‘MacGyver’ Bids Farewell To Co-Lead George Eads With Emotional Send-Off
It was goodbye to Jack Dalton on tonight’s MacGyver episode, as the co-leader of the Phoenix Foundation departed the show.
In real life, actor George Eads (Dalton) was announced last year as leaving the action series, which he has appeared in since the pilot. Eads has been released from his series contract.
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SPOILER ALERT: DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED TONIGHT’S EPISODE
Tonight’s episode, Father + Bride + Betrayal, spent most of its time dealing with a story other than Dalton’s departure. It seems an international crime boss, Alonzo Olvera, is offering Phoenix director of operations Matty a deal she can’t refuse – he’ll surrender himself into her custody, along with information on his criminal activities, if he’s allowed to return to the United States to attend his daughter’s wedding.
MacGyver and the team crash the wedding to ensure the crime lord doesn’t run, only to discover they’re not the only ones lying in wait at the event. It seems that associates of Olvera don’t want him to quit the business and are determined to stop him.
As for former CIA agent Dalton, the show gave him an open-ended and relatively quiet farewell. In the opening scenes, we learn that he was once head of a military unit that tracked terrorist Tiberius Kovacs, described as “a bad dude, the worst of the worst.”
Kovacs was believed dead, but no body was found. Then a photo surfaced in the wake of another attack, proving he’s still alive. The US government has intel that Kovacs is planning US terror strikes, so they’re putting together a new task force, and want Dalton back to lead the hunt. Watch the teaser above for the scene.
There’s a golden moment at the end of the episode, filled with hugs and near-tearful confessions that are sure to tweak the heartstrings of the show’s core fans. Dalton departs with a smile, but it’s clear that the door has been left open for future guest star appearances.
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