| Knight Rider | |
| Episode 102: Journey to the End of Knight | |
 | |
| Air Date | October 1, 2008 |
| Written by | Philip Levens |
| Director | David Straiton |
| Episode guide | |
| previous Episode 101: Knight in Shining Armor |
next Episode 103: Knight of the Iguana |
Mike infiltrates a racing gang with the help of an old army buddy, Sarah and KITT.
Summary[]
Mike and KITT head to the California high desert. Their mission is to find Johnny and Ian Chang; two brothers with criminal records who are busy smuggling US military technology overseas. They are ordered to infiltrate their group and find out how the brothers are getting the technology out and who their contact is, with the help of an old army buddy of Mike's named Sean Owens.
Mike arrives at the Halfway House Raceway Tavern, the Chang brothers usual hangout. His friend Sean tells him he looks pretty good for a dead man, and warns him to stay away from the brothers. Mike insists he's there to race. Since the brothers are not there, he starts talking to Ian Chang's girlfriend, Celine Lea. Ian walks in and sees them, and he immediately picks a fight with Mike. Sean tells them to take it outside, and they agree to race for "pinks". Whoever wins gets the other car.
Ian is derisive when he sees KITT. His own car has a modified ram-jet. It is soon clear that KITT cannot beat the car without switching to attack mode. He is forced to use his turbo-boost to jump a car in the way. Although KITT warns that it may affect his structural integrity, he switches back to normal mode mid-jump so nobody waiting at the tavern sees them.
Sparking and smoking, KITT comes to a stop, winning the race. Mike is startled as KITT's Voice Modulator goes dark. Ian loses control of his car and crashes it in to an SUV; he runs away as it goes up in flames.
Back at the KITT cave, KITT is being repaired by an indignant Sarah, who insists that she will drive him when Mike heads back out. Alex Torres and Charles Graiman report that all sorts of classified prototypes are on the line to be given to China; the government suspects that the Chang's auto export business is a front but found nothing when they stripped down the last shipment.
Back at the Tavern, Johnny berates Ian for destroying the car they're supposed to ship out the next day, while Ian maintains that KITT during the race was different. Mike steps up and asks for his car; upon seeing the burned out shell he offers instead to race for the brothers, saying he needs a sponsor, and they need a driver. Johnny tells him to come back that night.
At the tavern Sarah and Sean talk about Mike, and he tells her that they went through training together before Mike was selected for black ops, and that he doesn't want Mike to make the same mistakes he did. He also explains that he served time for fencing stolen property and that it's hard to be the middleman. Meanwhile, Celine apologizes for causing trouble for Mike. Ian enters the tavern with a knife. Warned by KITT, Mike knocks him down, only to confront Johnny holding a gun. Johnny tells him that if he replaces the car Ian wrecked in the race by midnight the next day, he can race for them.
The only car on the west coast they can find has already been stolen; it's currently in the possession of Dimitri Kasporov, an ex-con, who fancies himself the Ukrainian Hugh Heffner, and holds "model and bottle" parties. Alex and KITT warn Mike that this will be grand theft auto, and they can't protect him if he's caught. Sarah says she'll be in and out before Dimitri knows what's happened. Mike protests but she says that she's had the same training, and she looks better in a bikini.
Sean warns Mike again not to get involved with the Changs. He says they'll kill him if he loses. Mike says he doesn't intend to lose. Sean says he's got Mike's back.
The group contacts Mike to tell him that the technology transfer hasn't been made. They are just in time for an indignant Charles to see his daughter walk towards the car in her bikini. Mike cuts off the transmission and they head to Dimitri's mansion, where KITT synthesizes an invite to the party, and a key for the car. As she gets out of KITT Sarah confesses that stealing a car wasn't on her bucket list of things to do before she died, but refuses to tell Mike what actually is on it.
Sarah walks through the party and into the garage, but as she reaches for the key she is accosted by Dimitri. She knocks him out and then drives the car out of the mansion past several armed men. KITT shuts the gate and scrambles the codes behind them as they head back to the desert.
Outside the tavern, Mike leans on KITT talking to Sarah. His tattoo touches KITT's hood, calling up a display of his classified military files that KITT cannot identify. As he tries desperately to read them, the Chang brothers approach. To hide the files, Sarah pushes an unresponsive Mike onto the hood and jumps on top of him to kiss him. The files disappear but Mike is still stunned; Sarah hands Johnny the keys to the stolen car.
