(i) Themes, Seasons 1 - 5
(ii) Season 6 Episodes

Some brief observations on the themes of Seasons 1-5

Season #1 was pretty straight forward Evil K'Immie of the Week stuff. The only episode with even a hint of moral complexity per se was "Nowhere to Run" when we saw Duncan kill quite brutally in order to ensure that the rapist son of Tessa's old friend was given his day in court, rather than just being turned over to the immortal Colonel to execute. Season #1 laid down relationships for us and clarified where Duncan was coming from ethically. Duncan's and our world was pretty stable and as long as he kept himself very fit and skilled he was going to be OK. He was a Super Immortal. Apart from the slaying of his old friend Piton, there were few of his own actions that had a real emotional or personal impact on Duncan himself. But cracks were beginning to appear with Darius' death....

Season #2 continued to turn this crack into a fissure and Duncan's secure world fell well and truly apart, just as ours can. His immortality counted for nothing when everything he loved and cared about died before his eyes and Rozca's gun. Old immortal friends betrayed him and/or fell apart in front of him (Gregor, Annie, Sully) he felt he had to set Richie onto the next stage of his immortal journey and effectively sent him out of his life and so on. Unlike Season #1 Duncan and we were beginning to question some of his actions. Should he have killed Gregor? Should he have sent Richie away or kept him with him and safe? Should he have killed his old friend Sully? Should he have kept his word to Drakov? When is it OK to break your word and your promise? How long is too long to mourn your lover?

Season #3 had its fair share of straight-forward evil K'immies - I can't think of one that I think Duncan should not have killed (even Cullen). But the effect on Duncan is markedly different from Seasons 1 and 2. His world begins to fall further apart, his strong moral code simply seems to result in him and those around him suffering more and more pain. He loses Fitz, Cullen, Anne and his chance to be a father and parent, Garrick, Karros, Brother Paul. He has always judged (just as we all do) but there are now more obvious variables to be taken into account. The cause/effect was so much simpler in Season #1.

We see more examples of where he is called upon to weigh up the good of the one versus the good of the many (Kalas). What if the Immie appears to have reformed (Kirin)? Should people be open and honest in relationships? (Anne) Do immortals have the right to take decisions on behalf of mortals that could change their lives radically - even when they appear to do it with the best of intentions? (Anne) As Duncan's secure world of Season #1 crumbles further and further he desperately attempts to order and control what he can - his physical responses and skills, his relationships, his surroundings (all very manageable now - no antique store with its different levels, hidden rooms - warmth. Everything is now in sight and within reach - ordered, in its place, controlled. The barge and the Loft are at the same time an oasis and prisons. He no longer even lives among people but is separated and apart.

Methos introduces some light into this increasing darkness. He makes Duncan (and us) question his motives and their likely repercussions on himself. Should he just let the world go to hell in a hand-basket? After all, as Methos says, "Empires rise and fall." - i.e.: in the grand scale of things, who cares what Kalas is and what he does? Duncan does.

Season #4 Lots of straight forward evil K'immies (Cord, Kanwulf, Kanis, Killian, Kinman, Kenny, for the first half but there were no straight forward K'immies in the second half -his Shakespearean teacher in Timeless, EDM, K'oltec, Kasim, Cimoli, Case, Cochrane. But we and Duncan have moved way beyond simply fighting evil K'immies. What are legitimate expectations in friendships? What price loyalty and friendship? (Something Wicked/Deliverance). Should Duncan have walked away from his old friend K'oltec because in saving him he killed himself and another old friend and endangered and hurt others most cruelly. Do people with intellectual disabilities have rights in either world? What defines the rape of people's souls as against their bodies (Wrath of Kali). What defines justice? What defines revenge? (Leader of the Pack). Was Cases' life of less value than Danny Cimoli's?

His motivations haven't changed and I don't think that his ethics have changed. He will still stand up and be counted. He still passionately believes that the only thing needed for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing.

He believes that to those to whom much has been given much shall be asked. But the repercussions are increasingly painful. Darius' solution is tempting and the only logical one - Duncan would have to remove himself from the world and the Game because he can no more stand by and watch evil flourish and do nothing than he could when he left Darius for the New World so long ago.

He literally can no longer cope with these issues and has a complete breakdown - he can no longer exert the massive control and will that has kept this insane world outside the walls of the barge and the loft and it all comes crashing down on him. His destruction of his haven - the barge - typifies this disintegration. He mocks Joe's disability ("Run! If you can!" He tries to kill/sever any person whose mere presence evokes feelings of love or obligation (Richie); he rejects any notion that mortals are safe from immortals and luxuriates in wanton hurt and vandalism. He spins totally out of control - this control freak. He is chaos personified.

