mea culpa. 
The "Endgame" dvd intervierws ARE on youtube.
Its hell to get old and senile.
The "Endgame" dvd intervierws ARE on youtube.
Its hell to get old and senile.
Last edited:
Any Xena:WP fans on the boards?
- Thread starter JanewayRulz!
- Start date
Oh lord, did you need to quote-pyramid the whole post? I think my mouse wheel had a blowout scrolling down it just now.
If it could get through my Buffy/Angel reviews it can get through anything!
Episode 89 season 4 #21 "Ides of March"
IoM Commentary with Lucy & Renee, part 1:
These video commentaries seem such a cheat, since you only hear about a third of their comments. There's also an audio commentary which is complete from teaser to credits... and sometimes "into" the credits. This video commentary, for example, suffers from TPTB completely leaving out the women's comments on their "goodbye" scene in the prison. I'll try to pull them in, when appropriate.
I'm not being too successful finding the interviews in "one" spot, but here's the Hudson Leick clip.
Where to start?
Remember that comment I made in "Endgame" about getting 45 seconds of chuckles before being hit with 42 minutes of angst?
THIS time the chuckles come at the START of the teaser... as TPTB show us NOT the Olympian Tarturas... but the Judeo-Christian HELL. And guess who's stuck there for eternity...
Gabrielle: (The long haired version in the Bilious green sports bra with staff) "Who's suffering now, Callisto?" [Laughs and points to her own neck as Callisto ineffectually swings her sword att he false image]
Callisto: "No-o-o-o-o-o! Ah-h-h-h-h-h-h!"
Xena: "And you thought you were getting oblivion. Well, this place makes Tartarus look like a day at the beach. How long ya in for? Eternity? That's gotta smart." [Laughs as Callisto again tries to kill her with the sword, but it passes through her body easily]
Callisto: [Screams as Xena disappears. Another inmate comes up behind her and tries to grab some nookie. Instead he gets a fist in the face which knocks him backward] "Uh! Get over it!"
IoM Commentary with Lucy & Renee, part 2:
So. The "Lord" of Hell wants two things from Callisto. The first, naturally, is Xena. Get her off "The Way of the Warrior" so she ends up in his evil clutches once again. The second? Help Caesar achieve his destiny... Emperor of Rome to start then of the world. Once thus enthroned he'll be the Earthly puppet of the Lord of Darkness.
Hudson told TPTB she'd be Callisto once more, but INSISTED on getting a new costume. TPTB out did themselves, first with that bikini made with 3 square inches of cloth... and next with that simple white robe.
Lucy said it best, the main antagonist and protagonist made such a striking pair when they squared off against each other, one "dark and solid" the other "ethereal and light". It reminds me of Hudson's own commentary on "Sacrifice" when TPTB wanted her character to be a brunette, someone trying to emulate Xena in every way except her goodness. Hudson thought the contrast between her blondness and Xena's dark worked better, and I agree with both of them.
Callisto arrives in Caesar's bedchambers during a particularly erotic dream, one that turns into a nightmare when his bed partner turns into a knife wielding Xena. The "poor man" wakes up in a flop sweat, only to find Callisto at his side, ready to tempt him with his every imperial desire, and relief from his only terror.
Caesar: "Xena."
Callisto: "Yes, Xena. I can't tell you how much we have in common in that way."
Well, we're halfway through the teaser, so grab your popcorn cuz that means a fight is about to break out!
The women are looking for passage to Athens on a ship, because Gabrielle wants to find Eli who's teaching somewhere near there. Before the dock worker can enlighten them re: the next boat leaving, a spear comes flying at Xena! Poor Gabrielle, she looks from Xena to Amarise to Xena, not sure who to help, how to help, and STILL stay true to "her way". Once Amarise goes down, Gabrielle realizes tying up someone's feet and flipping them into the sea isn't "really" violent, and proceeds to do just that much to Amarise's displeasure. After dispatching the 4 or 6 guys attacking her, Xena discovers Caesar has put a 6 million dinar bounty on her head. (Hey, it was just 200 dinars 2 eps ago when the Bounty hunter died at Cyrene's) Loved Amarise's comment.
Amarise: "That's quite a temptation, (as the two women look at her) not for me, for every killer in Europe."
And the teaser ends with Xena's fateful decision. Its time to kill Caesar.
As act 1 begins, you can bet someone isn't too happy with Xena's plan.
Gabrielle: "Xena. Xena, you can't just walk into Rome and kill Caesar."
Amarise: "It's an opportunity to kill a lot of Romans. I say we do it."
Xena: "We're not doing anything. I'm going to Rome, not you. Gabrielle, I can't take you, not after that vision."
Amarise: "What vision?"
Xena: "I had a vision once that Gabrielle and I would die at the hands of Romans. It's bad enough that we can run into Romans anywhere, but if you and I were to go to Rome... "
Gabrielle: (Tries to pull out a tried and true relationship card) "OK... well, what if I ask you not to do this?"
Xena: (Isn't swayed by emotion when the facts are so dangerous) "Gabrielle, he's an evil man, and he's trying to kill me. I have to take him out or die trying. It's the way of the warrior."
Amarise: (Tries to insert herself between the two women staring each other down)"Was I in this vision?"
Xena: (Stll looking at Gabrielle, willing her to understand?) "No."
Amarise: "Then I should go with you."
Xena: (Looking at Gabrielle) "Amarise, you're staying here with Gabrielle."
Amarise: (Looks like someone just told her there would be no Solstice present for her this year) "As her bodyguard?"
Xena: (Looking at Amarise) "As her friend. You could learn something if you listened to her once in a while. (Gabrielle glances from Amarise to Xena, as Xena turns back to her with one last request.) You promise you won't follow me?"
Gabrielle: (Pause) "I promise. Xena, be careful.
I have to say, this was a great set up for the finale of season 4.
I know, I know, there's one more after this.. and I don't understand HOW they could have put it after this one, unless they were trying to fake out fandom that the program was jumping time periods permanently... but I digress!
Xena goes to Rome, to assasinate Caesar. We've seen in season 3 how easy it is for her to get past his guards with a "frontal" assault, but this time she uses stealth, and inserts herself into his security detail. Standing outside his office she sees him placing a laurel wreath upon his head, the mark of a wannabe Emperor, and she sends her chakram flying into the office to remove that very head.
Alas, the impossible happens. Someone has CAUGHT the chakram! In the last 4 years only one other person has done that, and Xena killed her with the hinds blood dagger last year.
Callisto: "Brings back memories... doesn't it, Xena?"
A fight ensues between Xena and more of Caesar's security detail as Callisto stands to the side with Xena's chakram firmly in hand. Caesar is also making himself small against the wall, avoiding any appearence of engaging in his own defense against the woman he's put a bounty on. Finally Xena vaults out of the window and down to the alley below, where she once again runs into Callisto.
(This is the scene that got Renee going in the commentary re: their chemistry and friction)
Xena: "Ah-h-h-h!" (Tries ineffectively to kill Callisto with her sword.)
Callisto: "Don't bother. You've already done all the damage you can to me. Thanks, by the way."
Xena: "For what?"
Callisto: "I wanted to cease existing, and you did your best to help, but as you can see, it didn't take. They wouldn't let me off the hook that easy."
Xena: "Who's `they'?"
Callisto: (rolls her eyes innocently) "I don't know, whoever it is that does the final judging. They sent me to a place that makes Tartarus look like the Elysian Fields. They call it Hell."
Xena: "Couldn't have happened to a nicer gal."
Callisto: "The one who runs things down where I come from, he's very interested in what happens in this life. He figures Caesar will be very valuable to him. And, of course, he also figures you might be an obstacle."
Xena: "Then he figures right. And I won't be the only one. Plenty of people will oppose Caesar becoming emperor."
Callisto: "Ah, you know about the emperor thing."
Xena: "The laurel wreath kind 'a gave it away. I'm guessing that he'll anounce it when the senate reconvenes on the ides of March."
Callisto: "My, aren't you the clever girl? Yes, some people will be unhappy, but everybody has their price, even the honorable Brutus. Caesar's gonna give him Gaul and that should keep him smiling. But it's you, my darling, it's you that I'm worried about. I'm here to make you an offer."
Xena: "Forget it."
Callisto: "Afraid you'll be tempted?"
Xena: "Yeah, that's right."
Callisto: "I'll give you a little hint. Gabrielle's in Roman hands as we speak."
Xena: "You lie."
Callisto: "Do I? My lord gave me a thorough briefing as to what's happened to you and Gabrielle since the last time we met. I know everything about India and Eli. Ah-h, so you're not the only clever girl now, Xena, are you? Gabrielle's on her way to a Roman prison in the Appenines as we speak. So about my offer... "
Xena: "Get lost." (And off she runs, in search of a fast horse to carry her to the Appenines...)
When Xena left for Rome, Gabrielle and Amarise continued on Gabby's original plan to seek out Eli. Amarise wasn't keen on looking for this preacher that encourages people to "love their enemies", but does look impressed when she sees Eli heal a cripple.
Gabrielle: "Eli."
Eli: "Oh-h-h-h. I'm so happy to see you." (He envelopes Gabrielle in an intimate, prolonged embrace)
Gabrielle: (Looks up to him as she keeps her hand on his, while he continues to hold her face) "I heard you were teaching in Greece. I set out to find you."
Eli: "Where's Xena?"
Gabrielle: "She, um, has some work to do. This is my friend, Amarise."
Eli: "Hello, Amarise."
Amarise: (Steps back, refusing to shake hands/embrace) "If somebody threatened your mother, would you fight to defend her."
Gabrielle: "Amarise and I have some philosophical differences."
Eli: (Smiling as he leads Gabrielle away from Amarise) "I see. We've got a lot to talk about. Come on."
Eli and Gabrielle talk about the philosophy of healing, which means they talk about the philosophy of love. Amarise is bored to tears, but still vigilant enough to hear the sound of boot steps in the woods surrounding them. When she goes to investigate, 7 swords (?) come out of the brush, all pointing at her neck.
Amarise: "Oh, come on. The only real power's at the end of a sword. Did you hear that?"
Gabrielle: (Hops up from her position next to Eli, and starts to walk towards Amarise)"What?"
Amarise: "Boots." (Quietly she walks to the edge of their clearing, but before she can enter the woods, all those swords come out at her)
Eli: "And if the other side has more swords?"
Amarise: "If you can love your way out of this one, be my guest."
(This is another one of those scenes that I don't think would be as powerful without the mature looking shorthaired Gabrielle facing down her opponent)
Gabrielle: "Brutus."
Brutus: "Hello, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle: "You're doing Caesar's bidding again?"
Brutus: "Caesar believes Xena is trying to kill him. He has to protect himself."
Gabrielle: "With me. I understand. Let these people go."
Brutus: "My orders are to arrest you, Eli, and his followers. You'll be taken as hostages, against Xena killing Caesar. Caesar's promised me no one will be hurt."
Gabrielle: "And you believe him."
Brutus: "Our friends are at war, Gabrielle. I'm sorry this brings us into conflict, but it's inevitable."
Gabrielle: (Remember, Alti has shown Gabrielle that vision too!) "Of course it is."
And off he marches them, to a prison at the base of Mount Amaro in the Appenines.
The road leading to the prison is lined with crosses... and there's a dead body on each and every one of them. Even Brutus looks shocked as he leads them into the prison fortress.
Once in the anteroom to the jail, Amarise has decided she's seen enough, and grabs at a dagger on one of the guards. She is shackled and easy for the three guards to subdue. As she falls to the ground, Gabrielle pays Amarise back for saving her last week and falls on top of her to protect her.
Brutus: "No! Don't harm Gabrielle!"
Gabrielle: (Mimicking what Brutus said to Xena when in Amazon chains last week) "Of course not! I'm still useful to you, Brutus!"
Brutus: "Get up!" (He doesn't realize that's NOT how to speak to a Queen)
Gabrielle: "Not until you pardon her for what she just did."
Brutus: (For her part, Amarise has the good sense to look worried AND keep her mouth shut!) "She attacked one of my men."
Gabrielle: (When you're right, you're RIGHT!) "And I remember a time when mercy was shown to you!"
Brutus: "Put down your swords." (Gabrielle gets up off Amarise as the soldiers pull the teenaged warrior roughly to her feet) "Chain her to the prop."
Amarise: (Now that she knows she's "safe" the snarky teenager comes out in her.) "Oh, please-- can't you just break my legs?"
Xena is on a borrowed/stolen horse, "running hell bent for leather" for the Appenines, as Gabrielle and Eli along with his followers practice meditation/prayer, much to Amarise's displeasure.
Meanwhile, Brutus and his men are returning to Rome. Brutus finds more than he bargained for during a pit-stop to stretch their legs, empty their bladders.
Xena: (Comes up behind the man in "midstream") "Pardon me, Brutus. I have a deal for you. (He turns around to face Xena, with everything still hanging out. Xena looks him up and down and continues as if nothing was unusual about this conference) You tell me where my friend, Gabrielle, is, and I will give you some information that will save your stinkin' life. Deal? (He says nothing) Tell you what, you promise to tell me and I will go first. Do I have your word?"
Brutus: "And you trust me?"
Xena: "Everyone says that Brutus is an honorable man. Do I have your word?"
Brutus: "Yeah."
Xena: "Beware the ides of March, Brutus."
Brutus: "Why the ides of March?"
Xena: "Because on that day, Caesar will declare himself emperor."
Brutus: "I don't believe you. Why would he do that?"
Xena: "Greed, lust for power, an ego the size of the Aegean. Of course, he plans to rid himself of anyone who would stand in his way."
Brutus: "What are you saying?"
Xena: "He's too smart to kill you in Rome You have much too much support there. But I have firsthand knowledge that he's been talking to assassins in Gaul. So, your turn. Come on, Brutus. Gabrielle saved your life, once. Give me a chance to save hers."
Brutus: "I put her in a prison compound at the foot of Mt. Amaro." (As she turns away, he shouts) "I don't believe what you said about Caesar!"
Xena: "It's your funeral." (She starts to walk away then stops) "Brutus was it snowing on Mt. Amaro?"
Brutus: "Yes, it was snowing when I left." (Xena Flashforwards yet again to the two of them laying on crosses as the snow falls.)
The Teenaged Warrior is sitting on the jail cell floor, shackled to a concrete pillar in the middle of the cell, and she's thinking out loud.
