Every week I will be posting a new topic titled "Episode Discussion". In this we will discuss an episode, what we liked about it, what we didn't like, etc.


Episode 29 – The Road not Taken

When MacGyver tries to rescue a nun and some orphans from murderous soldiers in Southeast Asia, even he isn’t prepared for what he discovers: his old girlfriend.

How did you rate this episode?
Poor [ 0 ] [0.00%]
Average [ 0 ] [0.00%]
OK [ 0 ] [0.00%]
Good [ 4 ] [50.00%]
Excellent [ 4 ] [50.00%]
Total Votes: 8

MacGyver was ready, but she wasn't? There's a switch!

She dumped him in a letter huh? I guess he got a John Deere letter. (Oh, that is Dear John- that great late 80s tv show.)

Anyway, I enjoyed this episode. It was cool seeing MacGyver doing the jungle rescue mission bit in the camoflauge and everything. Cool MacGyverisms as always and it was neat seeing Pete have a good take charge role. He and MacGyver really worked well together in this episode as always. And of course, very cool reference to a great Robert Frost poem in the title- "The Road Not Taken".

"I took the road less travelled by and it has made all the difference."

That's right. Stick on the narrow way that Jesus talked about. It's less travelled by, but it definitely makes all the difference.

Well, I know what you two mean and I figure it must be hard to understand for you and many ladies here on the board.

But I have to say that to choose to give his life to GOD is a very brave and big thing. I can understand why someone would do this and I think it's in general something very cool and worth to admiring.

However the episode doesn't point out the fact enough, how long and how difficult it is to really choose to take that way. In the story it seems like she just made that decision and left MacGyver. Beside that I think it's very, very, very unfair to do this when you're engaged and to boot to just write this in a letter, it's also unrealistic. Also she mentoined that she is short before her promise and we know it's been 8 years since they saw each other; in real life you can't be engaged and do that just like that. In order to be allowed to even start the 'road' of becoming a nun you have to clear up everything 'IN PERSON' with your parntner. He/she has to know that before and agree to that or at least let you out sadly of your promise.

You have to take a special time were you just visit the monestery followed by 3 years were you are a member on probation. Then you have your temporary profess, which means you join the monestery for 6 years. Only if you're still sure you really want to spend all your life with GOD, after this time you get the permission to have your eternal profess.

So in real life Mac would have had a chance and the decision could have never been made like that.

I don't admire her. She is an idiot.. ROFL. She hurt Mac so bad and that is unforgiveable..

RDA isn't what?

I don't admire her. She is an idiot.. ROFL. She hurt Mac so bad and that is unforgiveable..

The way she did it is definitely more than not ok, it's unacceptable. Nobody should hurt someone else in order to follow GOD. As I said what she did wouldn't be allowed in real life.

But to promise your whole life too GOD in general is in my point of view a really strong, great and cool thing.

This is a really good episode.

It provides us with some interesting insight to MacGyver's background and character.

I particularly like these two quotes:

"Still doing it huh?.. making things out of thin air."

"I've never figured out how your mind works.
It comes down to me against the situation.. I don't like the situation to win."

I voted good. There were a lot of great lines in this ep. I particularly liked the clever bad guy Chanthara, of whom Mac said 'this guy has seen too many westerns' and the exciting helicopter scenes.

I also loved the scenes between Pete and Maggie, and the parallels drawn between Mac and Pete, both having a great affection for an unobtainable woman of remarkable character.

Some of the macgyverisms in this episode give me a headache--the rosary trick , but I did love the whole tree-catapult maneuver. Excellent angst and action, with two cases of unrequited love, a bit of MacWhumpage, and the helicopter landing out of control. Characters were very good; I love Maggie. Salome Jens is a wonderful, memorable actress. Debra is a good character, and I found it quite believable that Mac would be quite taken with her.

I never skip this episode.

I really like the "calvary coming to save the day" feel this episode has in the beginning with Pete and Mac turning up out of no-where to save everyone.

When Pete and Mac walk into that cave you can feel the sense of relief from the sister. And that's reinforced by the conversation between them saying Pete always turns up when she needs him most.

I think theres lot's of little clues about MacGyver's past in this episode too. Just little comments like Deborah saying MacGyver's hair is shorter, tells us he was probably a long-haired-lout. And the "still doing huh? making stuff out of nothing." tells us that he's always been like that. That's the two I can think off right off the bat, but I think this is one of the classic and detail rich episodes....

