i wonder if Kate has seen another Xena ep?

i only see mine on the weekend, usually Friday.

i got 3 eps left of season 3...

Been a li'l busy but since John'll be out at rehearsals next few nights, I'll catch up with what we watched Monday night.

Episode 16: Mortal Beloved.

Heeeeee's BAAAAAAAAACK!!!!

Yep, xc's favorite romantic Xena hero, MARCUS, has returned. And this time he's a ghost. Well, of course.

Altyminius, a "boogyman" from childhood stories, has taken over the Underworld by stealing Hades's helmut, which of course takes away all Hades's power. Xena is visited by Marcus's ghost, and he tells her that all "good souls" are in Tarterus, and all evil souls are in the Elysian Fields. Xena wastes no time in going to the lake with Gabrielle, who protests what she's going to do. Xena, nevertheless, is determined to help the man she loves, as well as put things right in the Underworld!

She jumps into the lake and swims downward, and when she reaches the Underworld, she finds children miserable in Tartarus, among other souls who are innocent of wrongdoing. Marcus greets her and takes her to the Elysian Fields, where Xena is confronted by Toxeus from Death in Chains, among others. Altyminius appears, and he and Toxeus get into an argument which results in a fight and Toxeus losing his head, literally. Xena suddenly wonders why Marcus can pass through the Elysian fields in the first place, then realizes that Marcus was originally condemned to Tartarus in the first place! Naturally she's not happy. Meanwhile, Altyminius uses the helmet's power to become mortal again, so he can go collect more innocent souls for Tartarus, naturally by killing innocent people. (Note: I watched this ep two nights ago and John was out last night, so I prolly need to watch it again for more details on how Altyminius became mortal again...right now, not remembering. Oh well. ) Xena begs Hades to allow Marcus to become mortal for 48 hours so that they can stop Altyminius.(again, not remembering why Hades could make Marcus mortal again when he lost his power...again, will watch again and update later. ) So...Marcus, now alive again, heads off with Xena back to the land of the living.

Gabrielle, meanwhile, is confronted by Altyminius. She fights him, and well, but before we see how the fight ends, we are switched back to Xena and Marcus. They go to the top of the lake, get onto dry land, and Xena, seeing Gabrielle lying face down while Altyminius, face covered in blood, stands over her thinks the worst. She fights Altyminius and Marcus helps her. ALtyminius disappears, and Xena runs to Gabrielle. Gabrielle wakes from being unconscious, and says, "Did you see that nosebleed I gave him?" Lol...good suspense leading up to that, heh.

The typical Altyminius tale has him killing brides before their wedding day, so of course, he hits up an upcoming wedding. Xena, Marcus and Gabrielle follow him, and Xena pretends to be the bride, sleeping. Altyminius attacks, Xena fights him, and kills him again. She retrieves Hades's helmet, joins Marcus and Gabrielle, and heads over to the lake.

Marcus is tempted to keep the helmet and stay alive so that he and Xena can spend their lives together. Xena says, "Do you realize what you're saying?" That's when Marcus realizes that that would be a wrongdoing, and he needs to return the helmet to Hades. So, he and Xena go back to the Underworld. Xena tries to bargain with Hades, telling him she'll give him the helmet back if he will send Marcus to Elysian Fields. At first Hades refuses. Then, Marcus takes the helmet off, becoming visible again(helmet also turns one invisible). Xena tells Hades what happened when Marcus was tempted to keep the helmet and remain alive, but then Marcus realized it was a mistake, and chose to return the helmet to Hades. Hades is convinced that Marcus really did change his ways, and sends him to the Elysian Fields.

Xena meets Gabrielle at the lake again and tells her Marcus is in the Elysian Fields. Gabrielle says Xena will see him again when it's time. Xena puts her hand on her heart and says, "He's right here," or words to that effect.

Very romantic episode, but with a cool twist with the Altyminius boogeyman story. I liked the pace it took and the re-telling of every child's "favorite" ghost story, with a bride being targeted by Altyminius on Earth. The fights were of course, epic. Always liked the eps with Hades in them, as well. Again, a li'l fuzzy on this ep, but I would say it worked overall. I do admit I was glad to see Marcus go to the Elysian Fields, after not only resisting temptation at the lake but fighting for the good souls in the first place even though he knew he'd end up in Tartarus.

