Review of LIFE OR DEATH
By Anne Taul
“Life or Death” is, undoubtedly, one of the finest JAG episodes (of season 5, thus far, anyway). It’s a “Mac episode,” and it’s about Mac in conflict. The conflict faced by the character ranges from coming up against her own belief system and the limits of legal intervention to running headlong into other characters, especially the men in her life. Mac is a strong character, so giving her this chance to react to and deal with various types of conflict creates the arena of emotional depth in which Catherine Bell always shines. “Life or Death” is one more in a series of JAG episodes in which we see Bell doing what she does best: feeling. She is an actress whose eyes and facial expressions cause us t experience all the passion and anxiety her character can confront. I, for one, have a real emotional response when I see her react to intense situations. Few people can arouse my deep emotional responses like Catherine can. And I felt most of what was happening in this episode.
If we’re going to dissect and analyze
this installment, then we must look at the specific conflicts that made up
Mac’s experience here. First, we find Mac in conflict with herself. Her belief
systems are challenged, and she isn’t as sure as she thought she was about what
is right. It’s made very clear at the beginning that she is an advocate of
capital punishment. She says that it is the only fitting penalty for some
crimes. She even requests that the admiral change her assignment to allow her
to argue in favor of it. Later, though, she asks herself what purpose it would
serve for Farmer to die. She declares that if the death penalty is carried out
it may be unjust because it doesn’t take into account the possibility of
atonement. Clearly, when she becomes personally involved with the issue, her
beliefs about it could change. Certainly, she’s reevaluating her feelings. I
think that surprised her.
There is also conflict with the legal
system that doesn’t seem to be tempered with compassion in evaluating the issue
or its even allowing for humanity of those it convicts. Mac’s concern about
allowing a person the chance for atonement doesn’t fit into the legal edict of
the death penalty as just punishment for heinous crimes.
As usual, Mac’s biggest conflict may be
with the men in her life. The poor girl doesn’t ever seem to be able to escape
this. Most obvious is Harm. She finally begins to get the old, comfortable
relationship back with him. For the first time in a long time, the interaction
between them is easy. But then, she has to go up against him in court over such
an emotionally charged issue. Her feelings about him don’t seem too clear to
her. She asks him to dinner, and later shows up at his apartment – the
friendship is back. Or at least her commitment to it is. Harm just doesn’t seem
to have time for her right now. She, though, does not react to his
preoccupation. In one of the most amusing lines from this episode, she teases
him, “And how many layers have you peeled away?” But when she asks him if he thinks
Farmer should die, she seems to be trying to gauge her own beliefs by his – an
obvious conflict. Her comments in the restaurant, and how they apply to Harm,
are not only amusing, but also indicative of her uncertain feelings about him.
Mac spends a good amount of time, in
this episode, questioning her own judgment in accusing the admiral of having
provided inadequate counsel. She even agonizes over it. Mac respects this man;
she doesn’t want to attack his work. She has great pressure by having to negate
the work done by her superior officer – a tough spot to be in. She knows she’s
right, but she doesn’t want to be. Admiral Chegwidden, for his part, has been
in conflict for years over whether he could have done something differently,
that he failed to do, which might have saved Farmer. He tests his own merit in
that case by giving it to Mac. When she comes up with nothing different, he is
relieved --–e didn't botch the job after all. He puts his demons to rest – a
fine performance by JMJ. If the admiral had let Mac know what he was thinking,
it would have saved her from a lot of anguish.
Mic brumby provides perhaps the best
conflict for Mac. It’s clear that she’s torn between feeling for him and the
basic conviction that men aren’t a good thing in her life. She really can’t
give in to her attraction for him in this episode because she knows that he’s
leaving right away, but she is, maybe for the first time, really tempted. Mic
has finally really gotten to know Mac. I believe he genuinely cares for her
now. He hit the nail on the head, though, about what holds her back from all
relationships with men. She’s afraid of commitment.
The gunny provides another foil for
Mac’s confidence. He tells her that he doesn’t see how she can argue in favor
of Farmer. Galindez knew some of the victims, including a friend who was
paralyzed in the incident. It’s a powerful scene of emotional intensity when
the gunny pushes his buddy’s wheelchair into the courtroom. Mac, like all the
rest of us, is touched and tormented by the gesture. It’s hard to defend
someone who could inflict that kind of suffering.
The last man who causes conflict in
Mac’s life is Farmer. He’s just a little too dependent on her. It’s
inappropriate that he calls her and badgers her for information, but she
doesn’t like having to cut him off like she does. While the crime is hideous
and unthinkable, she comes to think of him as a human being. Before she knew
him, he was just a monster who killed innocent marines, but when he has a face
and a story, it breaks down her convictions and confuses her perceptions.
Mac promised to be there for Farmer’s
execution. You could clearly see the conflict in CB’s face when Mac makes this
promise and again at the verdict in the sentencing hearing, especially when he
calls to her, “Remember what you promised me!” She, at once, saw Farmer as a
compassionate, repenting human being and a cold-blooded killer (major
conflict!).
This episode continued the ongoing
theme of Mac as a character of contrasts. Those around her tell us that Mac is
a strong. self-sufficient marine, but here, we see her trying to validate
herself. She’s got her asy friendship back with Harm, but she asks him if
Farmer should die, as if her actions should, in some way, be contingent upon
his opinion. Later, she asks Mic why he has continually pursued her. She seems
to need this validation from the men around her.
Capital punishment is a difficult
and emotionally charged issue. “Life or Death” presented it to us without
attempting to trivialize it or make it easy. We aren’t offered an opinion or a
solution. The episode, ultimately, gave us no answers, but many questions. It
explored the issue through strictly human terms, purposefully avoiding the ethical
and religious aspects. By doing so, I think it caused us all to think more
about the reality of what capital punishment means. We got the intellectual and
humanistic parameters. But by allowing us to see it directly reflected in the
incredible emotionality of Catherine Bell, it also let us view the intensity
involved. If it only made you think more seriously, then it has value.
The handling of the growing
relationship between Mac and Brumby was sweet and touching. I think it was able to treat it this way
only because there was apparent resolution (Mic was leaving). That kind of
concentration that relationship probably wouldn’t have worked earlier in the
season before his departure was imminent. As it was presented here, it was
believable and fun to watch.
The sendoff, at the end, was
altogether fitting and proper. When Mic looked back through the window, it was
sad. The expressive look on his face gave me the impression that he'’ seldom,
if ever, had a family situation like this. I loved the “Waltzing
Matilda.”inging together like that cements unity among people.
Mac in conflict played out in several
different directions, an gave us a rich, textured episode full of emotion, fun
and sentimentality. We confronted heavy issues and human relationships, but we
learnd something and had fun. While it’s unusual to have an entire episode
played out mostly through Mac, it worked well. All in all, it was a great
experience.