Never Again ... Never Again (1.7)

[eeyore]

I don't remember her being shot either, I remember it just the way you described.

[Carol the Dabbler]

This may not be exactly a flub, but it sure is weird:

Every time that Magnum, et al. are at the hospital, the same three people are paged over the PA, each time in exactly the same way. This is true even when Magnum goes back late at night to break into Kessler's office.

Sorry I didn't make a note of the names and the paging dialog for each -- I hadn't come across this site yet when we watched that episode -- but it got to be really hilarious!

[IslandHopper]

I agree CTD. Some of the pages at different locations (airport, hospital, hotels, etc.) are hilarious. Some of the funnier pages I remember are, "paging Dr. Einstein" (Under World-while at a nuclear physicists convention at a hotel); "paging Harry 'The Shadow' Martini, paging Harry Martini" (The Return of Luther Gillis).

[Carol the Dabbler]

Hey, James, if you're going to quote me in the episode notes, then I figure I'd better be more specific! I went back and took notes this time.

The first time Magnum, et al., are at the hospital, here's everything that comes over the P.A.:

"Janet Clark, please report to Maternity. Janet Clark." [3 times]

"Dr. Sigapelli to Cardiology. Dr. Sigapelli." [4 times]

"Dr. Haywood, you're wanted in Pediatrics. Dr. Haywood to Pediatrics." [3 times]

ADDED TO CLARIFY: They don't page Janet Clark three times, then Dr. Sigapelli four times, and finally Dr. Haywood three times -- they mix them up over the course of a long sequence of in-the-hospital scenes.

Now, it's not implausible that some pages would need to be repeated. (Still, it seems odd that only three different people are paged, and none of them ever seems to respond.)

Then Magnum goes back to the hospital that night and sneaks into Dr. Kessler's office. While he's in the hallway, "Nurse Emory" is paged twice (a refreshing change of pace). But then while he's searching the office, one can hear the faint sound of Janet Clark being paged twice more!

None of the above surnames appears in the closing credits, by the way.

[J.J. Walters]

Heh, thanks Carol. I'm always down for the detail.

It seems that "Janet Clark" never made it to the Maternity ward. I hope she didn't run across Lena at the end of some dark corridor!

[Carmen]

I just read page 1 of this topic here and so I watched the episode again yesterday. To me it seems Lena may cut her throat. She said something like "Right, it`s over" (unfortunately I had to watch the German version, so I´m not sure about this) and the way Magnum acted in the last scene at the beach - wouldn`t that be a reaction for someone who had to watch a suicide like this?
- Just a thought...

[J.J. Walters]

That's an interesting thought, Carmen. We assumed Magnum's depressed demeanor at the tidal pool was because he was forced to shoot Lena, but it could very well be because he was forced to watch her kill herself with a scalpel. This actually makes more sense given the strange, silent cutaway shot of the boat. We don't hear a gunshot because maybe there never was one.

[AJL]

I'm rewatching season 1 while I'm waiting for s. 7 to arrive. After I was somewhat disapointed with s. 6, I wanted to watch season 1 again, 'cus I remembered it to be so much better than 6, but then again, it was the first I watched, so maybe the novelty of the show just wore off after a while I thought.
But I must say, 7 episodes (or something:) in, I'm loving season 1 all over again, even the worst episode so far (Thank Heaven for..) was better than the average season 6 episode IMO!
Anyway, to cut to the point: Having watched this episode 2 times, both of the times I understood the ending like this: She probably committed suicide, though with a little chance that she just surrendered. It never crossed my mind till I just read it right now that TM should have shot her. There's no gun shot, and even if she did attack him; it's just a small scalpel and she's an old lady, I think a veteran fighter in great shape like TM would have no problems taking her out without having to kill her with the gun. Him shooting her just doesn't make sense to me, and I don't think the episode is hinting it at all. Just my 2 cents

[Jodykmg365]

I always thought Lena slit her throat or wrists with the scalpel. I agree though, that if she lunged at Magnum, I don't think they would have wanted to show him killing a woman.

[Agatha]

This is another one of my favorites. You're all going to get sick of me saying that because I have A LOT of favorites!!

I seem to like the ones with the broader scopes best. Chinese history in China Doll. Irish/English wars in No Need to Know. And now the holocaust in Never Again...Never Again. I mean...what a great title, to begin with!

I thought there was something almost insidious about this plot. We start with a couple of very likable senior citizens that everyone...Rick, Thomas, even the pedicab driver...feels protective of. And end up with Nazis! I mean Lena goes from being a sweet little elderly lady to being a nasty, cold-blooded killer! Phew! Her justification "speech" at the end really caused a chill to go up my back!