One note on Bobby Hosea as Marcus, as well as other actors/actresses who've done this show. Why can't everyone have a British-American accent to keep it period enough for the times? Lucy does that well, most of the time. Renee does too, but then she'll slip into a kind of Valley girl-ish dialect. A lot of people seem to use the regular dialect of where they come from. Certainly Hosea does--he sounds like he came from New York, Philadelphia, or some other city. Oh well. Maybe it's just me, but I'd like to see a story set in ancient Greece with a more appropriate and timeless accent for all.

But that's asking too much of Tapert again LMAO!

Overall, I enjoyed it...good plot, at the end of the day.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Free Madness,

This was my take on "Mortal Beloved" from last yr:

quote:

"Mortal Beloved"

Xena & Marcus try to get Hades' helmet back to him.

Best: Good story & acting; the guy who stole Hades' helmet looked the ghoulish part

Worst: too much lovey-dovey crap between Xena & Marcus

Redemption score: 6 -mostly this was on Marcus
X&G yin/Yang score: 7 -Xena a bit mushy here

Rating: 8

Helping Hades scenes were good; the scenes with Atyminius were good; fighting them harpies was fine; the wedding party scenes were okay.

i hated the mushy lovey-dovey crap! Enuff! i did like when Xena stabbed Marcus- good riddance!

What about her brother Lyceus? i'd think she'd want to see him while down in Elysian Fields or whatever underworld region he's in since it's his death that changed her life forever! oh well

At least no more Marcus after this ep -yay!

quote:

What about her brother Lyceus? i'd think she'd want to see him while down in Elysian Fields or whatever underworld region he's in since it's his death that changed her life forever! oh well

I just thought of something cool. Maybe if Lyceus, and not Marcus, had come to Xena for help as a ghost, that'd be an excellent way of reuniting with her brother and catching up on everything. Marcus could still be there, just not the main character. His only importance is Xena's desire for him to go to the Elysian Fields when all is said and done. Lyceus and Xena could have some discussion about that, and redemption issues could surface which would of course conflict with Xena's romantic desire to have the man she loves in the Elysian Fields for his one good deed. Lyceus and Xena can take on Altyminius, have all those scenes stay the same, just with Marcus in the background. But the whole point can be redemption. Xena can learn from Lyceus that despite her heart's desires and Marcus's one good deed at the end, people need to answer for ALL that they've done on Earth. Xena can finally accept, even if it hurts, that Marcus does have to stay in Tartarus after all. Lyceus, proud of his sister for accepting the truth over her desires, can appeal to Hades in the end. Hades, grateful to Xena for her help returning his power, consents to let Marcus into the Elysian Fields for his good deed, and Marcus truly wanting to atone, however late it was.

Something along those lines, anyway.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Free Madness,

That sounds great, Kate (hey that rhymes!). i wonder if they'd have enuff time for it all? Maybe more Lyceus & less Marcus. Maybe even less Marcus ha ha. How about Marcus just waves in the distance and says "Yo Xena, hi!"? But they can still mention him to Hades.

i'd also like to see Lyceus question Hades about how he resembles Xena a bit. Hades don't have to reply, just raise an eyebrow and start a mystery.

Thanks, xc! Lol, yeah maybe Marcus comes out and yells, "Yo, Xena, hey there!" and Lyceus does the protective brother bit and knocks him out cold. Marcus can remain unconscious throughout the entire episode while Xena and Lyceus get all the action and drama(including Xena's initial outrage at Lyceus hitting Marcus lmao. ) The only other time we see Marcus is after Hades raises his eyebrow in response to Lyceus's question about the resemblance. Hades can turn and look out the window as if distracted, then we see a quick shot of Marcus, still unconscious, waking up in the Elysian Fields, going, "Huh? What just happened?"


Meanwhile, back on Earth, at the lake, Xena and Gabrielle are walking away with Argo.

Gabrielle: Xena, I'm so glad you got to reconnect with your brother again! Even if--but for a while. So--did you get a chance to say goodbye to Marcus before he went to the Elysian Fields?

Xena(broodingly): No.(CLOSEUP, as she slowly smiles in acceptance): But--I'll see him again. When the time comes."

FADE TO BLACK (No hand on her heart saying, "He's right here." Lol. )

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Free Madness,

"Vanishing Act"

Xena, Gabrielle & Autolycus try to steal back a stolen statue of Pax.

Best: the opening act was best; Xena & Gabrielle separate at beginning- this hasn't occurred in a long time; Xena & Gabrielle's act as fences was okay; the girl Thea was hot!

