Tessa Noël

Template:Highlander character Tessa Noël is a fictional character from Highlander: The Series, portrayed by actress Alexandra Vandernoot. She was first introduced in the pilot episode "The Gathering" (1992) and appears in all subsequent episodes until "The Darkness" (1993), the fourth episode of season two, in which she is killed. A mortal artist and sculptor, Tessa is the lover of the protagonist, Immortal Duncan MacLeod.

Appearances

A regular character, Tessa appeared in all episodes of the first season of Highlander: The Series, as well as in the four first episodes of the second season. After leaving the show, Vandernoot returned to make guest appearances in "Counterfeit Part 2" (season 2), "Leader of the Pack" (season 4), "To Be" and "Not To Be" (season 6 finale).

Tessa is first introduced in "The Gathering" (1992). The episode establishes her and Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) as proprietors of an antique store, MacLeod and Noel's Antiques, in the fictional city of Seacouver, Washington, United States. Although they have been together for twelve years, Tessa only knows that MacLeod is a four hundred year old Immortal who does not age nor can have children. In the evening of her birthday, she tells him, "When we met, you were the 'older man'. (...) Now... We look the same age. (...) The problem is, even when you are four hundred... or five hundred and twenty... you'll still look thirty-five. (...) From now every year you'll look at me and see someone who looks older and older than you, while you stay the same. And it'll just be a matter of time (...) until you want someone else. (...) Or maybe I will. (...) Maybe I'll want someone I can grow old with." Immortals Slan Quince (Richard Moll) and Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) brutally break into their store, making Tessa aware of the Game. When she learns of this ultimate battle of good and evil, in which Duncan MacLeod has to behead or get beheaded, she sarcastically tells MacLeod, "And you didn't think it was important enough to mention." When Quince threatens her to get MacLeod off-guard, she first wants to flee with MacLeod; MacLeod on the other hand is prepared for her leaving him, because "there's no way you could have known what it was gonna be like." Fully aware that other Immortals will challenge MacLeod again, she decides to stay with him.

In "Mountain Men" (1992), Tessa goes to the mountains to photograph old petroglyphs for a sculpture. She is abducted by three mountain men, including Immortal Caleb Cole (Marc Singer), who wants to marry her. While MacLeod pursues them, Tessa keeps leaving clues behind them and refusing to submit. When Cole's men bring MacLeod's sword to the camp, Tessa sees Cole's reaction and realizes Cole is Immortal. She starts to spread doubt among them, resulting in Cole finally killing one of his own men before MacLeod rescues her.

In "The Sea Witch" (1992), when Richie Ryan brings home a friend with a four year old daughter, Melinda (Brooklyn Brown), Tessa becomes very fond of the little girl. Because Immortals are sterile, she cannot have children with MacLeod. She cares for Melinda and presents her with her own doll. She muses, "For a while there, just for a few hours... I felt like she was mine. I liked how it felt. But, she's not... I have my own life and it's more than enough."

"See No Evil" (1992), reveals that Tessa was educated at the Sorbonne with her friend Natalie Ward (Moira Walley). Ward is attacked by serial killer Michael "The Scalper" Tanovsky (Dee McCafferty). Witnessing her friend becoming increasingly depressed, Tessa decides to act as a bait : "Nobody's watching over his next victim, Duncan. She... whoever she is... is out there alone... with no guardian angel. And she's going to die if you and I don't stop him." She finally rolls Tanovsky over with a car and is shocked by her own action. Later, still troubled, she tells MacLeod, "I thought 'ridding the world of evil' would feel better than this."

In "Eyewitness" (1993), Tessa witnesses the brutal murder of former artist Anne Wheeler (Diana Barrington). Tessa reacts angrily when she realizes police do nothing about it: "I'm not hysterical, I don't see things, and I'm not looking for attention. I just want something to be done." She decides to find the murderer on her own. Meanwhile, she discovers that an Immortal is around and refuses to leave when MacLeod asks her to: "I'm an adult, Duncan. I know the risks I choose to take. (...) We've been through this before. I stay with you because I want to. I won't run. I'm not the little woman and I'll never be barefoot and pregnant. We all have things to face. This is mine. I have to see it through." She feels close to Anne Wheeler: "I can close my eyes and see her. I can feel what she felt. It's like peering into someone's heart." When MacLeod tell her that she is stronger than Anne and that if something happened to him, Tessa would be fine, Tessa answers, "You only think so because it suits you." The murderer turns out to be Chief Police Officer Andrew Ballin (Tom Butler), who is beheaded by MacLeod after Ballin failed to kill Tessa.

