Highlander: The Raven - episode 1, first impressions

[annavere]

My sum total knowledge of this show going in:

1. It's the much-maligned Amanda spinoff, with an imdb rating of 5.2 (I don't think I've ever seen a show get less than 6.0 over there, so ouch).

2. It was a disaster behind the scenes and the two leads hated each other's guts.

3. The other lead is an angry cop called Nick with 90s action man stubble. He's pre-Immortal.

4. Lucy is a fan favorite.

5. There's also a priest somewhere in the mix.

6. A lot of the salty reviews seem to blame the show for not being season five of Highlander and for not being about Methos. However, I don't expect it to be the former and am alone in thinking a Methos spinoff would only have succeeded in diluting the character's intrigue, so...

7. The cop emphasis was also present in the first season of the parent show, which many people dismiss but which I always found really charming, so seriously, how bad could it be?

It took a couple of tries to get into this episode, mostly due to external factors. I have watched the parent show my entire life, so it's strange and at this point emotional to see new footage of Amanda. Second attempt turned into a live blog of sorts, which I'll just leave as first impressions.



Allow me a moment of silence for the loss of Amanda's brunette appeal.... Okay, onward.

Weird choice to place the saga sell in the pilot, basically spoiling a bunch of stuff that hasn't happened yet. However, I am a sucker for a 90s saga sell. There is no better way to get you hyped for a show caught mid-run. Instant style, instant context. I'm still annoyed it went out of fashion.

Luckily there is a replacement brunette in the surprise appearance of the gorgeous Torri Higginson. Her hard-working mom intro has "tragically dead partner" written in big block letters, but please don't let her be killed.

Dutch angles!

Ooh, character development. Amanda is getting bored with stealing. This is less of a narrative convenience for a newly lead character than it might appear, as she is historically flighty. She has an enthusiasm for novelty (I believe this is part of what keeps her sane, compared to other Immortals). If she becomes part of a crime fighting duo, it fits with her earlier attachment to running the Double Eagle (so sorry, Queen of Spades). Didn't she also go straight in Seacouver, involving a rock star's security or something? She steals a lot. It makes sense she'd occasionally grow bored, find something else to do and be enticed back at a later date.

Speaking of Seacouver, where exactly is this set? Is it mentioned? Amanda says "I just got here" at one point, but where is here, and how long has it been since Duncan cut ties and disappeared in the fog?

Okay, the bathtub scene isn't the best. Mostly because Amanda comes across as so transparently fake throughout. If Nick falls for her wiles after this, I will be disappointed in him.

Surprise appearance of Julian Richings! As an Immortal! Please don't let him be killed.

Rooftop chase. I actually don't think this is such a disastrous premise as is often stated in reviews. Cat burglar and cop is a classic structure.

Since the culprit is masked and not Immortal, it's gotta be one of the familiar people, so I'm guessing dirty cop.

And yes, indeed.

I like the little scene of Lucy encouraging Amanda to vanish and her explanation of why she has to stay. Amanda dislikes an unfair accusal. "I was never cheap."

Maybe the dislike hadn't sunk in yet, but Amanda and Nick have some good banter. I'm cautiously there for it. Nick knows mythology, plus French, so he's kind of slotting a bit too neatly into the cultured badass category left vacant by Duncan. Still, not a bad archetype to work with, even if it would have been interesting to see them try something different.

Nick and Claudia fight, and then the sad/romantic acoustic guitar melody comes in, so... I take it Nick is secretly hung up on his married partner? No wonder he has the angst stubble.

Ah, the absolute Highlander classic: The street assassin. Duncan accidentally witnessed more hitmen at work while walking down the street than most news reporters could find in a war zone. Now it must be Amanda's turn.

She saves Nick. Bickering ensues. I actually kind of like their dynamic. Nick isn't playful and easygoing like Duncan, and I'd like seeing her interact with a man who isn't a total pushover she can bat her eyes at to get what she wants. Also, I really like her outfit in this scene, she's super fetching, so maybe I just needed to adjust and her peroxide blonde look won't bother me so much over time.

Amanda disables Crooked Cop's car while he ascends a 90s fire escape. Dry ice machines! Empty warehouse! Highlander is so back, baby!

