MacGyver season 2 episode 4 review: The new hunt for Murdoc
This time around, MacGyver found himself very vulnerable to his archenemy after he found himself captured, tormented, and haunted by the ghost of everything that has transpired between the two. What continues to be fascinating about Murdoc as a character is that, despite however wicked he may be, there is still this other side to him where he is a father and has some element of humanity there. He’s not entirely out to watch the world burn, but he does like tormenting MacGyver and being the guy who keeps him up at night.
Of course the moment that Murdoc found himself captured the entirety of the Phoenix Foundation went to work getting him back. Surprisingly, the entirety of the episode was not spent with Angus in Murdoc’s possession — by around the halfway point he was back with his team, trying to pinpoint where he was captured. It’s too bad that, once again, Murdoc was a step ahead and used that location to torment the team more. Oh, and we should also describe how he met Samantha Cage for the first time and fired off a bullet at her — she lived (she was prepared), but it’s yet another reminder that even the master of reading people cannot completely read him.
Once Cage was okay the next order of business was making sure that Murdoc could not achieve his goal, which seemed to be going on the run with his son. That meant also recruiting a teacher and potential target in Fletcher; however, Mac and the team sooner discovered that their teacher target was no ordinary teacher and had a huge arsenal of weapons at his disposal. Obviously, this dude was no ordinary schoolteacher — it turns out that he had a number of passports of IDs to go along with his own.
So why did Murdoc want to target Fletcher, a man who also was a hired gun? He wasn’t exactly open on giving that info up when he did his version of Evil FaceTime to Matty and Riley; he was happy to let Mac and the team take out Fletcher (which they did), and then he went along his way … or did he?
Basically, it seemed as though Murdoc’s entire plan this week was as follows: Get the team to capture Fletcher, break him out, and then basically force him to join whatever organization he is forming when he saved him from going to jail. At the end of the episode, Murdoc walked off with him after flipping the transport truck with an explosive.
As for the subplot
Mac is still searching for his dad, and despite some dust-ups with Jack throughout the episode the two were on good terms by the end of the hour. (It was during an attempted reconciliation that Murdoc captured Mac in the first place.
Maybe Mac and Jack can work on their relationship after getting out of the upside-down truck.
Our full MacGyver season 2 episode 4 verdict
Murdoc episodes are the best for MacGyver just because he is the show’s most memorable villain at the moment — he is smart, resourceful, and a match for our title hero in every way. This return was an effective reintroduction to the character. Also, it was a hell of a final few minutes.
What likes ahead on MacGyver next?
We’ve got a feeling that you’ll want to head over here and preview the show’s big Halloween episode! In general there is a ton of stuff to look forward to this season, and we want to be your source here at CarterMatt!
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