Nasir anyway. Kassim said that Hamad would hurt Nasir because he would believe Nasir was involved in the second assassination attempt. But maybe he would not have, given that people in his country loved Nasir. The thing is, Hamad seemed spurred on to kill Nasir after Mac asked him not to. So in my opinion, Mac made things worse, and in fact, his brazen visit and request actually got Nasir killed.
Did Mac really expect Hamad, a despot, to keep his word? In fact, Hamad never agreed to anything, tho he said he owed Mac a favor for saving his life earlier. So Mac, who owed Kassim a favor, "a life for a life," but he himself did not keep his word, now wanted the exact same agreement from Hamad and for him to keep his word? Wtf, Mac???
When Mac didn't kill Hamad, Kassim wanted to fight Mac, "a life for a life." Mac said he wouldn't give his life and that Kassim would have to fight him for it. Later, after Hamad didn't keep his word(just like Mac didn't), and killed Nasir. Mac killed him. Little too late don't ya think Mac? Why do you get to kill Hamad for not keeping his word, but Kassim doesn't get to kill you for not keeping your word?
Hoo boy, Mac was a major hypocrite in this episode. I ended up liking Kassim more than Mac. Duncan really bungled things, and in the end, HIS revenge and HIS honor really turned me off. I wonder what happened to the country? Civil war? Or perhaps another despot took over. Either way, no descendant from Kassim's beloved master would ever rule again. Way to go Mac!
Thankfully Rachel left. She and Mac had no chemistry.
What could Mac have done given he didn't want to kill Hamad despite owing Kassim the favor.? He could have kept his word and killed him from the beginning. Usually, I don't advocate for Mac to kill people in cold blood, but in this case he did it anyway at the end when it was already too late. Why did the writers make Mac look so awful in this episode?
I can't stand Mac's overwhelming hypocrisy and I usually skip this episode despite the fact that I liked Kassim a lot. I gave it a 6/10. Would have been a 4 or 5 if I hadn't of liked Kassim and the flashbacks so much.
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