I don't know that Thomas would have had to kill her or watch her kill herself to feel terrible after it was all over. I think even if "all" he did was disarm her and turn her over to the proper authorities, the whole experience would have left him shaken. He has a tremendously strong sense of right and wrong. To be "taken in" by two such monsters would surely have been a test for his faith in his own judgment.

This is one of the first instances where Higgins "fathers" Thomas. For once, I was glad that he "was there, you know" because Thomas needed some reassurance that he'd done the right thing...whatever that was.

And this kind of thing is going on in our world...really. A sobering thought for another "young whippersnapper"...about Thomas's age...who is too young to have been there. Thank God!

Now that I've cheered you all up....

[Jay-Firestorm]

Another great episode – the quality of the first season barely lets up (maybe with the exception of ‘Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too’!!). I really enjoy this episode. A shorter review this time, but that’s not to say I don’t love this ep!
And yes, I was always curious about the ending too – did Lena kill herself?

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[TV.com rating=9.5; Cleverly Plotted]

An elderly Jewish couple that Magnum and Rick are friends with are seemingly being hunted by modern-day Nazis. Magnum protects the woman as he searches for her captured husband, but there is an unexpected twist. A very well written story…

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This review contains spoilers.

'No Need to Know' and 'Skin Deep' were excellent episodes, and the quality doesn't let up – ‘Never Again... Never Again' is a brilliant episode, and with possibly the best twist ending of the entire series.

The story plays out perfectly, and you really feel sympathy for this poor Jewish couple. That is, until the end when all is revealed and we find that they are actually the Nazis! Watching this episode for the first time, I really didn't see that one coming (though I did pick up that the photo of the pair that Magnum finds was somehow a little over-obvious).

To look out for is Glenn Cannon as the seeming villain, Dr. Kessler. Cannon would go out to become the recurring Dr. Ibold in many future episodes.

There are also some great Higgins moments (who, even by this early stage, was already becoming a favourite with fans), both at Robin's Nest as he plays host to Lena, and in his hospital bed when T.C. is unwittingly moving the controls to his hospital bed ("What the bloody hell!"). Not to mention asking Magnum to feed "the lads" their steaks – "Very well, you can have one too".

I was a little confused by the ending, when Thomas confronts Lena on the boat. I always thought that she committed suicide and that my TV recording was edited, but the DVDs play exactly the same way.

All-in-all, this is a top-notch episode, and extremely well written. Even once you know who the true villains are; it is one that you can watch over and over again – a true testament to the quality.

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Notes, bloopers, and other misc.

* This is the first time in the series that T.C. drinks coffee as an alternative to beer. He would be a teetotaller for the rest of the show’s run.

* On the DVD release, there are no ad break gaps as with other episodes.

* The already mentioned blooper, of Magnum going from wearing jeans to shorts, seems to be due to the shots of him in the Ferrari being stock footage, with a tint on the film to make it look like night-time.

* On the subject of night-time, watch the light at Robin’s Nest – although it is supposedly late at night, there seems to be some daylight peeking through in many shots. TV shows often film night-time scenes during the day or half-light.

* Channel 5 edits – on this occasion, they left in Higgins’ “What the bloody hell!” (when T.C. is moving the hospital bed without realising it!). Yes, very contradictory.

* As well as the doorbell (at Dr. Kessler’s house) being totally out of sync to when Rick pushes it, on the opening trailer is a buzzer, not a chime sound as in the episode! This buzzer seems to be the original sound, as it is in time to Rick pressing it.

Thank you and goodnight

[Jaybird]

This is one of the better, single episode, "serious" MPI episodes. It actually was believable and touched on a subject that won't go away...nor should it. Yes, I too am glad that he did not have to shoot her.

[lutherhgillis]

About whether or not Magnum shot Lena at the end of the episode...Lena was a Nazi on a mission. I doubt she gave up willingly. Agents usually do not go down without a fight. On the other hand, she was distraught at the death of Saul so she might have given up. I do not remember seeing the original broadcast of this episode. The DVDs should be the same as the original broadcasts, shouldn't they?

[Higgy_baby]

Could it be that she turned the scalpel on herself? She did agree with Magnum that it was over. I think it's great mystery to leave us guessing.

[Carmen]

Like I said before, to me it always has been cristalclear it was suicide. Watch the scene: Lena agreed "yes it is finally over" or something like that and in the next shot you see the boat without any sound. And Magnums reaction to it in the last scene (on the beach with Higgins) just fits. IMHO