Evening Highlander list
Aug. 13th, 2025 07:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annavereTo cheer myself up this evening, I looked at a list of Highlander episodes and have decided to rank the season openers and finales from my favorite to least for no reason except whim.
I threw The Raven on here, although it's at a disadvantage for only being seen once so far. I also treated all two parters as one.
Onward to my opinions, subject to change on my next rewatch.
Season openers
The Samurai (Season 3)
The scene setting is gorgeous, the flashback is pivotal to Duncan's character development and the final swordfight is very graceful. I always enjoy it.
The Watchers (Season 2)
It's a bit of a clip show. It's the last time Horton will ever be an interesting character. It introduces Joe Dawson. It's a mixed bag, and undeniably grim, but a turning point for the show. And hey, Tessa and Richie being supportive.
Prophecy (Season 5)
I know fan responses to Cassandra are mixed but I've always enjoyed her. She's got her own agenda, her ethics are completely warped, the story she's telling here is incomplete and she's scary-powerful. She's not a good Immortal, but neither is she a clear villain. The script feels a bit flat at times, and I always think the flashback is too long, but it does a lot for the lore and raises interesting questions.
Homeland (Season 4)
Great scenery, great soundtrack. MacLeod gets some emotional material and Joe in Scotland is amusing to me. However, Kanwulf the Viking is just not an imposing threat, and that damages the effectiveness of the plot. And look, I am very forgiving of low budget set design and special effects, but I draw the line at bad hair.
The Gathering (Season 1)
Some nice Duncan/Tessa moments, a fun sparring session with Connor, an absolutely brutal flashback, and a dumb cartoon villain mugging for the camera. It's not bad, but it's like watching the band tune up and soundcheck. The concert is about to start, you're happy to be there, but this isn't what you'll be talking about after the show.
Reborn (The Raven)
While it's nice to see how Amanda lives when Duncan is away, this opening episode is a bit too interested in being a police procedural to deliver on its potential. The right ingredients are there, but in the wrong amounts.
Avatar & Armageddon (Season 6)
'Avatar' is easily my favorite of the Ahriman arc, because it has the least to do with it. It's like the Highlander Halloween special, only not fun. 'Armageddon' almost gets good when the script remembers the core characters, but spends most of its runtime on a sad priest we just met and will never see again and then it tries to become Twin Peaks. It doesn't work for me.
Season finales.
Finale parts 1 & 2 (Season 3)
This was just a fun ride full of moments I enjoyed. The dance. Methos showing his true colors. The catharsis of Kalas being defeated. It feels like a party in celebration. The other finales are downbeat dirges, laments for the lost, but this one I could sit down and watch tomorrow and would have a great time.
Judgment Day & One Minute to Midnight (Season 4)
If only the first part wasn't a clip show. And they could have skipped the Irena flashback and done something else to establish Jacob's character. Otherwise, a thorny, hideous tangle of conflicting viewpoints and a tremendous payoff to four years of Watcher oathbreaking. It's excellent but unpleasant to watch.
The Hunters (Season 1)
The most paranoid episode of the entire show, with a creeping dread no matter how many times I see it. Deeply unsettling and effective. Genuinely saddening. Also, it introduces Fitzcairn.
To Be & Not To Be (Season 6)
The wraparound storyline is emotional and befitting of a final episode. I have some problems with the alternative timeline. However, I confess the Duncan/Tessa sculpture scene gets me every time and it's always good to see Fitz. And the montage is an exceptional farewell.
Counterfeit parts 1 & 2 (Season 2)
In which Horton finally degrades into a wannabe Bond villain, whose obsession with Duncan MacLeod cancels out all the Promethean pretensions which once made him interesting to me. Duncan is not at his best. The magic plastic surgery plot is one of the most groanworthy stories on the entire show. HOWEVER, Richie is great and gets all the strongest material. If he wasn't here, this would rank lower.
Dead on Arrival (The Raven)
Contains the worst depiction of a hacker I have ever seen. Sticks its best plot development in the final five minutes. The villain was entertainingly nuts, but undeniably cartoony. I said "What?" a lot.
Archangel (Season 5)
Dammit. No. Wrong.
Maybe doing more rankings will help me post more frequently. I'm open to suggestions.
I threw The Raven on here, although it's at a disadvantage for only being seen once so far. I also treated all two parters as one.
Onward to my opinions, subject to change on my next rewatch.
Season openers
The Samurai (Season 3)
The scene setting is gorgeous, the flashback is pivotal to Duncan's character development and the final swordfight is very graceful. I always enjoy it.
The Watchers (Season 2)
It's a bit of a clip show. It's the last time Horton will ever be an interesting character. It introduces Joe Dawson. It's a mixed bag, and undeniably grim, but a turning point for the show. And hey, Tessa and Richie being supportive.
Prophecy (Season 5)
I know fan responses to Cassandra are mixed but I've always enjoyed her. She's got her own agenda, her ethics are completely warped, the story she's telling here is incomplete and she's scary-powerful. She's not a good Immortal, but neither is she a clear villain. The script feels a bit flat at times, and I always think the flashback is too long, but it does a lot for the lore and raises interesting questions.
Homeland (Season 4)
Great scenery, great soundtrack. MacLeod gets some emotional material and Joe in Scotland is amusing to me. However, Kanwulf the Viking is just not an imposing threat, and that damages the effectiveness of the plot. And look, I am very forgiving of low budget set design and special effects, but I draw the line at bad hair.
