I already listed it as one of the moments in the "1000 reasons why we
love Jag" topic, but I'd have to say a very poignant JAG moment was
when Mac forgave her father on his death bed and healed the wounds that had been festering since she had abandoned him at the age of 17.
In the episode "Second Sight" her father is on his death bed and she
gets word from a Catholic priest who is palliating her father. She goes to California only to find him in a coma when she arrives. She is very
tormented by the unresolved issues between her and her father, and
throws a tantrum at his comatose body on the bed when she realizes she
won't be able to obtain the closure she obviously sought by coming.
Meanwhile her mother shows up.
Mac undergoes a very profound self-discovery when she finds it in her
heart to forgive her father, and the scene of him squeezing her hand as
he passes and what it symbolizes for Mac is very powerful.
I was very affected by Mac breaking down on her mother's shoulder after
her father passes (had similar impact for me as the scene where Harm
shows his vulnerability when Bud is injured). What's even more
impressive and truly profound, and made me find new respect for Mac was
how through recollection and her mother's comments about "losing" the
family dog she took when she abandoned Mac and her father, that Mac not
only realizes her abandoment of her father was preceded by her mother's
abandonment of her, but forgives her mother for it.
It is one of the most noble moments, becoming of Mac's commission as a
Marine Corps officer, when she says with sincerity to her mother "I
forgive you", and upon getting up and turning to go to her dead father
and being asked by her mother "where are you going", responds
"to bury my father".
There was something extremely endearing of Mac to find the honour in the simple things her father was able to provide her as a teenager after her mother took a powder, despite his wretched character flaws, like cleaning the house and looking over her homework.
We should all pay homage to our parents for all the consideration they gave us from day to day, even if they are not perfect. Mac doing so while finding the compassion to forgive her mother is one of the strongest moments in JAG for Mac's character.
Edited on 01/04/2007 1:05am