Only three people now provide any lifeline back - Joe, Methos and Rachel- ironically the only new friends that he has let into his life. Methos gets him away from all that is familiar and so damaging and re-connects him to his homeland and all its associated memories and values. He goes through a "night of the dark soul" as he attempts to once again re-assert these beliefs and values and bring his life back into some sort of spiritual and ethical balance of conflicting forces. He succeeds. But the questions remain for him and us. At first he is less forgiving and understanding ("I told you I'd be back!" he tells Hamad just before he pushes him to his death.) But as the months pass the same ethics and moral obligations that have always grounded him in the past re-surface and he still refuses to run away and hide from the problems of his friends and acquaintances (Cochran, Cimoli, Valicourts, Joe). He reconstructs the barge and refuses to sell it and once again slowly but surely erects firm and stable hand grips (and walls) around himself.

No matter how many times Methos will tell him to "Leave it alone, MacLeod!' he'll still give a wolf smile and throw over his shoulder "Just lookin'!" and go off to fight real or imagined dragons. How could Methos not find this man fascinating - while he's been living the quiet life sorting out wet manuscripts MacLeod has murdered a dictator, become a circus performer in Moscow, blown up a bridge, killed who knows how many evil Watchers and their henchmen and saved his life in the Methuselah Stone fiasco, was there for him when Alexa died, and is ready to take on the entire Watcher organization to save Joe.

Season #5 sees him acting quite consistently - he still just cannot walk away and let evil flourish. (OMtM, LTG, CaH, Rev). He cannot stand aside and see mortals endangered. (Valkyrie, Duende) He cannot help but try to protect those around him and those he loves. (OMtM, EoI, Manhunt, Messenger, Duende, Rev6:8). He is still very actively in the Game and thinks nothing of "taking out" K'immies who threaten him personally - (Glory Days, Prophecy, Rev 6:8).

If anything, in Season #5 he is even more driven - he agrees that "turning the other cheek only gets it slapped harder"; evil must be eradicated, not argued with. Even when reminded of Darius' love for him and Darius' message of peace he is still his own man. (And after all, even Darius called on Duncan to stop Grayson. There was no insistence that Duncan merely "talk" to Grayson! Darius knew what the outcome would be - death for either Duncan or Grayson and he judged the risk worth taking.) Yes - he will single-handedly if necessary take on the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and his closest friend. He will kill him "...if he has to.." but he (and we) aren't really sure of this any more.

The entire arc that we have seen forming and growing in intensity since the end of Season #1 has swirled and descended with a vengeance. Does any person have the right to judge another? Who has the right to give redemption and can we redeem if we don't also judge? Should we all just retreat into monasteries? How long should we suffer for our crimes and sins? Is not getting involved a sin of omission and is it greater than a sin of commission? Do friends have the right to expect honesty and truthfulness? How much? If Duncan can decide on Anne's behalf, and Charlie's what the amounts should be, can't Methos also decide on Duncan's behalf? Where would parenting and laws be - and teacher/student relationships - if there were no moral constructs, no givens - nothing to judge because everything is relative.

It was asserted that Duncan isn't real. What I see is such reality that it just blows me away. The reality of the first season was certainly more comic book like - we were simple observers (Watchers!) of an interesting world and interesting good looking people. Now, four years later, we're IN that world, we can no more not interfere than can Joe, we are alongside these people as they all grapple with the complexities of living and loving. We end up as bloody and torn as them, as confused, as angry, as stimulated, as despairing. We also need some trips to the circus just to get away from it all. We, like the Watchers around the card table, engage with each other endlessly in debating the issues.

What are the themes thus far of Season 6 and do they in any way relate to the world of Highlander as we have come to know it?

Over the 5 seasons we have witness a man of very strong moral convictions "...battling the forces of darkness with holy ground his only refuge..." Duncan is not perfect - he is a troubled hero who, paradoxically, turns all those around him into his clan. He is the Chief, worn to protect and nurture. He cannot "do a Methos" and just withdraw because he refuses to see our world as "an ant farm" - a toy for immortals and evil mortals to play with and destroy. This has been a consistent theme - it did not simply appear out of the blue in the AAA arc.

Highlander's themes have always had a very strong spiritual component but was content to let these simply be part of the layers that supported this universe - it was not "thrown in our face" if you like. The hero was always battling evil ("You don't talk with evil - you destroy it!"). The very concept of Rules implies that there are Rule Masters (otherwise why observe them? And even the most evil observe the holy ground rule.) There has always been a strongly understated supposition that there are mortals, immortals and the people who produce the immortals and their rules and their game. The very nature of a Quickening is almost identical to the act of communion in the Catholic doctrine - the taking into one's own body the essence of another and power.

Duncan had always used his body and his heart to wage his continuing war on darkness and evil. The AAA arc introduced the third leg of the stool - it took these unstated elements of HL and made them flesh. Duncan literally retreated to a monastery where his entire focus was to hone his soul in order to continue his struggle against a new enemy, a spiritual enemy which must be fought on its own terms.

Season 6 could have left this sleeping third element of HL doing just that - snoozing in the background, unstated but obviously present. The writers chose to let them take center stage in order to allow us to witness some phenomenal growth and change in Duncan. What else could possibly have done this? There was nowhere to take Duncan physically - he was already superb. More of the same evil K'immies of the week were not going to effect any radical new life insights -and particularly not in the last 15 episodes.

