History Series / HIGHLANDER

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: James Horton's hatred of Immortals and desire to kill them all stems from the fact that he spent most of his career as Watcher to [[PutTheLaughterInSlaughter The Kurgan]], of all people. The conflict between Horton's oath of non-interference and his devout Catholic beliefs eventually drove him to insanity.

* AchillesHeel: Immortals can heal almost any wound perfectly, but their necks are uniquely vulnerable. A singer whose neck is injured loses his singing voice forever. [[note]]The pilot implies that their entire heads might be so vulnerable, as Slan uses a mask to protect his face from damage. However, a few episodes later, Duncan has acid thrown in his face and is none the worse for wear, so...[[/note]]

* DecapitationRequired: The only way to permanently kill an Immortal is by beheading. Anything else just kills them temporarily and they will come back to life.

* HealingFactor: Played with. It's a given that an Immortal resurrects after being killed (except by beheading). They never get sick and are shown recovering from flesh wounds, sword strikes, bullet hits, and broken bones in a matter of minutes. However, the series never adequately explains why Immortals either don't regrow lost limbs or, if they do, why it takes ''years''.

* DrugsAreBad:

** Also “Road Not Taken” with a Chinese immortal trying to perfect a drug to increase human stamina and strength. The problem is people keep dying from it.
** “The Sea Witch” has Richie’s friend turn up with stolen drugs and Duncan flushes it, adamant that it not get back on the street.

** The first half of Season One set in Seacouver has a few story elements that were later dropped such as the police investigating the beheaded Immortals and the reporter investigating Duncan.

* FlashBack: Generally once an episode, giving the audience the history of a certain character. Since Immortals live for so long, many situations they face are in some way [[FlashBackEcho related to events in their past]] although in some stories, their relevance to the present is not always obvious.

The central premise was a bit predictable at times: Duncan would encounter an old immortal enemy, or [[OldFriend an immortal friend]] with someone chasing after them, and the episode would end with Duncan battling his opponent and beheading them. Modern day scenes were interspersed with flashbacks to earlier periods in Duncan's life, typically his first encounter with the [[MonsterOfTheWeek immortal of the week]].

Half of Season Six was an [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot extended screen-test]] to find [[DistaffCounterpart a female immortal]] to cast in a SpinOff; it was ultimately decided to use [[AscendedExtra the already-established character]] of Amanda the [[ClassyCatBurglar cat burglar]] (Elizabeth Gracen) instead. ''[[Series/HighlanderTheRaven The Raven]]'' [[CutShort only lasted a season]] due to [[HostilityOnTheSet inter-personal]] and {{creative|differences}} issues backstage.

* ActionGirl: Amanda, she's a skilled thief and fighter and even has some years as a professional acrobat under her belt. She's also all too quick to rush into danger if it gets her what she wants.

* AllThereInTheManual: The Watcher Chronicles CD ROM contains a wealth of information about every character seen (and, in some cases, characters only mentioned) on the series. There was also a series of eight novels (a ninth was outlined but never written) that fleshed out certain characters and situations. Both the CD and the novels are canonical.

* AntiHero: [[KnightInSourArmor Methos]] has survived for millennia by not getting hung up on conventional morality. He is cold and ruthless in his dealings with enemies, but is fiercely protective of those he considers his friends.

* BackForTheDead: Charlie returns from helping his girlfriend-and seeing her killed-in Europe only to get caught in a fight between Duncan,Joe, and an immortal who saved Joe once but killed Charlie’s girlfriend. He ends up getting killed by the same guy.

* BarbarianLonghair: For the older flashbacks, though Duncan sported it in the modern day too, when it wasn't in a ponytail. He and Connor both had it during their clan days-and the Scots were often considered 'barbarians'/savages by people like the English. Methos and the other Horsemen also sported long hair during the Bronze Age scenes.

** In "The Modern Prometheus", Creator/LordByron is revealed to have been not only an Immortal, but a pupil of Methos. During a scuffle with another Immortal, Byron was spotted by a drunk Creator/MaryShelley. The sight of Byron healing from his wounds, plus the Quickening which ensued, were [[HistoricalInJoke the inspiration for]] Shelley's ''Literature/{{Frankenstein}}''.

