Methos: Difference between revisions
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race = Immortal| |
race = Immortal| |
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gender = [[Male]]| |
gender = [[Male]]| |
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hair = |
hair = Black| |
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eyes = Brown| |
eyes = Brown| |
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age = Over 5000 years old| |
age = Over 5000 years old| |
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previous_affiliations = The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse| |
previous_affiliations = The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse| |
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status = Alive| |
status = Alive| |
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teacher = | |
teacher = Unknown| |
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teacher_of = | |
teacher_of = Unknown| |
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portrayed = [[Peter Wingfield]]| |
portrayed = [[Peter Wingfield]]| |
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first = Methos| |
first = Methos| |
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==See Also== |
==See Also== |
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A 2001 animated flash series, [[The Methos Chronicles]], was an internet flash series based on Methos, a character drawn from the television series. Peter Wingfield was the voice actor for the main character of the short series, which lasted only one eight-episode season. The animation quality was consider by most to be poor, but it has found a cult following. |
A 2001 [[animated]] flash series, [[The Methos Chronicles]], was an [[internet]] [[flash]] series based on Methos, a [[character]] drawn from the television series. Peter Wingfield was the voice actor for the main character of the short series, which lasted only one eight-episode season. The [[animation]] quality was consider by most to be [[poor]], but it has found a [[cult]] following. |
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==External Link== |
==External Link== |
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Revision as of 08:05, 15 September 2005
Template:Highlander character Methos is a character from the fictional universe of the Highlander movies and Highlander:The Series, portrayed by welsh actor Peter Wingfield.
History
What started as a one-shot part when he was introduced to the series in an episode called "Methos" turned into four years of regular appearances in which which Methos became one of the most popular characters in the series. It was initialy intended that he would be killed at the end of season 3 in the episode "Finale", but the writers saw potential in the popular character and kept him on for the next season. The audience liked the mixture of a cynical five thousand year old man and a nagging five year old.
Mild-Mannered Watcher
Under the guise of Watcher Adam Pierson, Methos hid his secret. He had seen the rise and fall of many civilisations, including Egyptian, Roman, and modern era. Methos was one of the Watcher Organisations' greatest mysteries. His existence was doubted and questioned for many centuries. During his time at a University in Paris, Pierson uncovered the "Methos Chronicles" which documented with varied accuracy much of his life. In order to prevent the discovery of his true existence, he voluntereed to study the Chronicles. In so doing he was able to prevent discovery of the true Methos, and keep tabs on other Immortals that he preferred to avoid.
Just like Superman who has his own alter-ego of mild mannered reporter, Clark Kent, Methos tried to be unseen by pretending to study the Chronicles of Methos, and became somewhat of an off-field agent for the Watchers. Therefore, nobody would suspect that he was actually the legend.
That changed when two Watchers died at the hand of Kalas, an evil immortal. Joe Dawson realized that Kalas (played by David Robb) was looking for Methos, the mythical "oldest Immortal." Duncan MacLeod knew that with Methos' Quickening, Kalas would finally be strong enough to defeat him. Kalas and MacLeod raced to be the first to find Methos. Duncan's search led him to seek out "Adam Pierson". Duncan imediately sensed that Adam was an immortal and guessed correctly that he was actually Methos himself. MacLeod challenged Kalas, nearly defeating him when the police arrived to send Kalas to prison for the deaths of the Watchers. But Methos also vanished, at least for a while.
The Return of Methos
Methos returned in the episodes "Finale: Part 1" and "Finale Part: 2". This marked him as one of the regular characters in the series, a role that eventualy added some of the most important background to the series.
Kalas ended up breaking from prison because of Amanda. She wanted to take his head, but he escaped instead. A widow named Christine wanted to reveal the secrets of the Immortals and the Watchers to the press, because of her husband who was a Watcher, was murdered by Kalas. Methos and Joe Dawson tried to talk her out of it, but she refused. In a desperate attempt, Joe tried to kill her, but accidentally "killed" Duncan instead. Methos wisely reminded Joe that Duncan didn't try to save Christine, but he wanted to protect Joe.