AAA is saying to us that the world of immortality is not simply a black and white world of mortals and immortals - it was always a totally bizarre one where some seemingly randomly selected people seem to live forever unless their heads are chopped off in which case all their essence and power goes to the killer and that the only sanctuary is in the surrounds of the spiritual - the sanctuary of the gods/Gods. These gods reveal themselves in AAA - and the mythic hero goes forward to engage them with his own trinity firmly in place - his body, heart and soul.

So - for me, AAA fits very neatly into this world because once I've accepted the total improbability of immortals and the rules of their Game and their virgin births and the transmission of their Quickenings and their belief in the power of holy ground then I don't have any trouble believing in one more level of immortality and immortals - even more powerful ones we call gods.

Seasons 1-5 were a very comfortable sandpit for us in terms of our dominant world views...Season 6 is saying that there was always more to that sandpit than we ever dreamed...that monsters lurk in the seemingly safest of places....that there is no room for complacency.....that the hero will be challenged on all fronts and in ways we, or he, had never dreamed of.

What I will still have at the end of the AAA arc is not only quantum character development and self-knowledge in Duncan but also in Joe. There are lessons here for both immortals and mortals. Someone said in another post that Joe is Everyman and I think that's spot-on. I'm seeing aspects of both that I wouldn't have seen if Season five had finished with The Modern Prometheus. I would have been grossly disappointed for this to have been where it all finished - fractured relationships, a physically and spiritually exhausted Duncan - a true black night of the soul for virtually everyone.

There are some who say that they do not find Season 6 Duncan riveting. All I can say is that I still find Duncan incredibly riveting. I'm finding that what I'm excited by this season is that, after 106 episodes, Duncan can still throw me for six. Life for us was so comfortable around him - he always looked the same (stunning) and we'd gotten so used to his overpowering charisma, charm and arrogance - along with his brooding and periods of intense self reflection and self-doubt. I'm finding now that it is almost painful - but in a strange way a privilege, - to be observing Duncan going through such an intensely personal and painful period of his life.

While the Duncan of two years ago could angrily just trash the Barge as he desperately sought reminders of his old life, screaming "Nothing! Nothing!" - the Duncan of 1997 sits alone in a Barge/Monastery - meditating - sipping tea........still searching for some anchor and clue to keep him grounded. He seems so hurt, so vulnerable, so damaged and fragile that he can't even appear to summon the energy to rant and rail. The anger and fierceness and shrieking of the past has been replaced by a massively focused introspection - shielding himself while he heals.

One can imagine him waking in the night, drenched in the tears of his silent weeping... watch, heart-broken, as he performs endless katas, pushes himself to the limit, meditates for hour upon hour, eats too little... all his friends gone from Paris... hours of monologues with Darius in the sheltered surrounds of his Church, wondering if he will ever be able to feel again, to be happy again...walking for hours and finding himself standing by Tessa and Richie's graves... thinking back to what was and what might have been.

I think that this man is going through an incredible struggle just to getup of a morning and to keep upright throughout the day.

Yep - Six seasons later, I'm still riveted.

The way I see it we're being treated like real family......you see I don't mean riveting in terms of the "old action hero"...I find it riveting to be allowed to witness such a seminal period in Duncan's life. That's why I almost feel like I'm intruding...

Season 6 episodes:

Avatar

At the commencement of Avatar, Duncan MacLeod was indeed back from the Monastery in Malaysia but a very different Duncan - one who had discovered and nurtured his past strengths but who had also discarded his weaknesses.

Duncan was always slightly off center, his back to people, circling them, standing sideways to them. He was there in body but he was so obviously keeping himself apart, shielding himself. There is an ethereal quality about him that sets him apart but is magnetic. The distractions of the hair, the clothes, his surrounds - all have been pared down to their barest essentials. Everything is internally focused, protected. And at the same time this very Spartan appearance proclaims his confidence and unwavering determination that he will win.

What could be more of a statement for an immortal than to deliberately expose his neck and head in the way Duncan now has. We have never seen the line of his neck so exposed and vulnerable - and at the very time that he has forsaken his sword. Compare this to the beaten Duncan at the end of Archangel - head bent, offering his sword in order to be beheaded. He now walks upright, with confidence, with no protection whatsoever - completely and utterly exposed. But everything about him says that he will win.

From the opening scene when we see him going through the meticulously constructed Chi Gung it is clear that he is directing all energy into one path, one focus. And yet he does allow seemingly very disturbing memories to intrude.....but instead of throwing him off center the memories of Richie only seem to focus him more. He has thus taken these memories into himself and aligned them with his spiritual core - they no longer tear him apart. He is a new Duncan - he is truly more than he was and Richie's death was not in vain.