** One of the books references Elvis Presley being an immortal who ultimately hired an Elvis impersonator and had to move away from all the attention he was getting. It's a nod to all the alleged Elvis sightings in the years since he's death.
** Another novel has as a villain Niccolo Machiavelli, author of ''{{Literature/The Prince}}''. He was still scheming to take over the world in modern times, and lost his head to Duncan in the end.

* BigBad: The show didn't really have these, usually opting instead for {{Arc Villain}}s or [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monsters of the Week]], but there were two notable exceptions. Season Two had paranoid ex-Watcher James Horton, who sought to kill all of the immortals regardless of their intent. Season Three had Kalas (although only for a few episodes near the beginning and at the end of the season), a shrewd-but-cowardly Immortal who resorted to dirty tricks to take peoples' heads: first by running a bogus sanctuary to lure in Immortals who were fleeing The Game, and later by hacking the Watcher database to gather intel on everyone. The demon Ahriman was introduced as an over-arching villain at the end of Season Five, but the threat was quickly dispensed with (via [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve the power of meditation!]]) by the second episode of Season Six.

* {{Blackmail}}: An episode has this as its title. After sword fight is caught on tape, the guy who filmed it threatens to expose Duncan if Duncan doesn’t kill his wife.

** In "Eye of the Beholder", "She Drives Me Crazy" by the Fine Young Cannibals plays during a fashion show. Roland Gift, lead singer of the FYC had appeared four episodes earlier as Xavier St. Cloud, and would return for three more.

* ContentWarnings: Being based upon a R-rated movie where sword-fights are common and beheading is the only means of killing an Immortal, each episode began with one of these indicating that the show is (slightly) more violent compared to other shows.

* CulturedBadass: Duncan. In spades! A lover of opera, a reader of poetry, a bit of a gourmand, a lover of fine art, a skilled dancer, a collector of fine antiques, and is qualified to teach history at the college level. He's also fought in Waterloo, the Spanish Civil War, World War II, is trained in who-knows-how-many martial arts, and has survived for 400 years by chopping the heads off of his enemies with a katana.

** Appears in the episode "Courage". In the 19th-century, Immortal Brian Cullen wants to run away from his problems and starts using opium. He apparently spend most of the 19th century and 20th century as a drug addict and drug dealer. He resurfaces in the 1990s as an out-of-control menace to society, with his previous good qualities eradicated. He forces Duncan to a duel to the death and has to be put down like a rabid dog. Duncan mourns the good man that Brian was before he started using drugs.

* ExpositionOfImmortality: Quite common from either Duncan, Methos or Amanda.

** Duncan frequently went shirtless, and was naked in a bathtub at least once. And ''stood up'' from the tub, on-camera! [[note]]Online fans foreverafter referred to this scene with a simple (_|_) [[/note]]

* TheFogOfAges: Duncan heard that Methos is five thousand years old but Methos tells him that he's actually older, possibly ''much'' older, but he can only remember clearly from the time he took his first head; "before that, it all starts to blur." A few episodes have Methos trying to preserve his old diaries from various centuries with the possible implication that he needs written records to keep track of all the details of his life. However, this is disproven in the "Methos Chronicles" which shows that he actually remembers his full life. His diaries may be intended to outlive him, or to provide contemporary evidence to back up his word in the future.

** Also, in “Under Color of Authority”,after taking his first head, Richie asks Duncan if they’ll ever have to fight. Unfortunately they do fight when Duncan is tormented by Ahriman in season 5, and it doesn’t end well...
* FromTheAshes: The last season has several episodes designed to [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot promote potential spin-offs]]. When the series ended, the network choose to give the immortal Amanda her own series, ''Series/HighlanderTheRaven''.