Amarise: "I always thought I'd die in battle, not-- hung on a cross." (She looks up to her adopted Queen, and her friend) "Do you think Xena will make it in time?"
Gabrielle: (Squatting next to the "Kid" as Gabrielle called her before they left the Amazons) "She'll be here."
Watch Gabrielle's face as she walks away from Amarise to stand at the bars of the cell. She KNOWS Xena will be "here". She KNOWS this is where the vision said the two will die. You almost can see her wish Xena would not follow her "way"... would not come to Gabrielle's rescue, but you might as well wish for the sun not to rise in the east and set in the west.
So, Brutus makes it back to Rome, and SHOCK of all shockers, he discovers Caesar has lied to him. He always planned to execute Gabrielle and Eli tomorrow, on the Ides Of March, a day he needed Xena preoccupied elsewhere. When pressed, he only says he has "an announcement to make", then drops another bombshell. He's sending Brutus to Gaul. THAT'S where Xena said the assassins were!
IoM Commentary with Lucy & Renee, part 1:
These video commentaries seem such a cheat, since you only hear about a third of their comments. There's also an audio commentary which is complete from teaser to credits... and sometimes "into" the credits. This video commentary, for example, suffers from TPTB completely leaving out the women's comments on their "goodbye" scene in the prison. I'll try to pull them in, when appropriate.
I'm not being too successful finding the interviews in "one" spot, but here's the Hudson Leick clip.
Where to start?
Remember that comment I made in "Endgame" about getting 45 seconds of chuckles before being hit with 42 minutes of angst?
THIS time the chuckles come at the START of the teaser... as TPTB show us NOT the Olympian Tarturas... but the Judeo-Christian HELL. And guess who's stuck there for eternity...
Gabrielle: (The long haired version in the Bilious green sports bra with staff) "Who's suffering now, Callisto?" [Laughs and points to her own neck as Callisto ineffectually swings her sword att he false image]
Callisto: "No-o-o-o-o-o! Ah-h-h-h-h-h-h!"
Xena: "And you thought you were getting oblivion. Well, this place makes Tartarus look like a day at the beach. How long ya in for? Eternity? That's gotta smart." [Laughs as Callisto again tries to kill her with the sword, but it passes through her body easily]
Callisto: [Screams as Xena disappears. Another inmate comes up behind her and tries to grab some nookie. Instead he gets a fist in the face which knocks him backward] "Uh! Get over it!"
IoM Commentary with Lucy & Renee, part 2:
So. The "Lord" of Hell wants two things from Callisto. The first, naturally, is Xena. Get her off "The Way of the Warrior" so she ends up in his evil clutches once again. The second? Help Caesar achieve his destiny... Emperor of Rome to start then of the world. Once thus enthroned he'll be the Earthly puppet of the Lord of Darkness.
Hudson told TPTB she'd be Callisto once more, but INSISTED on getting a new costume. TPTB out did themselves, first with that bikini made with 3 square inches of cloth... and next with that simple white robe.
Lucy said it best, the main antagonist and protagonist made such a striking pair when they squared off against each other, one "dark and solid" the other "ethereal and light". It reminds me of Hudson's own commentary on "Sacrifice" when TPTB wanted her character to be a brunette, someone trying to emulate Xena in every way except her goodness. Hudson thought the contrast between her blondness and Xena's dark worked better, and I agree with both of them.
Callisto arrives in Caesar's bedchambers during a particularly erotic dream, one that turns into a nightmare when his bed partner turns into a knife wielding Xena. The "poor man" wakes up in a flop sweat, only to find Callisto at his side, ready to tempt him with his every imperial desire, and relief from his only terror.
Caesar: "Xena."
Callisto: "Yes, Xena. I can't tell you how much we have in common in that way."
Well, we're halfway through the teaser, so grab your popcorn cuz that means a fight is about to break out!
The women are looking for passage to Athens on a ship, because Gabrielle wants to find Eli who's teaching somewhere near there. Before the dock worker can enlighten them re: the next boat leaving, a spear comes flying at Xena! Poor Gabrielle, she looks from Xena to Amarise to Xena, not sure who to help, how to help, and STILL stay true to "her way". Once Amarise goes down, Gabrielle realizes tying up someone's feet and flipping them into the sea isn't "really" violent, and proceeds to do just that much to Amarise's displeasure. After dispatching the 4 or 6 guys attacking her, Xena discovers Caesar has put a 6 million dinar bounty on her head. (Hey, it was just 200 dinars 2 eps ago when the Bounty hunter died at Cyrene's) Loved Amarise's comment.
Amarise: "That's quite a temptation, (as the two women look at her) not for me, for every killer in Europe."
And the teaser ends with Xena's fateful decision. Its time to kill Caesar.
As act 1 begins, you can bet someone isn't too happy with Xena's plan.
Gabrielle: "Xena. Xena, you can't just walk into Rome and kill Caesar."
Amarise: "It's an opportunity to kill a lot of Romans. I say we do it."
Xena: "We're not doing anything. I'm going to Rome, not you. Gabrielle, I can't take you, not after that vision."
Amarise: "What vision?"
Xena: "I had a vision once that Gabrielle and I would die at the hands of Romans. It's bad enough that we can run into Romans anywhere, but if you and I were to go to Rome... "
Gabrielle: (Tries to pull out a tried and true relationship card) "OK... well, what if I ask you not to do this?"
Xena: (Isn't swayed by emotion when the facts are so dangerous) "Gabrielle, he's an evil man, and he's trying to kill me. I have to take him out or die trying. It's the way of the warrior."
Amarise: (Tries to insert herself between the two women staring each other down)"Was I in this vision?"
Xena: (Stll looking at Gabrielle, willing her to understand?) "No."
Amarise: "Then I should go with you."
Xena: (Looking at Gabrielle) "Amarise, you're staying here with Gabrielle."
Amarise: (Looks like someone just told her there would be no Solstice present for her this year) "As her bodyguard?"
Xena: (Looking at Amarise) "As her friend. You could learn something if you listened to her once in a while. (Gabrielle glances from Amarise to Xena, as Xena turns back to her with one last request.) You promise you won't follow me?"
Gabrielle: (Pause) "I promise. Xena, be careful.
I have to say, this was a great set up for the finale of season 4.
I know, I know, there's one more after this.. and I don't understand HOW they could have put it after this one, unless they were trying to fake out fandom that the program was jumping time periods permanently... but I digress!
Xena goes to Rome, to assasinate Caesar. We've seen in season 3 how easy it is for her to get past his guards with a "frontal" assault, but this time she uses stealth, and inserts herself into his security detail. Standing outside his office she sees him placing a laurel wreath upon his head, the mark of a wannabe Emperor, and she sends her chakram flying into the office to remove that very head.
Alas, the impossible happens. Someone has CAUGHT the chakram! In the last 4 years only one other person has done that, and Xena killed her with the hinds blood dagger last year.
Callisto: "Brings back memories... doesn't it, Xena?"
A fight ensues between Xena and more of Caesar's security detail as Callisto stands to the side with Xena's chakram firmly in hand. Caesar is also making himself small against the wall, avoiding any appearence of engaging in his own defense against the woman he's put a bounty on. Finally Xena vaults out of the window and down to the alley below, where she once again runs into Callisto.
(This is the scene that got Renee going in the commentary re: their chemistry and friction)
Xena: "Ah-h-h-h!" (Tries ineffectively to kill Callisto with her sword.)
Callisto: "Don't bother. You've already done all the damage you can to me. Thanks, by the way."
Xena: "For what?"
Callisto: "I wanted to cease existing, and you did your best to help, but as you can see, it didn't take. They wouldn't let me off the hook that easy."
Xena: "Who's `they'?"
Callisto: (rolls her eyes innocently) "I don't know, whoever it is that does the final judging. They sent me to a place that makes Tartarus look like the Elysian Fields. They call it Hell."
Xena: "Couldn't have happened to a nicer gal."
Callisto: "The one who runs things down where I come from, he's very interested in what happens in this life. He figures Caesar will be very valuable to him. And, of course, he also figures you might be an obstacle."
Xena: "Then he figures right. And I won't be the only one. Plenty of people will oppose Caesar becoming emperor."
Callisto: "Ah, you know about the emperor thing."
Xena: "The laurel wreath kind 'a gave it away. I'm guessing that he'll anounce it when the senate reconvenes on the ides of March."
Callisto: "My, aren't you the clever girl? Yes, some people will be unhappy, but everybody has their price, even the honorable Brutus. Caesar's gonna give him Gaul and that should keep him smiling. But it's you, my darling, it's you that I'm worried about. I'm here to make you an offer."
Xena: "Forget it."
Callisto: "Afraid you'll be tempted?"
Xena: "Yeah, that's right."
Callisto: "I'll give you a little hint. Gabrielle's in Roman hands as we speak."
Xena: "You lie."
Callisto: "Do I? My lord gave me a thorough briefing as to what's happened to you and Gabrielle since the last time we met. I know everything about India and Eli. Ah-h, so you're not the only clever girl now, Xena, are you? Gabrielle's on her way to a Roman prison in the Appenines as we speak. So about my offer... "
Xena: "Get lost." (And off she runs, in search of a fast horse to carry her to the Appenines...)
When Xena left for Rome, Gabrielle and Amarise continued on Gabby's original plan to seek out Eli. Amarise wasn't keen on looking for this preacher that encourages people to "love their enemies", but does look impressed when she sees Eli heal a cripple.
Gabrielle: "Eli."
Eli: "Oh-h-h-h. I'm so happy to see you." (He envelopes Gabrielle in an intimate, prolonged embrace)
Gabrielle: (Looks up to him as she keeps her hand on his, while he continues to hold her face) "I heard you were teaching in Greece. I set out to find you."
Eli: "Where's Xena?"
Gabrielle: "She, um, has some work to do. This is my friend, Amarise."
Eli: "Hello, Amarise."
Amarise: (Steps back, refusing to shake hands/embrace) "If somebody threatened your mother, would you fight to defend her."
Gabrielle: "Amarise and I have some philosophical differences."
Eli: (Smiling as he leads Gabrielle away from Amarise) "I see. We've got a lot to talk about. Come on."
Eli and Gabrielle talk about the philosophy of healing, which means they talk about the philosophy of love. Amarise is bored to tears, but still vigilant enough to hear the sound of boot steps in the woods surrounding them. When she goes to investigate, 7 swords (?) come out of the brush, all pointing at her neck.
Amarise: "Oh, come on. The only real power's at the end of a sword. Did you hear that?"
Gabrielle: (Hops up from her position next to Eli, and starts to walk towards Amarise)"What?"
Amarise: "Boots." (Quietly she walks to the edge of their clearing, but before she can enter the woods, all those swords come out at her)
Eli: "And if the other side has more swords?"
Amarise: "If you can love your way out of this one, be my guest."
(This is another one of those scenes that I don't think would be as powerful without the mature looking shorthaired Gabrielle facing down her opponent)
Gabrielle: "Brutus."
Brutus: "Hello, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle: "You're doing Caesar's bidding again?"
Brutus: "Caesar believes Xena is trying to kill him. He has to protect himself."
Gabrielle: "With me. I understand. Let these people go."
Brutus: "My orders are to arrest you, Eli, and his followers. You'll be taken as hostages, against Xena killing Caesar. Caesar's promised me no one will be hurt."
Gabrielle: "And you believe him."
Brutus: "Our friends are at war, Gabrielle. I'm sorry this brings us into conflict, but it's inevitable."
Gabrielle: (Remember, Alti has shown Gabrielle that vision too!) "Of course it is."
And off he marches them, to a prison at the base of Mount Amaro in the Appenines.
The road leading to the prison is lined with crosses... and there's a dead body on each and every one of them. Even Brutus looks shocked as he leads them into the prison fortress.
Once in the anteroom to the jail, Amarise has decided she's seen enough, and grabs at a dagger on one of the guards. She is shackled and easy for the three guards to subdue. As she falls to the ground, Gabrielle pays Amarise back for saving her last week and falls on top of her to protect her.
Brutus: "No! Don't harm Gabrielle!"
Gabrielle: (Mimicking what Brutus said to Xena when in Amazon chains last week) "Of course not! I'm still useful to you, Brutus!"
Brutus: "Get up!" (He doesn't realize that's NOT how to speak to a Queen)
Gabrielle: "Not until you pardon her for what she just did."
Brutus: (For her part, Amarise has the good sense to look worried AND keep her mouth shut!) "She attacked one of my men."
Gabrielle: (When you're right, you're RIGHT!) "And I remember a time when mercy was shown to you!"
Brutus: "Put down your swords." (Gabrielle gets up off Amarise as the soldiers pull the teenaged warrior roughly to her feet) "Chain her to the prop."
Amarise: (Now that she knows she's "safe" the snarky teenager comes out in her.) "Oh, please-- can't you just break my legs?"
Xena is on a borrowed/stolen horse, "running hell bent for leather" for the Appenines, as Gabrielle and Eli along with his followers practice meditation/prayer, much to Amarise's displeasure.
Meanwhile, Brutus and his men are returning to Rome. Brutus finds more than he bargained for during a pit-stop to stretch their legs, empty their bladders.
Xena: (Comes up behind the man in "midstream") "Pardon me, Brutus. I have a deal for you. (He turns around to face Xena, with everything still hanging out. Xena looks him up and down and continues as if nothing was unusual about this conference) You tell me where my friend, Gabrielle, is, and I will give you some information that will save your stinkin' life. Deal? (He says nothing) Tell you what, you promise to tell me and I will go first. Do I have your word?"
Brutus: "And you trust me?"
Xena: "Everyone says that Brutus is an honorable man. Do I have your word?"
Brutus: "Yeah."
Xena: "Beware the ides of March, Brutus."
Brutus: "Why the ides of March?"
Xena: "Because on that day, Caesar will declare himself emperor."
Brutus: "I don't believe you. Why would he do that?"
Xena: "Greed, lust for power, an ego the size of the Aegean. Of course, he plans to rid himself of anyone who would stand in his way."
Brutus: "What are you saying?"
Xena: "He's too smart to kill you in Rome You have much too much support there. But I have firsthand knowledge that he's been talking to assassins in Gaul. So, your turn. Come on, Brutus. Gabrielle saved your life, once. Give me a chance to save hers."