Worst: well it was kinda boring stealing back a statue- couldn't the writers have come up with something dangerous or mysterious or a bizarre twist of plot?

Redemption score: 1, Xena for preventing Autolycus from killing Tarsus

X&G ying/yang score: 6.5, well it's a lite ep

Greater good comment: Xena got statue back without killing anyone

Diversity score: 4

Rating- 6

"Vanishing Act"

There was an interview on a Xena dvd with Rob Crapert where he said this ep was a failure- not funny- that he hated it. So why bring it to the screen? Why not hire decent writers to create a great ep? well he was banging the star of the show so he didn't care!

It wasn't the worst ep up this point but it was boring. Recovering a stolen statue. Oh boy. look out. i may pass out from the excitement!

Maybe if they had cut out Autolycus & his story and made it a drama. A jealous god who we never seen before steals the statue, maybe? Or maybe the leader of a village had it stolen- a village that Xena destroyed when she was evil? Xena finds this out as Pax- who the statute represents- enlists Gabrielle to get it back.
Conflict between the pals! And Pax knows some secrets about Xena that she would rather Gabrielle not know. Hmmm...

The ep was ok at first- it seemed to promise something different but didn't deliver. The writing was pretty poor and way too simplistic.

Xena and Gabrielle as fences was ok but also lasted too long. Tarsus' lady friend Thea was hot. But she could have played a bigger role if a better writer has written this ep.

All in all- a waste. i was overlu nice in rating it a 6.

Episode 17: The Royal Couple of Thieves

We meet Autolocles, the one, the only, the King of Thieves!

Xena catches him in the act of stealing a diamond from a religious organization, that turns out to be a "worthless piece of rock sugar," as revealed by Gabrielle, who acted as the one carrying the staff holding the faux diamond within the cult march. After an epic fight with him, Xena asks Autolocles to steal a powerful weapon from the evil Lord Mauthius. Auto says that he has a mutual understanding with this man--he doesn't steal from him, and Mauthius doesn't kill him in nasty ways. Pretty fair agreement, Auto says! Xena insists that he retrieve the weapon because it belongs to some friends of hers that she values greatly. After learning he'll be paid for this, Auto finally agrees.

Xena and Auto pretend to be Lord Santarius and his concubine. Santarius is known for killing people in, well, VERY nasty ways, one way by throwing an apricot in a certain pressure point on a man's body. An angry guard confronts Auto as Santarius when he and Xena board the ship captained by Malthius and his men. He claims Santarius killed his brother and swears revenge. Later the same man kills Malthius and frames Auto and Xena by putting the chest in their quarters. Suddenly the REAL Santarius shows up with Gabrielle as his hostage, whom he almost kills by pressing on her temples. Auto and Xena break their cover and after rescuing Gabrielle, they all run. Later, the weapon is set to be demonstrated by Malthius's men, led by his second-in-command. Xena, Auto and Gabrielle intervene and Xena fights Santarius with pressure point techniques. She kills Santarius and, with help from Auto(that man can FIGHT! Go, guy! ), and Gabrielle, they defeat the rest of the men except the second in command. This last one remaining opens the chest. Xena, who had seen the writing on the top of the chest, "Don't fear the truth--face it," tells Auto and Gabrielle not to run, but to face what the weapon does. It rises, a glowing star that turns into a raging flame. The second in command, frightened, runs away, only to be consumed in the flames until he is nothing but ash.

Xena takes a tablet out of the chest, that reads two of the "ten commandments" of all things: "Thou Shalt Not Covet," "Thou Shalt Not Steal." Auto makes a joke that it's too late for that. They return the chest to Xena's friends, who give Auto the rest of the four thousand dinars. Auto says goodbye to Xena and Gabrielle, walks away and Gabrielle sees that Auto has returned the rest of the dinars to Xena's friends' basket.

Awesome ep, very good pace and acting. Auto and Xena sharing their stories about how Xena's friends helped her when she was younger and wounded in battle is cool. Auto reveals that his father was killed before he was born, then when his mother died, his older brother took care of him. When his brother was killed, that's how Auto became the King of Thieves, to survive.

The romantic stuff was treated comically, which is cool. Auto celebrates his big ego but he and Xena have a cute li'l chemistry there. Auto claims he's close to Hercules, who apparently told Xena about Auto in the first place. His statement that Herc never mentioned Xena to him seems to hurt Xena a bit but she also thinks Auto is just trying to seduce her. It's light without being overly silly or mushy. Epic all the way around!

