S
P
O
I
L
E
R

S
P
A
C
E

Right off the bat, Xena shows memory loss. When she observes Eve is lost just as she herself was, she credits Gabrielle for bringing her around. Hello? Ever hear of Hercules? We know the Gabster keeps Xena on the straight and narrow, but I believe Herc is the one who put her on that path originally. Eve is still whining, and pounding at the sand, much like the petulant spoiled brat she was as Livia. Hopefully, Xena can help her grow up a bit, as well as shed her evilness! I've seen a few people write that Eve has turned from being a kick ass (albeit evil) warrior to a sniveling coward hiding behind Xena. I can't see this as a flaw in writing however. I think Eve is so grossed out when she realizes how heinous she's been, I don't think she is psychologically ready to cause more harm, even in self defense. Even Xena was prepared to lay down the sword when she turned good (remember the opening to "Sins of the Past" when Xena buries her weaponry before she's forced to defend the villagers?). And Eve's conversion is coming on her fast and hard, unlike Xena who had many years to slowly grow into the role of good girl. I imagine Eve's very confused and frightened right now, and we'll see that part of her fall away next season.

I was not impressed with the view of Mount Olympus. These are gods! Surely they'd have a little fancier pad than just a few columns and a roof. But they have bigger things to worry about now, and seeing all the gods (more or less) together was quite fun.

Athena's plot to get Eve through Gabrielle was quite evil, but smart. Aphrodite was quite stirring as she pleads for Gabrielle's life ("She's my friend." Listen to how emotionally she says it, pleading with her tone of voice. "Well then, don't watch," is Athena's cold reply.). I imagine the Goddess of Love must be quite torn when it comes to a war between her family (the gods) and her friends (Gabrielle and Xena). She seems to just want to stay out of the way and hope for the best. Perhaps she is the only one who really understands Ares' theory that the gods pose more of a threat to themselves than Eve does. This entire episode is a case of: if they'd just left Eve alone, they'd all be living happily ever after right now. Anyway, Dite's concern for Gab is very touching. I remember when they first met, Gabrielle thought Dite was a vain airhead, and Dite seemed to think Gab was pretty stuck up. And perhaps they were, but over especially the last season, the two seem to have bonded and developed a strong friendship. I like where this story line is headed, and with Dite surviving the Twilight, perhaps it will be explored further next season. Viva l'amour!

Then comes the first battle scene, as the army tries to kill Livia off for her misdeeds. Xena's new chakram splitting in two and caroming around Eve to split the spears was really cool. The new chakram gets quite a workout this episode. Eve obviously is wandering the desert trying to literally die. It's ironic that as such a great killer, she can't bring herself to commit suicide. As the soldiers approach, she makes no effort to defend herself. When she gets caught in the rope and dragged behind the horse, Xena throws her the chakram to use, but she doesn't even try to cut the ropes! This is a girl with self esteem problems.

After the battle, just when you think the danger is over, the Furies begin to whisper little nothings into Gabrielle's ears. As the opening credits began, I was intrigued. Was Gabrielle to be Eve's assassin? Wow!

So, what's this old woman doing wandering about the desert? And she just happens to know about Eli?

Speaking of Eli, the parallels between his story and the biblical life of Christ continue. Here we are introduced to "The Baptist." It seems they want to introduce Christianity into the show, but are afraid to do so by name. Perhaps they are afraid the Christians will react the same way as the followers of Krishna did if they take the slightest liberty with the biblical story. Or will this eventually blossom into a new and different religion next season (kind of a "Stranger In a Strange Land" treatment--the book, not the Herc episode)? I doubt it. I think they're just being cautious about using sensitive historical characters, and we can probably read any references to Eli as being about Christianity in its most elemental form, even if they won't say it themselves.

I guess it was in keeping with the nature of a baptism, but I thought the conversion was a bit too easy. Just walk up, get a little water splashed on you, and you're a smiley face! If it was that easy, Xena could have saved herself a lot of agony by undergoing baptism right after Hercules brought her around from evil. Xena never took the easy way out; she wanted to atone for her sins, and I'm surprised that she doesn't feel suspect about Eve receiving redemption in such a formulaic way. Or perhaps she's just a mother trying her best to end her daughter's pain. Eve certainly has brought out aspects in Xena we never knew she had, and here's another example. However, as the camera pans across their faces, we see Gabrielle looking pleased, but Xena does show just a hint of skepticism in her narrowed eyes.

