the dead dictator, Ceausescu. Upon arrival they're greeted by Captain Cuzo, who isn't thrilled to have them there. He insists that the past should remain in the past and that they should move forward into the future.
As Cuzo takes them into Ceausescu's basement headquarters, a force of Romanian K-Force soldiers lead by Major Krik approach the headquarters through secret underground tunnels. They burst through the wall and take Cuzo, MacGyver, Pete, and the other delegates prisoner in the archive room. Krik informs them that Ceausescu's will lives on and then locks them in with an incendiary charge. The French delegate tries to disarm the bomb but there isn't enough time. Rigging a telephone receiver to an intercom speaker, MacGyver manages to open a vault door and tosses the bomb inside just in time to save their lives.
The upstairs guards arrive and open fire. One of the K-Force soldiers, Victor, provides cover fire while Krik and the others escape. MacGyver bursts out of the room and attacks Victor, who shoots him through the shoulder. Victor takes him hostage and retreats into the tunnels. When he prepares to kill MacGyver, MacGyver reminds him that he could still be useful. Victor takes him out of the tunnels to the nearby forest and steals a car. He forces MacGyver to drive until the tire blows out. Victor prepares to kill MacGyver, who tries to warn him there's a snake nearby. Victor assumes it's a trick and the snake bites him in the leg. MacGyver runs away and Victor chases after him until the poison overcomes him. MacGyver reluctantly goes back and tends to the soldier. Using a rubber flashlight tube, MacGyver manages to extract most of the poison.
In Bucharest, Pete and Cuzo listen as Krik makes a radio broadcast telling the Romanians that he killed the delegates as a warning, and that he and his Praetorian Guard won't tolerate outsiders interfering in Romanian affairs. Cuzo warns Pete that the chances of finding MacGyver alive aren't good.
When Victor recovers consciousness, MacGyver tries to give him water. When the soldier wonders why MacGyver saved him, MacGyver says it was a reflex made out of basic humanity. Victor refuses the water and MacGyver warns that they'll have to wait a couple of hours to see if he's fully recovered from the poison. Victor reluctantly takes some water before passing out again.
At the old farm the K-Force use as a base, Krik receives a report from his lieutenant. Yorgan informs him that they've located the abandoned vehicle, and they're trying to find Victor and MacGyver.
When Victor wakes up, he wonders if MacGyver is going to torture him for K-Force's base or turn him in for the reward. MacGyver again insists that he's treating Victor out of simple human kindness, and wonders how Victor was raised to become a cold-hearted killing machine. Victor explains that Major Krik found him in the streets of Romania and took him in, and then trained him as an elite K-Soldier. They all swore an oath to protect Ceausescu, and MacGyver points out he's no threat to Ceausescu. Victor thinks about that and then introduces himself. He agree to takes MacGyver as far as the highway. After a few hours, MacGyver suggest they take a rest. He finds a discarded fishing pole and asks Victor about the fishing. The pole stirs memories in Victor but he denies that the pole has any significance. As they take a brief rest, Victor remembers his childhood and how Major Krik confronted Victor and his friend Nicolae. He moves off and prepares to cut his own wrist, but MacGyver stops him. Victor insists he has a duty not to be captured alive and that one of them has to die. MacGyver says that Victor can just walk away if he wants, and the soldier says he'll think about it.
The two men continue through the woods and Victor finally explains that when he was a child in the barracks, friendships weren't allowed. Despite that, he befriended Nicolae, another trainee. They snuck out at night and went fishing despite the fact there were strict orders against fraternization. When Krik found out, he forced the two of them to fight to the death. If they refused, he would have had them both shot. The two friends had no choice but to fight, and Victor won. MacGyver insists that he understands and says there's nothing Victor could have done, but the K-Soldier says that he could have lost.
Cuzo and Pete conduct an aerial search of the woods by helicopter. MacGyver and Victor see them and go the road, but Krik and his men find and capture them. Krik orders Victor to knock MacGyver out and after a moment, he does it. MacGyver wakes up in a cell at the K-Force's base. Krik promises him that he'll help in his plan to oppose the government, whether MacGyver wants to or not. As he leaves, Victor tells MacGyver that he obeyed order. Once the two are alone, Krik asks Victor what MacGyver did to influence him. Victor explains that MacGyver saved his life but Krik insists that the American just wanted to manipulate Victor. When Victor repeats MacGyver's words about humanity, Krik scoffs, insisting that humanity is an abstraction created by idealists. Krik took Victor off the streets and gave him a sacred purpose, just as Ceausescu did for Krik during World War II. When Victor balks at killing MacGyver, the major reminds him that his duty is to kill whoever he says to kill.
MacGyver starts to open his cell door using the light bulb cage as a picklock. However, Victor arrives and gives him the keys, then gets him outside. Victor distracts the guard and MacGyver on ahead. He gets to the car just as Cuzo and Pete finish their search and start to leave. Using a muffler pipe and a road flare, MacGyver sends a signal and attracts their attention. However, when the helicopter lands nearby, Krik, Victor and the K-Force soldiers emerge to take Cuzo and Pete captive. Krik tells MacGyver that he's free to go and Victor explains that he set the whole thing up so that Krik would spare MacGyver's life. MacGyver refuses to abandon his friends and Krik takes him prisoner with the others.
As the K-Force soldiers take the prisoners back to their base, Victor approaches MacGyver and offers to help. He reveals he has a hand grenade ready but MacGyver says there's a better way. He tosses the fishing rod into the woods while holding on to the line. When it unravels, it distracts the soldiers behind them, giving MacGyver and Victor the opportunity to knock them out. Krik opens fire, wounding Cuzo in the leg. MacGyver gets Cuzo and Pete to safety while Victor holds the major off. However, Victor runs out of ammo and Krik guns him down. The major moves forward to check on him, but the dying Victor grabs him by the arm. He reveals the grenade in his hand and says that Krik taught him well, and then triggers the grenade. The explosion kills both men.
Later, Cuzo receives treatment and informs Pete and MacGyver that the authorities have rounded up the rest of Krik's men. He assures the Americans that the soldiers will be rehabilitated rather than tried and executed for their crimes. As the medics take Victor's body away, MacGyver stops them and makes sure that he's properly covered. As they watch, Pete assures MacGyver that Victor finally found his humanity.
Written by Gadfly on Nov 10, 2019