Warriors

Since Warriors is my favorite all-time episode, I'm going to try and not ramble on endlessly. No promises, though. There is just too much good stuff to ignore.

The episode open in the jungle. Right there, you know it's going to be great. I love jungle stories. I love jungle fanfic. I love Jim and Blair in the jungle. See? Rambling already. <g>

The basic story is that a huge oil corporation, Cyclops Oil, is illegally drilling in a protected area in Peru called the La Montana Region. Luck would have it that this is the same region where Jim Ellison was stranded for those eighteen months when his helicopter crashed back in '88. He lived with the Chopec during that time and his Sentinel abilities were active. And these are the same group of Indians who are being killed by the oil company.

Jim interrupts a robbery at a mall. He's wearing a white t-shirt, a dark zip-up jacket and grey pants. During the fight, a large display of perfume is shot up, sending his senses haywire. He manages to catch the two robbers, but shoots at a third. The problem is the third is a security guard and Jim didn't notice. The guard is hit but not killed because he was wearing Kevlar. Jim is very upset, as you can imagine.

In an adorable scene, Blair is meditating. He has on a pretty powder blue shirt and jeans, and his hair is down. He has his candles lit and aborigine music playing. Jim comes home and is instantly irritated by the music. Blair is confused for a second over Jim's short fuse, but luckily Jim admits right away he's upset over the guard's shooting. Blair is very sweet, concerned about Jim. Jim blames it on his senses, which Blair isn't buying. Then that night, Jim has a blue dream. He sees himself hunting and shooting the jaguar (or the panther, as he calls his animal spirit).

The next morning, in another great scene, Jim figures out his senses are gone when the toaster catches fire and he doesn't even smell it. Blair is surprised and calls Jim a human smoke alarm. That's when he admits that the shaving cream feels -- normal. His senses are gone. Oh, and Jim is wearing just a towel. <sigh> Such a great body! Blair is wearing a dark blue long-sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up and khakis. Good color again for Blair. Oh, and Jim calls Blair “Sparky”. I like that after yelling at Blair for leaving the toaster unattended, he apologizes. Good Jim.

Blair comforts Jim by telling him that they'll get through this crises like they got through the others. He's more than upset when Jim tells him he doesn't want to get through it. This time, it's for good. No more senses. Jim is wearing those horrible brown pants, a greyish-green shirt and his brown suede jacket. Blair is wearing the same clothes as above and has on a burgundy coat that I've never seen before. It looks good on him.

Simon calls the guys for a murder and asks for Blair's attendance. Turns out a big wig at Cyclops is killed -- with a blow dart. Jim admits the dart is Chopec, but he doesn't tell Blair until much later that its Incacha's, the Shaman who guided Jim in Peru.

While investigating the murder, Blair runs into an old friend and she agrees to look into the possible drilling. She digs around and finds out there is a big illegal dig in a protected region. This information gets her killed by what looks to be a Chopec arrow, but is really a setup by the Cyclops Oil security head, Yeager. He's up to his neck in bad things, and so is the President of the company, Spalding, the man the Chopec have come to Cascade to capture and return to Peru for trial for killing their tribesmen and the land.

Simon figures out something's wrong with Jim when he sees Jim using a magnifying glass to study a map of the La Montana Region. He's concerned and doesn't look too convinced at Jim's reassurances that he's okay.

In the one scene with Blair's friend, Janet, I like that fact that he admits he's just a “consultant” to the police department and doesn't get anything “cool” like a badge or gun. Makes you wonder why fanfic writers consider Blair anti-police or a pacifist. It doesn't fit canon, that's for sure.

Finally, Incacha shows up at Jim's loft. Jim introduces him to Blair, and in a very wonderful scene, Incacha and Blair talk, with Jim interpreting. Blair is tickled pink to meet the Shaman. Things don't go well when Incacha insists that the Chopec Sentinel (Jim) help with the capture of Spalding. Jim refuses, but does offer to help stop the killing of the tribesmen and the oil drilling. He then admits to Incacha that he is no longer a Sentinel. In famous TS fandom words, Incacha is dead serious when he says “a Sentinel will always be a Sentinel -- if he chooses to be”. Jim looks very put in his place and quite disappointed that the Shaman is not happy with him. Obviously, he admires Incacha a great deal and wants the man's approval. He wants to help, but he's determined to operate within the law as much as he can. Incacha has admitted to killing the first oil exec in self defense.

In this scene, there is a very cute tie-in. Incacha is checking out the modern loft when he touches the stereo and Blair's aborigine music starts. Incacha gets this wide smile and says “earth music”. He recognizes the tribal rhythms of another tribe even if they are a half a world away from each other.

When gets a phone call from the Janet, Blair's friend, Jim is distracted. Incacha takes off and so do Jim and Blair to search for him, and to meet with Janet. They can't find the Shaman but they do find Janet's dead body. Blair thinks its the Chopec but Jim knows that they wouldn't kill an unarmed woman. We do find out that Yeager killed Janet to make it look like the Chopec.