Ironically, Christine was killed by Kalas. And he took the disc containing the information about The Watchers and the existence of the immortals.
In a very unforgettable moment, Duncan fought Kalas on top of the Eiffel Tower, where he defeated the evil immortal. The tower, being a giant lightning rod, amplified the Quickening and shut down the power all around Paris, as well destroying Kalas' computer and disc containg all the information. The secret of the immortals and the Watchers were safe, and Methos secured himself as Duncan MacLeod's friend.
Really Old Guy
Methos claimed that his age was 5000 years old. His birth date, birthplace and how he died for the first time were unknown, because he couldn't remember what happened back then.
It seems that Methos was born either in ancient Mesopotamia or ancient Egypt in 3000 BC. Approximately when he was 28 years old, he died when a sandstorm trapped him and his family. By the time he was estimated 603 years old, he took his first Quickening. He then realized that there were many immortals beside him, and he started to learn about the Game.
He kept a journal almost since writing began, which Sumerians invented writing in 3300 BC. He learned how to write in hieroglyphic, Hyksos, cuniform, Phoenician and Ancient Greek writing systems.
He claimed he got to know Helen of Troy, Socrates, Caesar and Cleopatra; the English poets Lord Byron and Percy Shelley along with his wife Mary Shelley (author of The Modern Prometheus, best known as Frankenstein horror novel), and he rode with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
He got married 68 times -- never to an Immortal however, because according to him, it would be too much of a commitment. He fell in love with a mortal named Alexa, a waitress who worked in Joe's bar. But sadly, Alexa died of sickness and she became one of the love of his life. He had been many things in life. One of his alias was "Benjamin Adams", or rather, "the good Dr. Adams", as he was known in the 19th century. He majored in medicine in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1453. One of his favorite drinks was beer, maybe because the Mesopotamians invented the drink.
Methos used the name "Adam" in most of his aliases as an inner-joke, because he was amused that people reffered to him as the oldest man. He didn't care whether he was the oldest one, as long people wouldn't looking for him. Even when a fake Methos appeared, he was rather surprised that someone else was using his name. He thought it was flattering.
Being the oldest in the gang, he could be very witty and had a great sense of humor and an extremely sharp mind -- which sometimes could be annoying according to Duncan and Joe. In someway, he was pretty manipulative towards his friends and foes. The only person that seemed could match him in his manipulative way was Amanda. She seemed to knew Methos from earlier times. But he held a very dark and mysterious past, a past that he would like to buried forever.
A Dark Past
Methos had a real dark past that was so shocking, even the fans couldn't believe that their favorite nice immortal was actually one of the member of The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, the mythical and biblical ultimate evilness. Duncan MacLeod learned that the man he trusted had a horrible secret. During the episode of Comes a Horseman, which many fans consider the best episode of the Highlander series, Cassandra pointed out that the polite and witty immortal named Methos was actually Death and had enslaved her many millennia ago.
He wasn't alone, there were other members of the Horsemen. Methos rode with The Four Horsemen, who plundered and raped villages on two continents back in the Bronze Age. Kronos who was the leader of the Horsemen tracked down Methos, in order to get to Duncan MacLeod. Methos decided to flee but Duncan caught him leaving, then asked whether Cassandra's accusations were true. Duncan learned the shocking secret that his best friend had an unjustifiably evil past. Methos knew that Duncan's moral conscience couldn't stomach this revelation, though he tried to make Duncan understand.
In a very unforgettable scene between Duncan and Methos, the old immortal finally admitted that he was evil. He said to Duncan MacLeod in a very chilling words and struck to the core of those who heard it:
- "I killed. But I didn't just kill fifty, I didn't kill a hundred. I killed a thousand. I killed TEN thousand! And I was good at it. And it wasn't for vengeance. It wasn't for greed. It was because — I liked it. Cassandra was nothing. Her village was nothing. Do you know who I was? I was Death. Death — Death on a horse. When mothers warned their children that the monster would get them, that monster was me. I was the nightmare that kept them awake at night. Is that what you want to hear? The answer is yes, oh yes."