Then the big standoff, and Claudia gets fridged, but at least it's surprisingly well done. Taking a bullet meant for a bystander (if not exactly innocent, at least framed) in what she doesn't know is a senseless sacrifice, dying for nothing. Amanda could develop some "I forgot they were fragile" guilt. It would be better if they'd established a prior rapport, like if Claudia was the Javert to Amanda's Valjean, but it's still a good hook to hang a character arc on.

Still, can Claudia maybe live, but be in recovery like Kima Greggs for this season, to become a complication at a later date?

I'm gonna say Nick isn't coming across as well now. There's his wandering around yelling when Claudia's facing down Crooked Cop, and then what the hell, Nick, CHECK ON YOUR PARTNER when two people are bleeding on the floor. Damn. I have to rethink the romantic musical cue from earlier. "Oh hey, Claudia, be with you in a second..." Try to staunch the bleeding or something. Sell the urgency a little, Nick Wolfe actor guy.

Am I twice unlucky, or is Torri Higginson one of those actors who makes a career out of dying frequently?

Amanda waking up and realizing what she's stuck in the middle of, smartly vacating. I like Nick's understated reaction during this part. Like he couldn't comprehend the possibility of Claudia dying until she did, and now he's got way too much horrifying reality to deal with to really give a crap that Amanda just stood up and walked out the door.

"I was a cop," Nick narrated in the intro, and I was so distracted having Brimstone flashbacks that I missed the past tense. So now Nick is Dirty Harry? Okay. So much for my cop and cat burglar prediction, the tension between the job and Amanda's vigilante work. So what's the new premise?

This show is leaning awfully hard on mythology. Raven and wolf. This is late Highlander mythos (Cassandra, mythologic figures like the Horsemen and Ahriman) so it's kind of interesting how the writing is at the same time backtracking toward the cop angle from Highlander's early seasons.

And no evil Immortal on their first outing. No swordfight, no quickening. Julian Richings survived (good). So it's kind of a messy pilot, not doing much to establish the lore for newcomers. However, unless the show nosedives from this point on, it really doesn't deserve the average rating IMDB gives it. I had a good time with this, was completely entertained and am looking forward to seeing where it goes.

Comments

[teratornis]

I'm glad you got your hands on it to watch! It's definitely a show that has its ups and downs, and they made some truly baffling choices about how to handle some aspects of it, I think, but over all I found it to be good fun to watch. It's got some interesting plotlines, some neat characters, and yeah definitely some fun lines and banter. It does seem to sort of forget its origins sometimes, but I definitely had an enjoyable time watching it. Hope you continue to enjoy!

[annavere]

Having seen the second episode, it's quite fun and so far it's considerably more lively than most of season six (which was so morose I rarely revisit the majority of episodes). I look forward to seeing where it goes on its short journey.

[teratornis]

Oh I feel you there, I feel the same about season six. Especially comparatively, Raven is definitely a pretty fun romp. I look forward to see what you think as you keep watching!

[annavere]

Season six was such hard going despite being so short. Everything about it felt so tired to me. The two most enjoyable episodes were the ones absent Adrian Paul, which I ascribe to both him being personally exhausted and to the death of Richie damaging Duncan's character.

It's refreshing to go from that to Amanda proving her immortality in the most short sighted, comedy of errors way way imaginable (she's trying to keep Nick alive, so nearly causes him to crash his truck multiple times).

[teratornis]

Fully agreed, on both counts. It just has a way different feel from the rest of the series, one I don't like much. There are some glimmers of potential, but you're right that the two best episodes are the ones without Duncan involved, I genuinely enjoy both of them. The rest is just. . . tough.

I've been tempted to write a story where Methos or Joe or Richie or somebody calls Duncan and Amanda total drama queens for their insistence on shooting themselves in the chest to prove their immortality. Like, guys. There are better ways.

[annavere]

So many better ways. SUCH better ways. Quieter, less messy ways. Less traumatizing ways. Heck, Duncan revived just in time to halt Tessa's call to the emergency services. It would have served him right to get declared dead and wake up in the morgue.

[teratornis]

Right?? Wow that scene drives me crazy. Like, buddy, you're 400 years old, and you can't think of a better way to demonstrate? You can't maybe move a little slower and explain things and give her some time to adjust? She woulda been within her rights to shoot you again and run for the hills.

Absolute drama queens.

[annavere]

Well, he might have got it from Connor. Connor did something similar in the film, if I remember correctly.