The truck scene is worth mentioning. Blair is kind of put out, and Jim asks him what's wrong. Blair admits that he doesn't want their partnership to end and after a remark from Jim about his dissertation, Blair admits he's been stalling; that he has enough info for “ten” dissertations, as he says. Then he says one of the best lines that lets us know that his place is at Jim's side:

Jim: So, you've been stalling?

Blair: Yeah. You know, I mean, what do you expect? For me to just jump back into my academic life? Come on -- that would be like jumping off a roller coaster and spending the rest of my life on a merry-go-round.

Onward. The Chopec finally capture Spalding in the parking garage. During the fight, Yeager shoots Incacha. The remaining four Chopec take Spalding in his car (he drives!). Yeager follows and plans to kill the Chopec. Meanwhile, Blair is very upset over getting Janet involved. He is pacing and giving himself a severe talking-to when he hears a noise in the hall. When he opens the door, he finds Incacha dying on the door step. He's wearing a nice olive green silk shirt over a white v-neck t shirt and tan slacks.

Jim is at the bullpen with the evidence from Janet. He's wearing a brownish t-shirt and grey pants. He also wears a light-weight tan jacket. Simon and Jim talk about the incriminating paperwork and how Spalding is funneling money into a phony corporation when Blair calls and Jim makes this pained face. He rushes home to find his Shaman dying on the sofa.

This scene is the most emotional one this side of Blind Man's Bluff. Incacha tells Jim who shot him, but more importantly, he tells Jim he wants him to become the Sentinel again and to save the tribe. Then he clamps a hand on Blair's arm and passes the way of the Shaman over to him and tells him to guide Jim to his animal spirit. Jim is very emotional. His eyes are filled with tears and when Incacha dies, he keeps calling to him. In the last second before the fade, he turns whose sad eyes on Blair. I know if it were me, I'd be crying with him. God, I love that scene. Where are the “Jim isn't emotional” people? Watch this episode! I love Jim.

The next scene is one of the best, if not the best scene in the entire run. Jim is very angry and upset that the forensics team is touching Incacha's body. Blair is physical with Jim, holding him away from the team and trying to reach him, but not to calm him down. He tells Jim that it's up to them to stop the blood shed. Jim is unconvinced, but Blair is relentless. He physically pushes Jim out of the loft and they go to the roof. There, Jim is still irritated, but he listens to Blair when Blair insists he put on the head phones and meditate to connect with his spirit animal. I love Blair's line in this scene.

Jim: How? What if I can't do it?

Blair: You can do it. Now a sentinel will always be a sentinel as long as he chooses to. So make that choice, damn it. Now, put this on.

Blair tells his Sentinel what to do and his Sentinel does it. I love this Blair Sandburg. No big surprise that Jim's senses are restored. The blue dream sequence is really cool. Jim follows the jaguar through the jungle where the cat jumps up on an Aztec type altar. It morphs into a young Jungle!Jim and explains that the Sentinel senses are a gift and that Jim has the responsibility is to be accountable for his actions and to learn from his mistakes “just like any man”, whether or not he accepts his Sentinel gifts. Very cool scene.

With his senses back, Jim finds the “forest in the sky”, the greenhouse on top of a downtown building. The bad guys have trapped the Chopec and are going to kill them when Jim jumps into action. One of the Chopec is killed and the other three hightail it after the oil execs and the hired help. In a nifty scene, Jim repels down the side of the building like the Chopec after Yeager locks him in greenhouse. A chase ensues. Big surprise.

Actually this isn't a bad chase. Yeager and the hired muscle run with the Chopec and Jim chasing. There are lots of slo-mo scenes of the Chopec shooting and a couple are injured. In a great scene, Jim's Expedition careens around a corner and Blair drives it right through a store front, surprising one of the hired guns. He conks the bad guy on the head with a chair leg and ties him up. Good Blair! Oh, and Blair is now wearing a plaid brown shirt-type jacket. It looks very nice on him.

Yeager grabs a Chopec and uses him as cover to get Jim's Expedition. In a great move, our Sentinel shoots out the tire with the crossbow and Yeager rolls the Expedition. Now Jim's second vehicle is toast. He catches Yeager, not happy about his ride. The Chopec and Jim exchange a few words and when Blair joins him, he asks about the Chopec. Jim says they've gone and that he is no longer the Chopec Sentinel. Blair is a bit unhappy when he says after all that happened, that Jim isn't the tribal Sentinel any longer. Jim gives a small smile and says the Chopec told him now he's the Sentinel of a Great City. Blair grins and says that makes him the Shaman of a Great City. Jim, in typical Jim-speak, shrugs. The last second before the final fade, Jim sees his spirit guide lounging on a vehicle and it fades on the jaguar's eyes.

I love this episode. It is what the Sentinel is about for me. Mysticism. Shaman Blair and Sentinel Jim. Blair guiding and Jim following. Works for me!

The End

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