Brutus: "I put her in a prison compound at the foot of Mt. Amaro." (As she turns away, he shouts) "I don't believe what you said about Caesar!"
Xena: "It's your funeral." (She starts to walk away then stops) "Brutus was it snowing on Mt. Amaro?"
Brutus: "Yes, it was snowing when I left." (Xena Flashforwards yet again to the two of them laying on crosses as the snow falls.)
The Teenaged Warrior is sitting on the jail cell floor, shackled to a concrete pillar in the middle of the cell, and she's thinking out loud.
Amarise: "I always thought I'd die in battle, not-- hung on a cross." (She looks up to her adopted Queen, and her friend) "Do you think Xena will make it in time?"
Gabrielle: (Squatting next to the "Kid" as Gabrielle called her before they left the Amazons) "She'll be here."
Watch Gabrielle's face as she walks away from Amarise to stand at the bars of the cell. She KNOWS Xena will be "here". She KNOWS this is where the vision said the two will die. You almost can see her wish Xena would not follow her "way"... would not come to Gabrielle's rescue, but you might as well wish for the sun not to rise in the east and set in the west.
So, Brutus makes it back to Rome, and SHOCK of all shockers, he discovers Caesar has lied to him. He always planned to execute Gabrielle and Eli tomorrow, on the Ides Of March, a day he needed Xena preoccupied elsewhere. When pressed, he only says he has "an announcement to make", then drops another bombshell. He's sending Brutus to Gaul. THAT'S where Xena said the assassins were!
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And finally, Xena has arrived at the prison.
She watches as the soldiers take down the dead from the crosses and toss them into a "meat" wagon. Before she can make her way down there to hop in, she's confronted by a familiar face
Callisto: "I just keep coming back. In that way, I'm more dependable than your chakram. My lord sees everything, Xena and you don't have to go through with this. I can arrange it for you and Gabrielle and all her peaceful little friends to just walk out of here and no one gets hurt. And you and Gabrielle can live happily ever after.
Xena: "What's the catch?"
Callisto: "Well, there is one little thing. You have to drop your sword and join Gabrielle in fulfilling a life of loving kindness."
Xena: "I'm still not interested
Callisto: "That's because you haven't heard it all, yet. I'm offering you complete serenity
Xena: "Go on"
Callisto: "There's a reason you can't allow you and your partner peace. It's your guilt, it motivates everything you do, torments you. Invite me into your soul and I can purge you of that guilt. I can cleanse you of that shame that drives you. I can give you peace if you let me. What's it gonna be, Xena? Serenity and happiness or another ride in that wagon with your friend, Gabrielle? [Whispers] Think of your vision."
Xena: "You're trying to tempt me from my way by offering me peace"
Callisto: "In a nutshell."
Xena: "That guilt you're depending on I put it all behind me. You see, I know now what I have to do. I have to be the best warrior I can be. To redeem myself, I have to fight evil with a sword and that's what I'm gonna do, no matter what the consequences." (And she runs for the wagon)
Callisto: "Damn!"
Callisto tries yet again, this time from inside the wagon as bodies are draped over each of them, but Xena refuses to be tempted this third time. Xena hops out of the wagon once it enters the prison fortress and makes for the jail cell. Callisto realizes she's lost and leans back to give Xena's trademarked war cry. It alerts the prison that XENA IS HERE! and everyone goes running, looking for her.
Of course, there was only ONE place she'd be, as the two jailers discover to their dismay.
Gabrielle: (Happy despite herself as Xena unlocks the cell door) "Xena. I'm so glad to see you."
Xena: (Hugs Gabrielle briefly as she hands off the keys to the shackles) "Listen, that vision is not going to happen, all right? Here. Take this." (Draws her sword and cuts the thick CHAINS binding Eli and Amarise to the Prop) " Come on, Eli-- get up! All right, let's go!"
Xena leads her 2 friends and Eli's flock out of the jail and into the courtyard of the prison. Swords are flying as she and Amarise take down soldier after soldier until a way is cleared for Gabrielle to lead the people to the front gate. After everyone is out, including Eli and Amarise, she turns back to see Callisto standing on the parapet, getting ever more agitated. Suddenly Callisto screams and tosses the Chakram she took from Xena oh so many days ago, it careens off a torch then strikes our Warrior Princess in the spine, breaking itself and her in two.
Gabrielle's face.... she's in shock as she sees Xena's knees turn in, and the mightly warrior fall face down into the sand.
Its all in slo-motion.
Xena's face... she's in utter shock as she loses all feeling and control of everything south of her midtorso. She falls "out of frame" then hits the ground with a double whiplash effect. Gabrielle then sees a monster of a Roman run (Still in slo-motion) across the courtyard, raising a dagger to kill the prostrate Warrior Princess, and suddenly... it all becomes clear. Gabrielle is no longer moving in slo-motion as she turns and grabs a javelin near her and without hesitation throws it at the soldier threatening Xena.
THWACK!
Straight to the chest.
It took her 4 years to realize it. But then again, Gabrielle didn't have the advantage of speaking with Krishna like Xena did. If she had, then perhaps he would have said..."Yes, you must not be hesitant to fight in a just cause. It is better to die following your own way, than to live following someone (Eli's) else's. When you ride into combat, act without attachment and carry with you the confidence that you are fulfilling your calling in this life. Then you (too) will know the way."
Of course, Renee has a simpler explanation for what Gabrielle did.
"When Xena goes down...." all bets are off.
Even Najara wouldn't have been able to hold Gabrielle back, as 8 Roman soldiers found to their (fatal) dismay that day in the prison courtyard.
RJ Stewart, the writer of this ep, talks about the prison scene that follows with the wounded Xena lying in Gabrielle's arms as his opportunity to just let them pour out their hearts to one another, which they do admirably. Even the film editor waxes poetically in the DVD interviews over the performances of the 2 actresses in this scene. Lucy loved it enough she "put it in her show reel" of fav XWP scenes. It definately ranks in the top 5 XWP for me, and I suspect its #1.
Xena: (Eyes finally open, she's looking off to her left) "Gabrielle?"
Gabrielle: (Gabrielle's hand turns Xena's face gently to the right, so Xena can see her as she whispers...) "Xena."
Xena: [Sighs once she sees the tearful Gabrielle, then worries] "You're crying? Don't cry."
Gabrielle [Smiles as she whispers reassuringly] "I won't... Rest."
Xena: [ready to leave everything in Gabrielle's strong arms, sighs as she closes her eyes once more] "OK."
More heartfelt discussion occurs, before Callisto silently intrudes on their goodbyes and the soldiers enter to bring them out to the crosses.
Gabrielle walks bravely, in her rag outfit, while paralyzed Xena is dragged at her side. As we watch them being laid upon their crosses, we see the action back in Rome continues as Xena had planned. Brutus, fearful of assasination, has arranged the senate to act with him to assassinate Caesar first. Callisto, distracted by Xena and Gabrielle, has neglected her other mission, to her detriment.
Callisto: "Don't give me that confident look. You're about to die like a slave and drag your friend with you, and it's all right by me."
Xena: "Y-your lord might not feel the same way. He sent you on a mission, didn't he?"
Callisto: "Making Caesar dictator was his main concern. And once he's ruling, making him an agent of my lord will be easy. So, while you lie here helpless, he's declaring himself emperor."
Their final declarations to each other from the crosses, have been heard all season long... but what touched me was when Gabrielle turned her head so that she couldn't see Xena being nailed to the cross, and that Xena couldn't see her face as she was nailed.
The intercutting of Caesar's assassination and nailing the two women to the cross was moving and tragic. Their nail blows coincided with his reactions, and the dagger thrusts into him, coincide with the women's reactions.
And in the end... all we see is our two friends, hanging separately from their crosses, dead.
For some reason I never discuss the cute disclaimers at the end of each show.
I will this time.
Xena and Gabrielle were killed during the production of this motion picture.
Thank god for for the CGI tacked on as an afterthought.
Prelude to a crucifixation:
Its closing time again:
She watches as the soldiers take down the dead from the crosses and toss them into a "meat" wagon. Before she can make her way down there to hop in, she's confronted by a familiar face
Callisto: "I just keep coming back. In that way, I'm more dependable than your chakram. My lord sees everything, Xena and you don't have to go through with this. I can arrange it for you and Gabrielle and all her peaceful little friends to just walk out of here and no one gets hurt. And you and Gabrielle can live happily ever after.
Xena: "What's the catch?"
Callisto: "Well, there is one little thing. You have to drop your sword and join Gabrielle in fulfilling a life of loving kindness."
Xena: "I'm still not interested
Callisto: "That's because you haven't heard it all, yet. I'm offering you complete serenity
Xena: "Go on"
Callisto: "There's a reason you can't allow you and your partner peace. It's your guilt, it motivates everything you do, torments you. Invite me into your soul and I can purge you of that guilt. I can cleanse you of that shame that drives you. I can give you peace if you let me. What's it gonna be, Xena? Serenity and happiness or another ride in that wagon with your friend, Gabrielle? [Whispers] Think of your vision."
Xena: "You're trying to tempt me from my way by offering me peace"
Callisto: "In a nutshell."
Xena: "That guilt you're depending on I put it all behind me. You see, I know now what I have to do. I have to be the best warrior I can be. To redeem myself, I have to fight evil with a sword and that's what I'm gonna do, no matter what the consequences." (And she runs for the wagon)
Callisto: "Damn!"
Callisto tries yet again, this time from inside the wagon as bodies are draped over each of them, but Xena refuses to be tempted this third time. Xena hops out of the wagon once it enters the prison fortress and makes for the jail cell. Callisto realizes she's lost and leans back to give Xena's trademarked war cry. It alerts the prison that XENA IS HERE! and everyone goes running, looking for her.
Of course, there was only ONE place she'd be, as the two jailers discover to their dismay.
Gabrielle: (Happy despite herself as Xena unlocks the cell door) "Xena. I'm so glad to see you."
Xena: (Hugs Gabrielle briefly as she hands off the keys to the shackles) "Listen, that vision is not going to happen, all right? Here. Take this." (Draws her sword and cuts the thick CHAINS binding Eli and Amarise to the Prop) " Come on, Eli-- get up! All right, let's go!"
Xena leads her 2 friends and Eli's flock out of the jail and into the courtyard of the prison. Swords are flying as she and Amarise take down soldier after soldier until a way is cleared for Gabrielle to lead the people to the front gate. After everyone is out, including Eli and Amarise, she turns back to see Callisto standing on the parapet, getting ever more agitated. Suddenly Callisto screams and tosses the Chakram she took from Xena oh so many days ago, it careens off a torch then strikes our Warrior Princess in the spine, breaking itself and her in two.
Gabrielle's face.... she's in shock as she sees Xena's knees turn in, and the mightly warrior fall face down into the sand.
Its all in slo-motion.
Xena's face... she's in utter shock as she loses all feeling and control of everything south of her midtorso. She falls "out of frame" then hits the ground with a double whiplash effect. Gabrielle then sees a monster of a Roman run (Still in slo-motion) across the courtyard, raising a dagger to kill the prostrate Warrior Princess, and suddenly... it all becomes clear. Gabrielle is no longer moving in slo-motion as she turns and grabs a javelin near her and without hesitation throws it at the soldier threatening Xena.
THWACK!
Straight to the chest.
It took her 4 years to realize it. But then again, Gabrielle didn't have the advantage of speaking with Krishna like Xena did. If she had, then perhaps he would have said..."Yes, you must not be hesitant to fight in a just cause. It is better to die following your own way, than to live following someone (Eli's) else's. When you ride into combat, act without attachment and carry with you the confidence that you are fulfilling your calling in this life. Then you (too) will know the way."
Of course, Renee has a simpler explanation for what Gabrielle did.
"When Xena goes down...." all bets are off.
Even Najara wouldn't have been able to hold Gabrielle back, as 8 Roman soldiers found to their (fatal) dismay that day in the prison courtyard.
RJ Stewart, the writer of this ep, talks about the prison scene that follows with the wounded Xena lying in Gabrielle's arms as his opportunity to just let them pour out their hearts to one another, which they do admirably. Even the film editor waxes poetically in the DVD interviews over the performances of the 2 actresses in this scene. Lucy loved it enough she "put it in her show reel" of fav XWP scenes. It definately ranks in the top 5 XWP for me, and I suspect its #1.
Xena: (Eyes finally open, she's looking off to her left) "Gabrielle?"
Gabrielle: (Gabrielle's hand turns Xena's face gently to the right, so Xena can see her as she whispers...) "Xena."
Xena: [Sighs once she sees the tearful Gabrielle, then worries] "You're crying? Don't cry."
Gabrielle [Smiles as she whispers reassuringly] "I won't... Rest."
Xena: [ready to leave everything in Gabrielle's strong arms, sighs as she closes her eyes once more] "OK."
More heartfelt discussion occurs, before Callisto silently intrudes on their goodbyes and the soldiers enter to bring them out to the crosses.
Gabrielle walks bravely, in her rag outfit, while paralyzed Xena is dragged at her side. As we watch them being laid upon their crosses, we see the action back in Rome continues as Xena had planned. Brutus, fearful of assasination, has arranged the senate to act with him to assassinate Caesar first. Callisto, distracted by Xena and Gabrielle, has neglected her other mission, to her detriment.
Callisto: "Don't give me that confident look. You're about to die like a slave and drag your friend with you, and it's all right by me."
Xena: "Y-your lord might not feel the same way. He sent you on a mission, didn't he?"
Callisto: "Making Caesar dictator was his main concern. And once he's ruling, making him an agent of my lord will be easy. So, while you lie here helpless, he's declaring himself emperor."
Their final declarations to each other from the crosses, have been heard all season long... but what touched me was when Gabrielle turned her head so that she couldn't see Xena being nailed to the cross, and that Xena couldn't see her face as she was nailed.
The intercutting of Caesar's assassination and nailing the two women to the cross was moving and tragic. Their nail blows coincided with his reactions, and the dagger thrusts into him, coincide with the women's reactions.
And in the end... all we see is our two friends, hanging separately from their crosses, dead.
For some reason I never discuss the cute disclaimers at the end of each show.
I will this time.
Xena and Gabrielle were killed during the production of this motion picture.
Thank god for for the CGI tacked on as an afterthought.
Prelude to a crucifixation:
Its closing time again:
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In no particular order of awesomeness!