Methos just cut his palm open, and Joe thought it was the height of stupidity. He should have gone TO TOWN on Amanda and the MacLeods.

[teratornis]

Oh man I gotta rewatch the movie and confirm Connor as equally dramatic now, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Can you imagine Joe being on duty when Mac out and shoots himself in front of Tessa? I bet that would be a treasured chronicle entry.

[annavere]

A rare opportunity to use my special Joe Dawson icon! The snark would be legendary. :)

[teratornis]

Hahaha magnificent. I really might have to write that story now. . .

[annavere]

You should do it! Except I know you probably have an endless amount of plot bunnies to wrestle. :)

[teratornis]

Eeeeh what's one more. :P And that would probably be something short, so maybe a good side project.

[annavere]

♥ ♥ ♥

[malinaldarose]

I got a copy of the show a couple of years ago and quite enjoyed it. I didn't know until after I had finished it about the bad blood between the leads.

[annavere]

It's good so far, and my vague information about behind the scenes drama has not yet impacted the viewing experience. I'm happy to have more Highlander from a different angle, although I'm sorry it was such an unpleasant experience for the cast and crew.

[selenak]

Thirding what the other commenters said - the show had its ups and downs, but I mostly enjoyed it. Btw, the priest won't show up until Amanda moves to Paris in the second half of the season, as per HL custom, but the episode with the flashbacks of him and Amanda meeting was among my favourites.

[annavere]

I always enjoyed the Paris shifts, and how the show would justify the journey there and back in each season. It'll be interesting to have Amanda's reasoning, and I will definitely be looking forward to the priest.

[brightknightie]

> "am alone in thinking a Methos spinoff would only have succeeded in diluting the character's intrigue"

You are not alone. :-) I, too, have unusual opinions about Methos, including overexposure.


I watched the first few episode of The Raven, but it was at a critically unsettled moment in my life, and I fell off watching it well before they got to Paris. In all the years since, I've seen only a handful of other episodes that fandom has deemed critical. I've sometimes thought about giving it another try from the beginning, but... the choice to star Amanda, rather than, say, the character played by Claudia Christensen, never deeply chimed with me, personally.

[annavere]

Yes, if you aren't particularly fond of Amanda, I can definitely see how sampling this show would be the way to go.

I can also see the frustration with choosing her for the lead, because her backstory was made very clear during the original show, limiting what the flashbacks can do, whereas there would have been far more freedom for surprises and development had they chosen one of the single-episode Immortals.

[havocthecat]

Torri Higginson makes a goddamn career out of dying frequently. I live for the alternate universe where Claudia is her Lawful Good pre-Immortal partner who argues with her constantly and falls for her in the end. Ah, the femslash angle. I will be forever thwarted unless I write that fic myself.

I have some issues with Nick, all-around, but some people really like him! He does get slightly better (for me) over the season, but I still have my issues.

I enjoy The Raven as the series we got. Not the series we should have gotten, but it's what we got! So I take what we got and make the best of it. And some of the guest characters are amazing! But omg. It is not what we should've had as a spinoff.

Amanda "giving up" her thieving ways is clearly Amanda going with the now, but Amanda falls back into those when she feels like it. And that's okay! That's Amanda.

Methos is a character I like getting more of, but conversely, I'm not sure how he'd be as a main character. He's not a driver of plot, he's a guy who actively avoids plot happening to him. He's like an ex-protagonist. Which makes him great as a secondary character! Even as a second lead. But to shove him into the lead, you'd have to do a lot of work to make him a lead. I always want more, but he's the epitome of "leave 'em wanting more," if that makes sense.

[annavere]

the alternate universe where Claudia is her Lawful Good pre-Immortal partner who argues with her constantly and falls for her in the end. That would make a good story.

So far Nick's nadir was when he broke down Amanda's door and held his gun sideways on entry, like he skipped every firearms course he ever took. I laughed when that happened. Amanda's stun gun response was ♥. I have to wait and see what kind of arc he gets before I cast a final verdict on his character.

He's not a driver of plot, he's a guy who actively avoids plot happening to him. This is exactly why I think a Methos spinoff would not have worked. It would have tinkered with the DNA of the character, and watered down his (mostly) heartless bastard appeal. There's nothing wrong with being left wanting more. Highlander is filled with guest characters who were more intriguing for being on the show a brief time.

(Except Rebecca. We should totally have had more Rebecca.)