HTLJ Review - A Rock and a Hard Place
HTLJ Review 3x21
A Rock and a Hard Place
This was probably one of the cheapest episodes to produce, but it's also one of the most emotionally moving shows so far.
The ep throws us into the midst of a hunt for a runaway criminal. Herc and Iolaus are trying to help catch him. The criminal tries to use a little girl for a hostage, and one of the villagers attempts to shoot him and nearly kills the girl, but Herc catches the arrow (too bad he couldn't do that in "End of the Beginning"). I thought the girl did a really good job - she did look terrified!
The accused man runs into a cave, and Herc follows him. There's a cave-in that traps the man under a huge boulder. Herc tells him that if he moves the rock, he'll die. The man's name is Cassus (Lindsey Ginter), an ex-con, who at first denies his guilt - he was caught in a house where the family was murdered, so it doesn't look good. Herc tries to get him to tell what really happened, and he refuses to leave him. Cassus tells a version of the story in which he entered the house and found the family murdered, and a cloaked man ran out before he got a good look at him.
The townspeople gather outside the cave, and many of them are turning it into a party or picnic. Most of them seem to be there more out of morbid curiosity and desire to see some bloodletting rather than out of real concern about the murders. (There's a pretty funny shot where they're clinking glasses that are clearly empty. Low budget episodes - you gotta love 'em. Iolaus is kept busy trying to keep the people out of the cave so that they can't attack Cassus, and he sort of runs back and forth between Herc and the people.
I think this is one of the best episodes for Herc's character development, or at least, as a demonstration of his character and what it means to be a hero. His conversation with Iolaus is worth re-posting here (from Whoosh!, as usual):
I: "I don't get it. Why are you defending this guy? I mean, he's a murderer."
H: "Well, when Serena was murdered, didn't you find me with the knife in my hand?"
I: "Yeah, but that was different."
H: "Why?"
I: "Well, 'cause, you know, you're-- you're Hercules."
H: "It didn't seem to matter much to anyone else."
I: "Yeah, but you proved them wrong."
H: "A chance Cassus isn't gonna get-- guilty or not, he's gonna die without a trial."
I: "Hercules, I have to know-- do you really think he's innocent?"
H: "No. But before this place collapsed, Cassus said something. He didn't want to kill me, but he would if he had to. A man without a conscience wouldn't have said that."
I: "So-- what? You think you're gonna get him to confess?"
H: "It's the only way we'll find the truth."
This episode is bringing in Herc's desire for justice tempered with the need for compassion and truth, and it all boils down to the idea of human dignity - in this case, Herc wants Cassus to have the chance to save his soul (in a non-religious way) before he dies, and this is strongly contrasted with the "innocent" villagers' lack of respect for human life as they celebrate vengeance, selling T-shirts and other souvenirs to commemorate the awful happening.
At the same time, Herc isn't stupid, and he realizes that Cassus is probably guilty. He also recognizes that the man is full of excuses and has never taken responsibility for anything in his life. There's a plot twist when Cassus reveals that he has a son, Nico, who (he says) ran away, but we find out that it was actually Cassus who abandoned him. This gives Iolaus a mission - to find Nico.
One of the people hanging around outside the cave is Lyna, whose sister was one of the victims. She manages to sneak into the cave and nearly stabs Cassus, who continues to make really insensitive comments, which doesn't help. Herc stops her, though, and convinces her to get out (the cave isn't safe).
Another villager who is taking this personally is Perius, whose wife was murdered in a similar way some time ago. He carries a crossbow, but he actually comes of as more reasonable than most of the villagers, since he's not there for entertaniment.
It's very convenient that Niko was still living in the town, which I guess means that Cassus lived there, too, but that doesn't hurt the episode much. Iolaus tracks down the kid (Caleb Ross, Temecula from "A Good Day"), who is running with a rough crowd. Iolaus impresses the gang with some fast moves. When Iolaus tells Niko he has some news about his father, Niko says that he doesn't have a father. He also tells Iolaus that Cassus was the one who ran out on him and not the other way around.
Back at the cave, Cassus still maintains his innocence, railing desperately at Herc. There's also a brief but touching scene in which Lyna transfers her anger from Cassus to herself, thinking that if she'd only been there, maybe things would have been different. Some action is infused into the ep when some drunken villagers pick a fight with Iolaus, who, after a talk with Parius, is concerned that things are getting worse, so he goes to talk with Herc.
Niko walks in during Cassus' rant, and says he's not about to let him go again without an explanation. Cassus tries to tell Niko not to become like him, but Niko isn't prepared to listen. Finally, Cassus relents and confesses the truth. He broke into the family's house to rob them, and when the father discovered him, Cassus' fear of going to prison overtook him, and he killed the man, and then the rest of the family. Now that he's told his story, he's ready to die, and he asks Herc to set him free (nice metaphor). He says he hopes his death will bring Lyna some peace. Niko stays with him as Herc lifts the rock, and Cassus' death is handled touchingly and tastefully. His last words are "You never gave up on me, hero," and his last vision is of Herc's face. The screen blurs, and Cassus' hand drops away from Niko's. It's probably one of the most moving death scenes on the entire series, which is surprising considering he's a one-shot character and a murderer.
Finally, Herc goes out and tells Lyna that Cassus is dead. She's glad now that she didn't kill him. There's an emotional moment between them as they talk about the pain of loss, and Herc tells her it will get better, but it won't go away. I was nearly moved to tears during this final scene.
This episode shows us a different side of the hero business. Fighting monsters and rescuing innocent people is most of what we saw in the earlier seasons; now we're getting into more morally grey areas where the hero's job is to help the bad guy to take responsibility for his actions, and to protect the innocent not from the bad guys, but from succumbing to evil themselves.
"A Rock and a Hard Place" also makes a nice booked to "Mercenary," even though it's not quite the last episode of the season. Cassus is reminiscent of Dirk, although in this case, his second chance was about dying with dignity rather than about starting his life again.
No convicts were squashed like a bug during the making of this motion picture.