Defenseless, December 9, 1997

By Shirley

intuition, n. 1.direct perception of truth, fact, etc. independent of any reasoning process. 2.immediate apprehension by a sense.

Either definition fitted Ensign Lane's frame of mind perfectly when she acted on her intuition and shot the Turkish diplomat in her apartment. The problem this posed for her lawyers, Harm and Mac? Prove it.

There were interesting scenes in this episode in which Mac explained life from a woman's perspective, the unwritten rules every woman in the western world lives by, her senses always on full alert for danger. Don't go out alone. "When we leave this building tonight, we will do so in different ways ..." You could see that it was a revelation to both Harm and the Admiral, even though I'm quite sure that being sensitive and enlightened males, they have thought about this before. It was extremely interesting that TPTB chose to deal with this particular story in this way, giving such weight and credence to the female intuition.

Harm started off in typical lawyer fashion, looking at the facts of the case. It is Mac who gives him the first pointer that just the facts are not enough. He was not certain whether to take Mac seriously when she told him that a woman doesn't need a reason to kill a man. However, once he had a few facts to support the intuition theory, he became totally committed to proving it. If his zeal at times seemed a bit excessive, we must remember that this is the way he operates. It would not have made one iota of difference whether it was Ensign Lane or somebody else. We have seen Harm in bloodhound mode before in other episodes. I did not get the sense that he regarded her as more than a client, an attractive client, but nonetheless a client, until the moment in her apartment when she relived her terror and he held her for comfort. That was the moment that Harm the protective male came to the fore.

But this is a little romance that never will be. These two were truly ships that pass in the night. She had her duty, and he his. That was wonderful at the end when, standing in her empty apartment, they acknowledged each other, just little smiles and intense looks. It was perfection.

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