The ritual cutting off of his hair announces that he needs no trappings to go forward as a warrior. And at the same time it is clear that this is no pacifist. His skilful handling and throwing of the knife into the heart of Ahriman, along with the cry of "No more tears!" announce that battle has been called and he is ready. But this Duncan no longer puts simple and gullible faith in the tangible weapons of war. "I'll find another way.." he tells Joe who is desperate for him to take back his Katana. He has to re-enter the world of people, noise, distraction...and by the end of Avatar it is obvious that he cannot afford to do this. He must hold himself at a distance. Thus there are no books in the barge, no music, no television - no comfort for the body, only the soul.

For the first time we see him unashamedly asking for help. Compare this Duncan to the Duncan in The End of Innocence, coming to Joe at the Bar to seek Richie's address, barely able to look Joe in the eye. Avatar Duncan knows what is needed and doesn't hide behind false pride and hypocrisy. "Will you help me? I need you... will you help me?" And there is no weakness, only a steel hard determination: "I will stop it. I'm gonna find it and I'm gonna destroy it."

By the end of Avatar, Duncan realizes that Ahriman could not possess Sophie and she defeated him. Whilst he was responsible for the loss of her body, he could not claim her soul. The definition of warrior, and hero, had a whole new meaning. DMotCM will never be the same.

Armageddon:

Links to previous episodes and milestones in Duncan's journey:

I loved the way in which Armageddon demonstrated how what had gone before was so important in terms of Duncan's ability to defeat Ahriman. I saw this in a number of areas:

(i) Duncan's own rich past experiences learning about the values and mores of other cultures now combined with the added layers from the many direct and indirect Quickenings that he has taken:

~ Rebecca, - the healer, the mystic (via Luthor )

~ K'oltec (Hayoka - the bearer of the sins of evil ones, the man who took the evil inside himself -but ironically did not successfully integrate it. He only ever suppressed it);

~ Garrick and the K'immie from Prophecy (mind shaping abilities/insights on how to not only create chaos and illusion but perhaps also on how to control it?);

~ Carl the hermit (via Caleb) and his intimate knowledge of Native American spirituality;

~ Mai Ling and all her insights on Eastern spirituality, (via Michael Christian) plus Duncan's time in Tibet, chronicled in The Path, plus his year in the Buddhist Monastery;

~ Timon and Brother Paul and all of their faith and insights into Christian spirituality (via Kalas);

~ Sean Burns and his insights into modern psychology and how to heal a damaged and ravaged mind;

~ Fitz and Richie and all of their strength, love, faith and belief in Duncan and his ability to win and to overcome every obstacle thrown in his path;

~ Kanwulf and his knowledge of Norse spirituality; Kamir and his knowledge of Indian spirituality;

~ Case and his intense focus and commitment to the power and importance of moral values in living one's life;

~ Clay and Xavier St Cloud and Hamza and their knowledge of Islam;

~ Lorca with his insights into the gods and spirituality of the Mayans;

~ the false Methos and all of his beliefs concerning the importance of peace.

~On top of all of this is, of course, Duncan's own intimate knowledge of the lore of the Celts and their rich spiritual heritage combined with a rigorous physical and mental exercise regimen that brings him back from the brink of suicide.

Added to the above is the influence of people such as his mortal mentor, the Samurai and his learning about Shintoism and of course Darius himself, signalled by the use of Darius' church and the seeking out of Darius' colleague.

(ii) the consistency of Duncan's moral stance and beliefs - so many of Duncan's phrases rang down the years throughout this episode:

"Faith Joe - faith..." (The Messenger)

"There's a lot of evil out there, Richie, and if we don't fight it evil wins..." (TM)

"The only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." (MS)

"You don't argue with evil - you destroy it!" (TM)

In Armageddon all of his previous statements are put to the test - particularly his belief in Mensius, quoted in the tag of Chivalry: "I dislike death, but there are things that I dislike more than death. Therefore there are occasions when I will not avoid danger..." He could hide out on holy ground but he chooses to prepare himself and engage in what will be the most important battle of his existence. And, true to his boyscout rules, we are his people, his clan, and he will not abandon us to Ahriman, no matter what the cost is to him personally.

Duncan's learning since Avatar:

I do not believe that Duncan retreated to a monastery to learn to become a pacifist. He left there a more skilled warrior in every sense of the word than when he arrived. To his superb physical skills he added every weapon of the mind and soul he was able to acquire. Rebecca's teachings echo here - "...choose your weapon..choose your battleground..." the laying aside of the Katana has, in my opinion, nothing to do with Duncan's turning away from the Game. The Katana is not only useless to him for this particular battle; it is associated with his failure and his guilt.

In Armageddon we now see that Duncan is learning how to keep himself focused and controlled in Ahriman's presence. But Duncan himself falls back into bad habits and, during his vision quest (echoing Something Wicked) he lets his anger take over and is almost lost forever, trapped in the pit of despair. Ironically, his acceptance of the Katana signals that he has chosen his weapon poorly. He has literally gone backwards in his learning and is now back at the end of Deliverance, falling back on what once partially worked for him. But at the end of Deliverance, unlike Armageddon, Methos needed to re-connect Duncan with his very identity and needed a tangible signal like the Clan sword to do this. But the battle was incomplete and the darker forces were not destroyed - merely suppressed.

