In spite of considerably strong ratings "Human Target," the action series based on the Vertigo comic and produced by McG is currently on the bubble with the possibility of it coming back at a strong 60-40 chance in favor of it returning. Many fans are speculating that with "Prison Break" taking the dirt nap and "24" ending very soon, FOX may be in need of filling their action quota, so "Human Target" just may make a return. But if you saw the season finale you can see it's the writers leaving the story open to brand new possibilities while also closing up a lot of the storylines. All season Christopher Chance has been a large enigma that not even the audience really knows for sure. His motives and his co-workers are always working on the gray zone, and with the finale we finally get to learn some things about Christopher while also remaining in the dark yet again for the writers to hopefully extrapolate for us in season two.
But, just in case FOX has a change of heart and files this show in the "Brilliant but Canceled" database, the season finale works on two levels. For this ender the writers pull out all the stops and oddly enough this ends up being the best episode of the season. Here we go back in time and learn who Christopher Chance is. We learn how he met Winston, how he and Gurrero are friends, who "The Old Man" was, why he's horrified of confronting him and Baptiste (seriously, Lennie James is a truly despicable villain in this series), we learn the origin of the alias "Christopher Chance," and we even discover how he got his dog Carmine. All of those elements of course point to his fateful meeting with his true love Katherine Walters. For the entire season it's been hinted that Christopher Chance became a bodyguard because of an undercurrent of tragedy that turned his life around and we eventually learned that his motivation for protecting human life instead of snuffing it out was Katherine Walters, the only woman he's ever truly loved.
She is played by none other than the absolutely gorgeous Amy Acker, who is the ideal person to portray the pure and innocent Katherine. Acker is probably one of the most underrated character actors on television and, as we saw with her portrayal of Fred in "Angel," can portray sympathetic without even trying. So when Christopher first lays eyes on Acker as Katherine we can definitely understand why he'd appreciate sheer beauty and decide to end his life as a hired assassin. Hell with one look from Acker I'd drop my burger and chomp on carrots for the rest of my life. The writers have a lot to do in the forty five minute run time by explaining and exploring a lot of Chance's back story, so the romance between Katherine and Christopher is understandably rushed, but still sweet and heartbreaking just the same. Acker is able to convey this confusion within Katherine who was just doing a good deed and ended up in a very deadly situation.
Mark Valley giving a superb performance as always, is able to switch gears almost immediately from a man conflicted about his life to suddenly realizing he has to become a guardian when he realizes Katherine is not some scum mob boss holding information for black mail, but just a poor dock worker who tried to help someone out and paid for it dearly. Like mostly everyone Chance has protected in the season, she just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time given a key piece of information and has to hide out from The Old Man's client who sends Chance to kill her. When that all goes South we finally get to the confrontation years later when Guerrero, Winston and Chance are ambushed and taken hostage, forced to explain what happened with Katherine and where his important merchandise went. This of course forces Chance to recount Katherine and come face to face with Joubert ("The Old Man") who takes this meeting to his advantage to finally pin down where Christopher is and level the field in his favor.
Joubert is played with zeal by Armand Assante who looks at Christopher like a son (even calling him Junior) and yet holds no hesitation in sending a hit out on him once Christopher has a change in heart on his final mission. The series has sported some wicked guest stars since its premiere bringing aboard Christina Cole, Emmanuelle Vaugier, Autumn Reeser, Danny Glover, and finally Lee Majors who makes a surprise appearance as the only man able to beat Christopher Chance. Majors is in rare form here as an aged vet who helps Christopher when the chips are down and makes a last ditch effort in protecting Katherine. The series has shown a flair for storytelling comprising a very simplistic arc that also works as a puzzle. Chance is only a plot device in every episode meant to act as a sort of watcher helping his clients to realize what they've done in their life and reflect on their errors. In the meantime the writers have snuck in hints and undertones of Chance's actual purpose with a prelude in "Baptiste" that manages to come full circle in "Christopher Chance."
Now Chance has stopped becoming a mere guardian and is in need of some protecting himself especially now that his worst fears from "Corner Man" have been realized with Winston being taken hostage by The Old Man who has enlisted Chance to find the missing merchandise from his last mission or risk causing the death of his best friends. As for the finale there are some considerable questions left for the viewer. Did Baptiste steal the book? Did Winston? Did Katherine really die in the boat explosion? If not was she a part of some major con to test Chance's resolve and ended up falling in love with him as he did for her and just abandoned her post allowing them to think she'd perished? And what are the Old Man's plans for Chance? Nevertheless the show does come to a considerable close and I hope this series returns.
We fans will surely be awaiting FOX's word on the show's fate, because leaving us with these aching questions is just... cruelty. Fingers crossed.
