Unfinished Business (8.8)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the eighth season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
37
29%
9.5 (One of the Best)
59
46%
9.0 (Excellent)
9
7%
8.5 (Very Good)
12
9%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
5
4%
7.5 (Decent)
2
2%
7.0 (Average at Best)
0
No votes
6.5 (Not So Good)
0
No votes
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
0
No votes
5.0 (Just Awful)
3
2%
 
Total votes: 127

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IslandHopper
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#16 Post by IslandHopper »

eeyore wrote:Thanks IH on the explanation on the marines who took QK away. Makes sense, so you think Magnum recognized the marines and knew something else was up? It's coming together now. That's what I like about this site, I don't always "get it" but I can always count on help! :)
No problem eeyore.

I don't think Magnum recognized the Marines in civilian clothes while in the Courtroom. If he had, I think he would have had a better idea of what was about to happen. He seemed genuinely puzzled when QK was set free.

Another part of this episode that I really like and forgot to mention earlier is Magnum's narration of his letters to Lily, especially the last one after he decided not to shoot QK. He said something to the effect that "I did something today that I think you would be proud of me for." What did he mean by that? That he spared the life of a fellow human being (QK), or by saving the lives of the remaining American POWs, by not killing QK even though he wanted to more than anything. I think it is the latter, that he saved the lives of the remaining POWs by not killing QK (even though he wasn't sure there were other POWs). What do you think?

The one thing that surprised me about this episode was the order in which it was shown (episode 8 of 13). To me, Michelle’s car being blown up is pretty significant, perhaps the most significant thing that has ever happened on the show in 8 years. Considering Magnum’s love for Michelle and Lily, it just seems unnatural to me to have this episode with its dramatic events precede the more lighthearted episodes (which I love of course, e.g. "The Great Hawaiian Adventure Company"; “The Legend Of The Lost Art”; “Transitions”). In my humble opinion, I would have preferred “Unfinished Business” to have been shown as episode 11, right before “Resolutions 1 & 2.“ After Diane Dupres died in “Echoes of the Mind (2)“ Magnum went into a major depression, and that was over a woman he had known for only a few days. Well, now that Magnum believes that both Michelle and Lily are dead, they just transition into the more lighthearted episodes. What I am trying to say, is that I am surprised he didn’t have a period of mourning before transitioning into the more lighthearted episodes. Regardless of where “Unfinished Business” is shown, it is a great episode.
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#17 Post by eeyore »

Okay, what I think he meant in his letter was, by not following through, he was helping the chances of other POW's coming home, POW's who may have daughters they had maybe never met or were very young as well when they left, just as Rockwell's daughter. I think he realized how precious the father daughter relationship was, since he could now identify. Even though his daughter was now gone, he did not want to deny anyone else from having that chance, just as he once had.
I totally agree that the show never fully dealt with Magnum's grief. The run on the beach that ended with Magnum falling to the sand and sobbing was pretty much it. And I was a little puzzled at his reaction when he saw the car bombing tape. Maybe it was supposed to be total shock but I think they should have had Magnum show more emotion at that time. After all it was a long enduring, although sporatic, relationship with much more committment than any other he had ever had. And of course there was Lily whom he suspected was his child long before he confirmed it. I think they should have spent some time on his grief too particularily given that they spent so much time on the Diane Dupris thing. That whole episode(s) was so far fetched. Made me fell a little distraught to see Magnum allow himself to get caught up with Diane, I was almost relieved to see her so totally out of the picture.

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#18 Post by Doc Ibold »

IslandHopper wrote:
Another part of this episode that I really like and forgot to mention earlier is Magnum's narration of his letters to Lily, especially the last one after he decided not to shoot QK. He said something to the effect that "I did something today that I think you would be proud of me for." What did he mean by that? That he spared the life of a fellow human being (QK), or by saving the lives of the remaining American POWs, by not killing QK even though he wanted to more than anything. I think it is the latter, that he saved the lives of the remaining POWs by not killing QK (even though he wasn't sure there were other POWs). What do you think?
Hey IH,

"I did something today that I think you would be proud of me for."

I believe that he meant that even though he COULD have taken out QK, the daughter never would have seen her father again. Magnum knows that he can never have his daughter back, but that the woman could have her father back as long as QK was still alive. By taking QKs life, he wouldn't have accomplished anything except for sating his sense of justice, and preventing the reunion between father and daughter.

Make sense?

(At least thats the way I took it).

In terms of this being a precursor to the "lighter" episodes, I'm in agreement that it's weird that he just goes back to his normal self and doesn't seem to be affected by it. However, if he didn't it would have made 2/3 of Season 8 a complete and utter downer. Part of the magic of the series (for me) were the one-off "No bad guys/ridiculous plot" episodes that were sprinkled in from time to time. If Magnum was just "action, action, action" it probably wouldn't have lasted that long, ala The A-Team.

Phenomenal episode, though!

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#19 Post by Doc Ibold »

eeyore wrote:Okay, what I think he meant in his letter was, by not following through, he was helping the chances of other POW's coming home, POW's who may have daughters they had maybe never met or were very young as well when they left, just as Rockwell's daughter. I think he realized how precious the father daughter relationship was, since he could now identify. Even though his daughter was now gone, he did not want to deny anyone else from having that chance, just as he once had.
I totally agree that the show never fully dealt with Magnum's grief. The run on the beach that ended with Magnum falling to the sand and sobbing was pretty much it. And I was a little puzzled at his reaction when he saw the car bombing tape. Maybe it was supposed to be total shock but I think they should have had Magnum show more emotion at that time. After all it was a long enduring, although sporatic, relationship with much more committment than any other he had ever had. And of course there was Lily whom he suspected was his child long before he confirmed it. I think they should have spent some time on his grief too particularily given that they spent so much time on the Diane Dupris thing. That whole episode(s) was so far fetched. Made me fell a little distraught to see Magnum allow himself to get caught up with Diane, I was almost relieved to see her so totally out of the picture.
I really should go to the END of threads before I respond, as you pretty much said what I was thinking eeyore!