Gets an excellent rating from me every time.

Anyone have any ideas where this one was filmed? I think they use the same location in another episode too.

I like this episode as well, but I think the Mac/Debra thing was way unrealistic. He said he would have changed for her....say what?? I seriously doubt it.
And, he's had so many exes...Lisa in Lost Love, the forest ranger chick, he wanted all of them. What if they all came back and said yes? LOL

Yeah, I agree, although I think if there's one woman in the series for whom Mac WOULD have changed and settled down, it was her.

I love the scene where they're locked in the shed together, and Mac tells her,
"We're gonna get out of here... and then you're going to have to decide what you're going to do."

She says, "I DID decide! I just didn't count on YOU showing up again!"

He answers, "That's no decision."

You can tell that she still really loves him, and is seriously questioning everything.

I like this episode. Several things bugged me. But overall I like it a lot.
First it's nice to see that Pete had a close friendship with a woman that he could have married. The friendship between Pete and Sister Margaret was a close friendship between a man and woman long after she became a nun.
Second, Mac was going to ask Debra to marry him, but she left before he could ask her. I don't like the fact that she dumped him in a letter. If you are going to break up wih someone, have the guts to say it face to face.
My favorite part in when Mac and Debra are reminicing, while on the run. She asks where he would like to be instead of there-something like that, it's not in front of me. Also Mac jumping out of the chopper after her gets my heart going. I hate heights.
This episode ultimately is about the choices that we make and those that we affect, for better or for worse. I am certain that Debra loved Mac, but had made a commitment to God and to the church at the end of the episode. Mac also had an adventuresome lifestyle, and a dangerous job. I can understand her feelings and his-deeply conflicted.
I have mixed feelings about the end, but the point is if she had said yes, the show would have been done. No more episodes. Remember Moonlighting and countless other shows where the couple got together-no more tension. I am a Stargate SG1 fan too, and the relationship with Jack (played by RDA) and Samantha has the great tension going!

Welcome aboard Liz.

I've just been pondering your comments and I wonder if part (or most) of Debra's choice to stay with the church at the end was because it's easier to hide away as a Nun, rather than confront her love for MacGyver and the stress that his job and life style would bring to their relationship.

Something else I just thought of regarding Pete and the Sister. How long had he known her? Did they know each other while he was married? Did he have those feelings for her while he was married?

Hey Rocketeer,
I don't know about Pete's relationship to Sister Margaret, how long they knew each other. Pete admitted that the last time he had seen her was years ago when she was in trouble, and being chased across the Sahara, with kids and a goat. Funny image.
As for Mac and Debra, it could be that she was scared to commit to Mac, because of his job, but then she wouldn't know exactly what his job was, but given his relationship to Pete, and the Phoenix Foundation, who knows. We also know nothing of her background. If it was anything like Mac's no wonder. It's sad to see Mac actually want to committ to someone for good and get turned down. Then the women get worse. Or Mac discovers like with Karen in the episode Endangered that he had his chance and blew it.
I think Mac would have changed for Debra, or tried to. But I am not sure that he knew how to have a long term committed relationship. I am not sure. We know from the episode Lost Love that he was capable of wanting it and pursuing it-he was engaged to Lisa, who turned out to a be a KGB agent sent to seduce him-Ouch-you get my point.

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome! This is so much fun!

Is this suppose to be the same Nun we see in "On a Wing and a Prayer"? even though she has a different name?

Do you mean Sister Clara? She mentions Sister Margret in the episode, as being the one who put her in contact with Pete.

oh.. yeah she's who I mean.

.. Pete and Nuns eh?

You know what they say about nuns, Rocky....?

They have been known to be habit-forming!

I liked this epo.I was not one of may faves though.I did like the part in the end where Mac gave the lttle boy a new soft ball and glove.I also liked it when Pete and Mac turn around to look a the two women. The looks on there faces implied some saddness.I brought a real ness to Pete and Mac.It was great.

Hey, Liz, welcome aboard! I have a sister named Liz.

You can go back and edit posts if you want to -- there's an Edit button for that. Or you can ignore the typos. No-one here is perfekt.

Beth

!

I liked the part where he makes a deal with the little boy.

Me too. I like that Mac kept his promise and gave more than promised. He promised the boy a new ball, and gave a new ball and a new glove. Go Mac!!