Ironically, in Deliverance, his evil self taunted him with what Duncan regarded as the ultimate insult: "You're nothing!" In Armageddon, Duncan has learned that 'becoming nothing' is not a depletion - it is a glorious culmination and that by becoming nothing he has become everything.

By learning not to physically fight his conscience and his guilt he truly learns to integrate all that Ahriman stands for - all those messages from Methos "...we are love and hate...murder and forgiveness..." and by integrating them - not suppressing them he becomes the Champion. There is no longer a battleground in which Ahriman can play - it belongs absolutely to Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod.

It is fitting that the final battle takes place in Darius' church - on holy ground. Again, I had a very strong impression that Darius' Quickening was not lost but played a very important role in Duncan's ability to feel Darius' support and strength as he mentally engaged with Ahriman.

Duncan can now go forward - still a warrior and still in the Game. He has learned to forgive himself, to heal himself, to live with his mistakes and regrets. But his defenses are stronger. He has more weapons available to him than he has ever had before - the full gamut of spiritual and physical. It is thus highly appropriate that he can now take up his sword once again because the battles he will continue to face are physical ones and this is the appropriate weapon.

Sins of the Fathers

I really liked the whole scene where he was sitting sipping the tea, the incense burning - reminding him and us of what he had been learning in that Monastery about himself. The Eurominutes reveal that he was experiencing an amazing flashback of all the times he had used the Katana, recollected with a poignant rendition of Broken Child played over the top, and of course it finished with his killing of Richie - his child. The katana dominated the scene. Duncan sitting at the small end of the table was awkward and conveyed a subliminal unease without him saying anything. I don't think that he trusted himself to take it up and chose instead a weapon that could maim (and no doubt kill) but not without more effort and thought than a razor sharp katana.

I loved the opening scene - his banter with his old friend while they played bocce was marvellous - particularly when he was joking about how much he was owed. Duncan is recovering...coming back into the world of people and passion and the trials and tribulations of immortality. He's opened the door to re-entering this world.

Diplomatic Immunity

It would be very easy to simply dismiss this episode as a clone of Nowhere to Run - we have two Diplomat Fathers who come to bitterly rue the fact that they have placed their careers ahead of the care and nurturing of their sons.

So is DI simply Nowhere to Run five years later? No. What it presents us with is a tremendous opportunity to analyze Duncan in terms of where he has come from over that 5 year period. How does he react to what appears to be an identical situation? What would we expect and hope to see replicated in terms of his innate moral and ethical code? What effect has the death of Richie and his coming to terms with what happened, Ahriman's vanquishing, and his deeper engagement with his spiritual self actually had?

The episode continues to ask the same question that has threaded the entire series: "Am I my brother's keeper?" The last few episodes have even given us actual blood relationships to test the maxim. Sophie/Andrew; Robert/Jackie; Fathers and sons - Edward/Stephen; George/grandson; Duncan/Richie.

The entire core of Christian belief - the Avatar, the embodiment of Father/Son ("I am the Father, Son and Holy Spirit") taking on the sins of the world which was replicated in the Father/Son becoming one when Duncan took into every fiber of his being all that had been his son - Richie. The other phrase that echoes throughout these episodes is "No greater love hath any man than to lay down his life for a friend." We have seen this most recently with Richie, Sophie, Robert, Joe, Edward and of course Duncan. All were willing to die for those they loved. Even the title of Sins of the Fathers showed and re-enforced this theme. In all these cases (except for Duncan/Richie) a wrong has to be righted - a sin paid for. Sometimes it was the sons who were at fault - sometimes the fathers.

It's against this background that I want to explore the essential meaning of DI - to go beyond the superficiality of the plot and talk about what I see in terms of Duncan's continuing journey. First, I need to go back to 1781, to Duncan's time in Lhasa with the Dalai Lama, revealed to us in Rebecca Neeson's The Path. Having had an insight into what 1781 meant to Duncan it was not hard to see why he returned to the Monastery in 1997. There are a number of seminal conversations between Duncan and The Dalai Lama that I believe are very important in terms of understanding why he acts as he does:

Lhasa, 1781

"But situations can arrive over which there is no control, no choice," Duncan said. "Sometimes all you can do is respond."

"No Duncan MacLeod," the Dalai Lama replied. "Always there is a choice. Always."

Duncan became very silent...what could this holy man know of the situations he faced all too often? A choice, yes - live or die, and he chose life. Was it wrong to want to go on living? "Are there then no just battles, no causes worthy enough to fight for? What about justice?" Duncan asked him.

"There is always justice...there is karma...positive out creates positive returning: negative out creates negative returning...the Great Wheel spins, and it is perfect justice."

Duncan shook his head. It sounded so reasonable, and yet in the world outside this graced kingdom, he doubted it was possible to live only by the laws of compassion and karma. At least for him....for all his immortality he was just a man. And there was the Game.

"It is a journey, Duncan MacLeod...you have become aware that the journey exists and that is progress." (pp114-116)

DL: "...you must leave Tibet and never return...there is no place for a life of violence in the palace of Enlightenment."