I thought the reaction/beach run was pretty well done. If you get a video from some random person showing your wife and child being blown up, your (well, MY) first reaction would be "What the HELL was that?" and you wouldn't even process anything. Then the realization would probably hit you. I liked how they DIDN'T show the process between the watching of the video and how he ends up running on the beach to escape the problem.

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#20 Post by Shermy »

IslandHopper wrote:What did he mean by that? That he spared the life of a fellow human being (QK), or by saving the lives of the remaining American POWs, by not killing QK even though he wanted to more than anything. I think it is the latter, that he saved the lives of the remaining POWs by not killing QK (even though he wasn't sure there were other POWs). What do you think?
Yeah, I love that final line, which I think refers to a combination of things. He spares QK, and he may have potentially spared some pows. But Magnum seems most affected by the father/daughter reunion, and I think that is ultimately why he decides not to interfere (and what he thinks Lily would value as well). This also reveals what affect the events of season 7 (ie. Lily; coma; etc.) have had on Magnum. It makes an interesting contrast to the finale of Did You See The Sunrise.

The episode definitely feels out of place in the lineup, and would be a more logical choice as the lead-in to Resolutions. I can only assume that they didn't want to overwhelm fans at the end, and wanted to space out the more serious episodes. It is kind've a relief to get those lighter episodes before the last farewell.

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#21 Post by Shermy »

Doc Ibold wrote:I really should go to the END of threads before I respond, as you pretty much said what I was thinking eeyore!
LOL...I took so long to hit "submit", two posters actually replied before me! How the hell did eeyore beat everyone to the punch? :lol:

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#22 Post by J.J. Walters »

Wow, what an episode! It's even better than I remembered it.

You guys pretty much covered all the great things about this powerful episode - the "letters to Lily" narration, the transformation, the great buildup to the climax, and the somewhat surprising "change of heart" finale. Boy, Selleck sure does put on a great performance here. The master of facial expressions, is he.

There is, of course, one other great, great scene - the superb montage sequence set to Genesis' "The Brazilian". I still can't believe they picked this somewhat obscure song. It's awesome!
Shermy wrote:Anyway, of all the "serious" episodes, this is arguably one of the best. We get a glimpse of just how dangerous Magnum can be, and the kamikaze mission showdown is tense and exciting. But just when you think they've written themselves into a corner, Magnum's final narration to Lily is an ingenious moment of redemption. It also reveals the changes that have occurred since the events of Did You See The Sunrise.
Indeed!

:)
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#23 Post by eeyore »

One other thing, when Buck Green returns to his office and finds his desk broken into, he knows Magnum was responsible. He orders the area searched and gives the command to find Magnum and kill him. I don't remember the order to kill in the syndicated version. I was so shocked when I heard that!

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#24 Post by IslandHopper »

I was shocked by that too eeyore. :shock: I didn't remember that either. Despite the animosity between Buck Greene and Magnum, I always got the sense that Buck really respected Magnum, and for him to give the order to shoot Magnum illustrates the importance and magnitude of the exchange that is to take place. Again, powerful stuff.
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#25 Post by Doc Ibold »

IslandHopper wrote:I was shocked by that too eeyore. :shock: I didn't remember that either. Despite the animosity between Buck Greene and Magnum, I always got the sense that Buck really respected Magnum, and for him to give the order to shoot Magnum illustrates the importance and magnitude of the exchange that is to take place. Again, powerful stuff.
Hey guys,

I think he knew Magnum was running amok, and was particularly freaked out that Magnum would totally mess this up. Magnum was NOT a man to be reasoned with on that day.

(Although reason finally won out in the end)

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#26 Post by eeyore »

I just love this episode, probably my favorite, it is so intense. We get a chance to see in "real" time what Magnum must have been like in Nam when he was focused on a mission. Does anyone think there is another episode where we ever see this deep into Magnum?

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#27 Post by IslandHopper »

eeyore wrote:Does anyone think there is another episode where we ever see this deep into Magnum?
I'd have to say "Memories Are Forever" would come closest. Magnum was also pretty intense when he confronted Captain Cooley in the pilot episode about Dan's death, but I don't think anything compares to "UB."
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

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#28 Post by Doc Ibold »

eeyore wrote:I just love this episode, probably my favorite, it is so intense. We get a chance to see in "real" time what Magnum must have been like in Nam when he was focused on a mission. Does anyone think there is another episode where we ever see this deep into Magnum?
"Deja Vu" was relatively intense in the chase scenes. I don't think that was ALL Geoff St. Clair

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#29 Post by VM02 »

Does anyone think that Magnums sparing Quang Ki in this episode ever comes back to haunt him, sometime in his life after season 8?

I can't see QK giving up his desire for revenge, in spite of Col Greene's warning. We've seen that his reach is long enough to have people killed from jail.

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#30 Post by Shermy »

VM02 wrote:Does anyone think that Magnums sparing Quang Ki in this episode ever comes back to haunt him, sometime in his life after season 8?
I don't think so, because he got Lily back. This probably wouldn't have happened if he had shot QK, since too many influential people would've wanted him punished. You could almost view the whole thing as some kind of karmic lesson, which is probably how Magnum does. :)

And since QK thought he had already punished Magnum (by killing Lily and Michelle), and defeated him (by winning the trial and escaping), I don't think he would return anymore.

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