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| MacGyver Online Forums > Episodes > 022 - The Assassin |
| Posted by: MacGyverOnline 2 November 2006 - 06:26 PM |
 22 - The Assassin Airdate: 07 May 1986 Writer: James Schmerer Director: Charles Correll. Guest Cast: Corrine Bohrer as Terry Ross , Anthony DeLongis as Piedra , Richard Yniguez as Emilio Dana Elcar as Pete Thornton. MacGyver tries to prevent the assassination of an archbishop by a killer who's a master of disguise. |
| Posted by: MacNymph 8 November 2006 - 08:46 AM | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| How do you rate this episode? Poor [ 0 ] [0.00%] Average [ 0 ] [0.00%] OK [ 1 ] [9.09%] Good [ 4 ] [36.36%] Excellent [ 6 ] [54.55%] Total Votes: 11
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| Posted by: j12752 1 September 2007 - 03:29 AM |
| One of my favorite episodes of season 1. Fleshed out the Pete/Mac relationship, and I liked the last few lines about how "Mac will never know what would have happened". |
| Posted by: Lothithil 11 September 2007 - 06:13 AM |
| I loved this episode for so many reasons. The first fight scene between Piedra and Mac is just so exciting! I watch it over and over. I agree with the observations that Piedra may have been intended to be the Anti-MacGyver... he was very resourceful. |
| Posted by: j12752 11 September 2007 - 06:15 AM |
| I liked at Mac dressed as the Bishop too |
| Posted by: Lothithil 11 September 2007 - 09:23 AM | ||
I dunno... that scene promotes some very disturbing feelings, considering my affection for the character MacGyver combined with memories of my past life as a Catholic  Let's just not go there!  |
| Posted by: j12752 11 September 2007 - 09:48 AM |
| I hear you about that lol. I meant I liked him masquerading as the Bishop and confronting Piedro |
| Posted by: Lothithil 11 September 2007 - 11:06 AM | ||
Oh, yes, well...   excuse me... my neruosis is showing...  |
| Posted by: MacGyverGrrl 11 September 2007 - 07:48 PM |
| Its ok Lothi, I thought this was where neurotic people hung out. |
| Posted by: Nutsy 18 September 2007 - 10:53 AM |
| Watched this again last night and it never fails. I agree, this Piedra character could have been a spooky Nemesis. He lacks Murdoc's sense of "humor" so I guess, to me, he is kind of "more disturbing". Loved the "what took you so long?" bit. |
| Posted by: MacGyver 21 December 2007 - 10:01 PM |
Hmm- I think I pretty much said everything I wanted to about this episode previously. I stand by it. "The Assassin"- great episode. MacGyver beats the bad guy and saves the day. 'Nuff said.  |
| Posted by: Astra 27 December 2007 - 02:00 AM |
| When you recently had this poll and talked about Piedra I did not even know who he was. I totally had forgotten about this episode. At first I have to ask how the hell did they do the scene in the clock shop? Where Mac is holding this wooden hammer and Piedra throwing this sharp object? I always was under the impression that it already stuck into the hammer when they cut to Mac holding it, I know how TV tricks usually work, but yesterday I watched it for the first time in slow motion and it comes indeed flying from the right. No wonder Mac was staring down at it somehow disbelievingly afterwards, don't want to know how often they had to rehearse this scene and what would have happened if it missed. But it was indeed Mac holding the hammer, no stunt man. I also thought that the scene in the end, with Mac kneeling there and Piedra pointing the weapon onto him, was very suspensing. I caught myself holding my breath. And he still could have shot, why didn't he? Was this drug some that paralyzes and he couldn't move anymore? I also love the simple MacGyver trick with the flying telephone. Very simple, but effective. |
| Posted by: MacGyverOnline 27 December 2007 - 03:02 AM |
| if you watch the frames after the knife is in the hammer you can see a thin line showing against the dark framed clock in the background... That line seems to move in time and perspective with the knife as MacGyver ducks down... That line could be a guide wire attached to the hammer so the knife slides along the wire and hits the hammer. And if they didn't use a guide wire, you can be sure that they used some other simple and 200% safe technique. Theres no way they would risk throwing a real knife at an actor.. especially since the show was such a big hit at that time. |
| Posted by: The True MacGyver 11 March 2008 - 01:43 PM |
| I was thinking the Anti-MacGyver thing too. He pulled a pin out of a fake scar. Ingenious! |
| Posted by: MACGYVERISMYDAD 12 March 2008 - 04:44 AM |
| Anyone know why Piedra used that kid in the beginning. Was he using him for cover? I mean if he thought anyone would be staking out the clock shop would he think that whoever was watching would notice the kid come out by himself? like pete did. Maybe he brought the kid along as insurance so he had a hostage if anything went wrong? On another note I like the scene with Jennifer and Mac with the exploding tooth paste and macs line "it's just toothpaste" and the way he looks at it on his hand it hillarious. Good episode definitly one of my favorites |