Suddenly, just when I think this scene's going to blow out my sappy meter, a column of flame reaches down from the sky and apparently speaks to Xena. Some people have wondered what Xena meant by "If that's the way it has to be..." I think she was told she is to be Eve's protector, and therefore the one with the ability to actually kill the gods. I find this to be rather disappointing. I thought Eve was to bring the Twilight of the gods, but she's just the fuse to Xena's bomb. I guess this isn't "Eve: Warrior Daughter" yet, but I thought the writers did Eve a disservice by letting Xena steal some of Eve's thunder. It could have been interesting if Eve had the god killing power, and it was up to Xena to get her to get over her guilt and show a little backbone here. Killing a few gods might've improved her self esteem. Even Yoga Karma Stupid Girl learned occasionally you just gotta kick some evil ass! And I know Eve wants to payback Ares, but I digress....

Then, just what we've been waiting for: the gods in a full-frontal assault on our heroines! As somebody else wrote recently, if they'd just surround Xena, they'd probably have better luck killing her, but they all stand together so she only has to guard one direction. Artistic license! For a mortal, Xena has done remarkably well defending herself against gods with, well, god-like powers. And here, the gods make for a rather pitiful offensive. They just start firing away, with no planning, and, of course, Xena takes them down and out with little trouble. First Poseidon. Great special effect. I'll miss it! Then Discord! No! I loved Discord--she was such a little brat, and that always played off Aphrodite quite well. What was she thinking, just running up on Xena like that? I figured her to be more the conniving sort, get somebody else to do the deed for her. I hate to see her go, but after Joxer's death, I'm pretty much numb to the body count. Hephaestus is done in by his own weapon, which was a nice touch. At this point, all the earth shaking gets Athena's attention, and she finally shows up to see the carnage for herself. It seems the other gods didn't have the patience to wait for Athena's plan to take effect. Dissention in the ranks, not even counting Ares, whose allegiance has been flapping in the breeze for quite some time.

I just loved it when Xena tells them to be smart and not follow her. She pulls back the chakram like she's about to throw it, and a couple of the gods flinch. Brilliant! Then Xena blows on the edge of her chakram like a pistol. Just that look on her face! Ha, ha! The surviving gods look at Xena with fear, although Athena just looks more determined and pissed. Ares, on the other hand, is obviously getting off on seeing Xena's raw display of power over the gods themselves. I think it is at this point that he at least begins to consider changing sides when the proper moment presents itself. Again, the gods prove to be their own worst enemy. Athena immediately chastises the gods for acting without her consent. If they had only let the Furies continue working on Gabrielle, they'd all still be alive, at least for now. Working with losers like this, I wonder that Athena doesn't quit and join Xena! Ares immediately volunteers to "distract" Xena. Was he planning on doing this to help the Furies work on Gabrielle, or was he planning on using this time to tell Xena of his plans to fight with her? The first happens despite his intentions, while the second is greeted with Xena's usual skepticism.

It was nice that Xena took Eve back to see Virgil, but why single him out? Livia caused a lot of people a lot more suffering than she inflicted on Joxer (who died relatively quickly of a clean sword thrust). But, this being a forty-some minute TV show, symbolism is the key here. Did we expect Virgil to react any way other than by attacking Eve? When Virgil attacks her, Eve again kneels down and offers to die if it would do any good. She has made quite the swing from the brutal warrior to the wimpy penitent. Somehow, she made a better bitch, but there's still next season to develop the character.

Virgil says he never saw Joxer being unkind to anyone. What would he think if he saw Joxer and Gabrielle's first meeting, when he's trying to capture her for Callisto. OK, Gabrielle ends up beating on Joxer, in an unforgettably funny scene, but he was trying to get her first!

