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Starring:
Adrian Paul (Duncan MacLeod) Guests:
Elizabeth Gracen
Written by Dom Tordjmann |
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A nightclub. Long scene of the music, flashing lights and people dancing. As the scene moves around the club, we see several shots of Amanda, wearing a long black dress, dancing with a man with (I swear!) glow-in-the-dark hair. I can't really describe most of the people and outfits, but let's just say that Amanda fits right in . . . :) After a while, Amanda suddenly stops dancing as she senses another immortal. She turns, and sees Steven Keane standing by the bar. She walks up, and he smiles, taking her hand.
Keane: "There is a God. I'm Steven Keane." He kisses her hand.
Amanda, cool: "Amanda. You come here often?"
Keane laughs: "I may have to start. Actually, I own the place. Just bought it."
Amanda: "Really?" They start to walk slowly to a table, Amanda gesturing around the club. "Well, new decor, better music, less water in the drinks . . . I think you've made quite an investment here."
Keane: "Well, it seems to be paying off."
Amanda: "Well, you're the flavor of the month, aren't you? We'll see what kind of staying power you have."
Keane, having fun with the game: "Oh, I plan on making a lasting impression."
Amanda, smiling broadly, hands on hips: "That's very optimistic of you."
They sit down.
Keane: "You lived here long?"
Amanda: "Oh, a thousand years, off and on."
Keane: "Almost a native." Amanda laughs modestly. Keane leans closer. "You must know every immortal in the city."
Amanda: "Are you looking for anyone in particular?"
Keane: "Always."
Amanda: "What's her name?"
Keane: "Duncan MacLeod."
Amanda, barely missing a beat: "Is he a friend of yours?"
Keane: "We have some, uh, unfinished business. You know him?"
Amanda shakes her head, leaning up to put her lips closer to Keane's: "Doesn't ring a bell. But, speaking of 'unfinished business' . . . Would you like to come to my place?"
Keane seems more than agreeable, and follows her out of the club.
Outside, they start across the parking lot to Keane's car.
Amanda: "Did you know this was a convent once?"
Keane, chuckling: "Next you're going to tell me you were a nun."
Amanda: "Tempting. But black is my color."
Keane moves ahead to unlock his car. As he puts the key in the lock, he sees Amanda in the window's reflection, drawing her sword. He jumps aside quickly, pulling the door open so that the blow meant for his head lands on top of the door instead. Amanda tries stabbing him through the window, but he dodges again and draws his own sword, putting it to her neck while her arm is still hampered by they broken glass.
Keane: "Was it something I said?"
Amanda: "Duncan MacLeod."
Keane presses closer: "Where is he?" Amanda hesitates. "I don't want to kill you."
Amanda: "That makes two of us."
Keane pulls out his cell phone: "Then call MacLeod."
Amanda hesitates again, then takes the phone.
Duncan, with a touch of impatience: "Amanda?"
The curtains at the back of the church part, and Amanda steps out, followed by Keane.
Amanda: "Sorry." Glances back at Keane. "I didn't have a choice."
Keane: "I asked her to call you."
Duncan: "Well, I'm here."
Keane approaches him, Amanda trailing behind him: "Duncan MacLeod. You've haunted me for more than 200 years. I'm Steven Keane."
Duncan, nonplused: "Oh."
Keane: "You really don't remember." Duncan shakes his head, unconcerned. "Then maybe you remember my friend, Richard Dunbar, the Earl of Rosemont."
Dunbar: "I lost scouting party after scouting party. They march into the woods, and we'd never found so much as their bones."
Keane: "I heard it went hard."
Dunbar: "They were everywhere."
Michael runs between them and they part, laughing, and both of them turn and nudge the kite with their feet as Michael runs off again.
Dunbar: "Any man or boy that could raise a sword or a scythe was against us. The Scottish devils. Left me no choice."
Keane: "I should have been there with you, Richard."
Dunbar laughs mirthlessly: "I thank god you were not, Steven. I entrusted you to look after my wife, and my sons."
Keane: "You're my family. Well, as much as I ever had."
Dunbar: "There were days I thought I'd never see them again. That damned war seemed to go on for a thousand years."
Keane, persuasively: "But in the end, you got the better of them."
Dunbar: "Cumberland was ready to march home, after the rout, but I convinced him that we had to finish it. We had to leave a mark, make sure those Jacobites were wiped out." He sounds regretful as he concludes, "We cut down every man in tartan we could find."
Keane: "If there had been another way you would have found it."
Dunbar: "Would I? Or was I too full of hate to look?"
Keane pauses: "Let's have no more talk of the war, hm? It's over, and you're home with your family."
Michael runs on ahead of them, over a small bridge, shouting, "Come, Father! Come, Father!"
Duncan nods: "Yes."
The Battle of Culloden. Scenes of the battle from "Through a Glass, Darkly", showing Duncan fighting the English.
Duncan, voice over: "They were desperate times, with desperate measures. It was war. I followed Bonnie Prince Charlie, who managed to rally the Scots against the English." Cut to another scene from "Through a Glass, Darkly," Duncan and other Scottish fighters finding Warren Cochrane dead after discovering an English ambush. "For a while, victory seemed possible. But the dream ended in slaughter and death at Culloden."
