"You don't know me" – Methos

"Comes A Horseman" and "Revelation 6:8" are, arguably, the best two-parter that Highlander ever had. Treachery, betrayal, revenge, duplicity, they had it all, with the added bonus of a truly barnstorming K'Immie in Valentine Pelka's portrayal of Kronos. Everything changes between MacLeod and Methos with the arrival in Seacouver of Cassandra and Kronos, both searching to settle old scores. But whose side is Methos on? And how much did he know upfront? Questions that were to be answered in "Revelation 6:8" - or not. Whether they were the best is, in the end, a personal opinion, but they certainly did justice to their slot as the 99th and 100th episode of the series respectively. All opinions expressed here are my own, as is the retelling of the storyline.

Written by David Tynan

Cast

He was the last person that Duncan MacLeod expected to see. Leaving a TV studio with Methos, whose usually low profile had been raised significantly by appearing on a quiz show, the two of them sense another Immortal nearby. Whilst Methos exercises his usual caution, curiosity gets the better of MacLeod and he goes to investigate. He only sees a glimpse of the Immortal, but it's enough to recognise Melvin Koren, who MacLeod hunted with the Texas Rangers over a hundred years before. Going after Koren, he blocks a sword swinging out at him, only to recognise that it isn't Koren wielding it, but Cassandra. With Koren gone, they return to the loft, where Cassandra tells him that she knew Koren by another name – Kronos.

In 1867, Koren rode across South Texas with a band of comancheros, looting and burning anything that was in their path. MacLeod, recently returned from Mexico, joined the Rangers in hunting down Koren. Although Koren and the comancheros were killed in the gunfight, the Immortal escaped from his grave before MacLeod could get to him. Cassandra tells him that Kronos has been doing this for thousands of years, long before he burned her village and killed her. And he wasn't alone. He rode with three other Immortals - the Four Horsemen of legend. Duncan takes her to see Joe, who is sceptical and denies all knowledge of Kronos, but recognises the name Melvin Koren.

Leaving the Watcher to his research, Duncan returns to the dojo. Methos arrives, looking a little flustered, but before he can speak, Duncan asks him if he's ever heard of Kronos. Methos is taken aback, but before he can answer, Cassandra comes down from the loft and challenges him. He swears that she doesn't know him and flees. Cassandra is livid, especially as Duncan stops her following him, and tells the Highlander that his friend rode with Kronos - he was one of the Horsemen and it was Methos, not Kronos, who captured her and took her prisoner. She storms out, leaving Duncan stunned at the revelation.

He goes to see Joe, who is not convinced that Methos would be like that. It is so unlike the man they know that he can't see it. Duncan is not so sure and goes to see Methos, who is packing to leave. In what is The Scene Of Scenes for Highlander, he confronts Methos, who won't talk about it until he realises that Duncan is not going to let it go. Then, Methos tells him that it's true. He rode with Kronos, they killed thousands and they did it for pleasure. He asks Duncan if that's what he wanted to hear, because the answer is definitely yes. MacLeod stares at him and tells him that their friendship is over. He walks away, appalled at what Methos has told him.

What the Highlander doesn't know is that Methos met Kronos the previous evening, after Duncan met Cassandra. Kronos, with a score to settle with his former partner, offered him a deal. He joined Kronos again, or lost his head. Faced with a no-win situation, Methos chose to survive. But Kronos demanded a test of loyalty. As Methos could never bring himself to kill Cassandra, Kronos would do it for him. And, in return, Methos would kill MacLeod. When MacLeod arrived, Methos was packing, on his way to join Kronos.

At the loft, Duncan and Joe try to make sense of it, until a phone call tips off Joe as to Kronos' location. Duncan is surprised - Kronos doesn't have a Watcher - but Joe points out that Cassandra does. As Duncan races to Kronos' hideout, Cassandra confronts the Horseman, but he is immune to her mesmerism and she is no match for his swordsmanship. Disarmed, she flees through the building, only to run into Methos, who poleaxes her and drops her off a bridge into the river. Inside, Duncan finds Kronos and the two of them start to fight, when suddenly the building is on fire, thanks to an unexpected display of pyromania from Methos. Kronos escapes and Duncan goes back to the loft, where Cassandra is waiting. They vow to hunt down the Horsemen, but they don't realise how many they are hunting. To prevent a frustrated Kronos from killing him, Methos has offered him a dream. Methos knows where the other two Horsemen are and it is an offer too alluring for Kronos to resist. The Horsemen ride again.