| Posted by: MacGyverOnline 12 March 2008 - 11:44 AM | ||
Probably both cover and insurance. Another purpose might have been to give him a way of checking out the store before doing the transaction. Walk in with a kid and buy a watch would give him time to look around and assess things to make sure everything was safe. I guess we'll never know for sure because it's not explored any further in the story. |
| Posted by: Murdoc12 11 March 2009 - 08:56 AM |
This episode is one of my very favorites. Piedra has some freaky good disguises and some awesome weapons that I don't even know what they are.  But still it was quite good. I liked the scar thing Piedra used and the mustache  AWESOME!!!!  |
| Posted by: MacGyverOnline 11 March 2009 - 02:01 PM |
| Yep I wish they'd made Murdoc like Piedra. that would have been awesome. |
| Posted by: Murdoc12 28 March 2009 - 05:41 AM | ||
Yeah, I totally agree. In "Partners" Murdoc had those awesome disguises, but after that...not so much.  Yeah, they should've have kept the disguise thing going, it was really cool. |
| Posted by: cirubit 31 March 2010 - 02:02 AM |
| I think that Piedra and Murdoc be very similar characters! Both love to disguise them for kill their victims. Maybe Piedra could have ispired the Murdoc's character...  |
| Posted by: MacGyverOnline 31 March 2010 - 10:37 PM | ||
Yeah your not alone with that thought, quite a few people have talked about it in earlier in the thread at times. I think we had a topic all by itself at one point about Piedra vs. Murdoc too. Might still be around here somewhere. |
| Posted by: NightTinkerer 17 August 2012 - 05:10 PM |
| This is definitely one of my favorites from season one! Piedra must be one of the creepiest (and most convincing) villains of the entire series! Well, Murdoc is an interesting character, but he's very passionate about what he's doing (which is also his weakness). Piedra is just totally cold! "Piedra" means "stone" in Spanish, by the way. I wonder if the name was deliberate. It's been quite a few years since I saw http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102945/ with Julia Roberts and Patrick Bergin. But http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000920/ reminded me SO much of http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0209815/ that I was convinced it was the same actor! I was very surprised to find that they're two different people! There are also many little details about the episode that I just love.  I think it was an excellent choice to have Mac to pose as a watch maker, he's very convincing in the role. I was very touched when he showed how much he cared about Terry, and that hug felt so warm and genuine. Annnd... yet, there was no romance. (Yay?  )Another favorite was the "Give up?" comment. No wonder he'd wished to see whether he could really beat him in the end!I also think this episode is an excellent example of the tolerance Mac has toward other people, despite their ethnicity, religion etc. A great way to end the first season, they're really starting to get a hang of the character and the feel of the series! A definite "Excellent" from me. |
| Posted by: MacGyverisms 15 February 2013 - 02:43 PM |
| I just watched this episode for the first time today. Definitely one of my favorite episodes from season one! Piedra is one of the more convincing villains of the whole series. While Murdoc is an interesting character and is passionate what he is doing, which is also his weakness. Piedra is a stone cold killer. He also had some very cool weapons and some of them I don't even know what they were. A excellent end to the first season. An "Excellent" episode in my opinion. Overall Rating: 10/10      |
| Posted by: Hannibal_Smith 17 May 2013 - 07:56 PM |
| I watched this episode again recently and came here to say the same thing - he's perfect as the anti-MacGyver and, IMO, actually better than Murdoc that way. I don't remember ever seeing the same resourcefulness, the use of everyday items for a lethal purpose, etc, from Murdoc, not to the same degree at least. Murdoc makes up for it with a fantastically colorful personality, which Piedra could never have matched, but I wish they'd given him more scenes like Piedra's escape from the jail cell. |
| Posted by: KiwiTek 17 May 2013 - 08:32 PM | ||
Yeah I would have loved to have seen more of Piedra. He did seem much more efficient than Murdoc. |
| Posted by: Scwilson 6 August 2013 - 09:05 PM |
| The assassin was a master of disguise, sort of an evil Simon Templar. Mac had to use all his wits to stop him. One of the best of the season. |
| Posted by: John Litteral 31 January 2014 - 03:16 PM |
