years. The character has to grow and grow on his own. This show is not called The Highlander and Richie. For Richie's growth, he really could no longer be the spear-carrier. The show was not inherently about him. And this is not because of the actor." Executive Script Consultant David Tynan added, "Once he had become immortal, he had to change and become more serious. For the character, he was going through a learning process and an evolution in terms of his spirit, his soul, and his relationship with MacLeod. He became in many ways less fun to write, I think, because he simply wasn't the smart-ass, wisecracking young street kid. He couldn't be, and that's the direction the character had to go in. There was really no other option." Executive Producer William Panzer considered the episode "Under Color of Authority" as Ryan's coming of age story, when he killed another immortal in a rage and took his first Quickening. Panzer said, "This is the time for Richie to leave and kind of find himself, sort of see what it's like, surviving on the outside... And it is also a hard time for MacLeod. Is he crying? Is he sad to see him go? Is he a little afraid for him? You know, it's like any time you turn a youngster loose in the world, even today's world. It's a pretty scary moment for the parent." Regarding Richie's shift from series regular to a recurring character, Gillian Horvath said, "Richie was never the hero of his own show, but he was the support of the hero. The first season Richie was the same guy for twenty-two weeks. And then certain landmarks start defining your characters and start creating arcs. Richie's going in and out in the second season, I think, helped define his character. I know it was frustrating for Stan - he liked being in every show - but I think it helped define the character because it meant you kept seeing landmark events in his life that kept changing him... If he had been around every week, he would have just had the 'What's up, Mac?' scene. The fact that he's in fewer episodes means that when he is in an episode, he has something to do." Regarding Richie's death, Kirsch said, "I could have said no, I could have not done the episode. At the time, I