Always loved Bruce Campbell as Auto--he's a great comic actor. I also saw the fourth installment of the "Evil Dead" movie saga which he starred in. He's very dynamic and keeps ya watching all the way through, while laughing your butt off. Thumbs up!

Xena was especially hot in this ep too...oof!

Here's my thoughts on "The Royal Couple of Thieves":

Liked the mood & atmosphere

Xena was hot as the concubine & i liked her warped little laugh

There was too much lovey-dovey ralk about Hercules.

There was not much of a role for Gabrielle. They could have at least showed Sinteres catching her before they reached the island. That left a big gaffe! Plus Gabrielle was always seasick in the early eps, so they denied us her being weary to sea travel let alone even mentioning it.

Sinteres was a cool villain they should have not killed off. He knew the pressure points, had witty saying & threw the tooth-pick thing. He would have made a good reoccurring character but TPTB were stoopid in killing him off in this ep!

Autolycus is definitely less annoying than Joxer but i'd rather see him in drama eps than all the joking around which seems to take up a lotta time.

i'd like this ep better if it was more a drama. Less lovey-dovey Hercules talk, less Autolycus joking around, less time getting the trunk back, more time with Sinteres and his plan for the "treasure" though he finds out what it really is and escapes before stealing it. i can picture Sinteres teaming up with Callisto or Caesar against Xena. Too bad it never happened.

So i guess Kate likes this ep more than me!

Hehe, probably! I do love the comedy around Autolycus altho I did like it when he got serious and talked about his childhood and why he became a thief.

Agreed on the Hercules thing...they coulda left Herc out of the whole ep, even if that show did introduce Auto. So what...the lighthearted chemistry between Xena and Auto, him being all egotistical and her showing him up...the flirtiness alone would have been fine. Leave the Herc thing alone entirely, that's a whole different mood and chemistry.

TOTALLY with you on Sinteres. Whoa that guy gave me the chills! He should definitely have been a recurring villain--can you imagine if he'd teamed up with Alti???? Omg, talk about an amazing forboding for a season finale...lol if they wanted to bother making a good one.

Yeah, Tapert was a first class moron when all is said and done, lol. How'd he GET that writing talent anywho? Did he channel some other writer from days gone by and then go back to being a silly commercial dude who wanted to put out a product? Hmmm.

Ah well, at the end of the day I just take what I love and leave the rest. More Gabrielle would have been good. Prolly could have intervened with the idea of Xena and the romantic issue again--especially the Herc topic.

Sinteres should have had his own ep, a serious one. They should have left him alive in this ep, and he could've come back and had more dominance over the ep. Mauthias was useless, considering how they built him up. Here a couple scenes, dead the next. What was the point?

Maybe Sinteres should have had the chest in the first place! Hmmmm...

Thinking further on the comedy thing, I definitely like Auto better as the show's real comic relief than Joxer. Totally. Auto is wittier and more charming, but unfortunately I think he got less air time than Joxer did in the end. Joxer was there almost all the time, whereas Auto would come for special appearances. They probably had to really "work" the comedy to the max, cuz he wasn't around enough.

But it might've been less "over the top" with the ego jokes and the flirtation and all, especially when action is needed like getting that dang chest, if Joxer had been more of a serious character. Joxer has potential for a good dramatic character if ya write him with more depth. The actor who played him had a nice range for it too. I think Bruce can do drama well, but he's so amazing as a comic character and Auto is just more interesting than they wrote Joxer, and funnier besides! Just my thoughts...Bruce probably was filming "Evil Dead" around the Xena eps so maybe he didn't have as much time. But he'd be interesting either as a recurring or a guest character with a little more eps. Just mho.

Hell, or maybe just cut Joxer out entirely and have Auto travel with Xena and Gabs. Again, Bruce probably didn't have the time. It would have been great tho provided they didn't ruin Auto. They'd have to flesh him out more, definitely for it to work, and knowing Tapert, he might've messed it all up, like how poor Gabs turned out. Oh well.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Free Madness,

Autolycus was more serious in the "Tsunami" ep which i think was his best ep. The only problem with that ep is that they gave Xena all the credit for getting people out of a bad situation when they should have given Autolycus a break with coming up with a few ideas.

i never liked the idea of having comic relief. It's okay to crack a few jokes. Cop shows & medical shows do it. iZombie mixes in humor in the best way possible- of course that show has some of the best writers in the bizness. Nothing like the slapstick or boasting humor of Xena which went way over the top too often.