In "Band of Brothers" (1993), Tessa is selected for the position of curator of a traveling exhibition entitled "An historical retrospective on sculpture and form" based in Paris, France. Meanwhile, Immortal Grayson (James Horan) is after Victor Paulus, a protegee of MacLeod's friend Darius (Werner Stocker). Tessa faces Grayson, who calls her "a remarkable woman, well worth keeping alive." Tessa tells him, "If you think [MacLeod] will stand by and let Victor Paulus be killed, you have misjudged him terribly. So you'd better kill me, now, and be done with it. (...) Then you'll have to face him. (...) But you know that, don't you ? That's why you want to bargain with him, using me. You're afraid of Duncan MacLeod." Grayson decides not to kidnap her. Tessa decides to leave to Paris before MacLeod faces Grayson and her parting words are: "Remember. Paris is our city. I'll be waiting for you." After MacLeod beheads Grayson, Tessa, Duncan and Richie settle on a barge on the Seine River near Notre-Dame de Paris.

In "For Evil's Sake" (1993), a flashback scene reveals that Tessa and MacLeod first met in 1980. To escape Immortal Christoph Kuyler (Peter Howitt) who was trying to behead him, MacLeod jumped on the Bateau Mouche Tessa was working on as a guide giving Seine tours, and charmed her into staying on board. When Kuyler resurfaces in the present, Tessa wistfully comments, "When we left the States I had this fantasy that somehow the Gathering wouldn't find us." She comforts MacLeod when he failed to stop Kuyler injuring Inspector LeBrun (Hughes Leforestier), saying, "Duncan, you may be Immortal, but you're not omnipotent. You couldn't save that Baron, you couldn't save LeBrun's arm. The world is not your responsibility."

In "Saving Grace" (1993), Tessa meets Immortal Grace Chandel (Julia Stemberger) who was MacLeod's lover in 1660. She grows beyond her jealousy when MacLeod tells her that he does not love Grace anymore, saying, "That's all that need to be said. She's your friend and she's been hurt. You'll help her. I'd expect you to do no less." Tessa tells Grace, "It would take me several lifetimes to find out everything in Duncan's past. I know there've been others, but I never thought I would meet one of them."

In "The Lady and The Tiger" (1993), Tessa meets Amanda (Elizabeth Gracen) and immediately dislikes her. The script says that "sparks fly between the two women." Although she quickly earns Amanda's respect, Tessa is annoyed that MacLeod wants to know what the connection is between Amanda and Immortal Zachary Blaine (Jason Isaacs). She tells him, "After all she's done to you, why do you care whether she's happy or not ? (...) She makes me feel like I have to compete with her. (...) Maybe if I'd been a lady pirate or something..." but MacLeod assures her that Amanda is no competition.

In "Avenging Angel" (1993), as MacLeod and Tessa search information about newborn Immortal Alfred Cahill (Martin Kemp), Tessa remarks, "Finding out you're Immortal must be quite a shock to the mind... But what will it do to someone who's already insane ?" They quickly discover Cahill is after Tessa's old friend, Elaine Trent (Sandra Nelson). Tessa is shocked to learn that Elaine is a prostitute : "I know what she'll want to hear. That it's okay. That I understand... But it isn't okay. (...) She killed a good friend of mine. A young, intelligent, lovely... She had so much... and she became a whore ! (Tessa is distressed at her own words.) I sound like her judge and jury." When Elaine realizes this, she tells Tessa, "You were always stronger than me. This never would have happened to you. (...) This is stupid, but... I'm very proud of you." MacLeod is convinced the only way to stop Cahill is to behead him, despite Tessa's opinion that "Enlightened societies don't kill their insane. They treat them." When Cahill comes to the barge looking for MacLeod and finds Tessa alone, Tessa saves her life by pretending to welcome Cahill as a messenger of God. Telling MacLeod about it later, she says with disgust, "I had to crawl inside his head... I had to think like him... I had to become like him."