From "Through a Glass, Darkly"
Scottish soldier: "The English bastards know we're coming."
Duncan: "Not these ones. Cochrane saw to that."
Scottish soldier: "And now he's dead."
From "Take Back the Night"
Duncan, voice over as he and Prince Charlie and a handful of others ride through a forest: "Charlie was forced to flee, taking our shattered dreams with him."
Duncan rides up to Charlie: "My lord, can we not rest tonight? We can reach the boat at dawn."
Charlie holds up his hand to halt: "A boat? To take me off to lick my wounds like a whipped hound? I've suffered the worst defeat in Scottish history. And now the English [??] will say, 'Aye. Bonnie Prince Charlie ran away with his tail 'tween his legs."
Duncan: "Let them see what they will. By god, we fought as bravely as men can."
From "Take Back the Night"
Four English soldiers are sitting around a campfire. Behind them, a man and woman hang dead from a tree.
English soldier: "When we're finished, they'll be nothing left in this stinking land but us and sheep, eh?" The soldiers all laugh.
Duncan, voice over: "Culloden was terrible. But what happened after was worse."
There's a shot, and one of the soldiers falls over dead. Duncan rides out from the trees, tossing his gun aside and drawing his sword, riding at the English soldiers and yelling.
English soldier: "What the devil?!"
Duncan: "Aye, it's the Devil himself!" He runs another soldier through, but as he turns back the two remaining take aim and shot him from his horse. He falls, but staggers up at once and fights them.
Duncan, voice over: "The English weren't content with defeating us. They wanted to wipe us off the face of the earth."
Duncan kills both the remaining soldiers, then staggers over to the couple hanging from the tree.
Duncan, voice over: "Farmers, women, children. They were without mercy. I killed because they killed. I answered death with death." Duncan collapses under the corpses, and we hear the sound of flies buzzing.
It's nighttime, in front of a ruined, smoking building, fires still flickering here and there. An old woman is kneeling over the body of a young boy, sobbing. She looks up as Duncan walks out of the smoke, tired and bedraggled.
Grandmother: "Look. Look what they've done to us."
Duncan: "I know."
Grandmother: "He was only a lad." As she speaks, Duncan spots a heel of bread on the ground and moves quickly to pick it up and eat it. "They said they couldn't let him be a rebel like his father." She gets up and comes towards Duncan. "His father's been dead ten years! He got the fever in '35. He never saw the cursed war." She takes Duncan's arm, looking up at him. "Where are our men? Where is Prince Charlie?"
Duncan: "The men are all scattered. Prince Charlie's fled. The war's over. We've lost."
Grandmother: "If the war is over, why is the killing still going on?!"
Duncan doesn't answer right away: "Come, Grandmother. I'll help you bury him."
She takes his arm, pulling him towards the house, pointing.
Grandmother: "His mother and sister were in there. I pleaded with the soldiers to let them out. But they laughed. They said that they couldn't let us breed. They burned them!" Duncan looks at her, his face dark and angry. "On the Earl's orders, they said."
Duncan takes a couple of paces away, then turns back: "What was the name of the Earl that gave the order?"
Grandmother: "Rosemont." Almost hissing, now. "God will make him pay for this!"
Duncan: "He'll not have to wait for God." He stalks away.
Duncan rides up to the Earl's estate. On the grounds, Keane and Dunbar are still walking and talking, Michael still running with his kite.
Keane: "Josephine prayed for your safe return every night."
Dunbar: "And now Josephine must have a new prayer. Pray this victory holds. Pray those Highland bastards have finally understood." Watches Michael run by. "I won't have my sons called to this battle again."
Duncan rides up, and pulls to a halt as he senses Steven, who likewise turns, looking around, hand on his sword.
Michael runs over the bridge, laughing and dragging his kite. He runs full-tilt into Duncan, who looks down at him grimly.
Duncan: "Where is the Earl of Rosemont, boy?" He looks up past Michael as Keane and Dunbar walk over the bridge, Keane pulling out his sword. They run up to Duncan, Keane first.
Keane to Dunbar: "He's come for me. Leave us."
Duncan: "No. Stay." He pulls a pistol from his belt and shoots Keane, still keeping a grip on the back of the boy's coat.
Dunbar: "My god! Please, don't hurt my son."
Duncan, still holding Michael: "That is what a thousand Scottish mothers screamed when your soldiers murdered their children."
Dunbar: "Who are you?"
Duncan: "A man of Scotland your butchers could not kill."
Dunbar: "It was war!"
Duncan: "It still is."
Dunbar: "Let my son go. Let him go, and face me." He draws his sword.
Duncan turns to Michael, and grabs the front of his coat: "Inside, boy." He lifts him up until they're face to face. "You run. You run and you tell every English boy you meet that Duncan MacLeod is coming for their fathers! You tell your children, and your children's children,--" Grinning. "--that they're not safe from me." Puts him down. "Now run ."
Dunbar: "Run, Michael!"
Michael flees to the bridge and looks back, then keeps on going. Duncan and Dunbar fight, and in a few short blows it's over. Duncan runs Dunbar through, and puts his hand on his head.
