indefinite articles

This week: Season 1 - What kind of man is Duncan MacLeod?

Imagine living with the constant stress in the back of your mind that you could be beheaded and die. The flipside… you get to remain young for all your days, and nothing else can kill you. Such is the bittersweet paradox of existence that Duncan MacLeod, the Highlander, must live with. In a world full of Immortals, in the end, there can be only One.

The first season introduces Duncan — Mac, as he is affectionately known — as the hesitant and weary fighter. He’s an empathetic guy: raised and brought up as a warrior, fought in every major war in the past 400 years, and almost never able to live in peace. By their natures, Immortals must know how to fight. When you take the head of another immortal, you absorb his power and knowledge, and for plenty of immortals that’s reason enough to hunt down and slay their supernatural brethren.

But Duncan is different. His ideal for living is embodied in his close friend, Darius, an immortal who could have once ruled all of the Western world, but instead chose to dispel his armies and devote his life to the cause of peace. Having successfully avoided picking up a blade for the past 1400 years, he is the tranquil foil to the tormented MacCleod. As Duncan’s complicated past catches up with him in the form of other immortals with whom he must cross blades, he resigns himself to again facing battle to survive and protect those he loves the most.

Duncan MacLeod has gone through it all: war, death, pestilence, and some truly awful hair.

With Darius a close friend and confidant of Mac’s, their relationship serves as the foundation of time-hopping exploration of MacLeod. You get the impression that he is sad to see one of his students fall back to his warlike ways, but remains a strong presence nonetheless, letting Mac figure out his own road to peace. You also witness the darker side of Duncan MacLeod emerging, as he confronts, and at times with a vengeance, pursues and slays evil immortals from his past.

This dichotomy of personality keeps you guessing as to what MacLeod’s course of action will be with each new questionable immortal who happens in his path. Slowly, his code of honor, with all its complications and nuances, begins to become clear. On more than one occasion, he lets an immortal he doesn’t like walk away and live, turning the cheek rather than drawing his weapon simply because he disagrees with them.

As you walk through the complex and rich life that is Duncan MacLeod’s, you can’t help but feel drawn in, and eager to see where his life, honor, and past will take him next.

Next time: Season 2.