1. Callisto in hell, brutal but somehow funny. Notice that unlike her fellow damned Callisto's suffering is much more mental than physical
2. Some lovely scenes between Cally and Xena after the chakram catching, Callisto's remark about Xena never being able to hurt her again especially poignant
3. Crippled Xena is shocking as hell, less disturbing to see her killed than it is to see her paralysed and helpless.
4. Rambo Gabby-guess the way of peace is out the window now. About bloody time!
5. Goodbye Ceaser, considering how it was all done on a budget it's a very affecting scene, not the RSC but still
6. The crucifying scene is powerful, especially little touches like Callisto dancing in the snowstorm and catching the snowflake on her tongue, once again her 'little girl' quality coming through.
If you hadn't mentioned the disclaimer, rest assured I would have, it sure is a kicker!
1. Callisto in hell, brutal but somehow funny. Notice that unlike her fellow damned Callisto's suffering is much more mental than physical
2. Some lovely scenes between Cally and Xena after the chakram catching, Callisto's remark about Xena never being able to hurt her again especially poignant
3. Crippled Xena is shocking as hell, less disturbing to see her killed than it is to see her paralysed and helpless.
4. Rambo Gabby-guess the way of peace is out the window now. About bloody time!
5. Goodbye Ceaser, considering how it was all done on a budget it's a very affecting scene, not the RSC but still
6. The crucifying scene is powerful, especially little touches like Callisto dancing in the snowstorm and catching the snowflake on her tongue, once again her 'little girl' quality coming through.
If you hadn't mentioned the disclaimer, rest assured I would have, it sure is a kicker!
In no particular order of awesomeness!
1. Callisto in hell, brutal but somehow funny. Notice that unlike her fellow damned Callisto's suffering is much more mental than physical
2. Some lovely scenes between Cally and Xena after the chakram catching, Callisto's remark about Xena never being able to hurt her again especially poignant
3. Crippled Xena is shocking as hell, less disturbing to see her killed than it is to see her paralysed and helpless.
4. Rambo Gabby-guess the way of peace is out the window now. About bloody time!
5. Goodbye Ceaser, considering how it was all done on a budget it's a very affecting scene, not the RSC but still
6. The crucifying scene is powerful, especially little touches like Callisto dancing in the snowstorm and catching the snowflake on her tongue, once again her 'little girl' quality coming through.
If you hadn't mentioned the disclaimer, rest assured I would have, it sure is a kicker!
One of the things I love about Captain Kathryn Janeway (yes, I ultimately CAN related everything to KJ, after all she rulz!) is that unlike every OTHER Starfleet Captain, she not only threatened to blow up her ship, she DID blow up her ship WHILE she was on it. It was in an ep called Deadlocked, 2nd season.
One of the things I love about Xena is that she KNEW what would happen when she got to that mountain prison, and she went anyway. What I like about this SHOW is that they DID kill them... killed them dead. Unequivocally. They even paralyzed our Princess to boot, which explains, by the way, why we never saw her struggle against her handlers in the vision. She couldn't.
And from what we know from XWP's companion series, HTLJ's, once you are really truly dead, Zeus doesn't let his godlings/demigodlings bring you back.
So what I want to know is what did Xena fans think way back when? Did they think our girls would be reborn, further up the karmic ladder? Did they think our trio would be thrust for good into the late 20th century? Did they think Ares would find a way to save Xena, and Xena find a way to save Gabrielle? Or were TPTB as loose lipped about season 5's future direction, as they were about season 4's after the finale of season 3?????
Speaking of Cally and Xena... the relationship between those "two" really is something, isn't it? And when I say relationship, I mean unrequited in every sense of the word.
That scene in the prison fortress, where Gabrielle watches Callisto throw the chakram at Xena made me think this must be the world's most unusual / bizzare love triangle. Callisto stands apart from Gabrielle and Xena; she HATES Xena and gives Gabby barely a second glance, and yet she is fully aware of their relationship with each other.
"And you and Gabrielle can live happily ever after..." she tells Xena outside the prison, and later says "There's a reason you can't allow you and your partner peace..."
She knows more about these two than Joxer does, and he sleeps with them next to their campfire!
But if she hates Xena with as much hate as she professes, and if you can't hate without first loving, then Callisto definately belongs in that triangle with Xena and Gabrielle. Which colors even more for me Callisto's silent intrusion on their goodbye scene in the prison, and Callisto's need to go to Xena as she's laid upon her cross.
"Don't give me that confident look. You're about to die like a slave and drag your friend with you, and it's all right by me."
Hmmm. Methinks the lady doth protest too much.
Speaking of awesomeness... I read about a deleted scene on Whoosh.org that I'd pay money to see!
03-13-00. Not everything that gets shot ends up in the final cut. There was another scene (scene 46 from Act Four) that didn't make it but is interesting nonetheless. This scene was supposed to be sandwiched between the scene where Xena and Gabrielle say goodbye to one another (Scene 45) and the scene where their spirits float above the crosses (Scene 47).
46 EXT. HELL - DAY
Callisto suddenly appears back in Hell, naked once more. Nailscot is grinning at her.
Suddenly NAILSCOT MORPHS INTO XENA.
Nailscot (now played by Lucy Lawless) darts a look behind Callisto.
ON TWENTY XENAS
approaching Callisto, all wearing gloating smiles.
ON CALLISTO
as she SHRIEKS IN HORROR.
Callisto suddenly appears back in Hell, naked once more. Nailscot is grinning at her.
NAILSCOT
You failed at both missions, Callisto. He's most displeased.
NAILSCOT
He's added something special to your punishment.
ON TWENTY XENAS
approaching Callisto, all wearing gloating smiles.
ON CALLISTO
as she SHRIEKS IN HORROR.
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One of the nice things about great eps, is that they inspire a lot of vidders...
From our Spanish friends... La misión de una Guerrera - Ides of March
From season 1-5.. "Open your Eyes"
Okay, scattered throughout this one are most of the prison scenes... but for those FIN avoidance fans, beware...
Warrior Bard:
The assassination of Caesar, the crucifixation of Xena & Gabrielle:
For Good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9AQ9WRQ7dg
Caesar season 2-7... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jv0xggc7jA
Hmmm, there's more "When fates Collide" than "Ides of March" in this one, but I love the song so why not: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O5M8ajsFZs&feature=related
I wanna grow old with you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJpbalbsQgA
From our Spanish friends... La misión de una Guerrera - Ides of March
From season 1-5.. "Open your Eyes"
Okay, scattered throughout this one are most of the prison scenes... but for those FIN avoidance fans, beware...
Warrior Bard:
The assassination of Caesar, the crucifixation of Xena & Gabrielle:
For Good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9AQ9WRQ7dg
Caesar season 2-7... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jv0xggc7jA
Hmmm, there's more "When fates Collide" than "Ides of March" in this one, but I love the song so why not: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O5M8ajsFZs&feature=related
I wanna grow old with you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJpbalbsQgA
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Great moments in TV history:
Touches like that are why I think Callisto is the best villain ever. Look what's going on around her. And she takes a moment to catch a snowflake on her tongue, as if it's all there just for her pleasure.
She's a wonder...
and thankfully, we're not done with her yet! 
In no particular order of awesomeness!
1. Callisto in hell, brutal but somehow funny. Notice that unlike her fellow damned Callisto's suffering is much more mental than physical
2. Some lovely scenes between Cally and Xena after the chakram catching, Callisto's remark about Xena never being able to hurt her again especially poignant
3. Crippled Xena is shocking as hell, less disturbing to see her killed than it is to see her paralysed and helpless.
4. Rambo Gabby-guess the way of peace is out the window now. About bloody time!
5. Goodbye Ceaser, considering how it was all done on a budget it's a very affecting scene, not the RSC but still
6. The crucifying scene is powerful, especially little touches like Callisto dancing in the snowstorm and catching the snowflake on her tongue, once again her 'little girl' quality coming through.
If you hadn't mentioned the disclaimer, rest assured I would have, it sure is a kicker!
One of the things I love about Captain Kathryn Janeway (yes, I ultimately CAN related everything to KJ, after all she rulz!) is that unlike every OTHER Starfleet Captain, she not only threatened to blow up her ship, she DID blow up her ship WHILE she was on it. It was in an ep called Deadlocked, 2nd season.
One of the things I love about Xena is that she KNEW what would happen when she got to that mountain prison, and she went anyway. What I like about this SHOW is that they DID kill them... killed them dead. Unequivocally. They even paralyzed our Princess to boot, which explains, by the way, why we never saw her struggle against her handlers in the vision. She couldn't.
And from what we know from XWP's companion series, HTLJ's, once you are really truly dead, Zeus doesn't let his godlings/demigodlings bring you back.
So what I want to know is what did Xena fans think way back when? Did they think our girls would be reborn, further up the karmic ladder? Did they think our trio would be thrust for good into the late 20th century? Did they think Ares would find a way to save Xena, and Xena find a way to save Gabrielle? Or were TPTB as loose lipped about season 5's future direction, as they were about season 4's after the finale of season 3?????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5e4XXocED8&feature=related
Speaking of Cally and Xena... the relationship between those "two" really is something, isn't it? And when I say relationship, I mean unrequited in every sense of the word.
That scene in the prison fortress, where Gabrielle watches Callisto throw the chakram at Xena made me think this must be the world's most unusual / bizzare love triangle. Callisto stands apart from Gabrielle and Xena; she HATES Xena and gives Gabby barely a second glance, and yet she is fully aware of their relationship with each other.
"And you and Gabrielle can live happily ever after..." she tells Xena outside the prison, and later says "There's a reason you can't allow you and your partner peace..."
She knows more about these two than Joxer does, and he sleeps with them next to their campfire!
But if she hates Xena with as much hate as she professes, and if you can't hate without first loving, then Callisto definately belongs in that triangle with Xena and Gabrielle. Which colors even more for me Callisto's silent intrusion on their goodbye scene in the prison, and Callisto's need to go to Xena as she's laid upon her cross.
"Don't give me that confident look. You're about to die like a slave and drag your friend with you, and it's all right by me."
Hmmm. Methinks the lady doth protest too much.
Speaking of awesomeness... I read about a deleted scene on Whoosh.org that I'd pay money to see!
03-13-00. Not everything that gets shot ends up in the final cut. There was another scene (scene 46 from Act Four) that didn't make it but is interesting nonetheless. This scene was supposed to be sandwiched between the scene where Xena and Gabrielle say goodbye to one another (Scene 45) and the scene where their spirits float above the crosses (Scene 47).
46 EXT. HELL - DAY
Callisto suddenly appears back in Hell, naked once more. Nailscot is grinning at her.
Suddenly NAILSCOT MORPHS INTO XENA.NAILSCOTYou failed at both missions, Callisto. He's most displeased.
Nailscot (now played by Lucy Lawless) darts a look behind Callisto.NAILSCOTHe's added something special to your punishment.
ON TWENTY XENAS
approaching Callisto, all wearing gloating smiles.
ON CALLISTO
as she SHRIEKS IN HORROR.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COhSSDhFfWg&feature=related
That sounds funny but would have ultimately contradicted what we see in later seasons
Episode 90 season 4 #22 "Deja Vu All Over Again"
Its still season 4.
"Last week" we saw Xena and Gabrielle die outside the Prison at Mt Amaro, each nailed to a cross.
"This week" the teaser begins in a suburban bedroom where two people are sleeping if not soundly.
A familiar voice calls out... "It's all right, Gabrielle. I'm coming." and the next thing we see is a clip from season 1's Callisto, the one where she and Xena do their version of a ladder "dance", while Joxer is tied to a stake and Gabrielle is hoisted high above ground.
Suddenly, the ashen haired woman in the bed sits up, searches for her glasses and wakens her bedpartner with some momentous news.
Annie: "I just had a vision-- an awakening. Self revelation."
Harry: "Don't forget about the pint 'a Haagen-Dazs and the bean burrito."
Annie: [Belches]
Harry: "They'll just give you nightmares."
Annie: "This was not a nightmare, Harry. It was an epiphany. I was really there."
Harry: "Where?"
Annie: "I had a past-life experience."
Harry: "OK-- let me guess. You were, uh-- Susan B. Anthony."
Annie [Whispers]: "No."
Harry: "Eleanor Roosevelt."
Annie [Whispers]: "No."
Harry: "Queen Elizabeth?"
Annie [Whispers]: "No."
Harry: "Um-- I give up."
Annie: "In a time of ancient gods-- I was Xena-- the warrior princess."
Have I mentioned that Harry is a dead ringer for Joxer, minus the stupid hat and pasta strainer, and Annie looks like Xena, but with lighter/shorter hair? Oh, and she isn't wearing ANY leather to bed!
Harry is sure Annie's problem stems from too much icecream not to mention too much internet, and tries to put limits on her use of both, but Annie pullls her sword on him and makes him read a news article she cut from the paper. SOME-one is dressing up like Xena, and running around the mall saving old people from muggers, and she fears its her. Harry tries to reason with her, and instead suggests she needs help as he goes back to bed.
Annie agrees. She needs to see a counselor. A "past lives" counselor.
TEASER ENDS
Realizing I'm watching this (?) 12 years after it was first shown, I found it so strange that instead of ending the seaon with the crucifixion, TPTB ended it with this comedy. Then I wondered, were they trying to telegraph "don't worry, everything's going to be fine" to the fan base before they "left for summer"? Or were they trying to suggest that in season 5 we'd jump 2000 years into the modern era as our friends were reincarnated into bodies with a remarkable resemblance to their old ones?
Who knows, but in re-reading the commentaries on whoosh.org, no one seemed concerned that X&G weren't coming back "next season" where we left them, so I guess there was never a real concern we'd have Xena 1999 when the next season began.
For a clip show, I have to admit the clips were "okay" but the real fun was watching the modern story unfold. Watching Annie meet Mattie, her "past lives" counselor, and reliving with first Mattie and then both Mattie & Harry their previous incarnations.
My fav line?
Although "Joan of Arc's was pretty good, after her sword fight with Annie in the waiting room... "Obviously a lover, NOT a fighter."
The best line HAS to go to Annie, after her 2nd past lives visit.
Gabrielle: "What's the matter, Annie?"
Annie: "Ye gods, the horror."
Gabrielle: "What happened?"