If XWP had been more serious and less silly maybe they would have been nominated for & won some awards. Maybe the show would then have attracted better writers. Maybe Universal would have kicked Rob's butt bye bye & maybe the show wouldn't have slid downhill fast in season 5 with preggers Xena, Eve, etc.

Xena often has some fun one-liners during fights. That oughta be enuff comic relief. Hiring the brother (Ted Raimi) of the show's co-creator (Sam Raimi) for laughs was bad news!

I see what you mean about comic relief...the fights are hilarious enough and Gabrielle, serious as she became, can be tons of laughs when it fits the plot. Definitely Tapert, when he became Crappert, needed to go bye bye, and Ted Raimi too. It sucks that Lucy got involved with Crappert and married him cuz if they had kicked him to the curb, she'd have followed, I'm sure. We can't have that since she's the star, and such a quintessential Xena. I wonder if the producers knew that at the time, that Crappert was sucking eggs, but they couldn't get rid of him cuz of Lucy. Catch 22 for sure!

Anywho, I'll look forward to Tsunami. A character in any story, especially a main character, should have more elements than just comedy, that much is true. It doesn't work on just one level constantly, which is why Joxer became so useless in the end. Ah well!

Two more eps left for me of season 3- the Sacrifice 2 parter. Then on to season 4, the last good season of the show. i'm gonna be tempted to stop at the end of S4 but i guess i'll keep going.

Episode 18: The Prodical

Gabrielle freezes up during a nasty fight where she's almost run down by a cart full of sharp thin tree trunks. She tells Xena she needs to go home and hang out with her sister Lilla and find out what's going on within her. Xena waves to her as she leaves, the look on her face gut-wrenching.

Once home, Gabrielle learns that Lord Damon and his men, nasty pieces of work, are raiding and destroying villages in the area. Poteidaia is next. The village has hired Meleager the Mighty, a reknowned warrior with an amazing reputation. But right now all he does is drink and pass out, lying in bed most of the day. Gabrielle confronts him and he tells her about how all the blood and gore can finally get to you and you never know when you're going to freeze until it finally happens. Gabrielle, remembering how she froze in that last battle she fought with Xena, can relate. She's determined to help Meleager get his nerve back. Meanwhile she and her sister Lilla talk things out, as Lilla was very upset at not even hearing from Gabrielle for months after she left. Gabrielle reassures Lilla that she never stopped thinking of her ever, and in fact, Lilla is the reason Gabrielle came home, for good. They reconnect again, and Gabrielle helps the village make traps for Damon and his warriors when they come. Meleager helps too, encouraged by Gabrielle's faith in him. One day, as Damon and his men are expected to show up, Gabrielle finds Meleager gone as well as the rest of his money that he would have made once he finished the job. Disappointed, the villagers are about to give up but Gabrielle and Lilla talk them into sticking it out and standing up for THEMSELVES, rather than depend on one warrior. Lilla has a great way of communicating, a lot like Gabrielle! (I wonder what happened to their parents...my guess is maybe they died at some point, but those are two awesome sisters! I wish Lilla could have traveled with Gabs and Xena sometimes, but she really is more of a hometown girl. She'd be a great leader someday.) At any rate, so here come Damon's men, group by group, and they of course are met by amazing traps that knock them right out. As soon as Damon and the rest of the men show up, the villagers are almost out of traps. That's when Meleager shows up in the nick of time and throws sharp pointy sticks(forget the terminology lol) at each of the men. Then he battles Damon, and at one point, hesitates. Gabrielle shouts at him the advice Xena gave her before she left: "Act, don't react!" Meleager follows through and after taking down Damon, the village is saved!

In the tavern while the villagers celebrate, Lilla walks over to Gabrielle with the latter's traveling bag behind her. Gabs is sitting by herself, looking down. Lilla tells her she knows Gabs is thinking she needs to leave and go join Xena again, but doesn't know how to tell everyone. Gabs says, "I thought I was the only oracle in the family." Lilla tells her you don't have to be an oracle to know the obvious, words to that effect. She says Gabs needs to be out in the world, needs to go explore. She would never be happy cooped up in a small village. Lilla and Gabrielle hug goodbye and Lilla says to come visit now and then. Gabs says she'll send word as often as possible, then takes off for the road!