In "Nowhere To Run" (1993), Tessa, MacLeod and Richie visit Tessa's old friend Alan Rothwood (Anthony Head). Tessa says of him, "Alan was the first man I ever loved. (...) I was seven. He was nineteen. When he joined the diplomatic service after college, and left the country, I was heartbroken. Even then I had a thing for older men. Maybe I should thank him. (...) Alan's mother and my mother were very old friends. It was magical. There were parties to dress up for and horses to ride." Walking through the ballroom in Alan's house, Tessa recalls, "I remember my first Christmas in this room. I couldn't believe anything could be so beautiful." When Immortal Everett Bellian (Peter Guinness) attacks the house with his mercenaries because Alan's son Mark (Jason Riddington) has raped his stepdaughter (Marion Cotillard), Tessa takes part to the house defence, but tells MacLeod : "Is this what war is like ? I don't like it." When Bellian's party attacks, Tessa sprays a man with cleanser before escaping.

In "The Hunters" (1993), Tessa is shocked to learn Darius' death. When MacLeod is at a loss to find clues about Darius' murderer, she tells MacLeod : "If Darius knew what it was about, wouldn't he have told you ?" which prompts MacLeod to search Darius' rectory and find the Fifth Chronicle. Tessa is later approached by James Horton (Peter Hudson), Darius' murderer, who checks a cut she has on her hand to make sure she is not Immortal. Tessa is "frightened and bewildered" by Horton's appearance. Tessa, knowing how shaken MacLeod is by Darius' death, tells MacLeod, "You don't have to say anything. I just want you to let yourself mourn." "I know you'll never have another friend like Darius. I'm sorry."

In "The Watchers" (1993), Tessa, MacLeod and Richie settle back to their antique store in Seacouver, Washington because MacLeod wants to find Darius' killer. Tessa tells MacLeod, "Revenge. That's all this is about. Is that what Darius would have wanted ?" When Tessa tells Richie, "I wish we were coming back for another reason", Richie cheers her up by saying, "it's kinda like you're married to a cop or even a super hero. I mean there is quite a bit of stress placed on a relationship like yours. (...) I mean, sure, you could have gone for some normal guy, you know, (...) like a dentist. (...) But something tells me that you were not cut out for that. (...) Maybe something more the Mel Gibson type." After they spend the night in Tessa's car on a parking lot to escape the Hunters, Tessa decides to go home, saying, "I'm tired of being afraid of these guys. I'm not running anymore." When they finally reunite with MacLeod, there are still Watchers following them.

In "Studies in Light" (1993), Tessa meets Immortal Gregor Powers (Joel Wyner) who asks her, "Tell me, how do you handle knowing that one day [MacLeod]'s gonna watch you grow old, wrinkle and then die... And then move on to somebody else." Tessa, feeling uncomfortable about him, retorts, "Were you born sensitive or did you have to study ?" When MacLeod and Tessa discuss him, Tessa says, "He scares me, Mac. I've got this feeling... he didn't care. (...) I just wish he'd go away." In this episode, Tessa also realizes MacLeod never told his old love, Linda Plager (Sheila Moore), whom he met in 1938, that he was Immortal. MacLeod tells her, "I've only told you."

In "Turnabout" (1993), Tessa meets MacLeod's friend, Immortal Michael Moore (Geraint Wyn Davies), who had lost his wife in 1921, and tries to cheer him up : "You sound like a man who was very much in love. And who, one day, will be again." But Moore has an alternate, evil personality calling itself Quenten Barnes, whom MacLeod goes to fight, not knowing Barnes is the same person as Moore. When MacLeod leaves, Tessa seeks "to deal with her fears through work" until she bitterly says : "I tell myself that this is the way it is. That it's my choice that I'm with him." In the end, Tessa is nearly strangled by Barnes before MacLeod arrives in time to save her.

In "The Darkness" (1993), Tessa meets a fortune teller named Greta (Traci Lords) who urges her to flee the city. This remembers MacLeod of another fortune teller, back in 1848, who told him he would bury many women, but marry none. MacLeod impulsively asks Tessa in marriage and she agrees. Later that night, she tells MacLeod : "Did you ever think... What if we had never met ? What if you didn't jump in that boat ? (...) I can't even imagine a life where we're not together. Do you think there is such a thing as fate ? Something that draw us together ?" The next day Tessa is abducted by Pallin Wolf (Andrew Jackson), a renegade Watcher who wants to kill MacLeod. In the meanwhile, MacLeod tells Richie that he gets married because of the thought of losing her. He goes on, "People become part of your life and then they-- they just die... All stays with you, Rich, and you live with it. Their hopes... their dreams... their pain... their love. Tessa makes me feel so young. Every time I see her it's like the first time. Every time I touch her..." Tessa holds her ground in front of Wolf and tries to escape. She manages to reach the street but Wolf brings her back to her cell. MacLeod finally finds her and kills Wolf, then sends her back home with Richie. On their way to the car, they are shot by Marc Roszca (Travis MacDonald), a drug addict wanting their money. While Richie reawakes, becoming Immortal, Tessa dies. MacLeod, devastated, leaves their place and sells the antique store.