Annie: "I-- I-- "
Gabierielle: "Say it."
Annie: "I was Joxer!" [Cries]
I have to admit, I liked the way Ted Raimi played his part, waiting impatiently for his partner to come out of the counseling session, until he hears her scream then its "Harry to the rescue!"
He does a great job of trying to steer the counselor into reassuring Annie by repeating the past lives visit first with Mattie the Doc, and then both Mattie AND Harry. When Harry wakes up from his own hypnotic session, waving Annies "sword" just as Xena was in the accompanying clip... you really felt for "Harry and Annie".
Harry: "Oh. Uh."
Annie: "Harry-- what did you experience?"
Harry: "Uh-- uh-- it was-- uh-- strange-- "
Annie: "Uh-huh-- but it's all buncombe, right? It's all the power of suggestion-- right?"
Harry: "Uh-- it was, uh-- unusual. It was unusual."
Annie: "What are you saying? Harry?"
Harry: "Annie-- maybe-- Joxer wasn't such a bad guy."
Annie: "Oh, God! Oh, God!" [Groans]
Loved it when Mattie's secretary Marco comes in and ties everyone up, then places a bomb with a 10 min fuse, assuring us time to see several more clips from past Xena shows. Clips which just confuse Mattie and Harry more, as first they think Mattie was Xena, and Harry was the blond sidekick, then that Mattie was Gabrielle and Harry was Autolycus... but neither could figure out how XENA turned into HIM as she moved in to kiss Gabrielle!
Dr.Mattie: "That was, um-- confusing."
Harry: "Yeah. Uh-- maybe I was the-- guy with the mustache."
In a matter of speaking.
Of course, in the end Annie realizes she really WAS Joxer, Mattie was "the side kick" and Harry understands WHO the Xena Vigilante is.
And of course, after being AWOL all season, we discover that the source of all this confusion was none other than the God of War himself, ARES!
It was a fun romp, with lots of injokes and nudges in the ribs. It was sweet to see Xena and Gabrielle "reconnect" as Joxer called it, in the end.
I liked how the director described it in her commentary.
Renee O'Connnor: In the end, Harry (Xena) and Mattie (Gabby) find each other, and Annie(Joxer) finds herself.
Annie [Sings as she leaves the clinic]:
"Annie Banannie--
She kicks fanny.
Dangerous with sword and knife--
Learned her skills in that past life.
"Never will you outfox her.
She's as good as ol' Joxer.
[Sighs]
I'm Annie-- I'm Annie the Migh-h-h-h-h-hty!
"You should just meet her.
They don't come any sweeter!"
[Speaks]:
You know, I could be Xena in my next life."
And for all those fans who are still confused regarding the crucifixion of their 2 fav women from the time of ancient godz.... Gabrielle's voice over at the end tries to reassure them...
Gabrielle's Voice: "Xena-- life is eternal. It has no beginning and no end. The loving friends we meet on our journey-- return to us-- time after time. We never die-- because we were never really born."
Deja Vu Interviews:
PS... You know that woman dancing OUT of the clinic and DOWN the street wasn't Lucy... right? Talk about a body double! Perfect strut, perfect Lucy attitude, but it wasn't Lucy, it was Polly.
Its still season 4.
"Last week" we saw Xena and Gabrielle die outside the Prison at Mt Amaro, each nailed to a cross.
"This week" the teaser begins in a suburban bedroom where two people are sleeping if not soundly.
A familiar voice calls out... "It's all right, Gabrielle. I'm coming." and the next thing we see is a clip from season 1's Callisto, the one where she and Xena do their version of a ladder "dance", while Joxer is tied to a stake and Gabrielle is hoisted high above ground.
Suddenly, the ashen haired woman in the bed sits up, searches for her glasses and wakens her bedpartner with some momentous news.
Annie: "I just had a vision-- an awakening. Self revelation."
Harry: "Don't forget about the pint 'a Haagen-Dazs and the bean burrito."
Annie: [Belches]
Harry: "They'll just give you nightmares."
Annie: "This was not a nightmare, Harry. It was an epiphany. I was really there."
Harry: "Where?"
Annie: "I had a past-life experience."
Harry: "OK-- let me guess. You were, uh-- Susan B. Anthony."
Annie [Whispers]: "No."
Harry: "Eleanor Roosevelt."
Annie [Whispers]: "No."
Harry: "Queen Elizabeth?"
Annie [Whispers]: "No."
Harry: "Um-- I give up."
Annie: "In a time of ancient gods-- I was Xena-- the warrior princess."
Have I mentioned that Harry is a dead ringer for Joxer, minus the stupid hat and pasta strainer, and Annie looks like Xena, but with lighter/shorter hair? Oh, and she isn't wearing ANY leather to bed!
Harry is sure Annie's problem stems from too much icecream not to mention too much internet, and tries to put limits on her use of both, but Annie pullls her sword on him and makes him read a news article she cut from the paper. SOME-one is dressing up like Xena, and running around the mall saving old people from muggers, and she fears its her. Harry tries to reason with her, and instead suggests she needs help as he goes back to bed.
Annie agrees. She needs to see a counselor. A "past lives" counselor.
TEASER ENDS
Realizing I'm watching this (?) 12 years after it was first shown, I found it so strange that instead of ending the seaon with the crucifixion, TPTB ended it with this comedy. Then I wondered, were they trying to telegraph "don't worry, everything's going to be fine" to the fan base before they "left for summer"? Or were they trying to suggest that in season 5 we'd jump 2000 years into the modern era as our friends were reincarnated into bodies with a remarkable resemblance to their old ones?
Who knows, but in re-reading the commentaries on whoosh.org, no one seemed concerned that X&G weren't coming back "next season" where we left them, so I guess there was never a real concern we'd have Xena 1999 when the next season began.
For a clip show, I have to admit the clips were "okay" but the real fun was watching the modern story unfold. Watching Annie meet Mattie, her "past lives" counselor, and reliving with first Mattie and then both Mattie & Harry their previous incarnations.
My fav line?
Although "Joan of Arc's was pretty good, after her sword fight with Annie in the waiting room... "Obviously a lover, NOT a fighter."
The best line HAS to go to Annie, after her 2nd past lives visit.
Gabrielle: "What's the matter, Annie?"
Annie: "Ye gods, the horror."
Gabrielle: "What happened?"
Annie: "I-- I-- "
Gabierielle: "Say it."
Annie: "I was Joxer!" [Cries]
I have to admit, I liked the way Ted Raimi played his part, waiting impatiently for his partner to come out of the counseling session, until he hears her scream then its "Harry to the rescue!"
He does a great job of trying to steer the counselor into reassuring Annie by repeating the past lives visit first with Mattie the Doc, and then both Mattie AND Harry. When Harry wakes up from his own hypnotic session, waving Annies "sword" just as Xena was in the accompanying clip... you really felt for "Harry and Annie".
Harry: "Oh. Uh."
Annie: "Harry-- what did you experience?"
Harry: "Uh-- uh-- it was-- uh-- strange-- "
Annie: "Uh-huh-- but it's all buncombe, right? It's all the power of suggestion-- right?"
Harry: "Uh-- it was, uh-- unusual. It was unusual."
Annie: "What are you saying? Harry?"
Harry: "Annie-- maybe-- Joxer wasn't such a bad guy."
Annie: "Oh, God! Oh, God!" [Groans]
Loved it when Mattie's secretary Marco comes in and ties everyone up, then places a bomb with a 10 min fuse, assuring us time to see several more clips from past Xena shows. Clips which just confuse Mattie and Harry more, as first they think Mattie was Xena, and Harry was the blond sidekick, then that Mattie was Gabrielle and Harry was Autolycus... but neither could figure out how XENA turned into HIM as she moved in to kiss Gabrielle!
Dr.Mattie: "That was, um-- confusing."
Harry: "Yeah. Uh-- maybe I was the-- guy with the mustache."
In a matter of speaking.
Of course, in the end Annie realizes she really WAS Joxer, Mattie was "the side kick" and Harry understands WHO the Xena Vigilante is.
And of course, after being AWOL all season, we discover that the source of all this confusion was none other than the God of War himself, ARES!
It was a fun romp, with lots of injokes and nudges in the ribs. It was sweet to see Xena and Gabrielle "reconnect" as Joxer called it, in the end.
I liked how the director described it in her commentary.
Renee O'Connnor: In the end, Harry (Xena) and Mattie (Gabby) find each other, and Annie(Joxer) finds herself.
Annie [Sings as she leaves the clinic]:
"Annie Banannie--
She kicks fanny.
Dangerous with sword and knife--
Learned her skills in that past life.
"Never will you outfox her.
She's as good as ol' Joxer.
[Sighs]
I'm Annie-- I'm Annie the Migh-h-h-h-h-hty!
"You should just meet her.
They don't come any sweeter!"
[Speaks]:
You know, I could be Xena in my next life."
And for all those fans who are still confused regarding the crucifixion of their 2 fav women from the time of ancient godz.... Gabrielle's voice over at the end tries to reassure them...
Gabrielle's Voice: "Xena-- life is eternal. It has no beginning and no end. The loving friends we meet on our journey-- return to us-- time after time. We never die-- because we were never really born."
Deja Vu Interviews:
PS... You know that woman dancing OUT of the clinic and DOWN the street wasn't Lucy... right?
Talk about a body double! Perfect strut, perfect Lucy attitude, but it wasn't Lucy, it was Polly.
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Once again Xena comes up trumps, it really did the best clip shows ever!
A lot of people didn't like this one, partly because when Xena and Gabby finally hook up they're in a man and woman's bodies but love is more than just a matter of physical prescence and I love it to bits. It's a great performance from Lucy playing the likeable fool and Ted being the cool guy for once although I wasn't so convinced when Ted confronts Ares trying to adopt Xena's mannerisms. Also the last ever appearance of Robert Trebor on the show (on Hercules the last we're told of Salmoneous is that he's been thrown into jail for tax evasion), it is the perfect disguise for Ares. Of course if Ares is still kicking around in the modern day what about Dite and co?
One thing I didn't like is when Harry hit's Mattie. Maybe it's sexism, Xena hits Joxer all the time but somehow it seemed icky for a boyfriend to hit a girlfriend made more so from Mattie saying 'Why do you have to be so mean all the time?'
Makes him borrowing her underwear seem not so bad (always trust on Xena to bring the kinky/outlandish).
One plus point for Xexers is that after thousands of years Xena and Joxers souls not only find one another but without Gabrielle there as the object of both their affections they are actually lovers! Interesting also that Harry works at a hospital, Xena still a healer. At the end once again gallant Joxer walks away and leaves Gabby and Xena to it
Watching this I always wondered whether season 5 was confirmed and if it wasn't this was how the show was supposed to end, Gabby and Xena die in ancient times but their souls finally find one another in the mordern era giving us a happy ending after all. If it had been the end of the series it would have been ok by me but I'm glad it wasn't. And yeah Polly is great, so nice that they give her a recurring part in the show
All told stunning!
A lot of people didn't like this one, partly because when Xena and Gabby finally hook up they're in a man and woman's bodies but love is more than just a matter of physical prescence and I love it to bits. It's a great performance from Lucy playing the likeable fool and Ted being the cool guy for once although I wasn't so convinced when Ted confronts Ares trying to adopt Xena's mannerisms. Also the last ever appearance of Robert Trebor on the show (on Hercules the last we're told of Salmoneous is that he's been thrown into jail for tax evasion), it is the perfect disguise for Ares. Of course if Ares is still kicking around in the modern day what about Dite and co?
One thing I didn't like is when Harry hit's Mattie. Maybe it's sexism, Xena hits Joxer all the time but somehow it seemed icky for a boyfriend to hit a girlfriend made more so from Mattie saying 'Why do you have to be so mean all the time?'
Makes him borrowing her underwear seem not so bad (always trust on Xena to bring the kinky/outlandish).One plus point for Xexers is that after thousands of years Xena and Joxers souls not only find one another but without Gabrielle there as the object of both their affections they are actually lovers! Interesting also that Harry works at a hospital, Xena still a healer. At the end once again gallant Joxer walks away and leaves Gabby and Xena to it
Watching this I always wondered whether season 5 was confirmed and if it wasn't this was how the show was supposed to end, Gabby and Xena die in ancient times but their souls finally find one another in the mordern era giving us a happy ending after all. If it had been the end of the series it would have been ok by me but I'm glad it wasn't. And yeah Polly is great, so nice that they give her a recurring part in the show
All told stunning!
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Harry's "elbow to Annie's head" 
evidently was a problem with a lot of people, given the comments on Whoosh.org and Renee's own comments on the dvd track.
I guess I'm a traitor to my sex, but I really didn't have a problem with it. Perhaps I am used to Joxer getting the smack down from Xena or Gabrielle, then again "Annie" was about to get them all killed with her misguided heroics.
As for watching "Lucy" get "hit"... oh heck, I've seen her take a lot worse than that from "Renee" in that India ep you don't want to be reminded of any time soon, not to mention what Najara dished out to Xena in "Crusader". ("I lost another of those good chewing teeth." )
I don't think the show was "supposed" to end with this ep... "in case" TPTB didn't pick it up. If so, I would have been frantic with this ending simply because (I know, I'm shallow) Xena wasn't in the "right" body. It just would have seemed so "wrong" to me that the last thing we would have seen of Xena: Warrior Princess was "Joxer's Spirit" walking down the street in Lucy's body. (And this from a person who had no problem with the "male" Xena getting to kiss the "female" Gabrielle at the end of the story)
Help me out on a "Polly" question, which recurring role does she have?????
Speaking of X:WP's version of reincarnation and Star Trek... am I the only one who looks at these shows (Deja Vu and Soul Possession) the way I look at joined Trills in Star Trek: DS9?
Mattie and Annie and Harry all now have memories from their past lives "in ancient times", but they all very definately have memories of their current lives (perhaps more so in this one than what eventually happens in SP.) To me, their past lives are the Symbiont that eventually takes over, and their current lives are the Trill hosting the symbiont.
I liked your comment about Harry (Xena) working in the hospital, still a "healer". One wonders (again, flashforwarding to "Soul Possession") what's going to happen when the body switch happens. Does Annie go back to school to get HER degree?
"I know who the Xena Vigilante is...."
