Heroes, January 24, 1997

By Shirley

Oddly enough, this episode is about love. Mark Harridan loved and feared his father. But he was homosexual, and he knew that his father would cast him off if he revealed his sexual orientation. He chose death in action rather than risk losing his father's love.

Mark's best friend Greg Connors loved and respected Mark despite his gay lifestyle. He chose to face a murder charge with all its ramifications rather than betray his dead friend.

Elaine Harridan, Mark's Mom, knew the truth about her son. She loved them both, father and son. She faced the difficult task of deciding whether to preserve her husband's illusions of heroism or saving Mark's friend with the destructive truth.

Harm and Mac face off in the courtroom in this Article 32 hearing - Harm to prosecute and Mac to defend. Mac's inexperience showed. She could not keep the courtroom antics separate and apart from life outside. I would venture to guess that Harm respected her litigation skills and experience, and mistakenly believed that he was dealing with someone who understood these basic tenets. He therefore went all out to mislead (sandbag) her and got a nasty surprise when she turned on him. Then of course, when Elaine Harridan gave him Mark's last letter, Harm could not get Mac to even work with him anymore because he had put himself irretrievably on the other side.

By this time, Harm was well and truly on his truth kick. We have not seen this aspect of Harm before, this almost obsessed search for the truth. He was obsessed with finding Hemlock, but that was totally different. Here Harm no longer cared about the outcome of the case. He was hell bent on finding out what happened. This blinkers-on approach led to the incredible scene in the courtroom when he fired the weapon and left indelible scars on the building as well as the presiding judge. It was also a hilarious scene, with everyone ducking for cover, while Morris looked on in disbelieving stupefaction. Harm, on the other hand, looked just the way I imagine he must have looked when he came back from his Laos trip to face his Mom. This time he faced the Admiral. Oh the wealth of disappointment, disgust and exasperation in the Admiral's voice when he dismissed poor Harm! "Get out of here!"

The courtroom scenes were extremely well done, tight and fast paced. We get a good sense of the tenseness and emotions seething beneath the formal procedures. There are lives at stake, and we are made fully aware of that with every question and answer.
 

Harm is confronted with a moral dilemma. Should the truth be told, with all its destructive ramifications, or would justice be better served by letting sleeping dogs lie. I imagine that he must have had a long sleepless night before the morning court. He was not merely dealing with the cold truth, he was dealing with people's lives, and he was also dealing with the Navy's reputation. He had searched for the truth and found it. We can see the struggle on his face at the moment of decision as he chose to let truth go by the wayside.

TPTB however, were wise enough not to let us go without making a comment about Harm's decision and his acceptance of its impact on his own life. Harm patiently accepts Chief Harridan's deriding remarks, and only reveals the truth to him mano a mano. The passion and pain in his voice speak volumes about his own longing for a relationship with his own father. Mark Harridan could not face his father; Harm did it for him. Harm had preserved Mark's secret that morning in court. Later that day he fought and won Mark's final battle with his father. Heroes? Absolutely!

Of course, every good episode has some funny sequences, and this one had quite a few. I enjoyed the scenes at Harm's apartment - under chaotic renovation - and Bud's simple delight at being told to call Harm 'Harm'. The last little scene between Harm and Mac was priceless. I like this episode very much.
 

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