Posted by Jeanne Rose, philosophizing again on Thursday, 6 August 1998, at 8:31 a.m.

Season one has an entirely different feeling than the rest of the series, and lately I've been pondering what the rest of it would have been like if Tessa hadn't died. First of all, forget that this is a show and that the writers would have done different things. How would Duncan's life have been different from what we've seen if Tessa had been around, all other factors being the same?

Well, first of all, he wouldn't have ever moved in the dojo, probably wouldn't have ever become friends with Charlie. There goes half of season 2. If he'd met Anne at all, it would have been in passing - obviously he wouldn't have been interested in pursuing a relationship with her. There goes part of season 3. He probably  wouldn't ever have gotten back together with Amanda. If she reappeared at all after Lady and the Tiger, it would have been a source of tension between her
and Tessa. We would never have had the Eiffel Tower scene, or all the lovely flashbacks. There would never have been "Leader of the Pack" - at least the subplot, which was most interesting part.

What about Joe? I think Duncan would still have become friends with Joe. Tessa would have resented him at first, because Duncan did, but she too would have been won over by his goodness and caring for Mac and others around him. At first I was thinking that Tessa wouldn't have been too keen on hanging out at Joe's - I can more easily picture her and Duncan at an opera, say, but then I remembered that, uh, club or whatever it was that they were at in "The Darkness". I have a feeling Tessa would have developed a taste for the blues. And she would have been an affective advocate of Duncan and Joe's friendship, helping them both to get through the rough spots they've had, the way Amanda did in "The Colonel". She and Joe might have been slightly redundant, though, both serving as Duncan's conscience, in a way, or as the mortal who understands him, at least.

It think it might have been good for Richie to have had Tessa around. His own entrance into immortality would have been less traumatic if (somehow) Tessa hadn't died at the same time. And she could have softened Duncan's sometimes rough parenting techniques (which wouldn't have been as bad anyway if Duncan hadn't been grieving at the time). It would have been nice for him to have had a mother figure for a little longer.

Unfortunately I don't think Tessa and Methos would have gotten along very well. I can't quite put my finger on why - something about Methos' cynical outlook on life, or something. Perhaps, since she seems to be a pretty good judge of character and fairly insightful when it comes to immortals and their struggles (at least she was with Duncan), she would have seen past the outer face he puts on - in which case somehow I think he would be a different person by the end. But I don't
think the friendship between Duncan and Methos would ever have been as wonderfully interesting and eventful and good for both of them. Of course, I haven't the slightest idea how she would have reacted to Kronos' appearance . . .

Now, Kalas would have had a field day, if Tessa were around. How better to attack Duncan than through her? (Wouldn't that have gotten old?) And "Something Wicked" - ooooo, we saw how he treated Richie, and the woman in the bar. It gives me the shivers to think of Tessa dealing with evil Dunkie. Somehow, some way, I'd like to hope that Joe or Methos or someone would have shielded her from him, or he might have damaged their relationship for a long time. And the business with Ahriman, and Richie . . . wow, I don't even want to think about it.

In the end, although I loved Tessa and loved to watch her and Duncan together, loved to see him so happy and fulfilled with her, I think the show was better served by her death. It welded Duncan to our hearts, to suffer such a loss *with* him. He was so lonely and vulnerable - how could we help but hurt for him? And so many other things have happened that would have been hampered by her presence. Losing the most important relationship in his life did open the way for a number of other wonderful, eventful friendships that frankly I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on. And Duncan would never have been the haunted hero with a world of sorrow and loss on his shoulders but still able to love life and find meaning and happiness in it that we have all grown to love.

Tessa's death was a pivotal moment in the development of Duncan's character. Nobody wants or asks for such wrenching growth experiences, but maybe by suffering so, Duncan can better help all of us with the challenges we face.

Makes missing ACCESS look pretty trivial.

Anybody else have any thoughts?

Peace,

JR