In "Eye For An Eye" (1993), MacLeod tells Richie, "She was part of our lives, Richie. Never pretend she wasn't." MacLeod also advises Richie to get used to her loss, because it "won't be the last time it happens to you." Later, while MacLeod trains Richie roughly so that he can face Immortal Annie Devlin (Sheena Easton), MacLeod and Richie have an argument and Richie tells MacLeod, "You can't get past it, Mac. I know. You've seen a lot of people die. But you had to be the hero, you sent us out to the car that night, you could have been there. (...) You look me in the eyes and you tell me you don't blame yourself for her death." Some time later, MacLeod bitterly tells Devlin, "Nothing you do brings anyone back. Once they're dead... nothing."

In "Counterfeit Part 2" (1994), Horton uses female killer Lisa Halle (Meilani Paul) to try and kill MacLeod. Halle undergoes plastic surgery to resemble Tessa and therefore from that point on is played by Vandernoot. MacLeod falls in this trap despite knowing that Tessa is dead and cannot return. Horton finally kills the fake Tessa before facing MacLeod.

In "Leader of the Pack" (1995), a flashback scene reveals that Tessa learned about MacLeod's immortality in 1983. To show her he couldn't die, MacLeod made her shoot him in the chest. Tessa was in shock, but also realized MacLeod's loneliness.

"To Be" and "Not To Be" (1998), the series finale, depicts a world in which MacLeod was never born. Vandernoot reprises her role as Tessa, who this time has never met MacLeod. She leads an unsatisfactory life in which she has a husband and children, but has to give up art and sculpture. In this storyline she has an affair with MacLeod but feels she has betrayed her husband.

Tessa could not fight with a sword, but she could use her head. She proved to be incredibly sharp and incredibly wise.

Tessa also welcomed small-time crook Richie Ryan when he moved in with her and Duncan. She established herself as an older sister or surrogate mother figure to him.

Characteristics

In Highlander: The Series, Tessa is portrayed as a tall, thin woman with blond hair and blue eyes. The script of "The Gathering" describes her as "a beautiful, elegantly casual woman, (...) artist, free spirit, and proprietor of the most unusual antique shop in the city." The season 1 promotional booklet describes her as MacLeod's "live-in lover and soul-mate Tessa Noel, a beautiful and talented sculptor who is the only mortal to know his secret." Richie Ryan in "Road Not Taken" describes her as "drop-dead gorgeous." Rob Lineberger of DVDVerdict.com thinks Tessa "is beautiful and spirited". Abbie Bernstein of Audio Video Revolution thinks Tessa is "depicted not as a screechy, in-the-dark Lois Lane but rather as a woman who handles her lover’s supernatural aspects with remarkable pragmatism." Berstein adds that Tessa is "estimable" and "an unusually gutsy love interest (not to mention a refreshing sexually active heroine, as opposed to the coy 'sexual tension'-generating females who usually populate the genre)."

Tessa is often seen making art works, welding large metallic pieces, drawing or modelling clay. She usually sketches people she has trouble with, such as Amanda or Alfred Cahill. She thinks, "An artist should never grow complacent. Change is good." She fears the Paris art critics because they are the worst.

The script of "The Gathering" says Tessa has no self-pity nor does she like euphemisms. Watcher Joe Dawson says in Duncan MacLeod's Chronicle that Tessa "seems to have a good head on her shoulders, not likely to put up with any crap from MacLeod." In "For Tomorrow We Die", MacLeod calls her "contrary by nature." In "Saving Grace", Grace Chandel says, "she has an old soul". Tessa is jealous of Grace, but the script says that her "grace and style are evident by the way she handles the situation," but that her graciousness "is tinged with her very human feeling of doubt." Amanda thinks of her, "She's quite refreshing in a gauche sort of way." In "Mountain Men", Tessa gets her abducters to fight each other. Lineberger says, "This episode shows the tough stuff Tessa is made of, (...) "The Sea Witch" reveals more about the choices Tessa will have to live with, since Duncan cannot have children, (...) [in "See No Evil"] Tessa gets a taste for how Duncan's life must feel when she faces the killer."