Renee said on the DVDs that there WAS a scene filmed where Harry wakes up dressed in Annie's undergarments, and doesn't understand why. When he says the above comment, they were supposed to cut to his memory of waking up in said garments, but it was cut due to time constraints.
Again, I'd pay money to see THAT clip!
evidently was a problem with a lot of people, given the comments on Whoosh.org and Renee's own comments on the dvd track. I guess I'm a traitor to my sex, but I really didn't have a problem with it. Perhaps I am used to Joxer getting the smack down from Xena or Gabrielle, then again "Annie" was about to get them all killed with her misguided heroics.
As for watching "Lucy" get "hit"... oh heck, I've seen her take a lot worse than that from "Renee" in that India ep you don't want to be reminded of any time soon
, not to mention what Najara dished out to Xena in "Crusader". ("I lost another of those good chewing teeth." )I don't think the show was "supposed" to end with this ep... "in case" TPTB didn't pick it up. If so, I would have been frantic with this ending simply because (I know, I'm shallow) Xena wasn't in the "right" body. It just would have seemed so "wrong" to me that the last thing we would have seen of Xena: Warrior Princess was "Joxer's Spirit" walking down the street in Lucy's body.
(And this from a person who had no problem with the "male" Xena getting to kiss the "female" Gabrielle at the end of the story)Help me out on a "Polly" question, which recurring role does she have?????
Speaking of X:WP's version of reincarnation and Star Trek... am I the only one who looks at these shows (Deja Vu and Soul Possession) the way I look at joined Trills in Star Trek: DS9?
Mattie and Annie and Harry all now have memories from their past lives "in ancient times", but they all very definately have memories of their current lives (perhaps more so in this one than what eventually happens in SP.) To me, their past lives are the Symbiont that eventually takes over, and their current lives are the Trill hosting the symbiont.
I liked your comment about Harry (Xena) working in the hospital, still a "healer". One wonders (again, flashforwarding to "Soul Possession") what's going to happen when the body switch happens. Does Annie go back to school to get HER degree?
"I know who the Xena Vigilante is...."
Renee said on the DVDs that there WAS a scene filmed where Harry wakes up dressed in Annie's undergarments, and doesn't understand why.
When he says the above comment, they were supposed to cut to his memory of waking up in said garments, but it was cut due to time constraints.Again, I'd pay money to see THAT clip!
Remember reading a very funny fanfic where the trio set up house together, Harry getting them both pregnant and giving up practical medecine for a desk job as he retains his knowledge but is too clumsy now to enact it
Polly is Paulina in 'The Play's the Thing' and her descendent/reincarnation in 'Send in the Clones'
Polly is Paulina in 'The Play's the Thing' and her descendent/reincarnation in 'Send in the Clones'
Hmmm.
Do I really want to know?
Should I let sleeping dogs lie?
Lay?
Sleep?
Sigh... its like watching a wreck on the side of the road... sometimes you just can't pull your eyes away.
Okay, Saturn5... was this fanfic after "Deja Vu...." or after "Soul Possesion"????
In other words,
ahem...Is Xena getting Joxer pregnant, or is Joxer getting Xena pregnant?
Polly is Paulina?
How cute is that, a credit AND the inspiration for the character's name!
Episode 91 Season 5 #1 "Fallen Angel"
The only dvd interviews I could find are Hudson's... which are pretty decent!
I know that its been "quite a while" since the end of season 4 and the premiere of season 5, so here's a brief refresher about how we got to this point....
There is a commentary track on the dvd, with producer Eric Gruendmann and producer/writer RJ Stewart doing the honors... and I must say, they are two NAUGHTY fanboys!
Eric had a running gag throughout the commentary about a secret ep that came after "Fallen Angel" that the studio refused to let them air. It was reportedly called "Alexander the Great", and among other things included a naked sword fight between Amarise and assorted unnamed foes. Of course, there are no missing ep numbers in the first quarter of the season, and I found a con report (2007 or 8) where RJ fessed up that it was all just a gag.
The REALLY fan boy stuff was when RJ discussed how attractive Hudson was in her demon makeup, and Eric admitted she was sexy in WHATEVER they put her in.
Then RJ asked Eric the quintessential fanboy question. "Who do you think would win in a fight... Lucy or Renee?" Once he confirmed RJ meant the actresses and not the characters, Eric considered it seriously, admitting Lucy had the "height" advantage. RJ countered with Renee's compact size and power (he demonstrated with a boxer pose). Eric did admit Renee was wicked with her staff, and as men of good conscience they simply would NOT be able to give Lucy a sword. 
Like I said... real fan boy stuff.
The best was near the end of the ep... when Eric & RJ talked about how much Joxer loved Gabrielle... and both men admitted THEY loved her too.
Don't we all?
Geez. I'm supposed to be talking about the ep... but you know me.
"I digress."
But at least I illustrate.
Fallen Angel:
To be continued:
The only dvd interviews I could find are Hudson's... which are pretty decent!
I know that its been "quite a while" since the end of season 4 and the premiere of season 5,
so here's a brief refresher about how we got to this point....
There is a commentary track on the dvd, with producer Eric Gruendmann and producer/writer RJ Stewart doing the honors... and I must say, they are two NAUGHTY fanboys!
Eric had a running gag throughout the commentary about a secret ep that came after "Fallen Angel" that the studio refused to let them air. It was reportedly called "Alexander the Great", and among other things included a naked sword fight between Amarise and assorted unnamed foes. Of course, there are no missing ep numbers in the first quarter of the season, and I found a con report (2007 or 8) where RJ fessed up that it was all just a gag.
The REALLY fan boy stuff was when RJ discussed how attractive Hudson was in her demon makeup, and Eric admitted she was sexy in WHATEVER they put her in.
Then RJ asked Eric the quintessential fanboy question. "Who do you think would win in a fight... Lucy or Renee?"
Once he confirmed RJ meant the actresses and not the characters, Eric considered it seriously, admitting Lucy had the "height" advantage. RJ countered with Renee's compact size and power (he demonstrated with a boxer pose). Eric did admit Renee was wicked with her staff, and as men of good conscience they simply would NOT be able to give Lucy a sword. Like I said... real fan boy stuff.
The best was near the end of the ep... when Eric & RJ talked about how much Joxer loved Gabrielle... and both men admitted THEY loved her too.
Don't we all?
Geez. I'm supposed to be talking about the ep... but you know me.
"I digress."
But at least I illustrate.
Fallen Angel:
To be continued:
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Episode 91 "Fallen Angel" continued.
You will recall, that our two friends for life and for death, were crucified at the prison on Mt Amaro, at the behest of Caesar. In a righteous "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" kind of way, while our heroines were being crucified by Romans, Caesar himself was being assassinated by them.
All Right Roman Senate!!!!!!
The teaser opens with our man Godfrey, er, Joxer stumbling through the snow covered boulders until he's jumped by Amarise who's just itching to kill a Roman. She soon realizes THIS is no Roman soldier, and becomes even more heartbroken when she learns he's friends with Xena & Gabby. Seems like Joxer has been having nightmares that they need his help, and has come looking for them.
Amarise knows right where they are, and she directs his gaze down the boulder strewn hillside to see the frozen, blue, unmoving bodies of Xena and Gabrielle hanging from their crosses.
The series is designed for Xena to be the hero, and Gabrielle to be "us"... the "every" man/woman who follows the hero week after week. But in this teaser, the job of being "everyman", of being our avatar falls to Joxer, and you just want to cry and put your arms around him as he realizes his two best friends, not to mention his great love is dead.
The camera comes to the foot of Xena's cross, and looks up past her head into the snow still fallinf from the sky, until we warp away from this existance to a sunshiney mountain top where sit our two friends "for life and death", both dressed in flowing white robes, waiting patiently for the next phase of their journey.
They don't have to wait long, as a group of angels descend and lift Gabrielle off that mountain top and away into the sun.
(Those fan boys watching on the dvd were NAUGHTY once again, as RJ predicted Xena was worried that this was all just one big cosmic joke... and that Gabrielle was being taken to heaven while SHE was probably going to be met with a "Former Warrior Princesses need not apply" sign.)
Of course, that wasn't the case at all, and Xena is soon met with her own group of guardian angels who have swooped down to raise her up to her next stage in life.
Of course, things CAN'T be that simple, and soon a contingent of demons from Hell have met the Guardians and caused them to drop first Gabby and then Xena.
We watch Gabrielle falling, falling back down to "earth"... stretching out to try and (unsuccessfully) catch Xena's hand. Not that it would "help" since Xena can't fly, but misery DOES love company! Suddenly Xena is snatched away from her falling Gabrielle by a particularly familiar blonde haired demon.
Callisto!
Xena quickly whips demon Callisto's butt and manages to get away from her by clinging to a rockface which, unfortunately, is unstable. Soon she's falling again but WAIT! Someone has come to rescue her, and it sure ain't Callisto.
Its Michael, the Archangel.
It falls to Michael to not only explain what's happened to Gabrielle, but to save Xena from her shortsightedness when she jumps off the cliff to join Gabrielle in Hell.
He's just rescued her again, this time from herself.
Michael: "Are you insane?"
Xena: "It depends who you talk to."
Michael: "If you go down to Hell voluntarily, you'll be doomed to everlasting suffering. Gripped with an unbearable thirst and hunger; you'll be tempted to eat the fruit of Hell and when you do that you're well on your way to becoming one of them."
Xena: "Gabrielle and I have already been through hell together. I didn't come all this way to lose her now. So, either you set me up with a pair of wings, or I take another dive. Michael, Gabrielle's soul and mine were destined to be together. I can't let her walk through Hell alone. Please."
Could YOU say no to THAT plea?
Yeah, I didn't think so.
Meanwhile, down in Hell, Gabrielle is awakening from a really bad dream. Someone's arm laying across her midriff, and as she picks up the hand she asks...
Gabrielle: "Xena?" (Coughs as she picks up the hand on her abdomen and finds a claw instead!)
Callisto: (Rising from Gabrielle's right side) "Morning, Honey. Aren't you the lucky girl? You get to spend eternity with me. Let me confess something. I'm gonna enjoy tormenting you. I'm sure the powers that be will try to rob me of my joy. That's always the catch down here."
Gabrielle: (She's jumped up and away from Demon Callisto) "Xena will not leave me down here with you."
Callisto: "You have such faith. How cute. Of course, they'll try to rescue you and Xena will make some self-sacrificing gesture. But fear not we'll be ready for them. Eat up, my little dumpling. You must be famished. Dying makes one so very hungry."
Gabrielle: "You want me to eat the fruit."
Callisto: "Yes."
Gabrielle: "That would make me like you."
Callisto: "Mm-hmm."
Gabrielle : "Not a chance"
Callisto: "Oh but you will eat it. Believe me."
In my recap of "Ides of March", I mentioned how Xena, Gabrielle and Callisto seemed like a strange love triangle. That feeling is re-inforced in this ep a 1000 fold, everything from Gabby waking up "in bed" with Callisto,
ETA: The RIGHT video this time!
to Demon Gabby going after Demon Callisto, to Archangel Xena fighting and sacrificing for Callisto,
ETA: The RIGHT video this time!
to Gabrielle fighting then forgiving Callisto, to Demon Xena going after Archangel Gabrielle and newly annoited Callisto saving Xena and Gabrielle.
I realize there are people out there who do not like this ep or this resolution, but I found it quite affecting, although I have to disagree with the writer on one point he made in the commentary.
RJ asked (since he couldn't recall the conventional wisdom at the time), whether Xena did what she did because she "knew" Callisto would save them in the end... or whether she did it just to atone.
Eric said it was always part of Xena's plan, and RJ accepted that since Xena is just so darned smart... but I disagree.
Xena is more than "smart", she is an evolving pure soul. She knew she'd wronged Callisto, and knew for once she COULD make things right.
Speaking of pure souls, Gabrielle never gave in to the fruits of Hell, so Callisto had her fellow demons forcefeed her.
It worked, and our beautiful Gabrielle turned into a sexy horned demon that could taunt Callisto with the best of them.
Gabrielle: "Callisto when Xena burned your family, did you see them on fire? Did you, did you smell their flesh sizzling? You know what I think? (Her voice drops several octaves until she's quite manly) You wanted them to die so you'd have a reason to be a bitch.
[FINALLY Michael and his legion of Archangels fly in to save Gabrielle, and Xena the newest Archangel is with them. Callisto is drawn to her like a moth to a flame and a mega fight ensues bewteen the forces of good and evil]
Xena: "Michael, get Gabrielle outta here!"
(She and Callisto go at it until Xena gets the upper hand and literally slices Callisto's right wing from her body. She tries to crawl away but Xena grabs her and flips her up to face her.)
Callisto: "I will never stop hating you, Xena, do you hear me?! Never! You killed my family! My soul! My reason to live and love! And I will spend eternity seeking revenge!"
(Xena is kneeling over the demon she bore during her own evil warlord days. Does she not remember Michael's warning..."The suffering you see in Hell will break your heart." or does she simply disregard it for the greater good?)
Xena: "No."
(And in a gesture reminescent of Callisto's goodbye a year ago, when she touched Xena's chest as she died on Xena's dagger... we see a tearful Xena reach out and touch Callisto's chest, seemingly causing them both great pain until we are blinded by the light from Xena's soul.)
To be continued, yet again!
-
You will recall, that our two friends for life and for death, were crucified at the prison on Mt Amaro, at the behest of Caesar. In a righteous "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" kind of way, while our heroines were being crucified by Romans, Caesar himself was being assassinated by them.
All Right Roman Senate!!!!!!
The teaser opens with our man Godfrey, er, Joxer stumbling through the snow covered boulders until he's jumped by Amarise who's just itching to kill a Roman. She soon realizes THIS is no Roman soldier, and becomes even more heartbroken when she learns he's friends with Xena & Gabby. Seems like Joxer has been having nightmares that they need his help, and has come looking for them.
Amarise knows right where they are, and she directs his gaze down the boulder strewn hillside to see the frozen, blue, unmoving bodies of Xena and Gabrielle hanging from their crosses.
The series is designed for Xena to be the hero, and Gabrielle to be "us"... the "every" man/woman who follows the hero week after week. But in this teaser, the job of being "everyman", of being our avatar falls to Joxer, and you just want to cry and put your arms around him as he realizes his two best friends, not to mention his great love is dead.
