#he attacks either Mac or Cage through the whole plot and only went after her a second time so the actress could leave

[firebirdsdaughter]

To be completely honest…

… I don't actually like Murdoc that much as a character, or his related plots. Invincible villains get tiring to me rather quickly if there's no exceptions/developments, and he didn't appear enough to make him feel like a threat to the whole team/those close to them. Sparse appearances meant he had to spend the whole time focused only on Mac (and Cage, bc apparently they couldn't think of any other way to write the poor woman out), and I think he's given too much credit. Also he's rude to Jack in a way I Don't Care For.

But damn do I like the 'sometimes the best way to watch your back is to have it somewhere else' conversation in his introductory ep. I don't agree that Murdoc should be treated as better than Jack (esp bc what's he done by that point but have more ammo?), but I do buy him being good enough to worry Jack (after all, we need some real threats here). And the fact is, Lucas and George play that scene so well. Those two had excellent chemistry and played off each other very well, and this is a good scene for it.

It's more than Mac listening to Jack when he argued w/ Thornton. It's that Mac shuts up and listens to Jack right from the 'now listen.' Bc the energy is different and he can tell. I could go on a whole analysis about why I think Jack acts the way he does, but he's definitely smarter and more competent than some of the canon or even the fanbase give him credit for. I think he acts goofy to distract and diffuse, and to cope w/ some of the stuff I'm ninety percent sure he's had to do (they could look me in the eyes and tell me Jack has never had to do Black/Wet Ops and I would say they were lying). It's not the first time he's dropped the jokes or expressed fear, though, but it's different. Jack's frightened to the point of sounding angry, of putting his foot down—and, in turn? That scares Mac. The way he leans back and looks vaguely stunned as Jack talks, the fact that he can barely remember to nod when Jack finishes. The fact that he's speechless. Mac's never seen this side of Jack before (my guess is bc any other time it's come out has been bc Mac himself was seriously injured or missing). I think, on some level, Mac's used to viewing Jack as kind of infallible. He's not naive, of course, we've had stuff like Cairo, but we're talking about two bullets four guys here. I don't think Mac's ever seen Jack be openly, truly scared (especially bc Mac's probably the person Jack would most want to hide his fear from).

And it's that realisation that, essentially, frightens Mac into complying.