"Perhaps not," Duncan answered as he, too, stared at the tapestry, at the elemental circles of time enclosing the gardens and palace of the way to eternal peace. "Perhaps all I can do," Duncan added softly, "is to guard the gates." (p 212)

Seacouver, 1996

DL: "It has been a difficult life you have lived. Darkness and light have both touched you, I think. Yes?"

Darkness and light, joy and sorrow, hope and despair; Duncan knew these forces shaped him now as they had two hundred years ago. Somewhere between them he walked the narrow path that was his truth.

"...tell me, Duncan MacLeod, have you found peace in the path you walk?"

Duncan did not answer right away... No, he admitted to himself, it was not peace he had found. It was perhaps something more important. "I found myself." he said at last.

"And do you still guard the gates?" he asked softly.

Duncan smiled. "Someone still must, Your Holiness."

"And will you never find a way to put down your sword and enter the gate?"

"Perhaps in time, Your Holiness. When the Great Wheel spins again."

This was such a powerful and accurate image - Duncan MacLeod condemned by his own moral and ethical code to forever guard the gates to the palace of Enlightenment. When Duncan engages with Willie and places his katana at his throat, all this background comes into play: - Lhasa in 1781, Seacouver in 196, Ahriman in 1996 (not long after the conversation with the Dalai Lama); the Buddhist Monastery throughout 1996/97 and the return to Paris, the vanquishing of Ahriman, the deeper spirituality of his life - and the return to people.

Duncan is recovering.....coming back into the world of people and passion and the trials and tribulations of immortality. He's opened the door to re-entering this world.

DI shows this continuing - he is consciously seeking out old friends - supposedly stable friends, mortals, living stable lives. It should have worked. He is reaching out to be amongst people once again - the lure of the clan cannot be stopped.

He is clearly delighted to catch up once again with Willie and his partner, Molly and is only too happy to share a nice cold glass of champagne with them on the sunny deck of the barge. But then we overhear when Willie and Molly are talking alone that Willie never even needed Duncan's money - he's just got very used to believing that the world is his playground and he has every right to pluck from it as the whim takes him. Friend or foe is irrelevant. People and their possessions are his for the taking. The Great Wheel spins. And something precious to him is taken with equal disregard.

But Duncan has no time for Willie's snide remarks and in answer to his query concerning Duncan's seemingly good relationship with the law. Duncan snaps back "Since I didn't choose a life of crime..." All life is choices. The Wheel spins....consequences must be faced... He admonishes Willie for the life he leads. He judges him as a person who treats people as objects to be exploited. He knows him and knows that he's "...not that careful..." about his victims.

Duncan feels - he feels the sorrow and despair of the families who have lost a fortune to Willie and his scams. He is true to his beliefs that to those to whom much has been given much shall be asked. He has never deviated from this. We can hear his mother and father's voices still ringing down the years. And thus we have another seminal moment in Duncan's return to the world of people. It was Joe who said the words - "You are still Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod." Duncan took the sword from him but did not agree with Joe - and immediately put the sword away. He was not yet ready to take up the repercussions and consequences of what being DMotCM would inevitably mean for him and for others.

How often have we seen this scene played out - a life for a life. Blood debts. Willie executes Edward and once again Duncan is confronted with the farcical irony of knowing he is one of the most powerful immortals in the world but again and again and again he is unable to protect those he cares about and loves.

In the few weeks he has been back in Paris he has seen four people die gruesomely before his eyes (Sophie, George, Edward, the grandson). His carefully planned life of non-engagement is in tatters and patently a farce - it doesn't matter what he does or where he goes in this world...unless he retreats to holy ground, as did Darius, he will continue to be at the heart of violence and death. And his clan conditioning is just too strong to be able to stop being the Gatekeeper - who will do it if he doesn't? Is it not selfish to just remove himself to a monastery once again and leave us to cope as best we can?

He can't make any sense of it all and loses his temper with Willie - with life and fate.

As he stands staring out the port hole of the barge he allows his anger to burst through and inadvertently offers up Stephen as Willie's next victim. Negativity returns negativity. The Great Wheel spins. And Willie, in taunting him, also serves to remind him that what grounds him, what keeps him struggling through every minute of every day, what connects him to his own beloved family in Glenfinnan - his code. Just as Willie wouldn't expect anything else of DMotCM so Duncan realizes that that is who he is and what he does - with all its attendant consequences.

When Duncan opens that chest and withdraws his katana he is now echoing Joe's affirmation: "I am Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod...and all that entails." He engages with a sword with Willie because he is now back in the Game and he is once again the Gatekeeper. And he spares him, just as he has always offered a choice where it was feasible. When Willie spits at him: "And who are you to choose life or death?"

Duncan retorts, without hesitation: "Exactly!"

