Highlander - Song Of The Executioner (1995)
Okay, I've skipped the second part of my last Highlander blog/review (for now) to do this cool episode complete with it's really cool title above! This truly introduces a fab, popular Immortal villian with such an apt name, Kalas! This guy has been quoted as Duncan MacClouds "Kurgan" just for the way he's forced to speak alone! & he's not the Monk cliché type!
We first see him observing a bunch of Monks chanting away at some concert hall, he's paying particular obsessive interest to MacCloud & Dr Anne in the audience. Okay most people prefer a Marilyn Manson concert. Aw, c'mon! MacCloud is over 400 years old!
After some chatter with more ancient Immortal Brother Paul which confuses the heck outta poor Anne (she doesn't know yet. Shame on you Duncan, that's how relationships break up!) Kalas takes the opportunity afterwards, to get revenge on Brother Paul, his mentor of over a thousand years, with a cool catchphrase in THAT creepy voice!
"Whilst you're at it, say a prayer for Duncan MacCloud!", 'WHACK, que LIGHTNING QUICKENING!' (complete with a nice Cross necklace ruined, that's horrible!) EQUALS ROCKING STORY ARC! OK, enough bold excitement. MacCloud is next but not before some fun torment for Kalas..
MacCloud really pissed Kalas off, & Kalas is just as, if not more powerful than MacCloud, according to Watcher Joe Dawson. Yeah,..Joe, great pep-talk! When they first cross paths, MacCloud, is wondering through 1658 Europe, during a dark & stormy night, to a sanctuary for Immortals (& Mortals alike) run by Brother Paul. THIS I really love seeing. A "young" MacCloud (by Immortal standards anyway) naive, & he cannae read.
A monk Immortal teaches him Shakespeare (don't mention Macbeth!). We see more of this during the Kalas story arc with his friend Hugh Fitzcarn played by Who legend Roger Daltrey. The banter between the two where they first meet, in renaissance Italy about not being able to read, is akin to brothers arguing. But that is a future Kalas episode. Back to this one. MacCloud cannae read & compares the monks singing to sounding more like, "birds than men" & "can only sing over a keg of ale! " Okay, that's funny!
Timmons is the one who helps MacCloud to read, he also becomes the latest victim of Centuries-old Kalas' scheme. Kalas abuses the Holy ground sanctuary, to stalk other Immortals, on their sent pilgrimage's, then whack his unsuspecting prey in a dark forest which MacCloud reveals to Paul. Kalas is banished & vows revenge on MacCloud!
Back to the present. Joe fires some punk who then stiches him up for a drugs violation & Dr Anne is framed for a patients deaths, all Kalas' work! Kalas wants to hurt MacCloud before the final assault! I truly love this one. Just the title of the episode alone is fab for this geek! I think David Tynan who also wrote "The Hunters" spelled this but don't quote me. WHY does Highlander have a thing against Holy men no matter what religion?
A young (yes, by Immortal standards) MacCloud is a charm to watch, still so innocent & naïve. Uncouth & funny! it takes a Mortal Samurai warrior, played by Robert Ito (think Quincy) in a previous episode, kicking his butt & learning him discipline, in Japan, (where else? ) to 'teach him manners'.
Kalas is played by David Robb (think Ivanhoe & think the actress who played Norman Bates' mother in Psycho 4!) Kalas is a genius at calligraphy, which he uses to stitch amongst other things, Dr Anne. Kalas has a great sense of irony, telling MacCloud that he must say a mass for the dead, After killing Timmons who taught MacCloud to read! Kalas is purest evil & yes, a complete bastard! He has no friends, the ultimate loner, a life he chose for himself. He has no love for anyone but himself & kills on a whim. All in all, this a great introduction to a great villain, Kalas! (yes, OTT) Who is not going down quietly & Duncan doesn't want Anne "to become another Tessa." We're also left with the 'Immortal' question' (ok, that's getting old!), WHO is responsible for your Kurgan-like voice & ruined your singing skill?
Kalas : "Soon, MacCloud, soon!"
Borgduck aka Stewart.
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