Ok, the premise of Highlander III is that Connor mistakenly believed that he won the Prize after defeating the Kurgan and had become mortal as a result, but in reality there was still one final opponent left who couldn't attend the Gathering due to being trapped in a cave.
3 opponents were trapped in the cave. Kane wasnt in there alone.
What doesn't make sense to me is Connor did not know winning the Prize would grant him mortality, he just somehow knew after receiving the final quickening. So even though Connor mistakenly believed he and the Kurgan were the last two surviving immortals, there was no reason for him to assume that defeating him would make him mortal since he had no knowledge of that aspect of the Prize.
Connor won the Prize. for him the Prize was mortality because thats truly what Connor had yearned for. had The Kurgan won the Prize then he would gain great power and rule the world because he would be unstoppable.
So, as I asked in the topic title, what made Connor think he was mortal?
thats what youd call sloppy screenwriting for a sequel.
he was mortal at the end of the first film. he was able to grow old and have children. he was to live his new mortal life with Brenda. the idea in the first film was that as an immortal you are one with all living things. they show us this when Connor feels the heart of the stag. the energy and lifeforce of that stag flowed into Connor. through all that Connor became a lover of life because he had a greater sense of other people's mortality as well as nature. the tragedy was that he himself was eternal.
in Highlander III they just wanted to give Connor a new opponent to face. they didnt exactly thing it through. so off the bat we are introduced to Kane and his henchmen. they were trapped in that "magical" cave and were sealed off from the rest of civilization. they were supposedly dead as they were buried under the rock,which took them out of The Game. they were unable to join The Gathering and fight for the Prize.
when they were freed from the cave they were thrown back into the Game. the Prize was no longer Macleod's. he would have to go back to the place of The Gathering and once again reclaim the Prize. thats the simple premise they gave us.
in the film even Connor questions who is still out there if the Prize was his.
so we are to believe MacLeod was indeed mortal up until the moment Kane and his posse are awaken. the lightning we saw in the sky as they ride in the desert was the moment Connor lost his mortality. thats why he gets out his sword and trains and immediately heads back to New York for The Gathering.
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HellboundHero
11 years ago
I haven't actually seen the movie yet (only watched the first, second, and fourth, and the OVA) and the description I read didn't mention Kane's henchmen.
Still, I also read that Connor and Brenda were in a car accident which killed Brenda but not Connor. Wasn't that meant to be a sign of Connor's continuing immortality? Did the crash and Brenda's death take place before Kane and his henchmen escaped the cave or after?
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donutpower
11 years ago
I haven't actually seen the movie yet (only watched the first, second, and fourth, and the OVA) and the description I read didn't mention Kane's henchmen.
dont think any description mentions the henchmen. since Kane is the main villain.
I also read that Connor and Brenda were in a car accident which killed Brenda but not Connor. Wasn't that meant to be a sign of Connor's continuing immortality? Did the crash and Brenda's death take place before Kane and his henchmen escaped the cave or after?
yea the accident happened in the time in between both films.7 years before the events of the third film. that they scraped her body off a highway in Scotland. she died instantly yet Connor walked away without a scratch. which was the cop's way of indicating that "Russell Nash" was always a shady fella and the murderer that's decapitating people in new york. at the same time writing off Brenda Wyatt from the story.
guess you could call that speculation. because it doesnt necessarily mean he died and just walked off shortly after.because how would the police have known that without being there to witness it. by pure luck Connor could not have been injured at all in the accident.which i believe is possible because of course he is our hero/lead character. nothign to say that he was even in the car at all. they dont give us enough to go on. we never see the report that was made or any details of the accident nor what caused it.
the fact that Connor says the Prize was all his right after Kane is freed and takes a Quickening. indicates that he won the Prize like we saw at the end of the first film. that he had his newfound mortality and spirituality with all living things. then suddenly its all lost and he has to make his way back to the Gathering.
in Endgame they write Brenda off in the same manner. that she died by being hit by a car that was driven by Jacob Kell. poor Brenda gets killed off in every sequel.
if you can endure Highlander II , then Highlander III should be simple to interpret once you watch it.
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Times_Up
8 years ago
when they were freed from the cave they were thrown back into the Game. the Prize was no longer Macleod's. he would have to go back to the place of The Gathering and once again reclaim the Prize. thats the simple premise they gave us.
It's a little more vague than that. Connor says those things in the beginning, but why is his son adopted? A curve ball we are thrown. "O no, he knew he was adopted before he could spell," says MacLeod. Later in the film, it seems obvious that he never won the prize of mortality when Stenn tells him something like they scrapped Brenda Wyatt off the pavement after a car crash in Scotland but you walked away without a scratch. Finally, Kane tells him "you managed to convince all of those women that they couldn't bear children when all along it was your immortal pecker that couldn't do the pecking" and "ah, but the prize was never yours and now it never will be, amen."
When you add it up, sounds like Connor never had it but tricked himself into thinking he did. Hence Kane calling Mac the real master of illusion in the church scene near the end. I think they could have at least used this as a way of exploring what happens when immortals are "dead" during the final battle. Are they counted? That loop hole could have at least made sense. The whole fooling deluding himself when he didn't even know what the prize would be is lame. Should have just taken place during the tv series continuity.
All good things must come to an end - Chaucer
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