Overview
The Watchers is fictional order of humans who record the lives and activities of immortals in Highlander: The Series and Highlander: The Raven, as well as related stories and movies.
In the Highlander franchise, Immortals are humans born with an energy called the Quickening that activates after a violent death. From then on, they are ageless and heal from all wounds, only dying if beheaded. Able to take each other's Quickening through killing, many immortals wage a secret war called the Game, believing that one day the last few will meet for the Gathering and a final battle will take place. The survivor will win the Prize, the collected power of all immortals who ever lived, enough power to enslave humanity or lead it into a golden age. The series follows Duncan MacLeod, an immortal born in the Scottish Highlands.
The secret organization of the Watchers was introduced in the season 1 finale of Highlander: The Series as a cliffhanger for the subsequent season. Since then, they became an integral part of the series and Duncan MacLeod's adventures, particularly the Watcher named Joe Dawson who became a series regular starting in season 2.
Fictional biography
In the season 2 premiere episode of Highlander: The Series, "The Watchers", Joe Dawson explains the purpose of his organization: "For as long as your kind's been around, we've been watching... We observe, we record, but we never interfere... Too much of man's history has been lost. When you get through all of life's crap, the only thing that matters is the truth. We want the truth about immortals to survive, not a bunch of old wives' tales". It is said that once the last immortal has won the Prize, the Watchers will share their information with humanity and tell the world the truth about the immortal people who walked the Earth and helped shape history.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).