Posted by Jeanne Rose MacWoW, setting down a plate full of food on Saturday, 29 August 1998, at 2:35 p.m.

(JR takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, which she always does before reading in front of a group.)

The clashing of swords is heard in the stillness. High on a bridge, or in an abandoned power station, or a train tunnel, or an open field, two immortals face each other in combat to the death. The final stroke . . . a head falls to the ground . . . a gathering silence . . . then lightning flashes through the air, and the victor cries out in the agony and exhilaration of the quickening. When the lightning dies, he falls to his knees, having won most of all the chance to live another day.

As Duncan frequently reminds himself and those around him, the Game is part of what immortals are. It's what they do. As soon as they become immortal, they have to face it - the only way they can die is if someone takes their head, and there will be plenty of someones coming around to try. Sooner or later they will have to kill in order to stay alive - and either try to find a moral framework in which to deal with it, or reject morality all together.

Even the older ones sometimes still struggle trying to come to terms with it. In six seasons we have seen an enormous spectrum of immortals' responses to the Game, from Damon Case, who regarded it as a religious duty and prayed for the souls of his victims, to Martin Hyde, who considered seasoned immortals the most compelling prey to hunt, to Kiem Sun, who spent centuries trying to create a drug that would give him an army of obedient and unstoppable mortals to fight his battles for him, to Darius, who renounced killing and lived on holy ground.

Each of the immortal main characters in Highlander brings a different perspective to the Game. Let us consider each in turn.

Connor MacLeod. The Game was first defined in terms of a single immortal protagonist. Since we have only had four stories dealing with Connor (only one of which I am truly conversant with), his relationship with the Game is relatively straightforward - he considers "there can be only one" as the primary truth of his existence. He lives in the shadows, watching history go by, locked in an eternal struggle for the prize. His moral justification is that the last immortal will have all the power of all the immortals who ever lived, and if an evil person ends up as that last one, the world will be plunged into darkness. His entire existence is dedicated to preventing this
catastrophe.

Duncan MacLeod. Connor's kinsman and student, on the other hand, considers immortality a gift. The Game is not the central truth of his life, but rather a price of immortality, which carries with it a heavy responsibility. So far as I can think of, he has never taken a head simply because of the Game (which made "that's as good a reason as any" so chilling coming from Evil Duncan). He will kill rather than be killed, but he will walk away whenever he can. He considers himself honor-bound to meet a challenge - no doubt a result of being raised as a chieftain's son. However, he sees himself as having not only the right but also the responsibility to judge other
immortals and take the initiative to challenge them and take their heads if that is the only way to stop them from harming others.

This is not an easy philosophy to live by, and Duncan has struggled with it many times over the last six years. He has had to kill several former friends, and witness friends die. He does not believe that you're supposed to like killing, even when it's necessary, and has to live with the moral uncertainty of some of the decisions he has made. Duncan's attitude toward the Game has evolved considerably in his lifetime - twice now he has even left the Game temporarily and lived on holy ground. But in the end he always returns, because he truly believes that all that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

Methos, the oldest immortal. The earliest thing he remembers is taking his first head. He has been part of the Game for 5000 years, and is still alive. No wonder his deepest and most fundamental drive is the will to survive. To that end he usually avoids other immortals - not because he thinks it's wrong to kill or because he is afraid to fight, but simply because the more fights he can avoid, the fewer chances there are that he will die. He is very good at hiding, and he walks away from a challenge without shame. He joined the watchers primarily as a way to keep track of other immortals. When there's no way to avoid it, or if there is a compelling reason not to walk away, he will fight, and kill. But he doesn't like to. Perhaps it stirs the horseman still lurking in the shadows of his soul, who enjoyed it.

