HLS4: 'Methuselah's Gift'

[ithildyn]

Highlander Season Four

Methuselah's Gift, Air Date: April 1996

When masked thugs try to take Amanda's head in her sleep and steal the crystal given to her long ago by Rebecca, Amanda and MacLeod investigate. They discover the crystal may be part of the Methuselah Stone, a mystic talisman said to impart eternal life and invulnerability to the

Comments

[amand_r]

I always liked this episode because we get to see Methos cry.

[sinanju]

It was a good episode, but I was horrified by (and remain horrified to this day by) Amanda's short, white hair. What the hell was that woman thinking? (And as I understand it, Elizabeth Gracen did that on her own initiative and just showed up to film the ep that way, necessitating the use of the rather obvious wig in the first scene....)

[amand_r]

Yeah, I dunno what was up with her hair. I admit, I was more concerned about the crying Methos. Hey, I'm shallow like that.

Wow, ithidrial, I'm really contributing to your discussion here. Lemme try to be cerebral: Sodding, blimey, shagging, knickers, bollocks, oh God! I'm English!

[ithildyn]

Cerebral is hot, you know [g]

[dejla]

I always thought this was fascinating... seeing Methos' desperation and how far he was willing to go to try and save Alexa, and yes, the crying is wonderful.

[ithildyn]

[nods] He really did love her.

[dejla]

Yeah. I think there's something about innocence and mortality that affects him strongly. He wouldn't give up any of his life willingly (except in rare cases) and to see someone so young dying without really living seems to cause particular pain.

[aeron_lanart]

That scene with Amanda in the railyard has got to be one of the most heart-wrenching and powerful ever. Everytime I watch it, it still makes me sniffle.

[ithildyn]

It really was heart wrenching.

[amand_r]

Completely OT....your icon is priceless.

[amand_r]

I keep looking for him and Andre when I go to Red Lobster, but alas.

[amberleewriter]

The thing I found most intriguing about this episode is that it flirts with the source of Immortality. Even the Immortals have no idea why they are the way they are. This story draws legend (which was introduced in a previous episode) and magic back to the fore and shows that Immortals are, in some ways, as clueless and superstitious as their mortal counterparts. The Methuselah Stone is a legend which even Methos lends a certain amount of credence -- enough to leave his dying lover and pursue in the hope of saving her life

[ithildyn]

The thing I found most intriguing about this episode is that it flirts with the source of Immortality.

Something that the episode handled a 100 times better than the The Source.

[amberleewriter]

Yeah, well, The Source never really addressed the source of immortality (just Immortal baby making) so I'd say an episode of Three's Company would have done a better job than that mess. *growl*

Yeah.

[amonitrate]

nice analysis.

I like your point about Amanda - I've always felt they knew each other previous to the series - in "Finale" or whatever ep they first appear together, there's no mention of who he is - they seem to know each other. Of course, canon doesn't really address this; but combined with her knowing Methos far better than Duncan does (ie his deviousness) in this episode, I'm convinced.

And the scene between Duncan and Methos that you mention is very powerful, in that it says so much about their relationship in such a minimalist way. Because canonically, they haven't known one another very long at this point; but there has been a great deal between them - most recently the Dark Quickening. So yeah, I can see Methos reacting that way. But I can also see that a)Duncan didn't intend what Methos interpreted and b)ultimately he's worried for both his friends, but Methos only sees his worry for Amanda. Interpret that how you will:)

ps editing comments RULES.