Duncan: "On your knees." He forces him down, then stabs his sword through him. His other hand comes up with Dunbar's wig, and he looks at it disgustedly before tossing it aside and walking off.
Keane: "And that's all you have to say?"
Duncan, after a long pause: "There's nothing else to say."
Keane pauses a beat: "6 am. The Luxemburg Gardens." Turns to go. "That gives you time to say your goodbyes." He walks out, stopping again at the door. "If you run, I'll find you." He leaves, slamming the door behind him.
Duncan: "I won't run." He looks at Amanda.
They leave the church together.
Amanda: "Look, I'm really sorry. The guy had a sword to my throat, I didn't know what else to do. I thought, Holy Ground, you'll talk . . ."
Duncan, gently: "You did the right thing."
Amanda: "Yeah?"
Duncan: "Yeah. I like you with all your parts intact."
Amanda: "You and me both."
They start to walk off, Amanda's arm tucked in Duncan's.
Duncan: "What do you know about Keane?"
Amanda: "Nothing. I just met him. He seemed like a nice enough guy at the time." Shrugs. Now you're going to have to kill him."
Duncan doesn't answer. He walks off, leaving Amanda to look after him, puzzled.
At the barge, Duncan and Amanda are asleep in bed, and Duncan is having a nightmare. He sees the battle of Culloden over again, sees himself telling Michael Dunbar to run, that he should tell all the other boys that he's coming for their fathers. He sees himself kill Dunbar again, and jerks awake, yelling, "No! No!" and raising his fist over Amanda's face. She grabs his arm.
Amanda: "Duncan! It's me! It's okay, it's okay."
Duncan shaken, looks at her a minute, then lets her pull his head down to her shoulder. She pets his head, telling him it's okay, and he leans on her, saying he's sorry, "I was dreaming." (He says this with more than a trace of his Scottish accent, by the way. Nice touch.) She holds him, and he closes his eyes.
Amanda: "Duncan?"
Duncan: "I couldn't sleep."
Amanda: "Yeah, I noticed." She sits down next to him, curling up beside him, her arm over his shoulders. "You know what? I have come up with a brilliant idea. Why don't we go somewhere really, really warm. Like . . . Tahiti." Duncan snorts. "Yeah. No shoes, no clothes . . ." She works her hand over his waistband. "No, um, tan lines . . . No pesky immortals coming out of the woodwork." Pauses. "Oh, well, there was that one guy, what's his name, Grenville?"
Duncan, smiling, remembering: "Grenville."
Amanda: "But you know what, he's not going to be there. It's just going to be you and me, and I'm going to get out that old copy of the Kama S [??] . . . " [The obvious {to me, anyway :)} solution is Kama Sutra, but the second part sounds more like "Sada." Any ideas? --Jinjifore]
Duncan finally takes her hand: "Amanda. Amanda."
Amanda: "What?"
Duncan, quiet but firm: "I can't."
Amanda, matter of fact: "Why not."
Duncan: "Because I have to deal with this."
Amanda: "What do you mean, uh, 'deal with this?'"
Duncan: "Keane. This whole bloody mess." Sighs. "It should never have happened. Keane's right about me." He gets up. "I am a murderer." He starts poking at the fire.
Amanda: "Duncan, that was 250 years ago. Everyone's dead now. The people he killed, the people you killed, and four generations of their children. It's ancient history, it's just over!"
Duncan glances back at her, then turns to the fire again: "It's not over."
Amanda: "Great. So you're just going to let this arrogant little English ass show up with a 250-year-old grudge and convince you that you're a bad guy." Angrier now. "It was war, Duncan!"
Duncan: "War was over."
Amanda gets up and goes to him, taking his robe in her hands.
Amanda: "Duncan, you are the best man I know. You make people better. You know, people like me, people who didn't give a damn about anything in their whole lives until you came along with your big brown eyes and your Boy Scout rules . . ." Duncan tries to interrupt, but she won't let him. "What, are you just going to throw this away because you made one damn mistake?!"
Duncan, surprised: "Amanda . . .?"
Amanda, almost in tears, upset: "No! If you're going to let Steven Keane kill you over this crap, then you are on your own." She turns and runs out, leaving Duncan alone.
Methos's apartment. He's asleep in bed, but his eyes open warily as he senses another immortal. He listens for a second, then leaps out of bed and grabs his sword, darting across the room to put his back to the wall. (I would be remiss if I failed to point out that this is, in fact, the already infamous "boxer scene," so named because, well, that seems to be all that the Old Man wears to bed . . . ;)) He stands there a second, waiting, then he hears Amanda's voice, and her pounding at the door.
Amanda: "Mee-thos! Open the door, I know you're there!"
He lets the sword sag and takes his time strolling to the door (this is not, mind, a complaint . . . ;)), sword still in hand, while Amanda continues to knock and call his name. He flings the door open and glares.
Methos: "Do you want to knock a bit louder? I don't think they heard you in Phildelphia."
Amanda: "I'm sorry. It was an emergency, okay?" She starts to walk in, but he raises his sword to her neck, stopping her.