So Meg took off in grief with Virgil's "brothers and sisters?" One minute, Meg is barren, then they've got two little kids, then a big grown one, and now several (min. 2 bros. + min. 2 sisters + Virgil = 5 kids at least). He should've called himself "Joxer the Bunny!" No wonder his blood line ran on into the present day "Scrolls" and "Deja Vu" stories! Joxer, you stud, you!

I think the first time grown Eve has really touched my heart is when she discovers Gabrielle's scrolls and says, "You preserved Xena for all the ages in these scrolls, Gabrielle. Thank you." She sounded so genuinely happy to be able to discover who her mother was/is. And it will show Eve what an important role Gabrielle herself plays in all this. Of course, the girl will feel even more guilty when she sees how close they were to Joxer! I wonder if Gabrielle was reminded of the time her memory was left in an urn, and Joxer tried to restore her memory by reading her scrolls to her.

Of course, this touching moment is when Ares decides to show up to distract Xena. It was almost Shakespearean the way this whole scene played itself out. Ares looks so inscrutable, standing in the rain. He's the big wild card here, and it's hard to know what to expect. The whole time Xena is wasting time with him, you just want to yell at the screen, "Go back inside!" I had this bad feeling like the time Solan was killed, and Xena showed up just a little too late. Was Eve going to be killed off now? Everyone else is dead, why not kill her to wrap up the season and leave fans in utter consternation?

Again, as if in some Shakespearean tragedy, visions begin to haunt Gabrielle as the Furies do their best to influence the bard. Rather than telling her to just kill Eve, they try to use Gabrielle's good intentions against her. Bring back Joxer, asking her to kill Eve before Eve kills again. Sounds logical, in a way, and surely she can trust Joxer? I loved the way Joxer was still clowning around, even in the after life. Then Gabrielle's only daughter, albeit an evil one, Hope, appears! In a very bad wig, no less. Renee's hair never looked that dry and brittle in her whole life! But it was interesting to see Renee play the evil one again, sporting the beloved red skirt and green sport bra! I love the way she says, "Hello, Mother," just dripping with hate and sarcasm. Talk about playing the bard's guilt like a musical instrument! When Hope compares Eve to herself, saying that Xena is doing exactly what Gabrielle did wrong all those years ago, I was hardly surprised that Gabrielle began to cave in. "This is the decision Xena can't make." How true, although Gabrielle seems to forget that it's a decision that doesn't need to be made any longer, now that Eve is good. Surely, Gabrielle has had Hope in her mind during this entire season. Especially once Eve became Livia, just as baby Hope became, well, Hope. Major guilt trips and dark psychological overtones abound.

Now, what I don't get here is, how did Eve survive Gabrielle's attack? It seems from what I can see from the camera angles, Gabrielle gets a clean shot at Eve's exposed back. Gabrielle stabs Eve somewhere near the spine, full force with her, what, foot long sais? Seems to me, Eve would puncture a lung, sever a couple major arteries, certainly damage her spinal cord, and probably be dead before she could hit the floor. She certainly seems to be bleeding profusely, from the puddle on the table top.

Then the question becomes, how did Gabrielle survive Xena's attack? Some people on the list have said they think Xena attacked with her motherly instincts before realizing it was Gabrielle attacking Eve. On second viewing, she has plenty of time to recognize Gabrielle. What other young women with short blond hair are running around in skimpy red leather warrior outfits? Eve was already stabbed, so what did she think she was going to accomplish with her chakram that she couldn't do by just leaping across the room and tackling Gab? Given that she made an honest mistake, that chakram should have taken off the top of Gabrielle's skull. When the chakram returns to Xena's grasp, it's covered in a grisly mess of blood and skin. The question is not, can Eve and Gabrielle be saved, but why are they alive at all? But, in this season of dying guest stars, I'll take all the continuity I can get, and I'll just say, thankfully, they survived, and let's move on. Xena sees the Furies escape from Gabrielle, and she immediately realizes Gabrielle was not responsible for her actions. I guess that's Gab's payback for all the times Xena tried to kill Hope!

It's interesting that Xena goes to Eve first, but then just tells her she'll be fine, without hardly looking at her wound. Then she runs to Gabrielle to give her major attention. But what we need here is an airlift to a major hospital!

