Queen of Swords episode reviews--Honor Thy Father

Honor Thy Father

All that Glitters is not Gold

Tessa: "If my father can't have justice, then maybe someone else can."

Though this was the eighth episode aired in North America and Spain, it was actually supposed to be episode number three in the series. It had some nice writing and story concepts with the matching of ideas to build the Queen's career as is demonstrated by her alter-ego's line above. If the episodes had been aired in the order in which they were meant to be aired, some of the plotlines would have made more sense to viewers possibly bringing more people to US screens to see the series.

Gael García Bernal did a marvelous job portraying the "Indian shaman" Churi in this episode. Mr. Bernal is quite popular in Mexico so it seems odd that, in advertising for this segment, they did not play up the fact that he would appear as they did when guest stars like Daisy Fuentes, David Carradine, Bo Derek and Cristian de la Fuente appeared. His depiction of a young man whose quiet belief in his goal and persistence rubbed off on other characters thereby changing them easily moved the audience allowing each viewer to suspend his or her disbelief for that episode.

In "Honor Thy Father," Tessa's plight to find who murdered her father so that her soul might rest is mirrored by Churi's plight to regain his father's gold death mask (stolen by Montoya naturally) so that Churi's father's soul might rest. Rather than retrieving stolen gold, Tessa gives gold (10 gold Reales) to Raul, a deserter from Montoya's army, who says he can tell her who murdered her father. In both cases, the story points out that it is not gold nor money that matters (as Montoya so ardently believes), but rather the spirit or soul. Churi even teaches this fact to Dr. Helm who tells Churi he shouldn't bother about the death mask because humans are merely flesh and bone and after death there is nothing else. Churi points out that Dr. Helm does not really believe this so in the end the doctor helps Churi regain the mask and even tells the Queen that only "God" has the power of life and death (a complete turn around from his initial stated beliefs).

Tessa learns, and the audience is again reminded, that the person who will be one's ally is not always the individual one would typically expect. In the beginning, Tessa turns Churi in to the soldiers while she protects Raul. In the end, however, it is Churi who proves to be Tessa's confederate. Raul is a cad and a scoundrel who continues to try to blackmail Tessa after he has lost the original 10 Reales. Tessa wants so badly to find out who murdered her father that she gives him too many chances, such that she eventually accidentally kills him as he tries to ravage her. This is when she realizes that, as the Queen, maybe she cannot help herself, but she can help others. This seems to be the real turning point in the development of the Queen of Swords. Now not only is she avenging her own father's death, but rather she is an avenging angel for all people injured by Montoya's injustices and it is from this that she derives the will and determination to continue.

This was a nicely done story, again with beautiful sets, costumes, and hair, The swordplay between Montoya and the Queen in Montoya's office (again with Roberta Brown as Tessie Santiago's sword double) was beautifully done. Allowing the audience to see Raul watch as the Queen removed her mask was honestly exciting. There was associated with that moment a genuine "What now!?" feeling. Tessie Santiago was also becoming more comfortable with her characters. The banter between the Queen and Dr. Helm in Montoya's office as they searched for the gold mask was cute and well-played. Perhaps because friendly chatter suggested the two characters might be getting along, the actual tension between the two characters was accentuated when Dr. Helm chastised the Queen for saving his life by killing another man. This reaction shocked the Queen and it surprised this viewer. I enjoyed the Queen's guise as a nun, because in the initial attempts at creating this story Tessa was a nun rather than an orphaned rich girl. This was a nice nod to the roots of the story. The use of big glasses to conceal Tessa's identity supported Clark Kent's use of glasses to hide his alter ego "Superman." I also enjoyed Churi's singing in jail. It was a beautiful haunting hymn that stays with me for quite awhile every time I hear it.

I give this episode 8 Rapiers and 4 Daggers for a well written story that gave us some fun side elements and more insight into why Tessa continued as the Queen of Swords.


Taram

July 29, 2003