And in that moment, Duncan sadly decided to put an end of their friendship. Methos decided to put the band together again, and both he and Kronos tracked the remaining members. Silas, the brutal but the naive one, and Caspian, the insane one. Kronos had a plan to rule the world once again.
In the end, during the episode Revelation 6:, Methos joined Duncan MacLeod to destroy the Horsemen. Both defeated the Horsemen at the same time, and resulted a powerful Double Quickening. Duncan killed Kronos so he wouldn't rule the world again. Methos even had to killed Silas, the only member that he really liked. But it was a little bit too late to make the friendship between him and Duncan whole again. Duncan couldn't forgive him and couldn't see pass the past, although Methos regretted his past.
Grey World
Although officially Methos's friendship with Duncan was over, it didn't stop him from talking to Duncan about life. Amanda begged Methos to do something, because Duncan's point of view in life had been shattered by other immortal named Steven Keane, who shared Duncan MacLeod's black and white point of view, and it affected him in dealing with The Game.
Methos wisely said to a reluctant Duncan about how life was not as simple as good and bad. There were always two side of the same coin. Methos claimed that he was not a perfect immortal, and there was no such thing as being perfect. Immortals should just accept their life, and decided what was best for them. Immortals also made mistakes, because they are just human being, and mistakes could be forgiven. And as immortals, they had their duty to play in the Game.
Duncan's reluctance of playing the Game, affected him in so many ways. He accidentally killed his own protege; Richie Ryan - because he thought he saw an evil being called Arihman posing as other people. He became more brooding with his life, and tried to defeat Arihman. In the end, he did defeat the evil being. But Methos had already left again without a trace, not even Joe Dawson could find him.
Being Old and Wise
When Methos returned again in a year time, he found himself being chased by an obssesive immortal named Morgan Walker who hated him for having an affair with his slave back 200 years ago. Methos didn't have a choice but to hide for time being and look for some information from The Watcher's computer database. Joe Dawson was angry when he found out that Methos was back, only to try to save his own life by trying to hack into Joe's file, instead of explaining his whereabouts a year ago.
Methos, being in his own clever and manipulative way reminded Joe about his own Watcher's oath, and that Joe had broken his own vows to help Duncan MacLeod, but not to Methos. That offended Joe and put a halt into their already shaky friendship. But Joe couldn't stay mad at Methos any longer, because he needed his help. Apparently a rookie Watcher named Amy Thomas was kidnapped by Morgan Walker - and apparently she was Joe Dawsons illegitimate daughter. Both, Joe and Methos had to escape Morgan Walker's hencemen and try to save Amy. In the end, Methos bonded with Joe and defeated the evil immortal. Joe patched things up with his daughter, and also patched up his friendship with the immortal.
The Alternative Version
When Duncan MacLeod was killed temporarily, he was thrown into another reality where Amanda was evil and got killed, Tessa was alive but unhappy, Fitz had died a long time ago, Joe was a bitter old man, Richie and Kronos were alive as evil immortals, the Watchers were killing the immortals, and Methos was just being evil.
Alternate Methos had a lover named Julian who was killed by the Watchers. It made alternate Methos swear revenge to all the Watchers. He gathered back the Four Horsemen and Richie, but the Watchers killed the members. He killed Richie who couldn't kill Joe Dawson, who was a member of the Watchers. Duncan MacLeod saw this and tried to stop all of it. He fought alternate Methos, and killed him.
In the end, it was the wisdom of Methos that put Duncan MacLeod back again to The Game. Methos said that life was about changes, and about accepting who you are, good or bad.
See Also
A 2001 animated flash series, The Methos Chronicles, was an internet flash series based on Methos, a character drawn from the television series. Peter Wingfield was the voice actor for the main character of the short series, which lasted only one eight-episode season. The animation quality was consider by most to be poor, but it has found a cult following.
External Link
- Methos:Chronicles – includes Methos' timeline and history