2-15. Death of a Hunter.

Callan is captured and drugged by the enemy.

Air Date: Apr. 16, 1969. Written by: Michael Winder. Directed by: Reginald Collin. Produced by: Reginald Collin, John Kershaw.


THE PLOT:

Hunter is back from Russia, and he has bad news and worse news: There is a leak within The Section; and now that he is aware of that leak, he has been targeted for elimination. Callan is the only person he can be certain isn't the traitor, so he assigns him to perform solo 24-hour surveillance on a suspected Soviet cell. Callan protests that without help, this job is impossible... and unfortunately, his prediction proves all too true.

Soon, Callan is in the hands of the enemy, who use drugs and hypnotic suggestion to make him believe that he has been arrested as a traitor. The enemy's plan is to make Callan believe that Hunter is the real double-agent, building a scenario that will end with Hunter's death - with Callan himself as the murder weapon!

Lonely makes an unpleasant discovery...

CHARACTERS:

Callan: He's already tense from the difficult and secretive job he's been assigned, which likely gives the enemy a head start on wearing him down. He spends the rest of the episode being pushed past his limits, confused by drugs and battered by physical and psychological torture. In one scene, a gun is put to his head and the trigger is pulled. The gun is empty - but Woodward's reaction once he realizes that he's still alive, as the terror and shock and relief all basically hit at once, is superb.

Hunter: In setting up Callan's solo assignment, he more or less replicates the mistakes of his immediate predecessor: Giving his agents only partial information to work from. He does have a reason; only Callan is clear of suspicion, by virtue of not being with The Section when some of the information was leaked, and therefore only Callan can be trusted. But other Sections exist, and are even referenced in this episode, so I'd tend to expect Hunter could have borrowed a spare agent.  The real reason for Callan working fully alone is so that he can be captured and the plot can happen - a symptom of some of this episode's flaws.

Meres: Anthony Valentine is particularly good in this episode. It's clear that he doesn't believe Callan is a traitor even when the fake agents (armed with real codes) arrest him as such. When he realizes that Callan has been taken by the enemy, he shows a hint of outrage when Hunter writes him off. On his own initiative, Meres tracks down Lonely to receive clues as to what happened. At the episode's end, he actually cradles an injured Callan in his arms, calling him by his first name, his voice showing clear emotion for the rival for whom he's so often declared his hatred.

Lonely: His first major scene is yet another burglary he's performing on Callan's orders. As always, he is successful in collecting what he was sent for - but a shocking discovery sends him retreating quickly. There's some lovely nonverbal acting by Russell Hunter, first in the burglary scene and again when Meres finds him near the end. Face-to-face with Meres, Lonely shrinks back, terrified, and his stammer grows more pronounced as he rushes to answer Meres' questions.

Meres demands answers from Lonely.

THOUGHTS:

Death of a Hunter is a big, series-changing episode. As such, it's impossible to discuss without giving away some spoilers. I would strongly suggest reading this review only after viewing.

It is also an episode I have very mixed feelings about.


IT'S ALL ABOUT THE ENDING... TO A FAULT:

Death of a Hunter was made not just as a season finale, but a series finale. This was intended to be the end of Callan; the show's Series Two upswing in popularity instead made it the midpoint. The ending scene is strong, with an injured and possibly (originally definitely) dying Callan gasping his final words to his best enemy, Toby Meres. Had this been the series' final image, it would have been a wrenching one.

The problem, I suspect, is that the ending was so strong in the showrunners' minds that the episode was created expressly to deliver that moment. For the scene to play out as it does, The Section is required to display security that wouldn't pass muster at the average drugstore. Hunter knows that the opposition is targeting him, and even puts everyone on alert a couple scenes previous. Even so, he is left entirely unguarded, vulnerable to not one but two critical unlocked doors.

Look at the death of Hunter #2 for a contrast. That Hunter fell to his own character flaws, all of which had already been clearly established: a false sense of invulnerability, a belief that he was always the smartest person in the room, and a lack of the field experience that might have gotten out of his own mess. Hunter #3 suffers from none of these failings. He is exposed to danger simply because he and everyone around him comes down with a sudden and inexplicable case of Idiot Syndrome. It goes without saying that I find this significantly less brilliant than his predecessor's exit.

Callan is worn down by an extended "interrogation."

BRAINWASHING

About half of the episode is heavily inspired by the extended brainwashing sequence in 1965's The Ipcress File. Unfortunately, the Callan version isn't as effective. We never get any sense of him resisting his captors' suggestions, leaving no real suspense about him potentially finding out what the enemy is up to.

I think this middle portion would have worked better had it been presented strictly from Callan's viewpoint, without us being tipped to the truth. Had the episode hoodwinked us along with Callan, only to reveal what was actually happening after his escape, then the same scenes would have been far more suspenseful and effective.

As it stands, this entire strand becomes a mechanical exercise. Like the poor security at The Section, it feels like it has been engineered solely to put Callan in the right state of mind for the ending to happen.


STRONG ATMOSPHERE AND RESPECT FOR THE VIEWERS:

Even with all these faults, I can't dismiss Death of a Hunter. Yes, I think the script has some failings... but the episode also gets a lot of things very right.

The atmosphere is terrific, with a sense of the grim and oppressive hanging over everything from the opening moments. The plot has genuine momentum, and the stakes feel high. After two episodes that I found a touch slow-paced, I appreciate sitting down to a Callan that moves.

Also, it shows real respect for the viewer in the way it finally reveals the identity of the traitor. The character isn't some random individual; it's a person we've seen multiple times this season, and in a role that fits the revelation well. Once we know who the villain is, events going back potentially as far as Let's Kill Everybody gain new context.

Only for viewers who have been paying attention, however. The episode does nothing to draw attention to the character's significance beyond presenting that person at a key moment. Someone tuning in for the first time, or someone who wasn't paying attention to this or earlier episodes, could miss the reveal entirely and never know it had been given. I appreciate such an uncommon level of respect to regular viewers; most series would have zoomed in and then presented quick flashbacks to make sure the point wasn't missed.

Callan, on the run and desperate.

OVERALL:

Death of a Hunter is the most difficult Callan review I've written. The good elements of this episode are extremely good: A strong sense of pace, excellent atmosphere, and a cleverly-delivered reveal. It also offers some excellent character material for Meres and Lonely, and benefits from another terrific turn by Edward Woodward. And yes, that ending scene is quite strong.

On the other hand, too much of the episode feels single-minded in its dedication to getting to that ending. The middle of the episode lacks suspense, with us given too much information about the overall situation. Finally, The Section itself has to be made utterly incompetent for the ending to actually happen.

I'm left with an almost even split. The many good elements and the episode's sheer significance leave me rating it as slightly above average... but only very slightly, which given its importance to the overall series can't help but be a disappointment.


Overall Rating: 6/10.

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