I posted this on another forum last year after watching through the full series, had such a great time watching through finally:
OK I'm losing interest in season 6 honestly I never had it I think I'm going to bail on it. I'm going to go back and watch episodes that you review like Eye Of The Beholder I actually remember none of that, so that's next.
But since I'm to this point I feel like I can post overall thoughts on the show. Bake some of this may contain spoilers I feel like I ruined Tessa's death for you so you may not want to read this. But I'm feeling super lazy tonight and not going to put it in spoilers because I can't remember how they work on this site.
Overall the show was definitely way better than I remember it. I never knew about Methos or the Four Horsemen back in the day, I mostly remember the episodes from the first 2 seasons. But I did pick up on a pattern that the show has for all 5 seasons.
The first 4-6 episodes feel bigger budget, bigger stunts, better guest stars, usually the strongest episodes.
After that there is a drag of filler episodes up until the mid-season 2 parter, which was usually the best episodes of the season.
After that the show usually has it written into the story for everything to shift to Paris France, they are on the run from somebody or for some reason they have to leave the country and Duncan has the barge they live in on the river right in front of Notre Dame.
Once the show shifts to France it has more of a European flare, sometimes it's cool sometimes just doesn't work. But usually another batch of filler episodes until the last 2 episodes are usually a 2 part season finale.
Season 1 has a 1992-93 vibe about it that I love, some of the weaker episodes are still like little self contained 45 minute movies that still get your attention, like the Absynth Mimes, or the Phantom Of The Opera rip off in the catacombs. I even get a kick out of the Die Hard rip off episode Bad Day In Building A, and one of these episodes(Mountain Men) is so bad it's actually one of my favorite episodes of the whole series. First I'm gonna take yer quickening, then I'm gonna take yer woman. GOAT line in Highlander history.
What I've read and get the sense of is that the show didn't get good until season 2. The highs of season 2 are higher than anything in season 1 yes but overall I'd take that first season. I am planning on buying the first season VHS set soon because I feel like that batch of episodes is just a natural fit for VHS tapes and the box looks the coolest.
Favorite episodes from season 1:
1:1- The Quickening
1:2- Innocent Man
1:7- Mountain Men
1:11- Family Tree
1:13- Band Of Brothers
Season 2 aired across the end of 1993 and beginning of 1994, this is where I read the permanent writers/producers settled into the show. This is where "The Watchers" storyline comes in and I've already said I'm not super crazy about it but I don't hate it either, it did add a lot of elements to the show's overarching storyline. But yeah the first 4-5 episodes of season 2 are strong. Turnabout is one of my favorite episodes I loved that final fight at the end and the swerve that led to it. Then it's followed up with another absolute banger of an episode in The Darkness, at this point the show is running at a really high level and I believe it had to have been one of the most bad ass things on TV.
Once you get past that initial surge of bad assery you hit The Zone episode about 6 eps deep, it's one of the worst of the whole series. The very next episode after that is The Return Of Amanda so there you go. I feel like the lows of season 2 are lower than the lows of season 1. Revenge of the Sword was one of those so bad it's amazing episodes where we get to see some Ninja action. Run For Your Life was a solid episode with a recurring character the black guy that goes on to be a baseball player after Duncan saved him from being lynched in the 20's. Epitaph For Tommy after that is the Roddy Piper episodes and a must watch just for him, for all the pro wrestlers that could have guest starred on the show I guess it made the most sense for it to be Piper. He wore a kilt after all.
The Unholy Alliance 2 part mid-season story was ok, honestly I don't remember much about it, I don't know if I like Xavier as a heel in Highlander, though I do love She Drives Me Crazy. The Vampire episode later in season 2 was an interesting one. Then you get a pretty bad stretch of episodes leading up to a not-so great 2 part finale. Season one seen the death of Tessa getting shot point blank, I did love her and was absolutely fucking stunned that she died. I thought she was one of the characters that was just always on the show. I started to wonder if she was thinking about leaving Duncan there before she died though, it seemed like she was really into the dude in Turnabout and she started to wonder about growing old and Duncan losing interest in her, she also seemed increasingly unsure if whether or not she wanted to keep living Duncan's lifestyle always fighting or in danger. But for her and Richie both to get gunned down then for Richie to revive to find out he's an Immortal was pretty fucking brilliant. This means that Duncan knew all along that Richie was immortal when they first met in the first episode, Richie just didn't know it yet because he hadn't died yet.
The whole storyline arc with Duncan and Richie was pretty fucking brilliant and the highlight of the 5 seasons to me. The show told a pretty damn good story there over the span of those seasons between this master and his apprentice. Right from the very first scene in the show Richie is just a dumb 90's kid, orphan who didn't know who his real parents were(a big sign from early in season 1 that Richie was Immortal).