Tessa can hold her ground in front of Immortals and mortals alike. In "Free Fall", she faces Immortal Felicia Martins with a blow torch, saying, "Don't even think about it. I may not be able to kill you, but I'll give you a facial you won't forget. Now get out." In "Bad Day in Building A" (1992), Tessa and Richie are taken hostages by a mortal terrorist, Bryan Slade (Andrew Divoff). Tessa holds her ground against Slade even after he thinks he has killed MacLeod. When the SWAT commando threatens to take over the building by force, Tessa phones them to stop them. Slade tells her, "You're some woman." She faces mortal Bryan Slade who thinks he has just killed MacLeod: "Do you think I give a damn what you admire ? (...) In a day or so... you'll be dead."

Tessa has a strong and complex relationship with MacLeod. The script of "The Gathering" describes MacLeod and Tessa as "two strange lovers." The impossibility for them to grow old together "is not a new thought to either of them, but one that haunts them both, sometimes more than others." When MacLeod tells her, "You know I've wanted the same thing. To grow old with you," the script states, "Tessa doesn't doubt this. They are that close." Alexandra Vandernoot states, "She's been with him for twelve years, and she always thought she was going to die before him. And now she realizes that he can be killed, too, by another Immortal, and that's something she never would think about." Adrian Paul thinks, "Tessa was in Duncan's life, and she was a very important part of his life. He was with her for 12 years constantly. He was in love with Tessa, and didn't want to be with any other woman." Grace Chandel tells Tessa, "You and Mac have something good. I envy you." Lineberger thinks, "She is the perfect mortal foil for MacLeod's heavy concerns. She lightens and strengthens him. Together, they are a model couple. They have healthy banter, intense arguments, plenty of romance, and an easy comfort with each other." In "Innocent Man", when MacLeod refuses to take her where an evil Immortal is, she says, "I know why you don't want me there. You're afraid that what happened to Lucas could happen to you."

Tessa often jokes about MacLeod's immortality. In "The Gathering" when MacLeod and Tessa celebrate her birthday, she jokes, "You liberated this wine from Napoleon's own cellar, I suppose." When she goes on business travel in "Road Not Taken" and MacLeod mentions he has his little black book ready, she answers, "I've seen it. It's three hundred years out of date." In "For Evil's Sake", she tells MacLeod, "I'm sure the two of you [MacLeod and Sigmund Freud] had hours of fascinating conversations." In "For Tomorrow We Die", she jokes that the last time MacLeod wore a tuxedo was on the deck of the Titanic. In "Turnabout", when Michael Moore tells her, "Finally, a woman who knows everything about Duncan MacLeod", she replies, "Not everything. There are still a few decades he keeps to himself."

Tessa can see equally well through Richie and in "Free Fall", expresses worry about Felicia Martins, saying, "Richie, from what I can tell, under all that grime there is a very gorgeous human being - but you don't know anything about her." In "Eye of the Beholder", answering Richie's complaint that "I've got a very, very suspicious feeling about this Piton guy from the first second I laid my eyes on him", she says, "You mean the second you saw him lay eyes on Myia."

Tessa parks regardless of interdictions. She can drive a speedboat. She is a poor chess player.

She was strong, loving, intelligent, loyal, and an independent woman. She also wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Although not an immortal herself, and lacking knowledge in any martial arts, she proved herself capable of defending herself quite well, even against immortals. She was Duncan's equal in many ways.

Concept and evolution

Development

Tessa's character was intended to be Duncan MacLeod's lover and one of his "primary human contacts to the world around him." Because Highlander: The Series was a syndicated show including the French Gaumont Television, Producer Gary Goodman explains, "We had to find a French actress that would be appealing on a television screen. Not appealing physically, but appealing in the sense that you were comfortable with her accent and her character." About their choice of Alexandra Vandernoot as Tessa, he states that she "was able to be exotic, pretty and not so unfamiliar to an American audience that she was accepted." Panzer reckons that Vandernoot was popular and that Adrian Paul and she were great together. Abramovitz thinks Vandernoot was beautiful and a great actress.