But the "Exactly." is for Willie's sake - who is Willie to choose death for these people? Duncan is choosing life. He offers Willie life. He desperately tries to preserve Edward's and Stephen's lives. But if Willie chooses an action that results in a mortal's death Duncan will interpret that as Willie choosing to die at DMotCM's hand - and he will come for him. Not to avenge Stephen - but to enact Willie's choice. He was chosen as Avatar for these very traits - he is an avenging angel - flawed, damaged - but still stunning when in full flight because it is so unusual in this world to find many people who have such firm moral codes and who will be quite public about them and who will actually try to live up to them. And who will take on the consequences of living with the results.

Duncan can do without friends like Willie in his life - all take and no give. It's all he can do at this point in his life to make it through the night and keep up a social facade through the day - he has nothing left to give to shore up people who have no interest in the sanctity of life. He didn't go through what he has gone through to give the Willies of the world more security in their moral vacuums. And he doesn't care how that sounds. He is judgmental - anyone who believes in something judges, otherwise they're just free-falling. He has no interest in free-falling. With DMotCM you know what he stands for and what he'll do about it - and that he'll put himself on the line to do it - risk his life again and again..

And when he talks with Stephen he reminds himself and us what a precious thing life is when he quietly tells Stephen of Molly he wants him to feel what it is you have to live with, day after day, when you take another's life - just as Duncan feels this day after day, just as Richie did. "They all stay with you, Rich... "There are consequences...and in one of Highlander's more poignant moments (and there have been many) he tells us what gave him the courage and strength to go on - a fine example of dramatic irony as we realize the hidden meaning to his quiet affirmation that Stephen's father's death "...was his gift to you. Don't waste it." Just as Richie's willingness to stand by Duncan, to die for him, was his gift to Duncan - and such a gift could not be wasted.

And what crimes of his past makes Duncan's Great Wheel spin? As he told us - every day he relives his crimes and who he has killed... he simply struggles every day to live a good life, to be true to himself, to bring no harm to innocents, to keep busy and better himself, to sponsor talent where he finds it, to play the Game with as much honor as seems to be possible in a world gone mad. And yet his friends and lovers keep dying before him. His children lie dead before him or are taken out of his life (Mary, who truly only lives because of Duncan). But he goes on engaging with people and the world, knowing that this will be the result. And the Mandala, the Prayer Wheel sits before him in the Barge, dominating his living space, standing between him and the battle plating of the Barge - itself standing in the sphere of influence of Notre Dame. This warrior, this Gatekeeper, has always sought spiritual sanctuary - from within and without. He is still seeking the answers to the Dalai Lama's questions.

So while the actual events were very similar to Nowhere to Run what DI demonstrated was that DMotCM is still the Gatekeeper, still the world's Chieftain. In NTR he was able to save Tessa and Richie. In DI all those he sought to protect are dead or damned. Another friendship is dead. He saves no-one but himself and sets things up so that one day Willie and Stephen might think about their souls - - he finds and uncovers those parts of himself that have been buried this past year. He returns to the Game and all it entails. He accepts his role, unashamedly, of Gatekeeper once again. He won't apologize to anyone - including us - for who he is and what he stands for.

Patient #7

When we first see Duncan he is out walking - connecting to the world once again - buying and reading the paper. When he sees Kyra he could have just let her go but his natural instincts concerning possible trouble take over and he just can't help himself. This is a good sign for us and him. Having taken the decision to stay in Paris - one of the busiest cities in the world, Duncan has also taken a decision to once again be part of the Game. He chooses a very public place - the barge on the Seine - where he can be part of the life of the city but not actually amongst it. He is still detached - still has very thick steel walls between himself and the world.

But of course those walls have been there for a long time. With Tessa the outside world was brought into the barge - it teemed with evidence of daily living and loving. Not any more. It now reflects his inner life.

The flashback is a wonderful juxtaposition of a younger carefree Duncan - at a time in his life when bawdy living and loving were actively pursued. He's learned enough to let 'the lady' fight her own fights and is charming enough to gain her confidence. The bedroom scene is absolutely delightful, containing as it does all the carefree romp and playfulness that the contemporary scene is missing.

We gain no strong impression that Duncan will particularly go out of his way if Kyra chooses to leave at that moment to fight her enemies. As in the flashback - he lets her fight her own fight. He gives her a promise that he will follow up on the K'immie if she fails but there is no righteous passion, no involvement.

When they part at the end they part as two acquaintances - both lonely. Both searching.

Having come through what he has, it is as if he won't throw away his life - that would be a betrayal of Richie. He'll stay in the world and not retreat to holy ground. He'll keep himself razor sharp. But this man desperately needs to connect again with people he loves and trusts. It is painful to watch such loneliness, such lack of laughter and joy. Already his time back in Paris has seen him witness the death of two old friends and the loss of a lighter friendship that he clearly enjoyed (Willie). Pain and grief are still the only consistent companions he has. He is tired and using his meditations to fuel himself and give him the energy he needs to keep going through the motions. But every week holds out some hope - sees him engage that little bit more - the odd extra item in the Barge - the newspaper. New clothes. Nice crockery and glassware and old Moorish object d'art being pulled out of storage crates. Which means he's also visiting his warehouse and going through his possessions. And if it was in fact a piece he has just purchased then it is a sign that he cares enough to surround himself with beautiful objects that speak to him and connect him with people and events in his past - even if he cannot yet connect in the present.