* GoodThingYouCanHeal: As the story features Immortals, most episodes feature at least one scene of them quickly healing from physical trauma or resurrecting from a fatal injury. Damage to the neck doesn't seem to fully heal, such as when Duncan tried to behead Kalas but only succeeded in destroying his vocal chords. Whether lost limbs regrow is still open to debate.[[note]]Duncan cut off Xavier St. Cloud's hand, and Xavier later reappeared with an articulated hook replacing the lost hand. The battle took place on the bank of the Seine, and Xavier's hand wound up in the river (as did Xavier himself to escape Duncan). If Xavier had managed to reclaim the hand, it might have reattached itself, or the hand itself may have regenerated after an extended period, but Xavier's next appearance is his last, so we still don't know for sure.[[/note]]
* GoryDiscretionShot: OnceAnEpisode, at least minus the ep or two a season where someone *isn't* beheaded. Absolutely necessary for an otherwise family-friendly series (aired on Saturday mornings in some areas) in which decapitation is actually a core aspect of the concept.

** In a flashback in "The Samurai", Duncan is using a sailor's cutlass with a large brass knucklebow. After blocking an enemy stroke, he punches his opponent in the face with his sword hand, using the knucklebow like brass knuckles. TruthInTelevision: the naval cutlass was often made with a solid metal knucklebow precisely to facilitate this kind of attack, because fighting aboard a ship is often in such close quarters that full swings were impractical.

* HealingFactor: Played with. It's a given that an Immortal resurrects after being killed (except by beheading). They never get sick and are shown recovering from flesh wounds, sword strikes, bullet hits and broken bones in a matter of minutes. However, the series never adequately explains why Immortals either don't regrow lost limbs or, if they do, why it takes ''years''.

** “Methuselah’s Gift” counts too, with Methos and Amanda breaking into the Watcher headquarters to steal the crystals of the Methuselah Stone. The episode is serious but the break in has a few laughs along the way.

* TheHeroDoesntKillTheVillainess: Duncan tends to be ''very'' reluctant to kill off evil female Immortals. It happens every now and then, but usually only after he's given them far more chances than he tends to give male Immortals, and he's just as likely to let female Immortals go in situations where he would stop at nothing to bring down a male Immortal. The most pointed case was the episode "Chivalry", which revolves around Kristen, a villainous female Immortal and a former lover of Duncan's. Centuries earlier [[MurderTheHypotenuse Kristen murdered a woman MacLeod had started to fall for as their relationship was falling apart]], and in the show's present day she tries to do the same to Duncan's [[TheApprentice apprentice]] Richie when he appears to reject her in favor of someone else. Despite this, [=MacLeod=] cannot bring himself to kill Kristen due to a combination of [[OldSchoolChivalry his code of chivalry against taking a woman's life]] and still having feelings for Kristen despite her vile actions. In comes [[TheOlderImmortal Methos]], an Immortal who's [[TimeAbyss survived for 5000 years]] and is the most critical and challenging of Duncan's views. When a bewildered Kristen asks who he is, Methos simply proclaims that he comes from a time long before chivalry. Unlike Duncan, Methos has no issue with killing a woman who is a threat to him or his friends, and he takes Kristen's head in short order.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: James Horton's hatred of Immortals and desire to kill them all stems from that fact that he spent most of his career as Watcher to [[PutTheLaughterInSlaughter The Kurgan]], of all people. The conflict between Horton's oath of non-interference and his devout Catholic beliefs eventually drove him to insanity.

* ImmortalityHurts: Though Immortals recover from injuries and death, they are not immune to the pain of the injury or the subsequent healing (like when their broken bones reset themselves). Many episodes show how this is taken advantage of during Immortal sword-fights where one Immortal has been dealt so many injuries that even though they are still alive and painfully healing, they can no longer focus on defense, allowing their opponent to deliver the killing stroke.

-->'''Duncan''': No matter how many time you say goodbye to the ones you love, when they leave —

** Joan Jett's character in the season one episode "Freefall." The character, called Felice Martén/Felicia Martins, is depicted killing another Immortal's mortal wife and child, to break him psychologically. She later ambushes and kills this immortal. She briefly becomes Duncan's student, in order to get close to him and take his head. After Duncan beats her in their sword fight, Richie, who she had seduced, begs Duncan not to kill her, so he leaves her unconscious on a beach.

** Kenneth/Kenny has double-crossed and often killed anyone who ever tried to help him, including his own mentor/surrogate mother Amanda. He was also hinted to lust for Amanda, and acts rather sadistically towards her when she is trapped. He is allowed to leave unpunished.