Methos: "No, it was a good way to get your head cut off, is what it was." He lowers the sword, though, and shuts the door.
Amanda: "You're turning into an old grouch, aren't you? Did I interrupt something important?"
Methos, impatiently: "Amanda, it is the middle of the night, and I wasn't expecting anyone." Walks away, grumbling, "Give me a minute. You want some coffee?"
Amanda: "Yeah."
Later, Amanda is standing with her coat off, and Methos has donned a T-shirt and made coffee.
Amanda: "All right, so tell me what you know about this Keane guy."
Methos hands her a cup of coffee on his way past.
Methos: "Nothing. Never met him."
Amanda: "Wait a minute. I thought the Watchers knew . . . everything."
Methos goes back to the bed and stands on it, picking up the coverlet to shake it out.
Methos: "Well, I've done with the Watchers."
Amanda: "Really? I thought you'd found the perfect hiding place."
Methos: "Well, I changed my mind. Sorry, can't help." He lies down and pulls the blankets up to his chin.
Amanda goes and sits down on the bed: "No, wait, listen Methos. Why don't you just talk to MacLeod? You know, try to convince him that Keane is wrong about him."
Methos sighs: "You want me to talk to MacLeod and tell him, uh, you know, 'Stop worrying, you're not a bad guy.'"
Amanda nods: "Yeah."
Amanda nods: "Yeah."
Methos: "Trust me Amanda that's not gonna work." He turns over and buries his head in the pillow.
Amanda: "Look . . . no, Methos." He looks up. "You have to do something, I've never seen him this upset before, and you know how guilt ridden he can be." Methos sits up. "Look, if he goes up against Keane thinking he deserves to lose, he'll lose. He'll die, Methos."
Methos yawns and looks away.
Duncan is walking through the gardens the next morning. He senses another immortal as he turns onto a path, and Methos steps out from the shrubs to face him.
Methos: "So, nice day for it." Duncan sighs. Methos goes on, ignoring him. "Yeah, not too cold, ground's nice and dry."
Duncan: "Amanda's got a big mouth."
Methos: "She's worried about you."
Duncan: "Yeah, and you?"
Methos, looking at his shoes: "Oh, me, no. Just scholarly interest. I just came by to watch the perfect immortal die."
Duncan: "I'm not!"
Methos: "Not what? Not the perfect immortal or not going to die?"
Duncan: "Go away." He walks off, but Methos goes right along with him.
Methos: "We're none of us perfect, MacLeod. Not you, not me, not even Darius. And sure not your friend Steven Keane."
Duncan: "You should write fortune cookies."
Methos: "Yeah, well, maybe I should." He speeds up and jumps in front of Duncan, forcing him to stop. " Just so long as I am not writing your epitaph." Duncan doesn't say anything. "What Keane hates you for, happened. Nothing you do is going to change that. You accept it, MacLeod. It's part of who you are."
Duncan: "Are we talking about me now?"
Methos: "Yes. Do you remember what happened after Culloden?"
Duncan looks away, then back: "Yeah. I went after innocent men and slaughtered them."
Methos: "No, that's how Keane tells it. I want to know how you remember it. Because they weren't innocent, were they? There were murderers. They were the English bastards who had destroyed your people, and they deserved to die, all of them."
Duncan, getting annoyed: "You sure all of them did?"
Methos: "You were. You wanted to kill, you killed them." Getting a little angry. "You know, Keane is just like you. He wants to divide the world up into good and bad. Well it's not that simple. We are all both. Good and evil. We have rage and compassion. We have love and hate." Pause, quieter. "Murder and forgiveness." Duncan looks away, almost like he's bored. "Why don't you try forgiving yourself, for once?"
Duncan, pleasantly: "Why don't you try minding your own business. For once." Methos doesn't answer, but his eyes narrow and he glares. "Tell Amanda to do the same."
Methos smirks and steps aside, gesturing along the path. "She can't say I didn't try."
Duncan walks past, Methos watching him go. Duncan backs away a few steps, not turning his back, but finally turns to go. As soon as he does turn his back, Methos pulls out a gun and shoots him.
Methos, shaking his head: "You are such a pain in the ass."
In another part of the garden, Keane comes out onto an open, gravelled space, only to find Methos approaching instead of Duncan.
Keane, as Methos walks up: "I don't think we've met. Steven Keane."
Methos: "So I heard." He draws his sword.
Keane gives a short, disbelieving laugh: "I have no fight with you."
Methos: "No, that's true, if you leave Paris and you leave Duncan MacLeod alone." He smiles tightly.
Methos: "No that's true, if you leave Paris and you leave Duncan Macleod alone."
Keane: "The guy's got a lot of friends."
Methos: "Good men often do."
Keane: "Good men? you must not know him very well."
Methos: "You'd be surprised, Keane . . . Let him be."
Keane: "You try and stop me . . ." etc.
Methos sighs deeply, looking at the ground: "Your call!"
On the last word, he strikes, and they fight. They both seem pretty evenly matched, and after the first blows they're both smiling in an, "Oh, so that's how it's going to be" way. They fight a while, then Methos slips and goes down on one knee and Keane swings for his head. But Methos reaches into his coat and pulls out a second blade and stabs him in the gut, simultaneously parrying Keane's blow behind his head.