The camera comes to the foot of Xena's cross, and looks up past her head into the snow still fallinf from the sky, until we warp away from this existance to a sunshiney mountain top where sit our two friends "for life and death", both dressed in flowing white robes, waiting patiently for the next phase of their journey.
They don't have to wait long, as a group of angels descend and lift Gabrielle off that mountain top and away into the sun.
(Those fan boys watching on the dvd were NAUGHTY once again, as RJ predicted Xena was worried that this was all just one big cosmic joke... and that Gabrielle was being taken to heaven while SHE was probably going to be met with a "Former Warrior Princesses need not apply" sign.)
Of course, that wasn't the case at all, and Xena is soon met with her own group of guardian angels who have swooped down to raise her up to her next stage in life.
Of course, things CAN'T be that simple, and soon a contingent of demons from Hell have met the Guardians and caused them to drop first Gabby and then Xena.
We watch Gabrielle falling, falling back down to "earth"... stretching out to try and (unsuccessfully) catch Xena's hand. Not that it would "help" since Xena can't fly, but misery DOES love company! Suddenly Xena is snatched away from her falling Gabrielle by a particularly familiar blonde haired demon.
Callisto!
Xena quickly whips demon Callisto's butt and manages to get away from her by clinging to a rockface which, unfortunately, is unstable. Soon she's falling again but WAIT! Someone has come to rescue her, and it sure ain't Callisto.
Its Michael, the Archangel.
It falls to Michael to not only explain what's happened to Gabrielle, but to save Xena from her shortsightedness when she jumps off the cliff to join Gabrielle in Hell.
He's just rescued her again, this time from herself.
Michael: "Are you insane?"
Xena: "It depends who you talk to."
Michael: "If you go down to Hell voluntarily, you'll be doomed to everlasting suffering. Gripped with an unbearable thirst and hunger; you'll be tempted to eat the fruit of Hell and when you do that you're well on your way to becoming one of them."
Xena: "Gabrielle and I have already been through hell together. I didn't come all this way to lose her now. So, either you set me up with a pair of wings, or I take another dive. Michael, Gabrielle's soul and mine were destined to be together. I can't let her walk through Hell alone. Please."
Could YOU say no to THAT plea?
Yeah, I didn't think so.
Meanwhile, down in Hell, Gabrielle is awakening from a really bad dream. Someone's arm laying across her midriff, and as she picks up the hand she asks...
Gabrielle: "Xena?" (Coughs as she picks up the hand on her abdomen and finds a claw instead!)
Callisto: (Rising from Gabrielle's right side) "Morning, Honey. Aren't you the lucky girl? You get to spend eternity with me. Let me confess something. I'm gonna enjoy tormenting you. I'm sure the powers that be will try to rob me of my joy. That's always the catch down here."
Gabrielle: (She's jumped up and away from Demon Callisto) "Xena will not leave me down here with you."
Callisto: "You have such faith. How cute. Of course, they'll try to rescue you and Xena will make some self-sacrificing gesture. But fear not we'll be ready for them. Eat up, my little dumpling. You must be famished. Dying makes one so very hungry."
Gabrielle: "You want me to eat the fruit."
Callisto: "Yes."
Gabrielle: "That would make me like you."
Callisto: "Mm-hmm."
Gabrielle : "Not a chance"
Callisto: "Oh but you will eat it. Believe me."
In my recap of "Ides of March", I mentioned how Xena, Gabrielle and Callisto seemed like a strange love triangle. That feeling is re-inforced in this ep a 1000 fold, everything from Gabby waking up "in bed" with Callisto,
ETA: The RIGHT video this time!
to Demon Gabby going after Demon Callisto, to Archangel Xena fighting and sacrificing for Callisto,
ETA: The RIGHT video this time!
to Gabrielle fighting then forgiving Callisto, to Demon Xena going after Archangel Gabrielle and newly annoited Callisto saving Xena and Gabrielle.
I realize there are people out there who do not like this ep or this resolution, but I found it quite affecting, although I have to disagree with the writer on one point he made in the commentary.
RJ asked (since he couldn't recall the conventional wisdom at the time), whether Xena did what she did because she "knew" Callisto would save them in the end... or whether she did it just to atone.
Eric said it was always part of Xena's plan, and RJ accepted that since Xena is just so darned smart... but I disagree.
Xena is more than "smart", she is an evolving pure soul. She knew she'd wronged Callisto, and knew for once she COULD make things right.
Speaking of pure souls, Gabrielle never gave in to the fruits of Hell, so Callisto had her fellow demons forcefeed her.
It worked, and our beautiful Gabrielle turned into a sexy horned demon that could taunt Callisto with the best of them.
Gabrielle: "Callisto when Xena burned your family, did you see them on fire? Did you, did you smell their flesh sizzling? You know what I think? (Her voice drops several octaves until she's quite manly) You wanted them to die so you'd have a reason to be a bitch.
[FINALLY Michael and his legion of Archangels fly in to save Gabrielle, and Xena the newest Archangel is with them. Callisto is drawn to her like a moth to a flame and a mega fight ensues bewteen the forces of good and evil]
Xena: "Michael, get Gabrielle outta here!"
(She and Callisto go at it until Xena gets the upper hand and literally slices Callisto's right wing from her body. She tries to crawl away but Xena grabs her and flips her up to face her.)
Callisto: "I will never stop hating you, Xena, do you hear me?! Never! You killed my family! My soul! My reason to live and love! And I will spend eternity seeking revenge!"
(Xena is kneeling over the demon she bore during her own evil warlord days. Does she not remember Michael's warning..."The suffering you see in Hell will break your heart." or does she simply disregard it for the greater good?)
Xena: "No."
(And in a gesture reminescent of Callisto's goodbye a year ago, when she touched Xena's chest as she died on Xena's dagger... we see a tearful Xena reach out and touch Callisto's chest, seemingly causing them both great pain until we are blinded by the light from Xena's soul.)
To be continued, yet again!
-
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Hmmm.
Do I really want to know?
Should I let sleeping dogs lie?
Lay?
Sleep?
Sigh... its like watching a wreck on the side of the road... sometimes you just can't pull your eyes away.
Okay, Saturn5... was this fanfic after "Deja Vu...." or after "Soul Possesion"????
In other words,
Is Xena getting Joxer pregnant, or is Joxer getting Xena pregnant?
Polly is Paulina?
How cute is that, a credit AND the inspiration for the character's name!
It was after Soul Possession and it's Joxer/Harry who get's both Xena/Annie and Gabby/Mattie pregnant. It's never made clear whether it's by IVF or the old fashioned way. That said, remember Xena and Joxer's reincarnations are already lovers and Mattie is also hetero/bi as far as we know.
Fallen Angel, wow, very impressive considering the constraints of Xena's budget. Especially like demon Callisto (the waking up scene is a classic) and evil Gabby taunting her (note Callisto still retains some of her humanity, Gabby's words still hurt her)
Also nice scenes with a heartbroken Joxer, too late to rescue his friends but risking all to help Eli and Amarice do the right thing by them. Who sent him his dreams? The one god or maybe Aphrodite?
Best is yet to come. And I like the idea of naked swordfighting Amarice
I guess it was around this time I was noticing how whichever Trek show was on (DS9?) was skimping on special effects - closing windows or having ships stopped to avoid animated starfields, video screens instead of superimposed holograms, guest ships only referred to in dialog to avoid having to create a new model...
And Xena throws a couple of episodes at us that are 100% effects from wall-to-wall!
And Xena throws a couple of episodes at us that are 100% effects from wall-to-wall!
Episode 91 Season 5 #1 "Fallen Angel" (Conclusion)
Fallen Angel "trailer": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yb7dV7tGQw
Michael has rescued Gabrielle from Hell and thrown her into the waters of purification which not only restored her soul but gave her back that nice white fluffy gown.
I liked how the first thing she noticed, when she exited the water, was that Xena was missing.
Gabrielle: "Where's Xena?"
Michael: "Xena gave herself up, to save one of the damned."
Gabrielle: "What are you talking about? Who did she save?"
Michael: "When you're dry and rested, then you'll be shown."
I was surprised Gabrielle didn't assume it was her, then decided that she must have retained her memories from hell, and knew Xena didn't "save" her. Saving Gabrielle would have been a nobrainer, something Xena would do in a heart beat.
Saving Callisto, on the other hand, THAT got my attention!
Gabrielle: "Are you telling me that Xena is in Hell, and she's in paradise?!"
Callisto: "Gabrielle? I know you."
Gabrielle: "Oh, you know me. You murdered my husband and many innocent people."
Callisto: "No. No, I would never do something like that. Would I? Would I? I'm sorry. I, I don't remember.
Gabrielle: "You stay away from me." (She withdraws from Callisto's approach, and Callisto leaves the only person she recognizes.) "This is insane. You call this justice?"
Michael: "Xena called it justice. She chose to suffer in Callisto's place. When you look at her now, what you see is what she would have become if Xena had not killed her family. Right now, we have something far more important to worry about."
Gabrielle: (spits out) "What's that?"
Michael: "Xena is a demon, even before she had wings, she may have been a match for me. Now, the balance may have shifted."
Gabrielle: "How do you mean?"
Michael: "The next time the demons attack, we may not be able to stop them."
Demon Xena as the warlord planning the next attack on paradise. Even the fanboys on the couch loved watching Lucy in "that" makeup, high on the "pulpit", exhorting her minions on to their next great battle.
Xena was purified in fire, before she could attain the rank of Archangel... I'm so glad Gabrielle's was so different before she could gain her wings.
Gabrielle: "What are you doing here?"
Callisto: "Michael told me to wait till you came."
Gabrielle: "Am I supposed to fight you?"
Callisto: "I'm not a very good fighter, but if it makes you feel better... "
Gabrielle: [Scoffs] "Your sweetness act is disgusting. I'm not buying it."
Callisto: "I don't blame you . I did a terrible thing. I killed someone you loved. I must have been very evil. I don't understand it myself. Why would Xena do something like that for me?"
Gabrielle: "Maybe it was a guilty conscience, about your family."
Cal: "My family? My family. You know, Michael told me I would never know love like the love of Heaven, but he's wrong. My family gave me that kind of love all the time. My memory of so much of my life is confused and fuzzy, but that part, I remember every detail. And Michael says, when I'm ready, I go to see `em again."
Gabrielle: "Callisto, I am not buying it! Callisto, stop it!" (she grabs Callisto by the shoulders to shake her) "I know you are in there. You are evil to the core, and you always will be." (Callisto tries to take Gabrielle gently by the shoulders but Gabby will have none of that!) "Don't touch me."
Callisto: (Sincerely, as she touches Gabrielle's face) "I'm so sorry."
Gabrielle: [Sighs as she finally lets Callisto touch her heart, as she wipes away Gabrielle's tears.] "I am, too."
So, they both start out as new initiates into paradise, just before they are to be sent off to be reincarnated. Gabrielle is lost to Hell as Xena is saved by the Archangels. Xena becomes an Archangel to save Demon Gabrielle, and she becomes a Demon in order to save Demon Callisto.
Gabrielle becomes an Archangel to save paradise, and to help trap her best friend since she's been assured there is NO saving Xena now that she's a full Demon. The only way to STOP her is to cut her up and let her spend eternity in little pieces.
Sounds pretty harsh to me, but I'm not Gabrielle.
The Demons are rising from Hell, led by their new warlord. Gabrielle stands in the mouth of the cave, drawing Xena's attention... "like a moth to a flame". What comes next was heartbreaking, to me.
Xena: (A hooved Xena, sprouting 6 medium to large horns from her red face, flies to meet her soulmate.) "Gabrielle? We shouldn't be fighting."
Gabrielle: (Calmly, as the Archangels watch from their concealment) "You're right, Xena."
Xena: "I wanna spend eternity with you. Won't you join me?"
Gabrielle: "Lay down your sword, Xena. If Callisto can be redeemed, why not you?"
Xena: "Callisto's a trick. They deceive you, Gabrielle. Callisto can't change. You know that. Our master is greatly pleased when a soul joins him of its own free will. Come with me, now. Whaddya say?"
Gabrielle: "I can't."
Xena: "Why not? Gabrielle, the love that we have, it's-it's stronger than Heaven or Hell. It transcends good or evil. It's an end in itself! Our souls are destined to be together. Gabrielle, you can't let me walk through Hell alone."
Gabrielle: (Falls to her backside as Xena backs her up across the cave.) "I'm sorry."
And of course, a fight ensues. Not between Xena and Gabby, but between Xena and the Archangels. Xena's minions quickly arrive and the battle royale goes on. The Archangels need some help, and Gabrielle knows what to do. Draw Xena away, and up she flies, into the blue cloud strewn sky. Xena notices, and follows as Callisto watches from the sidelines.
The two warriors go at each other, more violently than they even did in "Devi", when Gabrielle was possessed. Gabby manages to get a blade on Xena's wing, but its still functional as Xena grabs her and they spiral into the clouds.
We don't see "it" happen, but Michael KNOWS what happened when he sees a single green feather fall to the mountain top he's fighting on.
CLUNK!
Gabrielle has fallen to the ground near Michael, her right wing has been sliced from her body. She's stunned as the Demon who did this has just landed next to her. Xena looks almost confused, but then bends down to stroke Gabrielle's face, before sighing and lifting her up and walking towards the ledge.
Michael: (Knows what's about to happen and runs towards the ledge) "No-o-o-o-o-o!"
Gabrielle: (Looks down into the abyss, from her position in Xena's arms as she pleads one more time) "Xena, don't!"
Xena seems to stop... is she wavering or just trying to decide if she should keep trying to convince Gabrielle its all for "the best".
We'll never know, because Heroic Michael the Archangel has plowed into Xena, and instead of knocking her and Gabrielle AWAY from the edge... he's knocked all three of them OFF the ledge!
Now... there's been a WHOLE other story going on during this hour (42 minutes if we don't count commercials) show, and I've only alluded to it once.
Amarise and Eli never deserted "our friends". Joxer arrived in response to a dream (Ares? Aphrodite? The "one God"?) and found them dead on their crosses and knew what he had to do.
Take them home.
