Amanda (Highlander) - Amanda in The Game

Amanda in The Game

With no real interest in winning The Game, Amanda instead focuses on staying alive, and so has minimized the number of duels she fights. When faced with another Immortal, she typically runs or cons her way out or has to be rescued by a friend like Duncan. On occasions where she seeks out a battle, she almost always meets with disaster.

During the original series, her swordsmanship appeared to be less-than exceptional, and in fact she was never actually shown winning, even against an unarmed Kalas. Her skills receive a considerable upgrade after she meets Nick Wolfe and decides to redeem her life. Although, the poor swordsmanship mentioned above may just have been a tactic to lure her opponents into a false sense of security or a way to motivate others such as Duncan into doing the work for her and thus safeguarding her life. It is unlikely that Amanda could have survived as long as she has without possessing expert fighting skills and cunning. Indeed, the previous conjecture would lend support to Amanda depending more upon her skill as a manipulator then as a combatant. However, after she meets Nick Wolfe she lends more toward being a highly-skilled fighter, winning numerous battles in a relatively short time. It can be argued that after she meets Nick; she becomes more exposed to the immortal community in general as she works with Nick on various freelance security operations, hence the need to exercise her combat skills. Below are the Quickenings seen in the original series and The Raven series:

1. Hengist the Saxon1, 853 ("Methuselah's Gift")
2. Zachary Blaine2, 1993 ("The Lady and the Tiger")
3. Mario Cardoza, 1998 ("Full Disclosure")
4. Stefan Collier, 1998 ("Immunity")
5. Wilson Geary, 1998 ("Passion Play")
6. Crysta, 1998 ("A Matter of Time")
7. Andre Korda, 1998 ("The French Connection")
8. Frank Brennen, 1999 ("The Rogue")
9. Talia Bauer, 1999 ("Inferno")
10. Derrick Markham, 1999 ("Love and Death")
11. Vladimir Rankov, 1999 ("The Manipulator")
12. Dr. Julian Heller3, 1999 ("The Ex-Files")
13. Evan Peyton, 1999 ("Dead on Arrival")

1First beheading.

2Duncan MacLeod defeats Blaine, but Amanda beheads him.

3Beheaded by Nick Wolfe.