Keane stares at him in shock: "You bastard."
Methos watches him slump down, murmuring: "Sticks and stones . . ."
Duncan staggers up as Methos is getting to his feet, and Methos is swinging up fast for the killing blow when Duncan stops him.
Duncan: "You do it and I'm next!"
Methos slumps, an irritated look on his face, like "You couldn't have waited two more seconds to revive?"
Methos: "I am trying to save your head."
Duncan walks up, drawing his sword: "I don't need your help."
Methos puts his sword to Keane's neck again, glancing over as Duncan walks up, almost like he's daring him to do something about it.
Duncan: "You kill him . . . I swear Methos." Raises his sword. "You face me."
Methos laughs incredulously, then looks at Duncan's face and sees he's really not kidding. He tightens his mouth.
Methos, short and angry: "Fine!" Steps away. "It's your funeral." He stalks off, leaving Duncan and Keane alone.
Keane: "What happened to your friend?"
Duncan, sitting comfortably on a nearby bench, Keane' s sword propped beside him: "It's Tuesday. He doesn't take heads on Tuesdays."
Keane gets up: "Then why don't you take it!" He starts towards Duncan, but Duncan raises the katana, holding him off.
Duncan, slow and deliberate: "Because I don't want it." Sighs and lowers the sword. "We don't have to be enemies."
Keane: "There's nothing else we can be."
Duncan: "Culloden was a long time ago."
Keane: "Dunbar was a general in a hard war. People died."
Duncan, getting up: "Yeah, and so did he." Duncan sighs and looks away. "You didn't see the women and children slaughtered on your friend's orders."
Keane: "I don't care what he did. Only what you did."
Duncan: "What, and killing me is going to bring him back?"
Keane: "No." His eye strays down to his sword, still leaning against the bench. "But it'll make me feel a hell of a lot better." He moves to the sword, but Duncan's katana whips up, blocking him. "A hundred years. A thousand. You still have to pay for it."
Duncan: "I do! I live with it every day. But I also live with the fact that revenge doesn't make anything better." He steps back, looking away.
Keane, looking at the ground: "I had a friend who said the same thing to me once. He was a great man."
Sean Burns and Keane are walking down an arched hallway, talking. Sean has a book clasped to his chest, and he's speaking patiently to Keane.
Keane: "I've tracked him for 30 years Sean, to Russia, Constantinople, across North Africa, even as far as China, but I'm always a day behind, a week behind, a month behind. Then a year ago, his ship went down off Shanghai. Since then, nothing. I'm beginning to think I'll never catch up with him."
Sean: "Maybe it's for the best, my friend."
Keane: "What do you mean? I swore on Richard Dunbar's body that I would find the man who killed him. I swore to his wife and family that I would not rest until MacLeod had died."
Sean: "And for 30 years you've thought of nothing else. 30 years that could have been spent helping Dunbar's family, 30 years of your own life wasted. That's long enough, Steven. Let it be."
Keane: "How can I? How can I when that murderer is still out there?"
Sean: "You're so certain that you have to kill him" . . . etc.
Keane, getting impatient: "Does it matter?"
Sean: "Everything matters."
Keane: "You know him!"
Sean: "Oh, I've known a hundred men like him. In every century I've lived, there's been a war that kings and generals said would end wars. There's been a people ground down in the name of peace. And there have been men like you, Dunbar, and MacLeod. Fighting on one side or the other, always believing in their hearts that theirs was the side that God was on."
Keane: "You don't have to lecture me."
Sean: "I'm not finished." He stops and faces Keane. "Until one day they look around. And they're sick, and they retch with the pain of it. And they ride, ride until they can ride no more, hoping they'll find something different across the steppes or across the Atlantic. Hoping, praying, that they won't have to keep killing. And one day, Steven, that day will come for you." Keane looks at him, angry but not saying anything. "And I pray that no one haunts your steps." He steps closer, taking Keane's arm. "Leave MacLeod be, Steven. Let the war be over. For both of you."
Duncan looks away, remembering.
Flashback, "Till Death," Gina and Robert's 100th anniversary
Sean and Duncan are laughing with the Countess.
Sean, laughing: "You cannot be serious."
Duncan, whispering in his ear: "I'm trying to be delicate . . ."
Flashback, "Deliverance," France 1914
Sean and Duncan are standing outside the army hospital, and Sean is telling Duncan that he's "spending the war trying to save them."
Duncan, glum: "I'm doing a great job, aren't I?"
Sean: "Is that Scottish guilt I sense?"
Sean: "Is that Scottish guilt I sense?"
Duncan: "What . . . Are we going back to my childhood again? Is it Jung or Freud this time?"
Sean: "It's Sean Burns. You were brought up to lead and protect the clan. You feel guilty because you're whole, because you'll survive."
Duncan smiles: "I always survive."
Sean: "I'll send you the bill."
Duncan: "How do I stop it?"
Sean: "Duncan, it's not an illness. It's who you are, who you'll be."
Duncan and Sean are walking down a path.