Once back at the place where she was almost "roadkill," where she froze last time, Gabs sees the same attackers there as before. She fights them off with her staff, and then as the cart with the pointed trees comes at her, she uses the staff to pole-vault over the cart, and, on the other side, watches as the cart crashes into the wall. More attackers taunt her, and Gabs readies herself to fight them, when suddenly Xena's chakram cuts all their staves in two. They run away, and Xena is seen on top of the hill. Gabs and Xena reunite, and Gabs tells Xena she learned what she needed to. Xena compliments her for her pole vaulting trick. Gabrielle jokes that she'll teach it to Xena one day as they walk off.

Awesome ep! It was great for Gabs to go back and reunite with Lilla and I love the timing where she had to help Meleager out. It was clear that Meleager had almost ruined himself with his fear, and Gabs didn't want to end up like that. Plus we got to see how smart and epic Lilla is as a character. It was epic that she and Gabs were able to help the villagers fight off Damon and his army, and Meleager got his groove back! Gabs took the time to figure things out without leaning on Xena, and she learned where she belongs. Great pace, writing and acting too! Thumbs up!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Free Madness,

Here's my little post on this ep from last year:

quote:

"The Prodigal"

Gabrielle leaves Xena, returns home where the people have hired Meleager the Mighty to battle a warlord.

Best: Gabrielle shows off what she's learned from Xena; always nice to see Lila; great job by Tim Thomerson as Meleager

Worst: Gabrielle shows off what she's learned from Xena (this works both ways for & against this ep)

Redemption score: 0 -nothing here

X&G yin/Yang score: 4 -they were apart & the shape of things to come hovered over the ep

Greater good comment- Gabrielle helped her home town but maybe should have stayed longer. Her folks were never shown nor mentioned. Gabrielle & Lila helped Meleager sober up- at least for awhile.

Rating: 7.5

Gabrielle's folks are alive btw, we see them again in "A Family Affair". They should have been in this one to give her moral support. It's odd & kinda against character that Gabrielle- who is big on family- is only shown with her folks once after traveling with Xena. they should have had a bigger role in the series- at least as much a role as Cyrene was in the eps for Xena. i also wish they'd mention Gabrielle more as a bard than a fighter. Maybe they could be asking her autograph her scrolls in her hometown.

Tim Thomerson was great as Meleager. We get to see him once more in season 2 and then nothing.

Lila is always a treat to see. Although i wish they would have used her more dramatically in this earlier eps than they did.

i gave the ep a 7.5. Basically Xena bookended the ep. Usually Xena-less eps are weak but not here. Still it would have been better with Gabrielle's folks. They weren't too fond of Xena in "A Family Affair" so maybe they could voice their concerns here. Maybe they could say Perdicus had dropped by and told them of seeing her in Troy. A little family melodrama might have helped.

Oracle. i dunno why they mention that when if there's anything Gabrielle isn't and that's an oracle. She mentions it again in "One Against An Army". TPTB never brought ought out any prophecy giving or seer stuff in Gabrielle. Maybe they forgot- it would figure.

"Sacrifice 1"

Xena must stop Hope from returning to the world.

Best: Xena and Gabrielle saving Seraphin and trying to prevent Hope from coming out the cocoon; scenes between Callisto & High Priest of the Blood; the Dahak dancers (the ladies i mean; the zombie-fied followers of Dahak, one who was dressed like peasant Gabrielle!

Worst: they should've shown scenes from Hercules to clear up confusion about Hope & Callisto; they should have also gone into more detail about the pact between Ares & Dahak

Redemption score: 0, nothing here, sadly

X&G yin/Yang score: 7.5, mostly normal though they seemed a tad off their game

Diversity score (i forgot!)- 7

Greater good comment- Xena and Gabrielle save Seraphin from being sacrificed

Anti-Greater good comment-Xena killed an unarmed(?) Dahak follower, even if armed she could have spared him (i mention this given all the whining about killing Ming)

Rating: 9

This message has been edited. Last edited by: xenacrazed,

quote:

Originally posted by xenacrazed:
Here's my little post on this ep from last year:

quote:

"The Prodigal"

Gabrielle leaves Xena, returns home where the people have hired Meleager the Mighty to battle a warlord.