A classic Xena moment: The remaining four gods see their chance to attack as Xena tends to the wounded. I notice Ares is not among them. I would think Ares, the God of War for crissakes, would be expected to fight for the godhood. Shouldn't Athena see this as a sign of Ares' coming treason? Athena gives Xena one more chance to hand Eve over, then observes, "...at four-to-one, it's no great odds." Then Xena, snarling, says, "Not for you." Yeah, baby!

All hell breaks loose (Hades is there after all!), as could be expected. Then, the unexpected happens! Aphrodite shows up (in black mourning attire, no less! and a nice change from her pink--even her hair seems a tad depressed this week) and tends to Gabrielle! Actually, it was quite brave of her, since she can now be killed by Xena. And Xena's first reaction at seeing Dite is to pull a knife on her. She says, "No, I just want to help," and something in her plaintive voice tells Xena she can be trusted. Something about all the pain and violence, and then here's the Goddess of Love simply trying to help her friend. Touching.

At this point, Eve's clothing catches on fire during the battle and Xena must help her put it out. Again, those idiot gods could use this opportunity to pounce on them and end it, but they just lurk around and wait. They deserve to die, if you ask me! Very dramatic the way Hades burns up, but that begs the question, if he's not around any more, who's going to keep all the dead in the underworld? Perhaps the first episode of next season will be a take-off on "Night of the Living Dead?"

When Xena drags Eve into Aphrodite's room and tells her to look after Eve, Dite gives Eve a cold look that would freeze most mortals! She doesn't like Eve one bit, and Eve sees that. Of course, who can blame her? Probably only Eve's close connection to Gabrielle keeps the goddess from blasting Eve on the spot.

The rest of the battle plays out quite well. Xena even takes an arrow from Artemis in the thigh. She looks more surprised than hurt. I guess when you have the adrenaline pumping, a little arrow in a non-major organ won't slow you down. Demios gets flattened by a burning wagon. I guess since Joel Tobeck has already played two gods, it would be going to the well too often to see him pop up again!

At this point, after thinking Ares is going to switch sides, he appears ready to kill Eve (but I guess he'd draw the line at killing Xena). When Xena knocks the blade from his hand, wounding him in the process, he looks pissed. He's lucky she didn't take his head off with her chakram! Look what she did to Gabrielle, and she loves Gabrielle! She certainly looks mad enough to have killed him! Xena's glare even frightens away Dite! And Athena knows when to retreat and lick her wounds, so she disappears.

I notice that Renee is expanding her acting skills once again. Her imitation of a sack of potatoes was superb as Xena dragged, or rather yanked, her limp body from the wreckage! As if Gab doesn't have enough trouble today, now she's got a dislocated shoulder! C'mon Xena, put her over your shoulder or something! I guess if she can survive the Gab Drag, she can survive anything!

Xena tells Gabrielle (who is unconscious and looking quite dead actually), "You're the most pure thing in my life." Then she looks over at her daughter, and seems to feel she better spread the compliments around! "And you're my great hope," she tells Eve. Don't want anyone feeling unloved here! Does anyone else feel a great deal of irony every time the word "hope" is used in context with Eve? After all, Hope was named that for the exact same reason: she was Gabrielle's hope for a better future.

I know Dite wants to save Gabrielle, but I'm still surprised she takes them to Olympus. When Dite says that if the gods don't accept Xena's deal (and do we really expect them to?), Xena will kill them, Xena makes it a point to not deny it. Seems like Aphrodite is leading her "family" into grave danger, and from her reluctant expression, I think she knows it.

Although it seemed a little forced, it was nice of Eve to finally call Xena "mother." She says it like she's not expecting to get another chance. She obviously hasn't read all those scrolls yet, or she'd know who'll be left standing at the end credits! But the one little tidbit about her childhood that she shares? "I like spiders." Aw, geez! Unless that's a bit of foreshadowing to a future event, how lame! Although it's fitting a girl of her temperament likes something most people are repelled or frightened by, it seems like she could've found something a bit more enlightening to share with her mom at this time. But, I'm not a writer (well, I am here, but...).