Duncan: "I know the body heals, but to heal the mind, to heal the damage inside? Do you think that's possible?"
Sean: "Sigmund Freud does. Brilliant mind, disgusting cigars."
Duncan smiles: "You're doing good work here, Sean."
Sean: "You could stay on, I could use the help."
Keane: "Sean convinced me that revenge wasn't the answer. I did what he wanted. I let it go. I let myself believe that Sean was right, that you were a good man, you made a mistake. And then you killed him.
Flashback, "Deliverance"
Sean is holding his hand out to Duncan, saying, "Now, come." Duncan reaches for his hand, then suddenly grabs it, holding Sean while he raises his sword, grinning, and takes his head.
Present Day
Keane: "Are you going to tell me he'd done something dark and depraved to you and yours?"
Duncan, shaking his head, his voice choking: "He shouldn't have died."
Keane: "Then tell me. I can't wait to hear it. Tell me why the man who killed Sean Burns isn't anything but a murdering bastard who deserves to die."
Duncan sits down, slumping on the bench, his sword sagging to the ground.
Duncan: "It was a mistake. It should never have happened."
Keane: "Sure. What was it this time? You were drunk? Drugged? Temporarily insane? Maybe you thought he was somebody else. Maybe you just didn't care."
Duncan rises, angry: "Look. It's not that simple! You weren't there, you can't know!"
Keane: "I don't need to know! I don't judge your reasons, MacLeod. I judge your acts." He moves around MacLeod and grabs his sword, and MacLeod doesn't stop him. They square off.
Duncan: "Walk away."
They're still standing there, engaged, when they hear sirens approach. They turn, hiding their swords in their coats, and see a police car skid to a halt on the street. The door opens and Inspector Begue [her name is spelled in the credits, but my %$#@! local station squashed the credits into this teeny box, and the names are so squanched and blurred that the best I could do was "Inspector Bagel." I'll try to get the real name later.--Jinjifore] gets out, calling, "Duncan MacLeod!"
Duncan: "That's me."
Inspector Begue holds up a badge: "I'd like you to come with me, if you don't mind."
Duncan glances aside, then moves forward: "Certainly."
At the barge, Duncan is leading the police inside, Inspector Begue telling him that, "we received an anonymous tip. The caller was very persuasive and very specific."
Duncan: "Oh, good. I can't wait."
Inspector Beguewalks up to the credenza and picks up that hollow stick thing (the one Duncan used to bop Methos on the head with in "Till Death," no idea what the heck it is). She takes the top off.
Inspector Begue: "With your permission . . ."
Duncan: "Do I have a choice?" She tilts the stick and a diamond necklace falls out. "Didn't think so . . ."
Inspector Begue holds up the necklace: "I expect you'll tell me you've never seen this before."
Duncan, moving forward: "Why don't we skip that part and you tell me where you think I got it."
Inspector Begue: "It belongs to a collection of pieces that was stolen from the Countess Pekofsky (sp?) three years ago. The collection was valued at something over 3 million dollars. This necklace alone is worth seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. You are under arrest, Mr. MacLeod."
Duncan nods, seeing where this is going: "I guess it wouldn't help to tell you I'm innocent," he says as Inspector walks away. He winces as the cops cuff him. "Hey, not too tight."
In the jail, Duncan and Amanda are sitting across a wide wooden table. Duncan is tapping his fingers, not saying anything.
Amanda: "What?!"
Duncan: "This is amazing, even for you."
Amanda: "I know. You know that necklace would bring half a million even hot. But you're worth it.
Duncan lunges across the table: "This is not funny." The guard steps up and raps on the table, and Duncan subsides back into his chair.
Amandaclears her throat: "You're right. It's not funny. It's deadly serious." Reasonably. "You're safe in here. With your squeaky-clean record they're gonna give you . . . a couple, three years tops for that Pekofsky job." Duncan is just staring, his mouth hanging open as she talks. "Who knows, two or three years anything could happen. Maybe we'll get lucky and that guy'll get whacked before you get out."
Duncan looks away, clearly not believing what he's hearing: "Dammit, Amanda, why can't you and Methos just stay out of my business? Why don't you just leave me alone."
Amanda: "Okay, fine." She gets up.
Duncan surges up again: "No! Not now! You've got to get me out of here!"
The guard raps on the table again, and Duncan sits, and Amanda does, too.
Amanda: "Look, I know you're upset now, but you're going to thank me later." Duncan makes a face that shows how likely he thinks that will be. "I couldn't just let him kill you."
Duncan: "Amanda, listen to me. You do whatever it takes, and you get me out of here."
Amanda thinks it over for about half a second: "No. I have too much time invested in you, MacLeod. I want to keep you around."
Duncan glances at the guard and leans forward: "I can take Keane."
Amanda, leaning forward, too: "Honey, I'm sorry but I don't think so. There's something different this time." Duncan sighs. "You know, if you had it together, then there'd be no problem, I'd say six to five on you. But in your present state . . ." She shakes her head. "I don't think so."
Duncan, reaching out, speaking intently: "Amanda, I need to have this fight, it's the only way to settle this." He rises up again, jabbing his finger at her. "And I'm warning you, I'm not staying in here. I'm not staying in here!"
