who the hell is Connor MacLeod?
Apr. 24th, 2005 06:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
janne_dYou’d think by now I’d be onto the recs, wouldn’t you? Only I thought I should do a quick summary of important canon events first, just in case I inspire any newbies to try this fandom.
So if you are already a fan or you don’t care, feel free to skip this and move straight on to the stories above.
The overwhelming majority of HL fanfic is written based on the TV series, probably simply due to the wealth of available material after a 6 year run, and of that, about 99% of the slash is based on Duncan / Methos. I’m going to concentrate mostly on that side, but I’ll just be mentioning the events that I think will be important to understanding the stories I’m going to rec and any other major plot points and features of this fandom. I also make no claims to total canon accuracy here, this is quick and dirty and based on what I remember rather than impeccable references.
That said, I’ll start with the films first and what we learn of Connor MacLeod. From HL1, we know that he was born in 1518 and was "killed" in battle as a young man. He was stoned from his village for witchcraft when he revived, but stayed in Scotland and met the love of his life, Heather, and his mentor Ramirez (the Egyptian Spaniard). Ramirez trained him for a while before being killed by the Kurgan. Connor loved Heather all her life, and probably most of his too, and she eventually dies in his arms of old age.
During World War II, Connor rescues an orphan called Rachel from Nazi soldiers somewhere in Europe and she remains an important part of his life. By the 1980s, he is living in New York under the name Russell Nash and she is his assistant in his antiques shop. At this time, he meets and falls in love with Brenda and finally defeats the Kurgan.
Skipping over HL2 (hey, the scriptwriters did too) in HL3 we learn that sometime after Ramirez was killed, Connor went to Japan to learn from the sorcerer Nakano. He is beheaded by Kane in order to gain the magic, and since Connor kills Kane he presumably is also now a sorcerer. Brenda has died in a car crash and Connor has an adopted son, John.
In Endgame, it turns out that Connor has been stalked over the centuries by Jacob Kell, a priest who was a contemporary of his and who had Connor’s mother burned at the stake. When Connor kills him, it triggers Kell’s immortality and he makes it his life’s work to destroy everyone Connor loves. In the film, this culminates in him blowing up Rachel and going after Duncan. This is the final straw and Connor, who no longer wishes to live, forces Duncan to behead him so that their combined Quickening power will make Duncan strong enough to defeat Kell. Or something. Anyway, Duncan kills Kell and buries Connor next to Heather in the Highlands.
I should mention that many fans are in denial about this ending to the film series and either ignore it totally or rewrite it in order for Connor to survive, and good for them because it really kind of sucked.
So if you are already a fan or you don’t care, feel free to skip this and move straight on to the stories above.
The overwhelming majority of HL fanfic is written based on the TV series, probably simply due to the wealth of available material after a 6 year run, and of that, about 99% of the slash is based on Duncan / Methos. I’m going to concentrate mostly on that side, but I’ll just be mentioning the events that I think will be important to understanding the stories I’m going to rec and any other major plot points and features of this fandom. I also make no claims to total canon accuracy here, this is quick and dirty and based on what I remember rather than impeccable references.
That said, I’ll start with the films first and what we learn of Connor MacLeod. From HL1, we know that he was born in 1518 and was "killed" in battle as a young man. He was stoned from his village for witchcraft when he revived, but stayed in Scotland and met the love of his life, Heather, and his mentor Ramirez (the Egyptian Spaniard). Ramirez trained him for a while before being killed by the Kurgan. Connor loved Heather all her life, and probably most of his too, and she eventually dies in his arms of old age.
During World War II, Connor rescues an orphan called Rachel from Nazi soldiers somewhere in Europe and she remains an important part of his life. By the 1980s, he is living in New York under the name Russell Nash and she is his assistant in his antiques shop. At this time, he meets and falls in love with Brenda and finally defeats the Kurgan.
Skipping over HL2 (hey, the scriptwriters did too) in HL3 we learn that sometime after Ramirez was killed, Connor went to Japan to learn from the sorcerer Nakano. He is beheaded by Kane in order to gain the magic, and since Connor kills Kane he presumably is also now a sorcerer. Brenda has died in a car crash and Connor has an adopted son, John.
In Endgame, it turns out that Connor has been stalked over the centuries by Jacob Kell, a priest who was a contemporary of his and who had Connor’s mother burned at the stake. When Connor kills him, it triggers Kell’s immortality and he makes it his life’s work to destroy everyone Connor loves. In the film, this culminates in him blowing up Rachel and going after Duncan. This is the final straw and Connor, who no longer wishes to live, forces Duncan to behead him so that their combined Quickening power will make Duncan strong enough to defeat Kell. Or something. Anyway, Duncan kills Kell and buries Connor next to Heather in the Highlands.
I should mention that many fans are in denial about this ending to the film series and either ignore it totally or rewrite it in order for Connor to survive, and good for them because it really kind of sucked.
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-11 11:54 pm (UTC)Would it be alright to friend you?
(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-12 06:01 pm (UTC)So did you watch the series? I saw probably about a season and a half in total, spread randomly over all six (drat that UK terrestrial TV station...) but I'm thinking of making finding DVDs of that my next quest. And any advice about good places in the canon to start are welcome.
btw, your icon is fantastic!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-13 12:06 am (UTC)As for where to start it all depends on what your really intersted in, if its Duncan/Methos interaction season 5 is the place to start. But starting straight in with season 1 is a good idea. If you keep your eyes open on ebay and amazon you can find the tapes for a decent price (but I'm thinking VHS, so I'm not sure how easy PAL versions are to come across)
Thanks
(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-16 07:42 pm (UTC)Thanks for the advice though.
btw, a mate just emailed me this link http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299981
re HL:The Source. I don't know whether to go "woohoo" or "oh no"!