[Lee Nole-Isil]

And THAT is impressive.

[MacGirl]

Isn't it, though??

[Dragondog]

Okay, I want to add my opinion to this old discussion.

I vote yes, she probably was his sister. Murdoc wouldn't care about just another victim, and if he just wanted to prove he really had retired, he probably wouldn't have bothered with that. Just because he retired doesn't mean he's off the hook for his crimes. Murdoc has no reason to lie about their relationship, so she couldn't be anything BUT his sister, without MacGyver finding out at some point (since most t.v. shows reveal the lie if a character isn't being 100% truthful. If you don't see or hear about it, it didn't happen).

As for why she didn't recognize him, he made it clear at the beginning of Halloween Knights that she had no idea he exists, much less WHO he is, so of course she wouldn't know him. MacGyver's comment on the incident just being a case of mistaken identity was just to satisfy her thirst for answers, not the actual truth of the matter.

And as for Ashton's death in Strictly Business, I think Murdoc was telling the truth, since we didn't find out otherwise. Murdoc does care deeply for her, but that doesn't mean he wanted to show grief over her death in front of MacGyver, especially when he was turning against him again. Ashton died sometime between Halloween Knights and Strictly Business, so there was plenty of time for Murdoc to grieve, and adjust to the fact that he has no family left. I've lost people before in my life, but that doesn't mean I break down every time I discuss them. Also, Murdoc strikes me as the type who would only shed a few tears, then force his anger to cover his grief, not allowing any emotion to show. It's not healthy, but a lot of people do it.

Anyway, that's how I see it.

[Dragondog]

Also, Murdoc does say (about Helman), "This man would do anything to see me dead, even if it means destroying the one decent thing left in my life just to get at me!" He was shaking all over with rage when he said it, not to mention the sound of rage in his voice, and his enraged voice throughout the scenes that Murdoc and Helman were conversing in the climax. To much rage for her to be a random stranger, in my opinion.

Of course, I'm sure he was also mad because his mentor betrayed him, with or without going after Ashton.

[Hannibal_Smith]

Interesting question, but yes, I too vote sister.

Could she be a girlfriend or an ex? Conceivably, yes, that's the only other sort of person I can imagine Murdoc risking his life for, but there's no way she wouldn't recognize him then. So, a relative. Although maybe there's a more complicated explanation, like, she could be the daughter of one of Murdoc's old mentors or other close friend who died and that he wanted to keep an eye on, but didn't want to explain anything that personal to MacGyver. But I'm inclined to go with sister.

Could Murdoc have been lying about the entire thing just to trick MacGyver into helping him take out the HIT board? Perhaps. The fact that HIT thought she was his sister doesn't even disprove that: he's just the kind of person who could've left some sort of trail for HIT to find and believe led to his sister. But the reason I don't believe that is the amount of effort that we see him put into *rescuing* her - even to the point of, ultimately, nearly dying. Would he have gone to all that trouble - in fact, would he even have needed MacGyver's help - if not for that? I mean, he already knew everything about HIT and where they were meeting - if all he wanted to do was kill them, he probably could've sneaked his way in, set a bomb with just enough of a fuse to let him walk out, and blown up the entire club. (It's not like he cares about collateral damage). The way the entire operation went, I'm pretty convinced that rescuing her was the goal and not a ploy. So it's definitely someone he cares about.