Well, we know, regardless of whether he's on Xena's side, Ares is no longer on Eve's side (apparently, he doesn't see the incongruity of this position). He shows up, feeling cocky because Xena hasn't killed him yet, despite a couple of opportunities. You start to think, yeah, she's going all soft on him again, when--WHAM! Xena shoots a crossbow right into his leg and bounds him up in chains quicker than you can say, "You shot me! I'm the God of War! Nobody shoots the God of War!" This was so funny! Kevin Smith does a great job showing Ares trying to maintain his dignity while being slung about by Xena!

Enter into Athena's chambers Xena, with Ares shot and in chains, Eve a bloody wreck, and Gabrielle still imitating potatoes. What a sight! Surely Athena figured this was a group of people about played out. Victory must have seemed in hand for her. Why would she deal with Xena? The withering look she shoots Ares was right on. Xena offers to simply leave them alone if Athena cures Gab and Eve. Again, if Athena takes them up on this, it's happily ever after time again. But the gods have to have it out, and that's yet another mistake, and what appears to be their final one at that.

At this point, my channel decided to blank out my screen for a "required weekly test." There are days you just simply want to find the party responsible and put a bullet through their snively little brains. The test was probably ten or fifteen seconds long, but at the first viewing, it seemed to go on forever! I figured it would come back, and Xena would be saying, "Good job, Eve!" and the gods would be dead, and there's Callisto, having played some important part I missed! Thankfully, the battle still raged on, but now I've got to hope the repeat broadcast in a couple months will get recorded OK. Argh!

Then, Eve must have died, since suddenly Xena loses her god killing powers! I loved the way they wrote this scene, with Xena running Athena through. Athena's got this surprised look on her face, not because she's dying, but because she's alright! Xena immediately looks back at Eve, and she's looking pretty darned dead alright.

Then, in a brilliant twist, Ares gives up his immortality in exchange for Gabrielle and Eve's lives. Eve's life in turn restores Xena's powers, and Xena uses this opportunity to skewer Athena. Again, worthy of Shakespeare! Like watching pieces of a puzzle fall together. This is done quite excellently, and any description I give would pale compared to the way it was filmed, the cameras cutting quickly back and forth to reveal the action.

The acting in this scene was excellent. When Ares tells Athena he did it because he's got "a thing" for Xena, Athena looks at him with a bewildered expression, probably wondering how he could betray them all, as well as thinking that's a pretty shallow reason for her own death. Then, when Xena runs across the room, Ares looks like he's expecting Xena to fall into his arms and pour forth her undying gratitude. Xena blows right past him, and he glances about at the other gods lying about the temple. First, he looks like he can forgive Xena for not going to him first--what did he expect when Gabrielle and Eve are hurt? But after seeing the other dead gods strewn about, he appears to be wondering if he made the right choice. What if he has betrayed the gods, and Xena still won't give him any slack? Then, at the height of his doubt, Xena turns to him. He looks as if he is waiting for Xena to tell him he did alright, looking for a sign. She simply says, "Thank you."

I've seen a few e-mails from people saying that Xena should have been more demonstrative of her appreciation for what Ares did. But she didn't say it in words, but in her expression and vocal tone. This entire scene, actually this entire episode, shows what good acting can do. The words spoken, written in the script, were just words: "thank you." Here, we have actors giving each other looks, showing emotions playing across their faces, changing with each shift of the action. When Xena finally thanks Ares, look at her big beautiful eyes. She says volumes with her eyes and slight, warm smile. She lets Ares know in no uncertain terms that she knows exactly what he did for her, and she can at least respect that in him; that, yes, he did right. Ares nods his head, as if to say, yes, that's all I need from you for now. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant all the way around. Even the music is perfect for this scene. What a great climax to the Twilight! I would stand and applaud if I thought anyone could see me!