Amanda. Sometimes the alluring face of the master thief hides the heart of a frightened child. Rebecca taught her well, and she has fought, and won, but inside she is still afraid of the Game, afraid of dying. But she also hates being afraid, and will face her fear rather than be driven by it. She isn't a master swordsman, but she is very resourceful. Sometimes she can almost convince us, and herself, that she isn't afraid - she breaks Kalas out of jail and goes hunting Luther assuming she can win. But she gives herself away through her obsession with Rebecca's crystal. It offers her the opportunity to become invulnerable, untouchable. Luther wants to win the Game - Amanda just wants to feel safe. Neither is much of a temptation for Duncan - he is reasonably confident of his skill with a sword, and though has had a few close brushes with losing his head, he isn't terrified by the possibility. To Amanda's credit, saving Methos's life was worth the loss of the crystals. In retrospect I think she grew as a person in that decision more than she realized at the time.

Richie Ryan. Richie's journey has I think been the most interesting, fraught with mistakes and hard lessons and drastic shifts of philosophy. He first learns about the Game on the bridge when he witnesses the fight between Slan Quince and the tag team of Connor and Duncan. Thereafter he watches as a outsider, never imagining that the issues larger-than-life Duncan is facing will soon come knocking at his door as well. Then, bam, he becomes immortal, and suddenly he's not just a spectator anymore. He's in the Game, with no experience, no training, not even a sword of his own. Unfortunately, his hero and teacher is dealing with emotional issues of his own, and isn't at his best - although, in fact, I would have to contend that Duncan never really does a good job of communicating his personal philosophy about the Game to Richie. Duncan would never run from a fight, and yet that's what he tells Richie to do when Annie Devilin is coming for him. Perhaps he felt it was justified in light of Richie's definite disadvantage, or perhaps he just couldn't bear to lose another friend so quickly, but Richie didn't buy it. He goes to face Annie, and wins,
but can't bring himself to take her head. He tells Duncan - that's what I'm supposed to do, isn't it? All Duncan says is "Sometimes." But in fact we know he believes in walking away when you can - so why doesn't he say so? It might have saved a lot of trouble later. Perhaps he felt that Richie should be free to develop his own moral framework. However, when Mako comes along, Duncan is trying to weigh all the moral issues of justice and protecting the innocent, while Richie goes with his heart and puts it all on the line to protect Laura. When Richie makes a different decision than Duncan would have and takes Mako's head, Duncan decides it's time for him to set out on his own.

Thereafter they are able to build a more equal relationship, but two later instances drastically effect Richie's tentative philosophy. The first is when Duncan takes Coltec's quickening and then tries to kill him. In spite of Joe's arguments, Richie believes it was Duncan who came for him, and in his bitterness decides that the only truth to his life is "there can be only one". He begins to pick fights, take heads, make a name - but inside he knows is isn't right, and when Duncan haltingly tries to correct him and repair their relationship, eventually he turns away from this destructive path.

But perhaps it is because of this experience that he is drawn to the false Methos' message of immortals putting down their swords and living in peace. I keep wanting to strangle Duncan for failing to point out to obvious - that he already lives as close to that philosophy as possible, that he lives in peace with any immortal who doesn't want his head and doesn't mean harm to others. But, that peace at any cost always means slavery or death. Apparently Richie figures it out when Culbraith kills the false Methos and then comes for him, at which point fortunately Duncan is there with his sword. "I don't like killing," Richie says while considering  ulcan-like rejection of violence. "You're not supposed to," Duncan replies. But that doesn't mean it might not still be necessary.

Unfortunately, Richie loses his head before he is able to make further progress in his moral development, and his death is the most painful crisis Duncan has ever faced. Already weary of killing and deciding who to kill, he is tricked into taking the head of the last person he would have chosen kill. He leaves his sword, retreats to a monastery, and when he comes out, he doesn't want the sword back. Over several lonely, empty months he slowly begins to heal, but when Amanda and Joe are threatened, it all comes crashing back in, and he's willing to lose his own head rather than see them die because of him. Methos has seen enough death to know  that you have to accept it or go crazy - "People DIE, MacLeod. Immortals. Die." But Duncan can't bear it - he lays down his sword and kneels on the ground. In the end, with a little assistance from God, Fitz, and Methos, Duncan finds a way to save his friends and himself. And he walks into the mist again as Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod.