While most people remember Macgyver as a show about a guy that build bombs out of dish detergent & paperclips and fixes cars with eggs, I've started rewatching the show a bit and what really strikes me is how many episodes are actually plot driven by kindness.
Pretty frequently Mac would go out of his way to do a small act of kindness for a stranger, only for that stranger to save him, the mission, or both because they now know him as a good person. Or because a friend called Macgyver for help and he (despite the situation being absurdly dangerous) because Macgyver presumably has proven himself as a good and caring friend in the past OR that person did some act of kindness towards Macgyver in the past. (That said, it's always like "the Soviets are after me" and never "I need a drive to the airport." Pete often side eyes Mac's other friends and given the fact that half of them are doing shit like accidentally building bombs for Evils R Us Unlimited, he is kinda right to do so.)
The show doesn't really have any other main characters aside for Macgyver himself and Pete Thorton and Pete's not in or barely in a good sized chunk of them. Despite this, it works because RDA manages to have good chemistry with just about anyone and Macgyver is out there being kind and making new friends in every episode.
I'm was obsessed with this show growing up and I was afraid to go back to it because I thought it wouldn't be the same. I was age 5-12 as it aired and didn't view it with the cynicalism as an adult and was afraid I would eyerool it as an adult. Instead I'm really seeing where the roots of my love for characters like Benton Frasier and Ted Lasso come from, and why I love shows where kindness matters.