Amanda gets up as the guard pushes Duncan back into his seat.
Amanda: "Then break out of jail." Duncan lunges for her, but the guard holds him back. "But, either way, you're going to stay out of Keane's way. Honey, don't worry, I'll see you every day."
Duncan: "I warned you!" To the guard. "I want to see the Inspector."
At the barge, Keane is sitting with his back to the door, holding his sword. He senses another immortal.
Keane, muttering to himself: "Ah, there you are."
Methos enters.
Methos: "Mac . . . " He sees Keane
Keane gets up and points his sword at Methos: "Where's Macleod?"
Methos: "I thought he'd be here." He looks at the sword. "Do you mind putting that down, or were you planning to use it."
Keane: "What makes you think I won't?"
Methos: "I'm a student of human nature."
Keane moves forward, places blade at Methos' throat: "Tell me where to find MacLeod."
Methos: "I don't know."
Keane pushes past Methos and walks out.
Methos watches him go: "I love good guys."
Inspector Begue: "You're trying to tell me that a single woman was responsible for the Pekofsky job, the break-in at the Musee de [??] and a little business at the Louvre?"
Duncan: "Yeah, and one or two other things from Cartiere."
Inspector Begue: "This friend of yours is very resourceful, Mr. MacLeod."
Duncan smiles: "Tell me about it." He gets up, leaning over to give the inspector a persuasive look. "Some of these cases have been open five or six years. Imagine the reaction when you solve them all in one day. Careers have been made on less. Now, are you interested?"
Inspector Begue: "You'll give me a description of this woman?"
Duncan: "Yep. And a location on the rest of the jewels."
Inspector Begue: "In exchange for what?"
Duncan: "In exchange for you never saw or heard of Duncan MacLeod."
Amanda: "That son of a bitch, that double-dealing swine!" She's pacing up and down, waving her hands, while Methos pours two drinks. "You know, there are cops all over my house. He even gave up my secret stash of rainy-day jewels." Methos looks at her. "Well, one of them."
Methos: "Amanda, what did you expect? You got him sent to prison. Do you think he's just going to sit there and take it?"
Amanda: "I was trying to keep him alive, and he turned on me!"
Methos: "Correct me if I misunderstood, but this was after you framed him, wasn't it?" Hands her a drink. "Here, have a drink, you'll feel better."
Amanda: "No, I was ratted out by my very best friend."
Methos: "Well I know how that feels." He clinks his glass with hers and moves off.
Amanda: "Methos, I was just trying to help him, you know? I didn't care how mad he got at me as long as it kept him alive."
Methos: "Look, you did your best, okay? So did I. Now, it's up to him." He sits down. "He's lived a long time, Amanda. It's not all luck."
Amanda: "Yeah, but it's not all skill, either. He's gone up against immortals older than him, some better than him, and he's always won. You know why? He doesn't give up, not when he thinks he's right."
Methos: "No, which can be bloody annoying as we both know."
Amanda is shaking her head: "You know, there's something different this time. His heart's just not in it.
Inside Darius's church. As the camera moves down the seats, we hear Duncan's voice, talking to Darius.
Duncan: "I'm so tired of killing. So tired of deciding who to kill." Long silence while the shot moves forward, finally finding Duncan sitting near the front of the church. "He's a good man, Darius. I don't want to kill him. All he's done is judged me like I've judged others. I'm so tired of the killing!" He looks up, worried and distressed.
Keane pulls up to the club. As he gets out, he senses another immortal and sees Amanda standing in the parking lot. He walks over to her.
Keane: "You want another shot? I warn you, I'll finish it if you make me."
Amanda: "I didn't come to fight. I'd like to talk to you."
Keane: "If you've come to talk about MacLeod you're wasting your breath."
Amanda: "Just humor me, all right?"
Keane gestures, and they go inside. Over drinks, Amanda starts to talk.
Amanda: "Look, Steven, I don't know you. But I do know MacLeod. He's the kind of guy who doesn't make promises he can't keep, and he carries a grudge a long time." She laughs a little. "You know, one of those people who can talk about honor and justice with a straight face."
Keane: "A man who hunts and kills innocent men."
Amanda: "Maybe. Because that's the kind of mistake you make when you think it matters who lives and who dies."
Keane's lip curls: "The voice of experience."
Amanda: "You know, I've been around a lot longer than either one of you. And I can tell you it not going to make a bit of difference in this big bad world if you kill him, or he kills you. But . . . it makes a big difference to me." Keane turns to look at her, and for the first time, he seems to be listening. "And to a lot of people who care about MacLeod. Why don't you try thinking about them?"
Keane looks away: "Because that doesn't matter."
Amanda looks at him in surprise: "Just listen to yourself. Now, isn't that exactly what MacLeod was thinking when he went after your friend? That his idea of justice was more important than the people he was hurting? What are you going to think of yourself a hundred years from now, when someone's coming after you for killing a good man, and you're trying to explain your reasons." She starts choking up. "I really hope he listens, when your friends try to stand up for you."
