2-01. Red Knight, White Knight.

A new Section chief: "Mr. Hunter" (Michael Goodliffe).

Air Date: Jan. 8, 1969. Written by: James Mitchell. Directed by: Peter Duguid. Produced by: Reginald Collin.


THE PLOT:

There's a new man in charge of The Section: "Mr. Hunter" (Michael Goodliffe), a career bureaucrat with an extensive civil service background - and with absolutely no experience in the field. He barely has time to settle in before a major operation falls into his lap: Bunin (Duncan Lamont), a Soviet assassin seeking to defect to the West.

Callan has clashed with Bunin in the past, and refuses to believe that this man is any kind of defector. The timing leads him to suspect that he is here to assassinate the new Hunter. But Bunin arrives dangling a "tempting, but suspect" proposition: Mirsky, a high-level Russian official with a wealth of knowledge, wants to defect as well. But he will only take the risk if the UK's "top man" in Russia personally pulls him out - which, if this is a trap, would leave their top agent exposed!

Callan and Meres aren't sure what to make of their new boss.

CHARACTERS:

Callan: He may have detested the colonel, but he respected him. He isn't sure what to make of the new Hunter, whose first act is to officially bring Callan back into The Section under threat of imprisonment. Callan refuses to be fully cowed, expressing defiance in their first conversation by standing when asked to sit and sitting when asked to stand. In the operation, he obeys orders, but he doesn't hesitate to make clear his distrust of Bunin. His obedience also has its limits. When Hunter orders Lonely "picked up," Callan instead meets his contact with a generous cash tip and a warning to get out of London.

Hunter: With Ronald Radd unavailable for a full season commitment, "Hunter" is re-envisioned as a job title rather than a name. This Hunter's lack of experience leads to him issuing some bad orders, such as picking up Lonely. He's also lacking in survival instincts.  Late in the episode, with an assassin potentially tracking him, he has to be told to stay away from a window; his response indicates that he thinks the simple presence of Callan and Meres will somehow guarantee his safety.

For all of his lack of experience, he isn't actually a fool. He listens to Callan's warnings about Bunin, employing a healthy skepticism even early on. Nor is he a coward - He is perfectly willing to make himself the bait in order to avoid a diplomatic mess. His skill set is very different from the previous Hunter's, in that he is more bureaucrat than spy, but I think that makes the show all the stronger. It helps that Michael Goodliffe is flatly excellent throughout his introductory episode.

Meres: For a rare change, he and Callan are fully in sync. Neither man believes Bunin's story, and both are wary of their new supervisor. There are multiple points in the episode when they exchange glances after a statement or order from Hunter. Meres dismisses him as a "civil servant," referring to him as "Sir" in a tone dripping with sarcasm when talking with Callan... though like the weasel he is, he's quick to appear respectful to his new boss's face.

Liz March: In the first season, Lisa Langdon's Liz was no more than Hunter's secretary, and was largely confined to being a voice over the telephone. This episode expands her role, with Liz and Meres being the first people we see as they prepare for the new Hunter's arrival. She is deferential to Hunter, but she also seems to doubt his suitability. Though Callan is barely back in as an agent, she promptly obeys his orders to put agents on the Russian Embassy, only telling Hunter when he (eventually) gets around to giving the same order. When Hunter reacts with surprise, Liz innocently observes that Callan is part of The Section now, so of course she obeyed his instructions.

Hunter questions Bunin, the defector,
as a skeptical Callan looks on.

THOUGHTS:

Series Two arrives with changes. The new Hunter is the most obvious of these, his presence creating the excuse to shake up the show's format. Callan is brought properly into The Section, thus eliminating the need for contrivances to involve him in the stories. Callan and Meres move from opponents to uneasy allies, and Liz March is elevated from "voice extra" to supporting character.

All of these are good changes. Though Ronald Radd (the definitive Hunter) is much-missed, Michael Goodliffe makes a strong first impression, arriving with a very different characterization and background. I actually like that he makes mistakes that his predecessor never would have, and that neither the characters nor audience are entirely sure of him even at the end. The simple fact that one of the series' pillars can be simply replaced without a word of explanation ("Where's the colonel gone? ...You know better than to ask") creates a sense that anything can change at any time.

The standalone story is also a good one. The script quickly draws parallels between Callan and Bunin, with Meres calling them "two of a kind." Bunin underlines this with a chess analogy, referring to Meres and other field agents as pawns and himself and Callan as knights. Hunter also compares the entire operation to a game, which Callan scorns by observing that in this game "if you lose, you're dead."

It's well-paced, with the new Hunter introduced economically but to strong effect. New plot turns arrive regularly, and the stakes keep rising throughout. All told, Red Knight, White Knight is a strong start to the new season.


Overall Rating: 8/10.

Previous Episode: You Should Have Got Here Sooner
Next Episode: The Most Promising Girl of Her Year



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