* KilledOffForReal: A recurrent theme of the series. Heroes and villains, Immortals and mortals, even major characters like [[spoiler:Charlie, Tessa, and Richie]] are killed off. Nobody really returns, though a few continue to appear in flashbacks and hallucinations. It's made explicit in one episode where a rival immortal devoted her life to avenging a killed loved one. Duncan could empathize, but pointed out that "Nothing you do brings anyone back. Once they're dead... nothing."
* TheKillerInMe: a rare variation from an outside POV, in the episode ''Turnabout''. [[spoiler: An old friend of Mac's, Michael Moore, comes to visit, telling Mac that he's finally on the track of evil immortal Quenten Barnes, who murdered Michael's wife Janette in the 1920's. Neither Michael, Mac, or even Moore's Watcher realize that Barnes was actually Michael's split personality.]]

* LivingForeverIsAwesome: For some. There are episodes depicting Immortals having the time of their lives and fully enjoying the opportunities of living through the ages. And there are others which depict Immortals going through traumatic events or experiencing their personal hells.
* LivingADoubleLife: Methos, for a while. He got to experience life as both Methos and Adam Pierson, respectively an elusive Immortal and a well-connected Watcher. Eventually the Watchers discover than an Immortal has infiltrated their ranks.
* LukeIAmYourFather: Joe tells Amy in “Indescretions.”. He chose not to say anything when her mom became pregnant because he and her mom had an affair and her mom’s husband never knew. Joe didn’t want to ruin the family.
* MacGuffin: Many episodes revolve around the seeking of a sacred or mythical object. One of the most elusive ones was the Methuselah Stone, which was sought in several episodes. Legends depicted the Stone as able to grant full immortality to immortals (removing the weakness to decapitation) or even turn a mortal to an immortal. This may have been an AbortedArc, or it may have been considered to have served its purpose once Methos's mortal love interest passed away.

* MagicPlasticSurgery: The plot of “Counterfeit” is a woman convict accepting a big payday from James Horton to undergo plastic surgery so she’ll look just like Tessa and can be used to trap Duncan.

* MasterSwordsman: Since beheading is the only way to kill an Immortal and sword-fights are common, many characters have honed their swordcraft to master levels. However, a few take it up to eleven by learning multiple types of swords and styles of combat.

* MemoryTrigger: In the TV series, in every episode something triggers Duncan's memory of something, which leads to the every episode flashback scene(s) which is germaine to the rest of the episode.

* MountainMan: The episode “Mountain Men” had an old friend of Duncan’s, Carl the Hermit, who was killed by another mountain man, Caleb Cole.(Caleb won’t confirm it onscreen but it’s AllThereInTheManual aka the Watcher Chronicles cd). But Caleb makes the mistake of kidnapping Tessa and pushing Duncan’s BerserkButton. He’s no match for the angry Highlander’s tracking and fighting skills.

** Duncan's relationships with mortal women fits the trope. He is a centuries-old Immortal whose HealingFactor and combat skills render him nearly invulnerable. They are typically civilians with no special abilities and vulnerable to aging, illness, and wounds. When they know what he is, their reactions can vary, but they are played for drama. The two most notable mortal lovers, Tessa Noel and Dr. Anne Lindsey, found themselves in the first lines of combat and had their perspectives in life changed.

** In one episode, Duncan is seen going to a Paris bank in the 1930's to close an account he set up a century earlier (and has to remember how many "greats" his "ancestor" was). Obviously, there was a ''lot'' of interest piled up so the bank manager was relieved when Duncan decided to open a new account rather than withdraw it all.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Amanda breaks Kalas out of prison in an attempt to kill him for Duncan. Kalas actually escapes, [[SpannerInTheWorks thanks to an ally Kalas made in prison Amanda didn't plan for.]] She pretty much immediately goes to Duncan to cook him a lovely meal (and clearly intending to boink his brains out afterward) specifically so he won't kill her when she tells him what happened.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Kalas has the Watcher database set to upload in the event of his death, promising to stop it if Duncan gives up and lets Kalas kill him. Kalas chooses the top of the Eiffel Tower as the spot for their last duel. Duncan defeats him, and Kalas basically dares Duncan to kill him and expose all of Immortal kind. Duncan realizes the Eiffel Tower is "the world's biggest lightning rod," and that it will amplify the Quickening to fry just about every piece of electronics in Paris. . . including Kalas computer with the database inside it. Kalas get a glorious "OhCrap, I DidntThinkThisThrough" face before Duncan beheads him.
* NotAllowedToGrowUp: Kenny, a centuries-old immortal in the body of a nine-year old boy.

