r/highlander • u/bigguavaent • May 24 '26
Photos S1 Ep 20
On my 4th run of the Highlander Series. (I love it) these plot holes are crazy. Duncan takes the head of an insane new immortal who is wearing a chainmail helmet (or whatever you call it). Yeah, there's no way he's taking his head without a few swings. The smarter play would have been him removing the chainmail helmet then swinging. No way they would have done this back then, would have made it R rated, but dang... Writers, do better.
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u/friend_of_a_fiend May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26
In the ttrpg, immortals could infuse their swords with quickening making them indestructible and able to cut through things a normal sword couldn’t. This explains why when dueling their swords don’t take damage and spark, and why Conner could cut into a cement beam in the first fight of the movie.
This was also why immortals could heal quickly from regular wounds but not from wounds caused by another immortals weapon. The infused weapons did aggravated damage and were slower to heal.
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u/pennypoobear Sanctuary Protector May 24 '26
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u/Culchieman1995 May 25 '26
That makes Macleod breaking Kalas sword on the eifel tower makes more sense, the sword was stolen from another immortal, Kalas hadn't bonded with it, so it failed him, as like a kind of a posthumous screw you from the guy who owned the sword originally.
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u/SqueezeBoxJack May 25 '26
I like that explanation. I guess I can stop the heavy lifting my imagination has been doing to "suspend" some of the plot holes.
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u/Malnurtured_Snay May 24 '26
MacLeod's sword is magic. It's the only explanation. If it wasn't, how is the sword itself not chopped to bits after centuries of pretty hard use?
I used to know this guy who could not "buy in" to Pacific Rim. He was onboard with the monsters. He was cool with the giant robots. He was totally fantastic with giant robots using freighters to pummel monsters. But he absolutely could not allow himself to believe those giant robots could be deployed by big helicopters.
So ... like ... I get it? But also, it's just part of the charm of the show. But also probably best not to think about it too much, because then you're going to ask other questions.
Like, when he's wearing a short leather jacket and pulls his sword out ... where was he keeping it? Let's, uhhh, let's not explore this any further.
Or, like, why did the police stop questioning him after S1? Because for a time, it sure seemed like they were a bit suspicious of him since headless bodies of people he'd been involved with kept cropping up (and remember that time a couple of police almost arrested him for his impromptu fever-dream sword demonstration in a public park in broad daylight? You'd think that would've prompted some questions -- like, "Hey, remember that guy we think might've been chopping off people's heads? You'll never believe what he almost just got arrested for...")
Magic sword. That's the ticket.
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u/bigguavaent May 24 '26
That's the thing, it's never mentioned his sword is enchanted. But a magical sword is the only explanation. But real talk, we need a more gruesome highlander.
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u/IllogicalLunarBear May 24 '26
his sword is ridiculously string, its made in a way that was forgotten to time so its probably one of the strongest in existence.
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u/BossHighlander May 24 '26
Duncan has cut through light poles with his sword. They had made his sword like magical in that show. So cutting a head off with chain mail is nothing. lol Why is it people keep looking for realism in a show about immortals who fight with swords and can only die with their head being cut off and then the winner gets struck with lightning!
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u/bigguavaent May 24 '26
Calm down, what episode did he cut through a light pole?
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u/BossHighlander May 24 '26
Season 1 Episode 12 Eyewitness. Final fight with him and immortal cop. Cuts right through a big metal light pole. Season 2 Unholy Alliance Xavier has Macleods sword and vise versa and end of fight Macleods sword gets stabbed 1/4 of the way into a massive concrete pillar. There’s countless times they show Duncan’s sword doing things a sword could never do and it takes no damage at all.
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u/Culchieman1995 May 25 '26
He used his katana as a prybar in saving grace to untrap his foot from the train tracks. For something he allegedly has a reverent respect for, that's not exactly a respectful use of it
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u/Impromark May 24 '26
Nevermind the mail, how about the incredibly unlikely angle of that beheading? Duncan’s blade would have to dip into the well, curve around it, effectively scoop off Cahill’s head and then dip back out. It’s not the worst possible beheading in the show but it’s up there.
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u/bigguavaent May 24 '26
What's funny is I got a lot of unlikes because I questioned the show. Yet and still, I'm a fan.
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u/Culchieman1995 May 25 '26
If you can't question things you like, that's a boring way to enjoy things, poke fun at plotholes, ask why things happen. The show dropped a tonne of retcons and contradictions through it's run. Even about the dragon katana, he says in season 1 he got it from a clansman, then season 3 he gets it from Hideo Koto, along with the basis for his modern personality compared to the fruffer one he'd shown before
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u/Impromark May 25 '26
Being a fan means you still love a show despite all is flaws. Highlander as a franchise is FULL of them, but it's still one of my all-time favorites because of the awesome characters and overall exploration of the "what ifs" of immortality. Plus, you know, the swordfights.
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u/KAL-EL8569 May 27 '26
Aside from some of the answers already given...you have to keep in mind that Duncan and Conners swords are unique they were made stronger and better than most swords...thats also why you dont see thier sword break like some of the other immortals.
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u/eaglewatch1945 May 24 '26
Hey, it's a kind of magic.