Joxer:[Sniffs] "Um I'm gonna, I'm gonna take their bodies back to Greece, because I, I know Xena wanted to be buried next to her brother and Gabrielle next to her, so--"
Throughout this ep, the story of the trio on Earth trying to fulfill the last wishes of these women, intertwined with that which was going on in "the afterlife". Amarise killed the Romans standing watch at the base of the crosses, and she was there to catch the body of Gabrielle as Joxer pulled the nails from her palms. Joxer did the honors with the larger Xena, as she too was freed from her cross. I got to say, my heart was in my throat the whole time.
Amarise was so sweet, when she cut a lock of Xena's hair as a momento, and pledged her life to following Xena's example. She wasn't so sweet when she took her anger out on Eli, blaming the peacelover for her friends' deaths.
Most of this ep was actually silent, especially "back in the world"... but when they talked you really wanted to cry. Amarise and Joxer have taken refuge with the two bodies in an old temple. Xena and Gabrielle are laid out on the altar, and Joxer has pulled the funeral cloth back so he can gaze at Gabrielle.
Joxer: "She looks like she's sleeping. It's like at any minute she's gonna wake up and complain about how no one ever lets her sleep in." [Sighs as he covers her face once again with the cloth]
Amarise: "We should bury them here."
Joxer: "We're not gonna make it to Greece, huh?"
Amarise: "With so many Romans around, I, I think it's gonna get us killed."
Joxer: "OK. OK, we'll bury them here."
Amarise: "What about Eli?"
Joxer: "You really think he's gonna come back?"
And Eli? Eli is having a crisis of faith, sitting out side in the dark, and the falling snow as he cries out to whatever God has been leading him.
Eli: "My friends are dead-- because of my teachings! The way of love. It wasn't the way for Gabrielle. I was too proud to see that. What good is this gift if I can't at least protect the ones I love?! Why did you even give this to me?! What am I supposed to do? You show me! What am I supposed to do?"
In that anteroom to paradise, where the Demons are fighting the Archangels, a woman watches Gabrielle lead a Demon Xena away... and she hears the pleas of a frightened man on Earth. And someone, somewhere whispers the truth into her soul and transports her to Earth to reassure the prophet.
Callisto: (Appearing before him in her white and gold outfit, but now accompanied by white wings) "Eli, love is the way. Go to them."
And up the healer jumps up, running back to the old temple which is acting as our friends' masoleum. He walks up to the altar, drawing back the cloth from each beloved face. He kneels before them, placing a hand on each head as he prays.
Joxer and Amarise are stunned... and silent.
As he prays, we see Demon Xena carry Gabrielle to the side of the cliff, and we see Michael knock them both off. Back on Earth "we" see the spirit of the angel Callisto come to rest behind Eli, her hands reaching around him to be placed over his on their heads, and they both pray. The trio falling towards hell are suddenly vaporized one at a time, and disappear, as does the angel behind Eli.
Eyes pop open that have been dead for days, and ragged breath is taken into lungs unused to such activity, but their surprise doesn't even come close to Eli, or Joxer's or Amarise's. Again... there's no talk between the trio and the reawakened dead but the look between Xena and Gabrielle as they grasp hands under the funeral cloth was precious. And just to prove she was not only alive but "whole", Xena quickly sat up, coughing her lungs open after days of disuse.
The look between the two angels observing silently from the side was also a sight to behold. Callisto gets a nod from Michael when she touches her heart before gliding next to Xena and silently touching her.
Loved it when Xena looked up, as if she felt something new touch her soul...
Loved it when Michael brought Callisto's family back to her, and they hugged so joyously...
Loved it when Joxer silently dared touch Gabrielle's face...
Loved it when Gabrielle and Xena finally talked...
Gabrielle: "We're going to be together-- for eternity."
Xena: "Yeah."
And Eli collapses in front of the altar, as Joxer walks behind it and Amarise first touches Eli, then Xena as the tableau shines beams of light down on the 5 friends.
As the fanboys described it... "very Lord of the Rings" lighting.
(This last is the BEST music vid!)
Fallen Angel: Xena Warrior Princess:
Fallen Angel "trailer": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yb7dV7tGQw
Michael has rescued Gabrielle from Hell and thrown her into the waters of purification which not only restored her soul but gave her back that nice white fluffy gown.
I liked how the first thing she noticed, when she exited the water, was that Xena was missing.
Gabrielle: "Where's Xena?"
Michael: "Xena gave herself up, to save one of the damned."
Gabrielle: "What are you talking about? Who did she save?"
Michael: "When you're dry and rested, then you'll be shown."
I was surprised Gabrielle didn't assume it was her, then decided that she must have retained her memories from hell, and knew Xena didn't "save" her. Saving Gabrielle would have been a nobrainer, something Xena would do in a heart beat.
Saving Callisto, on the other hand, THAT got my attention!
Gabrielle: "Are you telling me that Xena is in Hell, and she's in paradise?!"
Callisto: "Gabrielle? I know you."
Gabrielle: "Oh, you know me. You murdered my husband and many innocent people."
Callisto: "No. No, I would never do something like that. Would I? Would I? I'm sorry. I, I don't remember.
Gabrielle: "You stay away from me." (She withdraws from Callisto's approach, and Callisto leaves the only person she recognizes.) "This is insane. You call this justice?"
Michael: "Xena called it justice. She chose to suffer in Callisto's place. When you look at her now, what you see is what she would have become if Xena had not killed her family. Right now, we have something far more important to worry about."
Gabrielle: (spits out) "What's that?"
Michael: "Xena is a demon, even before she had wings, she may have been a match for me. Now, the balance may have shifted."
Gabrielle: "How do you mean?"
Michael: "The next time the demons attack, we may not be able to stop them."
Demon Xena as the warlord planning the next attack on paradise. Even the fanboys on the couch loved watching Lucy in "that" makeup, high on the "pulpit", exhorting her minions on to their next great battle.
Xena was purified in fire, before she could attain the rank of Archangel... I'm so glad Gabrielle's was so different before she could gain her wings.
Gabrielle: "What are you doing here?"
Callisto: "Michael told me to wait till you came."
Gabrielle: "Am I supposed to fight you?"
Callisto: "I'm not a very good fighter, but if it makes you feel better... "
Gabrielle: [Scoffs] "Your sweetness act is disgusting. I'm not buying it."
Callisto: "I don't blame you . I did a terrible thing. I killed someone you loved. I must have been very evil. I don't understand it myself. Why would Xena do something like that for me?"
Gabrielle: "Maybe it was a guilty conscience, about your family."
Cal: "My family? My family. You know, Michael told me I would never know love like the love of Heaven, but he's wrong. My family gave me that kind of love all the time. My memory of so much of my life is confused and fuzzy, but that part, I remember every detail. And Michael says, when I'm ready, I go to see `em again."
Gabrielle: "Callisto, I am not buying it! Callisto, stop it!" (she grabs Callisto by the shoulders to shake her) "I know you are in there. You are evil to the core, and you always will be." (Callisto tries to take Gabrielle gently by the shoulders but Gabby will have none of that!) "Don't touch me."
Callisto: (Sincerely, as she touches Gabrielle's face) "I'm so sorry."
Gabrielle: [Sighs as she finally lets Callisto touch her heart, as she wipes away Gabrielle's tears.] "I am, too."
So, they both start out as new initiates into paradise, just before they are to be sent off to be reincarnated. Gabrielle is lost to Hell as Xena is saved by the Archangels. Xena becomes an Archangel to save Demon Gabrielle, and she becomes a Demon in order to save Demon Callisto.
Gabrielle becomes an Archangel to save paradise, and to help trap her best friend since she's been assured there is NO saving Xena now that she's a full Demon. The only way to STOP her is to cut her up and let her spend eternity in little pieces.
Sounds pretty harsh to me, but I'm not Gabrielle.
The Demons are rising from Hell, led by their new warlord. Gabrielle stands in the mouth of the cave, drawing Xena's attention... "like a moth to a flame". What comes next was heartbreaking, to me.
Xena: (A hooved Xena, sprouting 6 medium to large horns from her red face, flies to meet her soulmate.) "Gabrielle? We shouldn't be fighting."
Gabrielle: (Calmly, as the Archangels watch from their concealment) "You're right, Xena."
Xena: "I wanna spend eternity with you. Won't you join me?"
Gabrielle: "Lay down your sword, Xena. If Callisto can be redeemed, why not you?"
Xena: "Callisto's a trick. They deceive you, Gabrielle. Callisto can't change. You know that. Our master is greatly pleased when a soul joins him of its own free will. Come with me, now. Whaddya say?"
Gabrielle: "I can't."
Xena: "Why not? Gabrielle, the love that we have, it's-it's stronger than Heaven or Hell. It transcends good or evil. It's an end in itself! Our souls are destined to be together. Gabrielle, you can't let me walk through Hell alone."
Gabrielle: (Falls to her backside as Xena backs her up across the cave.) "I'm sorry."
And of course, a fight ensues. Not between Xena and Gabby, but between Xena and the Archangels. Xena's minions quickly arrive and the battle royale goes on. The Archangels need some help, and Gabrielle knows what to do. Draw Xena away, and up she flies, into the blue cloud strewn sky. Xena notices, and follows as Callisto watches from the sidelines.
The two warriors go at each other, more violently than they even did in "Devi", when Gabrielle was possessed. Gabby manages to get a blade on Xena's wing, but its still functional as Xena grabs her and they spiral into the clouds.
We don't see "it" happen, but Michael KNOWS what happened when he sees a single green feather fall to the mountain top he's fighting on.
CLUNK!
Gabrielle has fallen to the ground near Michael, her right wing has been sliced from her body. She's stunned as the Demon who did this has just landed next to her. Xena looks almost confused, but then bends down to stroke Gabrielle's face, before sighing and lifting her up and walking towards the ledge.
Michael: (Knows what's about to happen and runs towards the ledge) "No-o-o-o-o-o!"
Gabrielle: (Looks down into the abyss, from her position in Xena's arms as she pleads one more time) "Xena, don't!"
Xena seems to stop... is she wavering or just trying to decide if she should keep trying to convince Gabrielle its all for "the best".
We'll never know, because Heroic Michael the Archangel has plowed into Xena, and instead of knocking her and Gabrielle AWAY from the edge... he's knocked all three of them OFF the ledge!
Now... there's been a WHOLE other story going on during this hour (42 minutes if we don't count commercials) show, and I've only alluded to it once.
Amarise and Eli never deserted "our friends". Joxer arrived in response to a dream (Ares? Aphrodite? The "one God"?) and found them dead on their crosses and knew what he had to do.
Take them home.
Joxer:[Sniffs] "Um I'm gonna, I'm gonna take their bodies back to Greece, because I, I know Xena wanted to be buried next to her brother and Gabrielle next to her, so--"
Throughout this ep, the story of the trio on Earth trying to fulfill the last wishes of these women, intertwined with that which was going on in "the afterlife". Amarise killed the Romans standing watch at the base of the crosses, and she was there to catch the body of Gabrielle as Joxer pulled the nails from her palms. Joxer did the honors with the larger Xena, as she too was freed from her cross. I got to say, my heart was in my throat the whole time.
Amarise was so sweet, when she cut a lock of Xena's hair as a momento, and pledged her life to following Xena's example. She wasn't so sweet when she took her anger out on Eli, blaming the peacelover for her friends' deaths.
Most of this ep was actually silent, especially "back in the world"... but when they talked you really wanted to cry. Amarise and Joxer have taken refuge with the two bodies in an old temple. Xena and Gabrielle are laid out on the altar, and Joxer has pulled the funeral cloth back so he can gaze at Gabrielle.
Joxer: "She looks like she's sleeping. It's like at any minute she's gonna wake up and complain about how no one ever lets her sleep in." [Sighs as he covers her face once again with the cloth]
Amarise: "We should bury them here."
Joxer: "We're not gonna make it to Greece, huh?"
Amarise: "With so many Romans around, I, I think it's gonna get us killed."
Joxer: "OK. OK, we'll bury them here."
Amarise: "What about Eli?"
Joxer: "You really think he's gonna come back?"
And Eli? Eli is having a crisis of faith, sitting out side in the dark, and the falling snow as he cries out to whatever God has been leading him.
Eli: "My friends are dead-- because of my teachings! The way of love. It wasn't the way for Gabrielle. I was too proud to see that. What good is this gift if I can't at least protect the ones I love?! Why did you even give this to me?! What am I supposed to do? You show me! What am I supposed to do?"
In that anteroom to paradise, where the Demons are fighting the Archangels, a woman watches Gabrielle lead a Demon Xena away... and she hears the pleas of a frightened man on Earth. And someone, somewhere whispers the truth into her soul and transports her to Earth to reassure the prophet.
Callisto: (Appearing before him in her white and gold outfit, but now accompanied by white wings) "Eli, love is the way. Go to them."
And up the healer jumps up, running back to the old temple which is acting as our friends' masoleum. He walks up to the altar, drawing back the cloth from each beloved face. He kneels before them, placing a hand on each head as he prays.
Joxer and Amarise are stunned... and silent.
As he prays, we see Demon Xena carry Gabrielle to the side of the cliff, and we see Michael knock them both off. Back on Earth "we" see the spirit of the angel Callisto come to rest behind Eli, her hands reaching around him to be placed over his on their heads, and they both pray. The trio falling towards hell are suddenly vaporized one at a time, and disappear, as does the angel behind Eli.
Eyes pop open that have been dead for days, and ragged breath is taken into lungs unused to such activity, but their surprise doesn't even come close to Eli, or Joxer's or Amarise's. Again... there's no talk between the trio and the reawakened dead but the look between Xena and Gabrielle as they grasp hands under the funeral cloth was precious. And just to prove she was not only alive but "whole", Xena quickly sat up, coughing her lungs open after days of disuse.
The look between the two angels observing silently from the side was also a sight to behold. Callisto gets a nod from Michael when she touches her heart before gliding next to Xena and silently touching her.
Loved it when Xena looked up, as if she felt something new touch her soul...
Loved it when Michael brought Callisto's family back to her, and they hugged so joyously...
Loved it when Joxer silently dared touch Gabrielle's face...
Loved it when Gabrielle and Xena finally talked...
Gabrielle: "We're going to be together-- for eternity."
Xena: "Yeah."
And Eli collapses in front of the altar, as Joxer walks behind it and Amarise first touches Eli, then Xena as the tableau shines beams of light down on the 5 friends.
As the fanboys described it... "very Lord of the Rings" lighting.
(This last is the BEST music vid!)
Fallen Angel: Xena Warrior Princess:
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