I love the very first scene in the very first episode where Richie breaks into Duncan's museum and is fucking around with the swords, he's all like en guarde you fool and Duncan comes up on him ready to fuck him up all "I am Duncan Mcleod of the Clan Mcleod" and Richie's all like dude chill hahaha.
But the whole episode in season 1 where Richie is looking for his father and Duncan keeps telling him he should forget about it he might not like what he finds, with the flashbacks of his own father abandoning him in the Highlands of Scotland after seeing him revive from his first death. That is pretty brilliant storytelling and foreshadowing Richie's reveal to be an Immortal in season 2.
Favorite episodes from season 2:
2:3 Turnabout
2:4 The Darkness
Season 3 is peak Highlander without a doubt. This was great stuff and I keep wanting to go back and rewatch some of these episodes. The very first episode is the origin story of that sweet, bad fucking ass dragon head ivory handle katana that Duncan has throughout the show. It's a set piece that to me becomes a highlight of the show in and of itself. Really loved that episode though. Also loved The Cross Of St. Antoine and Shadows. Season 3's mid season 2 parter is where we finally meet Methos and it's a pretty bad ass character introduction. From here up to the finale it builds up to Duncan having a pretty epic showdown on the Eiffel Tower with a nasty heel that kills Fitzcairn and was ready to fuck some shit up, epic quickening on the worlds largest lightning rod. Season 3 was pretty awesome, even the weaker episodes were a vibe.
Favorite episodes from season 3:
3:1 The Samurai
3:4 The Cross Of St. Antoine
Season 4 continues the prime Highlander run up into the first 4-5 episodes, this was fall of 1995 where this was still really one of the coolest things that came on TV like Tales From The Crypt you would mark out for it when it would randomly come on some channel. Something cool that I liked about the season 1 opener was how it showed Duncan going back to Scotland with the flashback of him in a Romeo and Juliet style relationship with a rival clan, the Campbell clan. I did some research and traced my lineage back to the Campbell clan in Scotland a few years ago so I thought this was really cool, he was a Texas Ranger in Lonesome Dove territory, I believe he framed a house in one episode, and they just had to throw Duncan Mcleod was banging one of my ancestors in there, therefore I think I will identify as an Immortal from now on.
Chivalry was a good episode from season 4. The mid-season 2 parter I really fucking loved though, this was where we get to the Dark Quickenings fucking up Immortals and making them evil. Duncan has to behead his native Shaman friend after a dark quickening fucks him up. This gives Duncan the dark quickening and he almost kills Richie after fucking him up in the dojo. He was about to behead Richie until Joe saved him by firing Duncan up with a revolver. This fucked with Richie throughout the rest of the series that Duncan was really about to kill him, this was continuation of that first storyline that goes back to the first moment of the first episode.
The second part of the 2 part mid-season Deliverance was a real treat, with Duncan having to duel with Evil Duncan in his own consciousness and his family sword that he went to Scotland for in the first episode helps him overcome the evil version of himself. This was fucking beyond rad. Loved every bit of it.
Season 4 gets a bit goofy with the Watchers stuff at the end of the season and spilling into the first episode of season 5. Leader Of The Pack earlier in the season falls into the so bad it was great category.
Favorite season 4 episodes:
4:13 Something Wicked
4:14 Deliverance
Season 4 definitely petered out hard towards the end.
Season 5 the Richie/Duncan saga continues in the third episode Richie returns and has real issues with Duncan almost killing him in season 4. He's been out fighting and training and he's ready to take Duncan on but Duncan won't fight him. They eventually patch things up but it definitely feels like the whole thing was building to Duncan beheading his pupil Richie. Manhunt was an OK episode but man for the most part season 5 is pretty lame up until The Messenger, which is the Ron Pearlman episode(also stars the Cerulean Blue guy from X-Files).
Then we get to the peak of the show with Along Comes A Horsemen and the follow up Revelations 6:8. This was pretty fucking epic and I'm glad Baker put it over in this thread because I was stoked as fuck to get to it. After that though this show was toast. They followed up that amazing double episode with one of the corniest bullshit episodes the show ever did, like a lame James Bond wannabe type story with Richie pretending to be some rich high roller. The next episode after that is the Spanish dancing episode which just crosses over the line of cheesiness into just too over the top campy and out of character for the show. They followed that up with a Fitzcairn flashback goofball episode the Stone Of Scone just a straight comedy episode and another out of character episode for the series. At this point the show no longer feels cool at all anymore.
The last episode sees the dark forces cause Duncan to behead Richie. I thought the execution was pretty lame like it was an accident the dark forces tricked Duncan into doing it. This dark supernatural storyline spills over into season 6 for a couple of episodes and it's pretty lame.
Favorite episodes of season 5
5:12 Comes A Horsemen
5:13 Revelation 6:8
