I think you are right. This makes sense.

Ah yes, you just can't beat a rock and roll villain!
Especially (and I admit I'm biased here) a pants-on-head crazy British one
I think we do 'aristocratic nutjob' really quite well...

Plenty to enjoy here, with highlights including:

Murdoc unloading his entire arsenal (almost) at HIT headquarters. He's got that resigned look because he knows unloading's going to take a while...

Mac's reaction on discovering he's been ambushed in his own house - he's already decided at this point that Murdoc is overdue a good kicking!

Murdoc bazookering Mac and then being all disappointed when he realises that his quarry's escaped him once again.

The glee with which Murdoc switches their identities and then plays it for all it's worth. If only he had some duct tape...

Mac overcoming the odds of being knocked out and battered once again, and showing that he can't bring himself to fire a gun even when he can't remember why he hates them so much.

Clever subterranean MacGyvering, a last second rescue and Murdoc's face when he realises he's become snared in his own fiendish trap.
MACGYVERRRRRRR!!!!!

It's an excellent from me

Very good question. The following comment was made about this on our HIT organization page

Although Murdoc had given MacGyver enough evidence to close HIT down for good, the organization was somehow able to reform with a new Board of only 3 members and even allowed Murdoc to resume his employment with them, on the condition that he remove the one blemish from his record, MacGyver.

I guess you could argue that they only went after the main organizers of HIT with the hope that once the top of the organization was gone the rest would disperse but HIT may have been diverse enough that they were able to just reform somewhere else using different companies as cover and such.

Well, their digs have gone from being an exclusive private club in Los Angeles to some sort of souped-up... warehouse? Parking garage? I'd say they've definitely been taken down a peg.

Hey, this is my #1 episode. It gets the nod over a few others just because of the cameo by Long John Baldry on the 'HIT' panel. LJB used to play some gigs at our university during the mid 1980s. I'll bet MDB got him that MacGyver placement!?

The ironic thing is MDB is vegetarian, or vegan, in real life (not sure which).

When I first saw this episode, I legitimately thought Amy was going to take one look at Murdoc and go, "DAD?!" Nope.

I thought that for a long time too. But she didn't seem to know Murdoc at all. Besides I think Murdoc would go after Amy herself instead of sending two guys after her to do his dirty work.

I dismissed the theory as soon as Murdoc pretended to be MacGyver, and had no trouble walking up to Amy and her mother, not recognizing them, and them not recognizing him. Besides, Murdoc DID say that Ashton was his only family left. If Amy's dad wanted her so bad, I'm pretty sure he'd have to know of her existence.

I dismissed the theory as soon as Murdoc pretended to be MacGyver, and had no trouble walking up to Amy and her mother, not recognizing them, and them not recognizing him. Besides, Murdoc DID say that Ashton was his only family left. If Amy's dad wanted her so bad, I'm pretty sure he'd have to know of her existence.

It also seems pretty out of character for Murdoc to kill his own family. After all he went though to protect Ashton, I don't think that Murdoc would ever try to attack one of his own children.

Or anybody's children, for that matter. <points to Rocket's "Favour for the Enemy">

He also prefers to be neat and untraceable, and he tends to avoid collateral damage for the most part, so I think that if Murdoc had really wanted Amy and her mother dead, they wouldn't stand a chance. Running away to a remote cabin wouldn't save them because Murdoc would take them out before they ever got there.

Actually, this episode is one of the things that makes me think that Murdoc isn't completely heartless. I mean, the man had a rocket launcher, for crying out loud. He could've easily fulfilled his contract in like three seconds if he'd just used the rocket launcher on the cabin with the three of them inside, but he didn't. Instead, he told the two innocent people to drive away and call the police. Then he was going to take out MacGyver alone. The smart thing would've been to kill them all and leave no loose ends, but Murdoc didn't do the smart thing. Why? It's not because he's not smart, so it must be because he has something of a conscience.

Maybe he didn't want to kill them but just wanted to have his daughter. If it was his daughter in the first place but then we would have Tommy Giordano's story all over again.

The rocket on the cabin sounds like an explosive idea. Three bricks with one stone in one big bang. Maybe he only had one rocket and it probably was just a drag to drag around the woods.

