The Spear of Destiny

Season 4, Episode 13, Aired
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Episode Summary

Mack gets badly wounded while on a mission with Jonas and they must seek refuge in a monk's monastery. Mack has vision of a fallen team member. On the home front, Bob is assigned to a dangerous mission and is still having problems from his last mission. Kim goes along to help her husband and sees the darker side of his job.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (11)

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  • I will go on record as saying this was one of the best Unit episodes in the series!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Teh_Fonz, Sep 10, 2010 Report Abuse
    I loved this episode from start to finish. Two characters of seasons past return each with their own motives.

    The scenes with Mack & Hector were excellent. Hector was seemed so at peace with his death, I felt some comforted. It was nice to find out that Col Ryan wasn't involved in Hectors shooting. I was expecting Col Ryan to kick his ex-wife out of his office, but it seemed she had some clout and was able to hold the safe evac of his stranded soldiers for a supernatural relic.

    You really feel bad for Bob with his heroin addiction, which was not his fault or choice. I would have thought that if he went to the Col after their Casino mission they would have pulled him from future missions and made him suffer through rehab.

    This episode is why I love The Unit.moreless

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    3 5

  • "Robot-worthy" that's what my friends say when a movie or show is so bad it needs the guys from MST3K to provide running commentary. This episode of THE UNIT was robot-worthy.moreless

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By will_stanton_jr, Sep 10, 2010 Report Abuse
    I don't know what just happened. I usually sit on the edge of my seat, knuckles-tensed while watching the unit. This one had sitting back in slack-jawed disbelief and scratching my head in perplexed confusion over what could have so derailed one of my favorite shows. I sat down to watch an exciting episode of THE UNIT and somehow got what appears to be a rejected Indiana Jones script. The other reviews here summarize the episode better, but I'll attempt a short run-down. An ill-equipped and ill-prepared Jonas and Mack are in trouble in the Chilean mountains. Mack is seriously wounded and Jonas seeks help at a small monastery, which just happens to house an order of warrior-monks who forge their own swords, delight in kumite, and have devoted themselves to guarding (though not very well) the Spear of Destiny (Longinus) which supposedly pierced the side of Christ and magically makes people invincible in battle (although this property of the spear doesn't seem to function for the monks who have sworn to guard it). Duh, Duh, Dumb.

    Meanwhile a dying Mack goes on a spirit-walk with Hector and a heroin-addicted Bob invites his wife to accompany him on a super-secret classified unit wet-work assignment. The hits just keep on coming.

    I can't believe that Haysbert or any of the otherwise fine actors from THE UNIT would even agree to go along with this inane plot. This wasn't just a lousy episode. Every TV series has it's share of bad episodes. This was a show-killer and if anyone from THE UNIT is wondering why the show is cancelled, they need only re-watch this episode.

    Everything we liked about the Unit was conspicuously absent from this show. Consistent characters, well-crafted dialogue, and plausible plotlines were all missing from SPEAR OF DESTINY. By the time the announcement came to stay tuned for scenes from the next episode of THE UNIT we found ourselves joking that in the next episode Jonas would have to lead the team back through time to stop the civil-war. I've been a fan of THE UNIT from the start, and a fan of Dennis Haysbert since his David Palmer days on 24. It is so sad to see how the mighty have fallenalas.moreless

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    2 0

  • Jonas and Mack find themselves in a monastery in need of rescue. The army won't rescue them unless/until they steal the Spear of Destiny. Bob tries to complete a mission despite heroin withdrawal.moreless

    3.0
    "Bad"
    By TheBeo, Feb 21, 2009 Report Abuse
    I should point out first that I like the show a lot. Having seen every episode, I was very surprised that this one had a supernatural element. I don't mind that in a show like Fringe, but it has no place in this show. Jonas lives in the real world and I have trouble believing that he would just accept that returning the spear would save Mack's life. Also, it seems like the writers can't decide who Charlotte really is and what she does. Finally, Bob's recovery seems pretty remarkable. One minute he's going through fairly severe withdrawal symptoms and the next he's able to complete his mission. The writing on the show is what first drew me to it. This was not even close to par.moreless

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    2 0

  • This would be a classic "Jumps the Shark" moment. They've gone from military fact-based fiction to crypto-religious fantasy.

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By babasyzygy, Feb 18, 2009 Report Abuse
    The Spear of Longinus? REALLY?

    How did we get here from _The Delta Force_, a book about the training that our elite military forces actually go through to thwart terrorists holding hostages, to this bizarre conspiracy theory based upon Christian apocrypha?

    Recent episodes of The Unit have gotten steadily worse, as we've slid from reality-based fiction (which is to say, scenarios that were supposed to be dramatized but based on possible events, backed by research into how Delta Force actually has operated) to conspiracy-based fantasies dipping into soap opera-like plots. Last week, we saw Bob injected with some fictional super-heroin that turned him into a junkie in a matter of hours. This week, a super secret committee orders that two soldiers be abandoned unless they can produce the Speak of Longinus (with an implied physical salvation through spiritual redemption in a dream sequence).

    This series has nowhere to go. It's time to call it, DOA.moreless

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    3 1

  • Worst of all! Cheapens Delta Force! Cheapens the Biblical story of Jesus Christ. Catholic church has fabricated so many bones and artefacts they could fill museums with quadruplicates of all the apostles. The Unit would never support idolatmoreless

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By moreus, Feb 06, 2009 Report Abuse
    This episode was not Delta Force - it was mystic, pathetic beyond the pale! Only respect for Dennis Haybert -outstanding job on '24', great job on the UNIT. The Unit has had some good writing but this was the worst!!!
    Did NOT run like a normal "Unit" as somewhat believable... This was some mysterious occult program better suited to science fiction. If we believe that our government would stoop to search for phoney Catholic artifacts? Desperate writing!
    Secondly who would believe that Bob is still influenced by heroin? detox is available.
    Thirdly... Even the most pathetic of lawyers is NEVER going to allow Kim to be witness to a murder of someone who tried to kill her?!

    Thanks, Ianmoreless

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    3 1
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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  • Notes

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    • International Air Dates: United Kingdom: June 10, 2009 on Virgin 1 Norway: August 3, 2009 on Viasat 4 Australia: December 8, 2009 on 7TWO Slovakia: May 28, 2010 on JOJ Edit
    • Music: Killing a Dead Man by Grant by Lee Phillips Edit
    • Although credited, Regina Taylor (Molly Blane) and Abby Brammell (Tiffy Gerhardt) do not appear in this episode. Michael Irby (Charles Grey) only appeared via archive footage. Edit

  • Quotes

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    • Bob: I wish you hadn't seen that. Kim: A normal man says, "I wish I hadn't done it." Edit

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