* ObfuscatingDisability: In "The Ransom of Richard Redstone," Duncan has to go to a casino he frequented in the 1970's, run by the same owner. To avoid questions on how he hasn't aged, Duncan dyes his temples grey and walks with a cane and a limp to sell being older like a mortal.

* ThePerilsOfBeingTheBest: An Immortal famous for their fighting skills or their age winds up vulnerable to this, as some Immortals are serious about winning the Game and purposefully seek out old or powerful Immortals in order to take their power. This causes most older Immortals to keep a low profile, unless they themselves are confident and bloodthirsty enough to welcome the cavalcade of challengers. This is a big part of why Methos is as secretive as he is.

* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Most Immortals depicted have lived several centuries. The exceptions are the few who were actually born in the 20th century, and have only been in the Game for a few decades, or rookies who are just at the start of their careers.
* RearWindowWitness: Tessa in "Eyewitness". She witnesses the murder of fellow artist Anne Wheeler though a window. Initially nobody believes her, because they can not find a corpse. When she is believed, the killer seems to know the police's plan. It turns out that the killer was the Immortal Andrew Ballin, the Chief of Detectives. The Police did not suspect that their boss was the killer.

** An episode has Duncan doing this to an Immortal that has lost his memory.

* SerialKillerBaiting: In the Episode "See No Evil" a serial killer called "The Scalper" goes after blond women. Duncan recognizes the killings as a [[UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper copycat]] crime inspired by an immortal serial killer he decapitated decades ago. When the police tries to bait the killer with a blond woman, this backfires as the killer goes after another victim instead and nearly kills her. Duncan uses his knowledge of of the original killer's modus operandi to set up a trap with Tessa as bait. The killer tries to escape and is eventually run over by Tessa in Duncan's car.

** Kalas, the main villain of Season 3, owns several music-related companies and businesses. A few episodes depict a jazz club which he owns. He chose to name his club ''Film/{{Nosferatu}}''.

* StrangersOnATrainPlotMurder: A guy catches Duncan sword fighting on tape and tries blackmailing him to kill his wife. Duncan retrieves the tape but doesn’t kill. After seeing Duncan setting up a fight with the immortal friend of the immortal he killed, the filmmaker tries getting Duncan to do a plot like this with him. Duncan refuses and kicks him out.

* ThisMeansWarpaint: In the episode "Line of Fire," the villain of the week is an Immortal who was an Army scout in the Old West, and led a raid on a Lakota Sioux village where Duncan was living at the time. Duncan's girlfriend and her son were both killed in the raid. So before going after the bad guy in the modern day, Duncan puts on Lakota-style war paint, and uses a Lakota war spear as his weapon in the final fight.

** At 400 years old, Duncan is sometimes considered a "kid" among Immortals. Thus, many an Immortal a thousand year or more older will assume they have the advantage...often right up until the moment Duncan takes their head.

** Kanwulf is after Duncan to get back the Axe of Odin Duncan took from him centuries ago. Duncan retrieves it, and gives it to Kanwulf, but brings the Clan [=MacLeod=] Claymore with to do battle. The final blow of the fight has the Claymore shatter the Axe's haft, and is also evidently the blow that severed Kanwulf's head from his shoulders.

-->'''Tessa''': (shakes head) Die.
-->'''Duncan''': Yes. When they die, you're naked and alone.

* UsefulNotes/LesCopsSportif: Showed up a lot in season 1’s Paris half, usually with Inspector Lebraun leading.

* MoralMyopia: Used twice in "Forgive Us Our Trespasses." First, in 1746, Duncan, still reeling after the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Culloden, discovers the Earl of Rosemont has sent his troops to crush villages in order to put down any more rebellion. A furious Duncan goes to the Earl's home and grabs his son.
-->'''Earl''': Please, don't hurt my son!
-->'''Duncan''': That is what a thousand Scottish mothers cried out before your soldiers murdered their children.
** Two hundred and fifty years later, the Earl's friend, Immortal Steven Keane, comes looking for payback on Duncan. Duncan realizes that Keane is doing pretty much the same thing Duncan has done several times, settling a score from long ago and they're not that different.