At the Wolfcon359 The Legacy 1999 Convention, Alexandra Vandernoot recounted how she had been chosen to play Tessa and "said that she had been for a casting call in April 1992, then heard nothing for two months. Then she got a call on a Monday to say that she was leaving from Vancouver on the Friday for two months. She said that it took so long because there were so many co-producers on the first season, all of whom had to have their say in the casting." She further said that "she knew that Tessa had to be European, but she could have been Italian or German as equally as French."

About her character, Vandernoot stated that "she really liked the equality in the relationship between Duncan and Tess and the fact that they were on the same level. Moreover, "she felt that Tessa had a grown-up relationship with Duncan and was perhaps the only one who understood him so well." Commenting on Tessa's personality, "she said Tessa was very generous and understanding, more than she felt she would be, citing her reaction to Grace Chandel in "Saving Grace" as an example where Tessa was more than human." About Tessa living a dangerous life among Immortals, "[Vandernoot] agreed that it was something that we had never seen if Duncan ever taught Tessa any self-defence techniques. [Vandernoot] had never thought of it and assumed that Duncan trusted Tessa enough to get herself out of trouble."

Regarding her work with fellow actor Adrian Paul (Duncan MacLeod), Creative Consultant David Abramovitz enthusiastically comments, "Alexandra Vandernoot, who plays Tessa, was the goddess. And when I saw her and Adrian together, I thought that if I died, and there was a Mount Olympus, that the two of them would be standing together with thunderbolts around them. They were god-like. They were so beautiful and had such presence. She was great." Adrian Paul thinks, "I was pretty detached from the real relationship between MacLeod and Tessa on screen. Looking back at it, it was a good relationship. Looking at the first year again about a year and a half later, I was sad to see it go." Bernstein thinks "Paul and Vandernoot are charming separately and together". Associate Creative Consultant Donna Lettow recalls how the producers watched the dailies of the series finale: "There's a scene in "Not To Be", between Duncan and Tessa, where Adrian started crying during the filming and just took us with him."

About her work with fellow actor Stan Kirsch, Producer Barry Rosen remarks, "We were very lucky that Alexandra [Vandernoot] and Stan [Kirsch] were so human-grounded, so we could really play off of them and the way they looked at things that [lead actor] Adrian [Paul] went through. They were also able to get into real-life situations, romances, getting in trouble, jealousies and so on. In the years that followed without her and with [Stan Kirsch's character] becoming Immortal, you couldn't do that as much. You had to play the show differently." Adrian Paul recalls that although Vandernoot and Kirsch were born only three years apart, Vandernoot felt that Kirsch was the young boy because Kirsch looked younger than he actually was, and Kirsch felt like her sweet baby brother.

Executive Producer Bill Panzer says, "one of the issues of immortality that is intriguing is why does somebody chose to spend their mortal life with someone who won't grow old, and with whom they can't have children. [In "The Sea Witch" Tessa gets to know 4-year-old Melinda.] She comes in contact with that little girl, and starts to kind of fall in love with that little girl. It brings home in a very powerful way what exactly she's giving up to be with MacLeod."

In "See No Evil", Tessa steps out of character in that she is the one who captures the villain, serial killer Michael Tanovsky. Bill Panzer explains, "because [Tanovsky] was not an Immortal, MacLeod's sense of justice was certainly outranged, but somehow it took Tessa to step out of her characteristic role, and be the one who dropped the axe on the guy. And this was, as you can imagine in television this was kind of an unusual idea, and this was the subject of a lot of meetings with David Abramovitz and myself and the people, from the various networks, domestic and foreign, who were involved. But in the end, we did it, and well, we're glad we did."

Elizabeth Gracen comments on her work in "The Lady and the Tiger", "Amanda had a rather ambiguous attitude toward Duncan's mortal love Tessa (played by Alexandra Vandernoot). "That scene on the barge, I say, 'I knew Rodin,' " Gracen recollects. "I was flirting with her a little bit."