| That was probably Mac's toughest opponent hand to hand, except for the hit man in Back from the dead who whipped Mac cleanly. |
| Posted by: MacGyverGod 31 January 2014 - 04:45 PM |
| You know usually that's how fight goes. You have the upperhand at one moment and the next it's your opponent. In most cases for MacGyver he usually has the upperhand and if it's not it should be the bad guy first and than Mac's. Like in Easy Target for instance. Piedra seemed to have great fighting skills as well, definitely trained in karate of some sort (as we were discussing martial arts in the other topic) and Ralph kicked Mac's butt in Back From The Dead, but Minton also was no picnic. |
| Posted by: John Litteral 31 January 2014 - 07:56 PM |
| I also remember that big heavy guy on Bitter Harvest, he was one tough guy that was definitely a handful for Mac. Mac usually knocked most people out with a clean punch but it didn't even phase that guy. |
| Posted by: KiwiTek 31 January 2014 - 09:27 PM | ||
That's how movie fights go. Real life fights rarely go like that.I think this has been discussed at length in one of the other threads, but it's not physically possible for a normal average human to get beaten and physically harmed and then suddenly stand up and whip the other guy. That's why boxers and other professional fighters have to be in such good physical condition. They need good muscle mass to absorb and stop the punches from damaging internal organs. |
| Posted by: John Litteral 1 February 2014 - 06:20 AM |
| In real life it usually boils down who hits first, and that usually is who 'wins' the fight 80 percent of the time. In tournament fighting that's a different story because most serious fighters are not normally overwhelmed and shocked by getting hit nor are they caught off guard by a sucker punch. |
| Posted by: MacGyverGod 1 February 2014 - 09:43 AM | ||||
Well, you get the point. But I do have to say the fight in this episode is one of my favourite fights in the show. The kick that sends Mac through the clock is just so cool. Just wondering who cleaned up afterwards and explained everything to the owner.  |
| Posted by: Elizabeth MacGyver 7 May 2015 - 10:07 AM |
| I hate this episode. It scared me. |
| Posted by: MacGyverGod 11 October 2015 - 04:36 PM |
| Just saw this one again. Look at Terry jump when Mac hits the ruler to catapult the phone and that cute little face when she holds the gun on Emilio. This episode I think holds the highest death rate and I have to fix something in my death list. At least 6 people dies in this episode. Probably 7. Not sure about the nun. |
| Posted by: Mr Duct Tape 26 December 2015 - 11:45 AM |
| one of the best of the first season, but not my favorite. the guy playing the assassin did a good job and the girl storyline was a bit weak. |
| Posted by: Widowmaker 5 July 2016 - 02:14 PM |
| I wish this was the first Murdoc episode. It would have been nice to see Murdoc simply working as an assassin with no personal vendetta against MacGyver. Murdoc hardly ever killed anyone on the show other than the theater owner in Cleo Rocks and his boss in Halloween Knights. Then at the end, Murdoc is seemingly killed in an explosion in order to maintain the origin of his scars, but maybe a grenade this time instead of a demolished building. |
| Posted by: Buttercup96 29 December 2016 - 10:32 AM |
| Has anyone thought of how Piedra knew the archbishop was his next target? |
| Posted by: uniquelyjas 9 April 2017 - 09:49 AM |
| I loved the classic car he drove. Anyone know the year, make and model? I'm think '57 Chevy Bel Air....my absolute fav!! Would LOVE to take a Route 66 road trip in it with Mac!! |
| Posted by: SuspiciousMeerkat 2 May 2017 - 12:03 AM |
| This is my favourite episode! I sent it to one of my friends to watch who I'd sent some fan-made YouTube MacGyver trailers to because he liked them and wanted to try out the series. He unfortunately said he didn't really like that episode, which made me quite sad, but he did however watch the start of Pilot and liked that! |
| Posted by: SuspiciousMeerkat 2 May 2017 - 08:00 PM | ||
Yeah, I wondered about that too! MacGyver had the briefcase with him the whole time. Perhaps Piedra privately contacted the guy who was meant to give him the briefcase (can't remember his name) and then asked him for the person he had to assassinate. |
| Posted by: Beaum2000 5 December 2018 - 08:21 PM |
| This is a pretty good episode and and a nice close to the first season. Like some of us have pointed out I have a few issues with how Piedra found out who the target is supposed to be but I didn't even notice that the first few times I watched it!!! So I will give that some slack... The clock shop fight scene is the best part of this episode for me. I had the same thought as Mac. Where is Pete? Then When Pete finally comes to the rescue the first words out of Macs mouth are "What took you so long!" My thoughts exactly!  |