** Also, in “Under Color of Authority”,after taking his first head, Richie asks Duncan if they’ll ever have to fight. Unfortunately they *do* fight when Duncan is tormented by Ahriman in season 5, and it doesn’t end well...

* AnAxeToGrind: Caleb packs one, and Duncan ends up using it against him in their duel. Kanwulf was very attached to his, and spends three hundred or so years looking for it after Duncan steals it.

* {{Corpsing}}:
** In “Forgive Us Our Trespasses”, Amanda and Methos discuss the probability of Duncan getting killed if he believes he deserves to lose. In one take, Peter Wingfield broke the tension by exclaiming, “Then we’d get our own show!” Elizabeth Gracen lost all composure. Even in the final take she’s barely holding it together.
** If the blooper reel is any indication, Adrian Paul was a little slap-happy at times.

* MasterSwordsman: Since beheading is the only way to kill an Immortal and sword-fights are common, many characters have honed their swordcraft to master levels. However, a few take it UpToEleven by learning multiple types of swords and styles of combat.

* BarehandedBladeBlock: Done in one episode of the series, justified since immortals don't have to worry much about injuries due to their HealingFactor. Series swordmaster F. Braun McAsh has said that he tried this out himself before putting it in the show, then taught it to [[Creator\AdrianPaul]]. The technique used in the show differs from the standard use of the trope in a couple of ways: Duncan was stopping a straight thrust, not a cut, giving him more of the blade to catch; and he caught the spine rather than the edge of his opponent's sword. It was also a last-ditch desperation move: if it didn't work, Duncan was dead anyway.

* BarehandedBladeBlock: Done in one episode of the series, justified since immortals don't have to worry much about injuries due to their HealingFactor.
* BattleCouple: Duncan and Amanda, both centuries old master sword fighters.

* BeautifulSlaveGirl: Cassandra, when [[spoiler: she's captured by The Four Horsemen and Methos takes her as a slave]]

* ChekhovsClassroom: Interesting variation in that it's Duncan imparting the lesson that he himself will use later. He's giving a history lecture on a battle with two armies, each renowned for their cavalry. One army preferred riding stallions, the other mares, and when they met on the field, turns our half the mares were in heat. "[[DistractedByTheSexy It was love at first sight]]," as Duncan says. The villain of the episode is Kanis, who uses trained attack dogs to weaken his Immortal opponents. Duncan rents a bitch in heat (the same one Kanis himself was interested in earlier to breed a replacement) so that when Kanis comes calling, his dogs will have other things to think about than their master's commands.

* SupernaturalSensitivity: Immortals can sense the "quickening" present in other immortals and thus always know when another immortal is nearby. This prevents ambushes, but some villains have found ways around it.

* BloodlessCarnage: Despite all the beheadings, it’s rare to see large amounts of blood yin the fight scenes. Sometimes injuries do have blood though.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: WordOfGod states James Horton's hatred of Immortals and desire to KillEmAll stems from that fact that he spent most of his career as Watcher to [[PutTheLaughterInSlaughter The Kurgan]], of all people. The conflict between Horton's oath of non-interference and his devout Catholic beliefs eventually drove him to insanity.

* MasterSwordsman: Since beheading is the only way to kill an Immortal and sword-fights are common, many characters have honed their swordcraft to master levels.

* MoralMyopia: Used twice in "Forgive Us Our Tresspasses." First, in 1746, Duncan, still reeling after the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Culloden, discovers the Earl of Rosemont has sent his troops to crush villages in order to put down any more rebellion. A furious Duncan goes to the Earl's home and grabs his son.

** In the 18th century, Duncan was tutored by a Japanese warrior who was forced to take his own life for honor. Duncan swore that if the man's family ever needed help, they could come to Duncan Macleod. 200 years later, the samurai's female descendant comes to Duncan for help and is surprised that Duncan knows of the "family legend." She even says she doesn't expect Duncan to honor a commitment from his "ancestor" but of course, he insists on helping.