Critics have overall been positive. Variety says, "Vandernoot is attractive." Rob Lineberger calls Vandernoot a "gifted actor: she has the poise, restraint, and grace to be both sensual and frustrated, accomplished yet vulnerable, mortal but aware of greater concerns." He also says, "It is amazing how strong the chemistry is between Duncan and Tessa—one gets the feeling they have been together for years, though the series is fresh out of the box. But Tessa's idyllic existence is strained by the realization that Duncan is being actively hunted." David M. Gutierrez, also of DVDverdict.com, thinks, "Vandernoot likes the Tessa character quite a bit and gave me the impression she was sad to see her go." Gutierrez estimates that "Vandernoot looks like she enjoys playing the good/bad Lisa [her character in "Counterfeit"]. Her triple performance as Tessa shows Vandernoot's range. (...) It's clear there was a strong on-screen chemistry between Tessa and MacLeod."

Death

Tessa died as a result of Vandernoot's decision to leave the show. According to Retrovision.com, she "decided that she was not enjoying the series grind and did not want to spend so much time each year in Canada, [and] asked for, and was granted, release from her contract." As a further explanation, Vandernoot "said she would have liked Tessa to be more involved in the action, not being the one who always stayed at home and worried. When she found she couldn't find a new way to say, 'Duncan, be careful', she knew it was time to move on." Abramovitz thinks that Vandernoot "looked at the part, looked at the career and said you know, this show is about Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod, he is the Highlander, it's not the Highlander and Tessa. And I think a small part of her being a really strong actress, wanted to play a more aggressive part in the show and sadly, the nature of the beast was that it couldn't happen and she made a decision." Panzer reflects on female roles in the Highlander franchise, "That was also the case in the movies, always an issue of as wonderful as the women were, was how do you have the women be something other than a victim, a hostage, other things when you're dealing with an immortal hero, it's not so easy."

Consequently, the creative staff had to find a way to write Tessa out of the show, but, according to Retrovision.com, they had limited possibilities, due to the strong relationship she had with Duncan : "To have the couple break up on screen in any way other than her dying would have been untrue of the depth of the relationship as established between them." Associate Creative Consultant Gillian Horvath explains, "There was no way (...) to have a scene where she said, 'Okay, I'm going to go to Paris without you. Nice knowing you, MacLeod.'"

So the decision was made to kill Tessa; this happened in the episode "The Darkness", not during the main storyline of the episode, but as a development at the very end of it. Horvath explains, "The thing about Tessa's death, having her killed by a regular, mortal punk in a regular carjacking having nothing to do with MacLeod's immortality or the Game, was to try and bring it to a level of 'this could happen to you.' That losing a loved one to a random act of violence isn't something that only happens to TV action heroes or Immortals or people in another type of life, it happens in the real world too -- totally unexpectedly, at a moment that makes no sense dramatically. You're at the end of the show, she's been rescued and then she gets killed. Dramatically, it fits no formula. That's not how stories are told. The point of it is that in real life things don't happen when they make sense or when they're expected, they come out of the blue when you least expect it. It was as much a shock for MacLeod as it was for the viewer. You're in that moment of relief thinking the story is over, everything's fine, and then, wham, your world is turned upside down." Abramovitz confirms, "it was interesting because we wanted it to be a surprise and show how shocking it was to us, when she died at the end of the episode, a victim of street violence. In the middle of the episode when she was actually saved-- it would have been easier to kill her off in the episode, [but] we did it through heinous street violence."

Tessa's death caused a particular shock to the audience and was particularly resented because it appeared sudden and pointless. Critic Rob Lineberger says, "Tessa and Duncan have some of their best moments yet, giving the first half a warm feeling of optimism. That feeling is shattered with Tessa's kidnapping. I was taken aback by the dark tone and emotional range generated by this episode. Highlander is a fantasy series, yet I cared about the characters as though I know them. (...) Alexandra Vandernoot gave Tessa such vitality and charm that her death left me reeling." Abramovitz comments, "Did I get letters from this one; people hated me for killing her." Abramovitz calls Tessa's death "heartbreaking" and adds, "It's really sad to me that Tessa died. And it made fans really angry. So it's a good damn opportunity to say that it wasn't purely our choice, that the actress had something to do with that also." Adrian Paul understands the reaction of the public, but explains, "A lot of people said that a major character being killed off like that was horrible. (...) Well, yes and no, because the idea was that it was supposed to shock. Like you're driving down the street, you get in a car crash and you lose your arm. That's the kind of impact it was supposed to have. Obviously it did have that impact. People say, 'Well you could have dealt with it another way.' How would you have dealt with it? We would like to have seen suggestions on that. It's reality. On Highlander, although we're dealing with a fantasy-based character or concept, we also deal with a lot of reality-based issues, which is why it was treated that way."