The Gathering (Season 1)
Some nice Duncan/Tessa moments, a fun sparring session with Connor, an absolutely brutal flashback, and a dumb cartoon villain mugging for the camera. It's not bad, but it's like watching the band tune up and soundcheck. The concert is about to start, you're happy to be there, but this isn't what you'll be talking about after the show.
Reborn (The Raven)
While it's nice to see how Amanda lives when Duncan is away, this opening episode is a bit too interested in being a police procedural to deliver on its potential. The right ingredients are there, but in the wrong amounts.
Avatar & Armageddon (Season 6)
'Avatar' is easily my favorite of the Ahriman arc, because it has the least to do with it. It's like the Highlander Halloween special, only not fun. 'Armageddon' almost gets good when the script remembers the core characters, but spends most of its runtime on a sad priest we just met and will never see again and then it tries to become Twin Peaks. It doesn't work for me.
Season finales.
Finale parts 1 & 2 (Season 3)
This was just a fun ride full of moments I enjoyed. The dance. Methos showing his true colors. The catharsis of Kalas being defeated. It feels like a party in celebration. The other finales are downbeat dirges, laments for the lost, but this one I could sit down and watch tomorrow and would have a great time.
Judgment Day & One Minute to Midnight (Season 4)
If only the first part wasn't a clip show. And they could have skipped the Irena flashback and done something else to establish Jacob's character. Otherwise, a thorny, hideous tangle of conflicting viewpoints and a tremendous payoff to four years of Watcher oathbreaking. It's excellent but unpleasant to watch.
The Hunters (Season 1)
The most paranoid episode of the entire show, with a creeping dread no matter how many times I see it. Deeply unsettling and effective. Genuinely saddening. Also, it introduces Fitzcairn.
To Be & Not To Be (Season 6)
The wraparound storyline is emotional and befitting of a final episode. I have some problems with the alternative timeline. However, I confess the Duncan/Tessa sculpture scene gets me every time and it's always good to see Fitz. And the montage is an exceptional farewell.
Counterfeit parts 1 & 2 (Season 2)
In which Horton finally degrades into a wannabe Bond villain, whose obsession with Duncan MacLeod cancels out all the Promethean pretensions which once made him interesting to me. Duncan is not at his best. The magic plastic surgery plot is one of the most groanworthy stories on the entire show. HOWEVER, Richie is great and gets all the strongest material. If he wasn't here, this would rank lower.
Dead on Arrival (The Raven)
Contains the worst depiction of a hacker I have ever seen. Sticks its best plot development in the final five minutes. The villain was entertainingly nuts, but undeniably cartoony. I said "What?" a lot.
Archangel (Season 5)
Dammit. No. Wrong.
Maybe doing more rankings will help me post more frequently. I'm open to suggestions.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-14 02:53 am (UTC)While I would never suggest you watch things you don't enjoy, I would cheerfully read you review things you don't enjoy until the end of time. The Archangel one also made me cackle. And is, of course, entirely accurate. Always impressive that they managed a finale that a massive quantity of the fandom just completely rejects and ignores.
Anyway, yeah, these are pretty on point as far as my own opinions go. I tend to enjoy Judgment Day etc. slightly more than Finale, but I definitely have to be in the right sort of mood to watch it, compared to Finale just being fun. Agreed on the flashback with Jacob and Irena though. 🙃
I am also quite fond of The Gathering, as objectively kinda bad as it is. I didn't know a damn thing about Highlander when I watched it, and very clearly remember having the reaction "Oh my god this is so unfathomably corny, I have to see more." It's so bad, but I do enjoy it. :P
Sigh. I do wish they'd actually kept Horton as an interesting villain. He did lose all his dimensions by his final appearance, and they coulda made it a good plot, if only they'd kept some of that. Ah well.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-14 09:48 am (UTC)Ranking episodes is surprisingly hard! That's why I didn't number them. The middle portion of both these lists could flip around so easily - I do feel confident about my top two and last choices for both, though. :)
The finales I find the most fascinating are the ones which threaten to kick off the Watcher War. I spend more time thinking about Jacob Galati and James Horton than I ever do about Kalas, but by the same token, I need to be in the right frame of mind for them, as you said.
I occasionally toy with a horrid fic idea which is the discovery of Horton's journal, kept while he develops the Hunter idea. How one too many Immortal serial killers and a lifetime of Watcher "ethics" would bring him to the conclusions he reached. However, I am not sure that's a headspace I want to crawl around in, and nobody would want to read it (understandably) so it remains an idle thought.
I love your defense of 'The Gathering!' So many of my favorite shows have a B movie aesthetic at points and I love them all the more for it. I can snark on episodes and disagree with plot points, but they are essentially FUN and I'll take that over a grimdark prestige show with All the Budget any day.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-14 04:04 pm (UTC)Mindset does definitely play into it, like with Finale and Judgment Day etc. But yeah, difficult choices. Totally understandable why you didn't number them.
I mean, I'd read that, but I also get not wanting to dedicate a bunch of time to writing a story like that. I actually feel like I remember a story in which Joe found and read some of Horton's journals, but I cannot remember who wrote it or where I found it. I can't even promise I'm remembering accurately. Either way, that mental journey from Watcher to Hunter is interesting, if definitely disturbing.
I do love a lot of really corny, objectively bad media. There's just so much heart there a lot of the time. Great stuff. 👍
no subject
Date: 2025-08-15 03:34 pm (UTC)