Best: Gabrielle shows off what she's learned from Xena; always nice to see Lila; great job by Tim Thomerson as Meleager

Worst: Gabrielle shows off what she's learned from Xena (this works both ways for & against this ep)

Redemption score: 0 -nothing here

X&G yin/Yang score: 4 -they were apart & the shape of things to come hovered over the ep

Greater good comment- Gabrielle helped her home town but maybe should have stayed longer. Her folks were never shown nor mentioned. Gabrielle & Lila helped Meleager sober up- at least for awhile.

Rating: 7.5

Gabrielle's folks are alive btw, we see them again in "A Family Affair". They should have been in this one to give her moral support. It's odd & kinda against character that Gabrielle- who is big on family- is only shown with her folks once after traveling with Xena. they should have had a bigger role in the series- at least as much a role as Cyrene was in the eps for Xena. i also wish they'd mention Gabrielle more as a bard than a fighter. Maybe they could be asking her autograph her scrolls in her hometown.

Tim Thomerson was great as Meleager. We get to see him once more in season 2 and then nothing.

Lila is always a treat to see. Although i wish they would have used her more dramatically in this earlier eps than they did.

i gave the ep a 7.5. Basically Xena bookended the ep. Usually Xena-less eps are weak but not here. Still it would have been better with Gabrielle's folks. They weren't too fond of Xena in "A Family Affair" so maybe they could voice their concerns here. Maybe they could say Perdicus had dropped by and told them of seeing her in Troy. A little family melodrama might have helped.

Oracle. i dunno why they mention that when if there's anything Gabrielle isn't and that's an oracle. She mentions it again in "One Against An Army". TPTB never brought ought out any prophecy giving or seer stuff in Gabrielle. Maybe they forgot- it would figure.

Yeah, now that I know her parents are still alive--where the hell were they? That's just weird, that Gabs returns from a long hiatus and they wouldn't be scolding her to give more conflict. Maybe instead of Ferris, one or both of the parents could have been the leader of Podaideia, or helped Ferris in some way.

Then again, it might've gotten a bit complex with all the family melodrama plus trying to help Meleager sober up. I did enjoy Tim Thomerson's work...great actor! Almost reminded me of Sean Connery in the beginning. Awesome voice.

Still...the parents were imperitive for an ep like this. Well, poo on Tapert! He just wanted to get thru the ep, never mind the confusion. Even if the parents weren't there, Lila and Gabs should have talked about them...maybe they were away or something. That would have worked just as well.

I liked Gabrielle using the skills she learned from Xena, as it was imperative she do that for this situation. Her return was definitely excellent timing for what the village was dealing with, plus Meleager being in the state he was in. One thing I love about Gabrielle, even if she can be a bit "mother-hen-ish," she'd make a good shrink in modern times, total "mind healer," as well as everything else. She's good at making people think, that's a major gift of hers. And it was perfect that Meleager helped HER too, being that it was his own freezing up that led to his decline.

So I didn't see it as "showing off" the skills Gabs learned from Xena, altho I know how cocky she can get sometimes. It worked well here tho...she put the needs of her village first, at least that's how I see it. As far as the "oracle" thing, methinks Tapert got the wrong word for it. Maybe "visionary" is better, like the ability to see through things beyond the surface to recognize what they truly are. That's DEFINITELY not the definition of an oracle--an oracle sees things happening before they happen. Jeeeez...get a dictionary next time, Rob! But that's askin' too much of him, again.

I will look forward to "A Family Affair," and get more perspective on the situation. Still can't wait to see when and how things work out that Gabs marries Perdicus.

Took a li'l break last night to watch "Field of Dreams," a movie I got John for his birthday. I'd never seen it...strange as that sounds. I'll post more about that in the movie thread.

Battle on, Xena! Ep 19 tonight probably!

"Sacrifice 1"

Starts off with Callisto emerging from somewhere. This was part of The "Apocalypse Now" storyline in Hercules. i saw it long ago, taped it, but haven't seen it since. Herc stories never interested me. Still i wish they'd release all the Xena-Herc related eps on dvd!

Then the scene with Xena and Gabrielle trying to save Seraphin from some cultists who are going to sacrifice her. Seraphin is from Potedaia. The plan back-fires as Seraphin doesn't wanna be saved.

Xena soon kills a cult member who jumps to her from a boulder. He looked unarmed to me. So much for redemption, eh Xena? Better get back on track.

Callisto appears killing a cult priest. Then Ares shows up. The cult has to be more than just a Callisto thing. Xena somehow figures out it's Dahak & Hope the cult is worshiping.