The audience went even more angry when in "An Eye For An Eye", the episode immediately following "The Darkness", MacLeod is seen making love to Immortal Annie Devlin. Lineberger says, "This one caused an uproar—one I feel is justified. Panzer gave a defense (in my opinion a weak one), but the simple truth is that Duncan turns around and sleeps with Annie Devlin (Sheena Easton) in the episode after Tessa's death. I have a high tolerance for insensitive guy stuff, but this got to me. (...) When Duncan rolled into Annie's arms, part of me smirked in appreciation of Duncan's magnetic charm. But the rest of me found his actions cruel to the viewers." Abramovitz explains his writing choice, "Someone once told me that death was an aphrodisiac. It's a thing that pushes you to life and the greatest thing in life, that's "seize life", is sex. So we had MacLeod make love to another character right after Tessa died. And the fans hated it. And the women wanted to string me up. I was a 'cad' and a 'card'..." Adrian Paul reports a similar reaction after "The Return of Amanda", in which MacLeod sleeps with Amanda. Paul comments the audience "was watching it week to week, which it was actually four weeks after Tessa died [and Vandernoot left the show] and they're going on, 'Oh, MacLeod, how could you !'"

Horvath comments on the consequences of Tessa's death on Highlander: The Series, "It changed the tone of the show. It made Highlander the show where you couldn't be positive that the characters were safe because they were in the credits. (...) Having killed Tessa, then Fitz and then Darius, people couldn't be sure. If someone had a sword to Richie's throat, you were on the edge of your seat wondering if he was actually going to live or die. That was exciting to have set that precedent that you couldn't trust us to protect the main characters." Tessa's death also influenced the remaining main characters. Lineberger thinks, "The ending of this episode is one of many turning points in the show. From here onward, Duncan, Richie, and the series will be darker and laced with pain. (...) Richie and Duncan relate to each other differently from now on, and Duncan is bereft of much of his joy." He adds, "Duncan is moodier as well. Tessa is no longer around to lighten him."

Set design

Tessa's artistic and French background influenced the design of sets and clothes in a sophisticated way. Tessa's clothes came from Paris. According to Alexandra Vandernoot, "the wardrobe mistress in Vancouver had let it be known that she was having problems finding suitable clothes for Tessa before Alexandra [Vandernoot] left for Canada. To sort this minor problem out, [Vandernoot] went shopping with the producer’s wife and the producer’s credit card in Paris for two days." Production Designer Steve Geaghan explains the look of Tessa's apartment and antique store, "Quite decidedly in year one, we wanted to have a very Philippe Stark look for Tessa's apartment. It was extremely European. We were dealing with a French woman and a Scotsman. She was an artist. (...) The look in the antique store that year was very reconstructivist. I used metal bridges running across diagonally, insinuated into deteriorated brick walls with frescoes painted on them. The whole feel of the place was decidedly Old World in a New World environment. Basically, we kept it very rich and extremely textured."

Vandernoot's decision to leave the show implied a change of sets, and Line Producer Ken Gord removed the antiques store set, thinking, "The antique store from the first year had all these snakes and ladders -- as I called it -- staircases and walkways. The place that [MacLeod] lived was connected to the place where he worked and it wasn't like anything anybody had ever really seen before. It just struck me as complicated. (...) I wanted to get rid of those snakes and ladders, and I had some pretty bloody fights with the production designer [Steve Geaghan] because he loved them. Everytime I took out a staircase or walkway, he would cry because we were simplifying his complicated sets. Basically I just wanted four bare walls." Executive Producer Bill Panzer explains, "We built the dojo that year [1993, when Vandernoot left the show]. (...) We realized that [Vandernoot] wanted to return to Europe for personal reasons, and (...) since [MacLeod] wasn't gonna be living in the antique store anymore, (...) he needed a place to hang out that we thought would be a change, be more masculine." Gord continues, "So one of the reasons we switched to a dojo was to change things. The other was because Tessa was leaving the show. I felt that if the audience could get grounded at least visually in a space that they could understand, they could then move from there so that when [MacLeod] takes you through his strange world you've got a starting point. It's just a real simple starting point for the viewers."

External links

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