Keane looks up, and just then they sense Duncan. Duncan walks in, and stops at the back of the bar. Keane gets up, and leans down to speak to Amanda.
Keane: "When the time comes, I hope I'll have someone like you to speak for me." He goes to Duncan. "Are you ready?"
Duncan: "Whenever you are."
Keane: "Outside." He turns to look at Amanda, who's walking up from the bar. "Five minutes." He leaves.
Amanda comes up and throws up her hands, and Duncan gives her a sheepish, apologetic look. She puts her arms around his neck, and he holds her for a moment while she cries into his neck.
Amanda, crying: "Okay. Now you're going to listen to me. You're going to go out there, and it's not about Culloden, and it's not about your [???] [sorry, this one's got me stumped!--Jinjifore] Just forget about all that, and you just worry about coming back, okay?"
Duncan puts his hand on her face: "With my shield or on it." He kisses her, then takes her face in his hands. "I'll be fine." He leaves.
Cut to a man walking past a train yard (I don't know if it's supposed to be one of them, because the shot they used was recycled from "One Minute to Midnight" and is, in fact, Jacob Galati. I'm taking a guess that it's supposed to be Keane, since the clothes match pretty well.) Cut to Duncan stepping out on a rooftop above the trainyard, with Keane waiting for him, sword drawn.
Keane: "I've waited a long time for this."
Duncan: "Maybe we both have."
They fight, and both of them are fighting pretty desperately, not giving ground, not holding back. But before long, Duncan gets hold of Keane's sword arm and sends him flying into a fence, which collapses under him and sends him tumbling to the roof below. Duncan starts to follow, then turns back and picks up Keane's sword. He jumps down, and goes up to Keane as he's recovering, crossing both blades at his neck. Keane looks up at him, then closes his eyes and lifts his chin, baring his neck.
Duncan: "Not this time." Keane looks at him, astonished, as Duncan steps back a little, lowering Keane's sword and handing it back to him. Duncan retreats, holding his sword to Keane's neck, but withdrawing. "The war's over. Walk away."
Keane stands up, still staring. He looks at Duncan, almost in tears, then turns and walks away, leaving Duncan alone, standing against the sunset.
Duncan: "You really thought I'd lose?"
Methos: "Yeah, and you didn't?"
Duncan: "It wasn't about that." He turns to face them. "You guys still don't get it, do you?"
Methos: "No."
Duncan sighs and finishes his drink. He gets up to go to the bar, taking Amanda glass on the way.
Duncan: "I had to take responsibility for what I'd done, and nothing you two could do was ever going to solve it for me. I had to face him and fight the best fight of my life, knowing he'd do the same. Just trust the fates to decide the winner."
Methos: "Trial by combat. Whoever survives is proved right in the eyes of the law."
Duncan takes the drinks back to Amanda, grinning: "Bright boy."
Amanda: "But, what if he comes after you again?"
Duncan: "He won't"
Amanda: "How do you know that?"
Duncan: "Because I wouldn't."
Amanda: "Well, he's not you."
Duncan: "He's not that different, none of us are. We all make mistakes."
Methos: "And we all have mistakes to forgive."
Duncan looks up at him, but doesn't answer.
Amanda: "Speaking of mistakes . . ." She gets up. "There seems to be an Inspector who is determined to put my cute little butt in jail." She sits down in Duncan's lap, and he puts his arms around her, laughing.
Duncan: "Sorry about that."
Amanda: "Should I forgive you?"
Duncan: "Oh, no, I don't think you should . . ." They start giggling and kissing, and Methos steps forward and picks up his coat.
Methos: "I think this is my cue to leave."
Amanda, still looking at Duncan: "'Bye, Methos."
Duncan, kissing Amanda: "'Bye, Methos."
Methos, heading for the door: "You guys be good."
Duncan: "Mmm, if not we'll try and be better . . ."
Also, just a trivial observation: Methos' new pad has a very different look from the first one we saw in "Methos." It's just as ecletic, with statuary and unusual furniture (like the throne he sits in with the eight-foot high back [I said chair originally, until a kind soul pointed out that it was, in fact, no mere chair, and I agree!]) and computers and so on, but the colors are a lot warmer, some oranges and browns and so on. And I was amused and not in the least surprised that he apparently sleeps with his sword practically under his pillow!
Next week, "The Modern Prometheus."
These pages are written by Jinjifore and are translated into HTML and maintained by Ian.
Disclaimer: All the dialogue, characters, situations, and darn near everything else belong to a bunch of fine and talented folks at Rysher Entertainment and Panzer/Davis, and in particular the dialogue belongs to the credited writer of this episode. Me, I just wrote the rest down in my own words, which belong to me, but the episode itself was made by the aforementioned people and is owned by them. This humble synopsis isn't meant to infringe on their rights, and I'm sure as heck not making any money from doing these.
Everything not belonging to Rysher, et al, ©Copyright 1997 by Jinjifore
Feel free to copy and distribute as long as this copyright notice and disclaimer are included, except where local bandwidth laws apply.
Also, check out Ian's home page.
Celtic clip art courtesy of the Celtic Art Web Page.
| Last Rev: H71 [ 1 Jul 97 ] |
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