Justice

I'm going to devote this section to that wonderful love scene. For me this scene is seminal in Duncan's journey - in his return to us and beyond us. There are many juxtapositions and ambiguities presented and the use of dramatic irony works superbly. The scene is full of subliminal messages - the placement of furniture - and people in relation to the furniture; clothing at odds with the character; the use of color. The scene is just so right visually and so rich in its signals.

Right from its opening it presents a view of Duncan that is not what we would normally expect. He is reading, or rather, was reading, and fell asleep. But he fell asleep reading on the floor, at the foot of his bed, lying on his prayer mat, lying at right angles to the bed, by candlelight....

Questions... questions... Why is he not reading on or in the bed? Why is he avoiding the bed? And why would Duncan be wearing black silk pajamas and a beautiful golden brocade dressing gown? Since when has Duncan worn anything to bed? When did he start wearing pajamas (even if they are Armani!). Layers. New and unfamiliar layers remove for us and him any sexuality from the scene. We (and he) are not meant to think sexual thoughts.

Avoid the bed and its associations with past lovers and times of joy and passion.

Everything is still close to the ground - seeking stability. He is grounded, lying there on that prayer mat, bathed in golden light from the natural light he surrounds himself with and its reflections off the beautiful polished surfaces of the timber and the rich brocade of his gown. The tangible avoidance of past memories, in that bed just throws into sharper relief for us his current aloneness - the only caress that of a dry old book. And even it couldn't keep his attention and, alone, he falls asleep, clearly no stranger to hard floors.

We are taken straight back to the Monastery and realize that, of course, he is probably more comfortable on the floor, having spent the past year sleeping on his prayer mat on the floor in that Monastery. Suddenly we shake our heads and smile, realizing that his current position is probably where he sleeps every night.

We had just assumed that he would use the bed.

And so Katya comes to him...

He listened to her pain that afternoon and sets out to seduce her soul and bring her some comfort. And he does what he always does - he takes control and he feeds her. He starts his seduction by caring for her body, knowing from bitter experience how wounded her soul is and how desperately it needs tending.

He grounds her - they eat on the low coffee table, he lies relaxed on the floor. He reveals nothing of his life to Katya - his sole purpose is to cauterize her hurt and her pain. He doesn't yet realize that in so doing he will also heal part of his own.

"Have you ever raised a child?" she asks - oblivious to our grimaces as we watch for his reaction. It seemed an innocent enough question...he lies and says "No..." but physically is unnerved enough to have to move from his relaxed position. He can hardly talk for the lump in his throat.

He hasn't made any attempt to excuse himself and change his clothes - as if entertaining a total stranger (who has tried twice to kill you that day) in the small hours of the morning, in your bed clothes, is the most natural thing in the world.....And before Katya knows it she is dancing with this charismatic, dark stranger who holds her tight amidst the soft reflected warmth of the barge and talks to her of life and living.

And he continues his nurturing of her - his large powerful hands kneading her neck and shoulders, smoothing away the pain and the loss, at least for a few hours. The barge rocks gently, grounding them. And after he has caressed her pain he carries her to the bed where the only color is the color of healing - blue.

There is simply the most tender of touches, caresses, care and concern for her as he devotes himself to her bodily and spiritual needs and to reminding her of what love is, and what it can be. His hands and arms enfold her, protecting her. There are no words, no sounds and her tears are his first evidence that her pain has been lanced.

It is a scene of sexual, spiritual and bodily healing.

It was one of Highlander's most powerful scenes.

And later, after he confronts her with facing her own guilt, he reveals to her how hollow revenge is. And something connects along that pathway he burned for her last night, so that when she sees the face of her grandchild she is able to contain the anger and see only the love.

She tells him she was mother, older sister, younger sister, grandmother. In his bed she is the damaged child. He was Richie's guardian, brother, father...

"You were a good Mother" he tells her.

You were a good father, we tell him.

"No one should ever have to lose a child..." she tells him.

And what can we, or he, possibly say to this?

He has come a long way since his return from the Monastery. Physically he is keeping himself in superb condition. He looks absolutely stunning. He has returned to The Game and has no qualms about his role as the Gatekeeper standing between the forces of darkness and us. But he can also walk away and leave people like Katya to make her own choices - and be there for her, waiting, after she has made it. He may have hoped that she wouldn't kill her son-in-law but he had no real way of knowing. And if she had, he would have still been there for her, supporting her. The old Duncan may well have killed her.

So there is a new detachment that wasn't there before - he will give advice but appears to no longer suffer if the Stephens (the Diplomat's son) and the Katya's don't take it.

It is their choice.

It is their life.

He is still too busy trying to make sense of his own to have the energy to live theirs for them.

But his true nature breaks through and amidst his own loneliness and pain he took the time to give her, and us, a gift.