Think "Of Mice and Men". Think "Let's let Mikey try it." "He won't try it. He hates everything!" "Hey, Mikey!"
We have here an episode in which Richie discovers Mikey, a large retarded Immortal with a fascination for trains, and takes him in. Mac's experiences in trying and failing to protect Chaske, a young Native American man, back in 1868 have nothing to do with Mikey's situation, but that's the flashback and we can draw from it that taking in persons in need does not necessarily help them. In this case, Mikey was a danger to others, and Richie was racing against time to find a solution for him.
Mikey had been sheltered by the Immortal Alan and his wife Helen. When threatened by Immortal Tyler King, Alan sent Helen and Mikey into hiding with the orders to stay quiet. Since Helen wasn't being quiet enough, Mikey "made her quiet", which killed her. Richie finds a potential home for Mikey. En route to Mikey's new home, Duncan takes King's head when King comes after Mikey. Mikey kills a cop who is trying to arrest him.
Duncan and Richie arrive at the sad conclusion that there is no place in the world for Mikey and he must die. Duncan offers, but Richie says Mikey is his responsibility and takes him into a train tunnel to see the train come through. Mikey understands that he won't be leaving the tunnel alive, and though fearful, Mikey lays his head on the train rails and allows the train to behead him. Richie takes the Quickening.
Duncan has purchased a house to remodel and Richie joins him to work on it.
Questions:
1. Richie takes in strays, as Duncan takes in strays, but Duncan always objects when Richie takes in strays. Why?
2. Two violent and mentally limited Immortals are encountered by Duncan in this series. One is happily ensconced on Holy Ground, listening to Gregorian chant, in France. One is watching the King of Trains from a front row seat on the tracks. Why was the answer for Ursa not the answer for Mikey?
3. We don't really want to get on Duncan's bad side at this point in the series, do we? In a kinder, more gentle phase in Duncan's life, would a resolution for Mikey have been more ... uh ... less final?
4. Is it possible that Mikey's hair and pants led to his death?
5. Since this episode was first aired in Season 4, there has always been controversy as to whether Duncan's final answer for Mikey was really the only final answer for Mikey. It was based upon the fact that Mikey is really so innocent that he doesn't know that he is as dangerous to mortals as he is and the fact that being Immortal, being sentenced in a human court of law [supposedly to a life sentence] would be intolerable for Mikey. I'm thinking he would have been remanded to some home for the mentally incompetent and he would have walked away one day, which would have made him a dangerous problem out on the streets ... again. Was Mac right to sentence Mikey to an immediate, permanent death?