So now saving Seraphin story has changed ti stopping Hope from returning to the world as it seems Seraphin's blood is to release Hope.

more later...

"Sacrifice 1"

Callisto is helping Hope in pt 1 because she expects Hope and Dahak to help her die for good. Too bad when it happens that it isn't for good. Callisto- as far as i'm concerned- long ago served her purpose. TPTB just kept on bringing her back regardless.

Ares at first is concerned that Callisto is raising a cult to follow her. Then when he learns it's about Hope & Dahok, he wants to kill Hope, as does Xena. Ares has a warlord gather an army for him. We never see any army. We do see a flame appear and a roar. Dahok?

It must be as Ares switches sides. Always just looking out for himself. i wish they would have shown Dakok in person or at least an priest to translate what his master wants. More off-screen stuff TPTB assumes we take for granted.

more later...

"Sacrifice 1"

Most of this ep was predictable-

...Callsito defending Hope to get what she wanted

...Ares switching loyalties to get what he wants

...Xena obsessed with destroying Hope

...Gabrielle doing the greater good speech with Seraphin while regretting Hope is still alive

The big difference was Ares calling in the favor Gabrielle owed him for him getting her to Chin ahead of Xena (we found this out in "Forget Me Not"). Plus the Fates saying that if Xena kills Hope, then Xena must die.

Why would the Fates agree to this? Does Ares have a hold on them (that would make for a good story if so)? Do they have something against Xena (a good story there too)?

It's never explained why they would side for Ares on a promise that's made without Gabrielle knowing the terms in advance! You would think that Gabrielle would want to argue with the Fates to get it changed. Why shouldn't the Fates give Gabrielle an opportunity to alter the terms of the promise or favor. Or to add some kind of wording to the favor that goes against Ares. i dunno. i think TPTB made it this way so that we get the cliffhanger season finale in the next ep. Not that it makes sense.

"Sacrifice 1I"

Hope is reborn and it's up Xena -and Gabrielle- to stop her from bringing Dahok into the world.

Best: Callisto killed again; Callisto switches allegiances; Renee does great job as Hope and as scorchin' hot Gabrielle; excellent cliffhanger; Xena pushing Joxer around was funny

Worst: The Ares-Dahok alliance was daffy

Redemption score: .5, next to nothing

X&G yin/Yang score: 8, normal

Diversity score (i forgot!)- 7.5

Greater good comment- Xena and Gabrielle save various people from being sacrificed; Xena purposely offs Callisto

Anti-Greater good comment-Xena didn't completely stop the Dahok followers ravaging the villages

Rating: 9.5

This message has been edited. Last edited by: xenacrazed,

"Sacrifice 1I"

What we learned or didn't learn:

Didn't learn why the Fates agreed to Ares demand that calling in the favor Gabrielle owed him meant the death of Xena if she killed Hope.

Did learn why Gabrielle didn't counter-offer the Fates- cuz the writers wanted a cliffhanger where she jumps into the lava pit with Hope

Did learn Xena trusts Joxer enuff to get the Hind's Blood Dagger

Didn't learn whether Joxer following off his horse was part of a plan or whether Xena was just waiting for him to bumble off.

Did learn about Dahok's 6 destroyers plan which ultimately was laughable. Poor writers.

Did learn Xena could kill Callisto when teased in an emotional moment but not when Callisto is out killing people.

Didn't learn why Ares helped Dahok when it would have been easier defeating him and not look like Dahok's slave which would've ruined his reputation

Did learn it would've taken the Hind's Blood Dagger for Dahok to kill the Greek gods rather than some other means

more later...

"Sacrifice 1I"

So why does it take so much to get Dahok into our world? It's pretty laughable that someone oh so powerful has to go thru all these silly rituals. And what's with the fire thing? Is that all there is to Dahok? i dunno i don't think this arc was thought out too much in advance.

If Dakok needed the Hind's Blood Dagger to kill the Greek gods, then that makes him kinda weak. i would think Ares could have easily defeat Dahok or could have killed Hope and been done with it all. How does Ares think he can keep respect once ppl learn he was just a slave to Dahok and turned against his own kind?

When Xena plugged up the Dahok fire towards the end it cut off the hold Dahok had on Seraphin and the other followers. Could Ares not have done something similar?

A lotta unanswered questions in an arc that seemed more bent on first causing a rift then separating for awhile Xena & Gabrielle. Rather a long way about it instead of something more creative and less messy.

more later...