I never got the feeling that Amy was Murdoc's daughter. Where in the heck did that idea come from? lol

Also, Murdoc is caught eating a chicken leg... so I think that throws the whole Murdoc is vegan/vegetarian out the window. lol

That, and Murdoc had no problem putting Suzanne in mortal danger and using her as bait... so I don't think killing an innocent is beyond Murdoc if deemed necessary. It's already been stated by MacGyver himself that Murdoc will use anyone to get to him... that includes loved ones, like he did with Penny.

I always theorized that was one of the reasons Mac had a fear of commitment was because he knew Murdoc might try to use whoever he was close with against him and put them in danger. I mean, Murdoc had really gotten under Mac's skin in Obsessed.

Needless to say, this episode, and Season 6 in general, was heavy on the Mac whumpage for some odd reason. Poor Mac... Season 6 was not kind to him.

I saw part of the episode when MeTV aired it, but refused to watch the whole thing because I wasn't up to that episode yet on my DVDs. I watched a little, and saw Amy going on about how her father was after her, and Murdoc outside the cabin, hiding. I just kinda mashed that bit together.

And there ARE vegetarian meat options, so the filmmakers probably used that as a replacement, since MDB said on twitter a few days ago that he hasn't eaten meat in 36 years. That woud be pre-MacGyver.

At least he waited until it was necessary.

MDB might be vegan or vegetarian, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Murdoc is. It very easily could've been something other than chicken for MDB, but it definitely seems like the writers/directors/whoever didn't particularly envision that in Murdoc's character.

That being said, I was too focused on the fact that he was digging through a random stranger's fridge and had to rush off, so I never actually paid attention to *what* he was eating.

Of course Murdoc isn't above killing an innocent if necessary, but then there's that caveat: if necessary. He didn't put Suzanne in danger until it was necessary. So he's got to be professional enough that getting obstacles out of the way doesn't bother him, but he's human enough that he avoids killing people when it isn't directly related to his contract, even if doing so would wipe out a few loose ends. Surely that puts him at least a cut above somebody like Zito, who seems to just kill people for the heck of it.

MacGyver is a bit of an unreliable narrator when it comes to Murdoc, and vice versa. Murdoc might not necessarily use anyone to get at Mac. Most people, sure. Pete and Jack, definitely. But even Murdoc has to have some kind of limits. Also, I'm still not convinced that Penny was in any true danger in "Cleo Rocks." He never put Penny into any life-threatening situations like he did with Pete.

Also, about the Mac whumpage: at least MacGyver could get up the next morning and say, You should see the other guy."

Or maybe he simply wants to challenge himself. Why go easy? And maybe we should ask ourselves does Murdoc really want to kill MacGyver? Where will he find another opponent like him? Without him no Murdoc. I think we should see this as the Joker and Batman. As the Joker himself stated: they're supposed to do this forever. Hunting each other, haunting each other and even though it is clear who is best they just need to keep doing it for no other reason.

I was about 8 or 9 years olds when I first saw this episode. In my child-mind, I came up with more theories like that. I just wasn't able to see the big picture yet. The theory also got dismissed when I grew older and understood it more.

They probably figured if a coma doesn't take him down nothing will so they upped the ante: twice he gets shot, got a rifle in his face, burned his hands, stepped into a bear trap, blown up with a rocket. Shot up, locked up, blown up and all he's got to show it for are a few empty roles of duct tape.

Murdoc being or not being a vegetarian doesn't matter to me, that's the character. MDB being one, doesn't matter to me either but if he indeed hasn't eaten meat in over 36 years I'm sure the creators must've found some sort of alternative for chicken leg. If MDB is really such a persuaded vegetarian, he could've refused to do the scene. On the other hand they could've switched it with a cookie or something. Besides Murdoc is not the only one ransacking someone's fridge, I remember a certain PI doing the same thing.

Actually I like Murdoc's professionalism when it comes killing, but then again he is a hitman, he's getting paid for it. Zito is a psychopath.

MDB might be vegan or vegetarian, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Murdoc is. It very easily could've been something other than chicken for MDB, but it definitely seems like the writers/directors/whoever didn't particularly envision that in Murdoc's character.

Yeah, I doubt Murdoc's vegetarian. I just meant that for filming purposes, I doubt they used real meat.

On Batman , Burgess still smoked as the Penguin despite having quit smoking for 30 yrs so is possible MDB pretended to eat real chicken

Murdoc really does want to be MacGyver here