So, here we are on the beach. But where is Ares? Did he just wander off? After what just happened, I'd expect him to be lurking around Xena. Eve is playing with a spider (couldn't see that coming!). I was surprised that Gabrielle wouldn't let her apologize about Joxer. By taking her to see Virgil earlier, they seem to be saying that it's good to face up to your mistakes, and here Gabrielle is stifling her expression! But they do share a loving moment together, bringing the new extended family closer after all their recent travails. Then when Gabrielle says to Xena, "It looks like you got your daughter back," Xena counters with, "No, we got our daughter back," I'll have to admit to getting a case of the warm fuzzies! What a wonderful conclusion.

Well, I'm giving this episode another perfect five chakram rating. As I said earlier, the acting was simply brilliant, from Aphrodite to Xena, this is as good as it gets. I'm guessing the writers and director also had a hand in this. I'm really glad they didn't leave any real nasty cliff hangers this season. I mean, after having your two stars die at the end of last season, what could they do to top that? Xena and Gabrielle have Eve back, the Twilight of the Gods appears to have been settled, and basically everyone's dead! I really enjoyed just having a happy ending (except for the death thing).

But does this mean there are no cliffhangers? Oh, no! Will our warriors remain in the "future," or will they somehow go back to their own time? (My own feeling is they're pretty much committed to this future time line, and TPTB will probably use this as an excuse to introduce a lot of new characters next year. Might freshen up the show!) What will become of Ares? We know from other episodes he's got his godly powers in the future, so obviously his story is not played out yet. Now that he's mortal, will he find enough humanity to worm his way into Xena's heart? What will Aphrodite's roll be? She seems to be the last god left (no longer counting Ares). If people stop worshipping the Olympian gods, will Dite lose her powers, even if she's alive? They have hinted that Eve's role is not done, that she will somehow advance Eli's cause. Perhaps the Goddess of Love will lend her support to Eli's version of Love Power and help Eve bring about this vague new enlightenment. And, as someone else mentioned, is Gabrielle still Queen of the Amazons? She certainly has seniority on her side now!

And looking back at the season in general: after a shaky start (perhaps due to Lucy's pregnancy, perhaps due to some new blood in the writing and directing departments), this season has been a joy to behold. And even shaky Xena is better than anything else on TV. About the time Xena had her baby, the series went into creative overdrive, and we've seen them weaving a story of vast scope worthy of "Lord of the Rings." In my opinion, they hit the mark with their absurd episodes ("Married With Fishsticks," which I regard as an overlooked comic masterpiece, and "Lyre, Lyre" for example), they had some great costume dramas in Rome, Egypt and China, and the way the Twilight has thrown the spot on the relationship between Ares and Xena has made for some inspired writing and acting. We saw the return of some good villains, like Ares (who was in nearly half the episodes) and Alti, and some new ones, like Athena and Marc Antony. Perhaps we've missed a bit of comradery between Gabrielle and Xena this season, but unlike seasons past, the two seem to be on the same wavelength: anything for Eve, and we'll take names later. Not a lot to discuss there. We found Xena unapologetically following her Way of the Warrior this season, and as much as I miss the old, pre-India Gabrielle, it was nice to see her finding some inner peace (and outer whoop-ass) this season. She seems to have found her Way in Friendship, and it's a nice fit for her. She is strong and self-assured, and no trace lingers of the little village girl who cowered behind Xena in season one (hey, Eve, take note!). She even appears to be writing again. And despite all the characters killed off this year, the only one I will really, really miss will be Joxer. He was irritating at first, as I suppose he was meant to be, but he developed into an amazingly complex character, capable of playing drama as well as slapstick and every shade in between. He was certainly Xena and Gab's best friend, and he always at least tried to reach beyond his grasp. At least he got to live to a ripe old age, due to the time travel, marry, have children, and die in defense of his beloved Gabrielle, a death worthy of any gallant knight. I can't imagine anyone filling Joxer's shoes any more than I can imagine anyone replacing Callisto.

It will be a long, Xenaless summer, and it will be a joy writing the review of the first episode of season six! Let's keep the list humming this summer. What do you all think is going to come next?
Rick (Gabriologist since the late 20th Century)
Visit my web site at ricks-studio.com.

"Xena, we're not dead! Are you sure the season's really over?" --Gabrielle, inspecting herself carefully
"Looks like the crew's already left!" --Xena, covering her eyes and looking out into the empty sound stage