Well in my opinion the episode was quite exiting, i have tried to understand why MacGyver always get involved with womens who changed their path.

I would like to see and read a tread of every women that mac used/still love, as for him it hasn't been easy to confront, just like me.

Angus, feel free to start that thread about the women. I'm sure it'll start some conversation going.

I have very split feelings about this episode.

Some of the MacGyverisms are pretty neat, (save the one with the Rosary buds... naah... ).

Mac was so sweet to that little boy, offering him a new ball, and a glove...

However, the whole thing about Debra feels... well, maybe it's just me, but their story didn't come out plausible, in my opinion. I just... didn't buy it. And it's not the acting, by any means. The chemistry between RDA and Marilyn Jones does work.

I think it's mostly a matter of personal taste though--I prefer watching Mac working alone, or with some good friend, like Pete... I like the "unconditional" love/relationship thing better. When it comes to MacGyver, (and many other TV series, for that matter) you have to compress a relationship into a less than 50 minute time frame, unless the character involved is supposed to return later. It usually makes things feel a bit forced, and I think this episode is a good example.

Then again, I like that Margaret stepped in declaring that they'd had to fix the helicopter themselves. The relationship between Pete and Margaret was sweet, but the whole abbey angle felt implausible and badly researched.

Some really funny dialogue in this one too, like the comment about watching too many Westerns, and the story about Margaret and Pete in Sahara with the goat... I actually do like the closing lines as well--once again it shows the strong bonds between Mac and Pete--they can both relate to that situation.

Hmm. Stands between "OK" and "Good" for me, question is, which one will it be... OK, I'll be nice and give it a "Good." But it's a weak "Good."

Are you sure you are not trying to justify the fact that you don't like to see Mac engaged to a woman? Because you seem to mix several reasons that have nothing to do with each other in order to explain why you don't like this episode too much. For me, the story is quite plausible and in no way forced. In 'Friends' Mac showed his desire to get married, too, and I can totally believe he was going to propose to Debra. I like her, she is a spunky kid, with a will of her own, and an adventurous and independent mind. Which is probably exactly why Mac was attracted to her.

The double storyline is great, with Pete and Mac both feeling for a woman they cannot have. So the episode ends on a sad note, that always gets to me.
For me, an 'excellent'.

Are you sure you are not trying to justify the fact that you don't like to see Mac engaged to a woman? Because you seem to mix several reasons that have nothing to do with each other in order to explain why you don't like this episode too much. For me, the story is quite plausible and in no way forced. In 'Friends' Mac showed his desire to get married, too, and I can totally believe he was going to propose to Debra. I like her, she is a spunky kid, with a will of her own, and an adventurous and independent mind. Which is probably exactly why Mac was attracted to her.

The double storyline is great, with Pete and Mac both feeling for a woman they cannot have. So the episode ends on a sad note, that always gets to me.
For me, an 'excellent'.

Hehe, I know, it sounds like I'm making up lots of excuses, doesn't it?

No, but seriously, I think it's mostly about personal taste, there are several reasons I don't care much (in general) about episodes evolving around romantic relationships. (There are, however, some that I do like, believe it or not... ) Maybe the main reason is that romance has never played an important part in my life, and maybe I just find it difficult to relate. Or, maybe I'm just plain boring.

I like reading your boring reviews, so keep 'm coming

I like reading your boring reviews, so keep 'm coming

Aw, thanks!

I've got a few very busy weeks ahead of me, so I can't swear that I'll be able to keep a regular "posting schedule", but I'll do my best, next one coming up in a bit.

I'm new here, but I love reading your reviews too, NightTinkerer. They're very balanced and intelligent, usually shedding light of some sort into my own personal response to each episode.

This one was no exception. I enjoyed it sporadically but I thought it a definite step down from Jack of Lies where - interestingly - a complex three-way relationship was extremely well compressed into a 50 minute time frame.

Aww, thank you very much!! So glad they're appreciated! I've been rather busy for the last couple weeks now, mostly trying to land a regular job instead of freelancing (and things are hopefully looking better!)

But I'll keep posting new reviews as soon as possible after each episode I watch!

I'm going away for a few days now, so I can't tell when the next one will be up, but I'll try and find some time to watch... maybe on the plane, if my seat isn't so crammed that I can't reach my bag!

I always like the episodes where Mac and Pete are together in the field. The plot thickens as we are introduced to Mac's former fiancé who backed out and became a nun. The Macgyverisms were top notch.