Most instructive, when considering why The Duel is so lacklustre, is to compare the villains of 'All the Queen's Horse' and 'Red, White and Blue' with Carver, the antagonist in this episode. The Bolt brothers from the aforementioned are writ large. We are never in any doubt that this pair are vaudevillian in their villainy. Consequently, the tone of these episodes is set firmly in the realm of parody. Carver is, in contrast, meant to be menacing (turkey in the shower notwithstanding). with the result that Ray's 'duel' with him is intended to be taut with suspense. Carver has almost magical powers, immediately upon release from prison. he sees all, knows all, and somehow, he is able to spirit away Ray's car from under the very noses of the police stakeout. Far from creating a feeling of danger, such actions prompt a snort of disbelief. If intended to be funny, the playing of the subsequent scenes leaves the humour ill-established. if dramatic, it is risible. A first or third season episode would have played up such police ineptitude for all it was worth (The Duck Boys ride again!). Here, we are left wondering what to make of it.
There are very few light spots in this episode, but two spring to mind. when the film 'Speed' is invoked, and Fraser brainstorms 'a pile of shaving cream'. and the sublime scenes with Francesca in Fraser's apartment (thank God, yet again, for Ramona Milano). But it is not the lack of humour that robs this episode of impact (there are other episodes where humour is scarce). rather, it is the lack of genuine drama.
Neither actor can be faulted. Gross is particularly effective in the scene during which he is asked to comment on Ray's state of mind, and, as ever, when he and Frannie are together. Marciano does well in the scenes with his ex-wife/wife, and as a man struggling with his own perceptions of his self-worth. But the direction and scripting are clumsy, and the sign-off 'humour' is the sort of 'Quinn Martin' tastelessness that has generally been avoided on DS.
Marciano once stated that the show goes 'back on its heels' when his character takes a back seat. On the evidence of 'the Duel', it might also be fair to say that DS loses its delightfully deft touch when his desire for hero-making scripts overwhelms the comedic/dramatic balance that ds fans have enjoyed. This is not a personal criticism of Marciano, but an observation. as Gross continually looked to increase the comedic content, Marciano, by his own admission, sought to bring the show more dramatic credibility. It was another area of - if not conflict, then certainly contrast - between them. For what it is worth, my personal view is that Gross was correct. DS was never going to be 'RCMP Blue', and forging its own niche between genres was always preferable to becoming a second rate cop show.
"The Duel" allowed a little peek into Ray Vecchio that had, up until then, seemingly been solely reserved for Fraser. That sort of balance is needed in a show like DS, or it gets too one-sided and less interesting. Maybe if they had had more of this balance, David Marciano could have been convinced to return.