Back in the Kitt Cave, Mike rubs his tattoo over KITT with no effect. He asks Billy to scan the tattoo, but nothing is revealed. The video feed did not capture the files, and KITT's memory bank has been cleared. A frustrated Mike accuses Alex of erasing KITT's memory. Alex assures Mike that he has no knowledge of what Mike saw and that he will look into it.
An irate Charles interrupts them, furious about Sarah's part in the mission. Mike takes responsibility for having her steal the car. Charles tells him that he needs to get it together before somebody gets hurt. Back in the cave, KITT is watching westerns to learn more about male and female roles. He questions why Mike did not tell Charles that stealing the car was Sarah's idea, and Mike says you can't snitch on a friend. He adds that Charles was right; it was his responsibility.
On the way to the race, Sarah tells Mike that she had Billy check up on Sean because she was curious about his middleman comment. Billy found that he'd been making large cash deposits. Mike insists that Sean wouldn't be involved in the Chang's business, and that his past is his past. Nonetheless, he asks Sean whether he's got money riding on the race.
While Mike races, Sarah follows the Chang brothers. She quickly realizes that the race is a cover for the technology transfer going on in their garage; they are building the systems right into the cars. She is discovered spying by Ian. Mike abandons the race to go rescue her, but she punches out Ian and escapes to KITT,who takes her away from the Tavern on Mike's orders. Johnny knocks Mike out with a lead pipe.
They take him to the desert, bury him up to his neck, and taunt him by driving their go-carts and trucks around him. KITT loses Mike's signal and tries unsuccessfully to track him by heat sources. Desperate, Sarah goes to Sean and asks him where the brothers would take Mike. The two drive out to save him, during which Sarah is forced to activate KITT and switch him to his 4WD truck mode.
They arrive just as Ian has decided to run Mike over, causing Ian's truck to turn over. Sarah digs out Mike, but then Sean punches her out and turns a gun on her, telling Mike to shut down KITT. He tells Mike that he tried to warn him, but although he loves him like a brother Mike knows too much. He chains the two to Ian's truck while they finish the technology transfer. They use some of the technology on KITT to shut him and his transponder down.
Mike, Johnny, and their contact continue with their business, while a henchman digs a second hole for Sarah and Ian beats up Mike. Back at the KITT-Cave, Billy manages to use a cell-tower to access KITT's visual feed. Charles tells Billy to reroute power through KITT's backup systems. Mike manages to get his chain around Ian's neck. When Johnny tries to shoot him, he turns so that Ian shields him from the shots. Sarah, her hands bound together, manages to knock out the guy digging holes near her. As Johnny advances on Mike with a shotgun, KITT comes back online and cuts Mike's chain with a laser. He knocks out Johnny.
Sean has jumped into a vehicle and is escaping across the desert. Mike and Sarah follow. KITT warns that they are heading towards a drop off. Mike wants to intercept the unsuspecting Sean, but there is insufficient time, as Sean continues to fire at them out the window. His SUV nosedives and explodes.
Back at the KITT cave, Alex tells Mike that they recovered all the technology. Mike asks about his tattoo, and Alex says they are still working on it.
Mike goes to sit in KITT, who is watching a western. KITT asks why Mike is sad, and Mike says that Sean was his friend. KITT tells Mike he'd be honored to be his friend. Mike agrees that every cowboy needs a sidekick, and KITT remarks that Mike is much more than a horse. Bemused by KITT's newfound humor, Mike settles in to watch the movie.
Guest Cast[]
Starring[]
- Johnny Messner as Sean Owens
- Sung Kang as Johnny Chang
- Karl Yune as Ian Chang
- Kristina Anapau as Celine Lea
- The Parlor Mob
Also Starring[]
- Sven Holmberg as Dimitri Kasporov
- Desmond Roberts as boy in mini-van
Music[]
- The song heard as Mike enters the Halfway House Raceway Tavern is "Hard Times" by The Parlor Mob (performed live)
- The song Sarah uses to "get her groove on" as she enters Dimitri's party is "The Kids" by The Parlor Mob
- The song heard as Sarah walks through the party is "Mercy" by Duffy
- "Tide of Tears" by The Parlor Mob is heard after the files on KITT's hood disappear.
- "A Little Bit Different" from the movie Angel and the Badman is heard when KITT is watching westerns.
- "My Favorite Heart to Break" by The Parlor Mob is heard on the way to the race.
Trivia[]
- Mike makes a reference to Grand Theft Auto IV, when Sarah starts playing funk music to "get into character" before the party. He says "This is not Grand Theft Auto IV, you get all jacked up on adrenaline, you make mistakes" to which Sarah replies "Save the lecture."
External Links[]
- Trailer (Courtesy of Knight Rider Online)