Well, this week's episode title sounds like a Federico Fellini film (no, I guess that was "Satyricon"--which actually was set in ancient Rome during Xena's heyday), but when I looked up "helicon" in the dictionary, it said, "a large circular tuba similar to a sousaphone but lacking an adjustable bell." So this week, Xena ventures into a land of angst-ridden Italian tuba players to help them find adjustable bells--or not! So after a couple of weeks' delay due to computer problems, at last I present my thoughts on "To Helicon and Back."

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So we find ourselves back at the Amazon tribal gathering right where we left off last week. Gabrielle is crossing wrists in solidarity with Varia, the new queen, and pledging to work "for a strong Amazon nation." Then Gabrielle jokes about Varia hurting her hand on Gab's face in last week's episode. They smile warmly at each other over this memory, past differences having been forgiven, if not forgotten. And when Xena looks pleased, as she does, standing off to the side, it must be a good thing. They all laugh. No conflict here, folks. Let's run the episode credits and go home.

Varia approaches Xena, asking her to "borrow" Gabrielle for her upcoming queening ceremony (what is the term for that, anyway?). By this point, how many times has Xena saved their scrawny asses? OK, she's repeatedly said she doesn't want to become an Amazon (she's never been much of a "joiner"), but surely by now, she'd be welcome in their "Amazon only" rituals. There should be a special provision in the Amazon constitution for Xena. I felt so bad for her. She looked sad at not being allowed to celebrate Varia's fortune (and by extension, the whole tribe's) with them, but she grins sheepishly and goes off to camp in the woods for the night. They're not even going to offer her the use of one of their huts? I'm sorry, Amazons, but that's just too rude!

As usual, the ceremony consists of improvisational dancing, a solar eclipse, and drawing blood. What happens if they need a new queen and there's no eclipse due for awhile? They aren't that common! And what of their enemies? Surely, they know when a solar eclipse occurs, the Amazons will be so busy dancing and bleeding, they'll be vulnerable to attack. Want to eliminate the Amazon nation? Attack during an eclipse! And sure enough, as the dancing ensues, we begin to spy unAmazonly masked faces peeking in from their perimeter. And just like that, the Amazons are under attack and dropping like flies (or like dead Amazons).

Fortunately, Xena's extrasensory perception is still engaged, and she returns, sensing danger. I loved the way she looked right into the leading raider's eyes, then viciously slit the throat of a warrior she had collared. Talk about throwing down the glove! Then Xena engages in some chakram action, and when it bounces off some guy's face, his head remains intact! Considering this device will cut through metal (as we will see later in this very episode), I would expect the guy's head to be split right in half. I guess Xena really, really knows how to control that thing!

I also noticed the sped-up fight action many of you mentioned. I didn't find it that disturbing, however. The raiders caught the Amazons totally unprepared, and the filming technique gave us more of a disoriented feeling, like one might get in a situation like this--kind of shocked. It also gave the violence more impact as well, as one blow was immediately followed by a sword thrust, followed by a body slam, etc. The telescopic effect was rather interesting and made the fighting more vicious than it probably would've looked otherwise. Whether they did this out of need (to free more time during the show) or artistic desire, I still liked it.

Being the ever-vigilant Gabriologist, I really got a kick out of seeing Gabrielle in her latest Amazon tribal outfit, which looks absolutely nothing like the outfit we saw several times in the first couple of seasons. She used to wear a lot of feathers and colors (as did all the Amazons), whereas now the look is more into furs with a more earth-toned color scheme. Simply stunning. I can't wait for Creation to put a picture up for sale.

Suddenly, the bad guys throw Varia over a horse and kidnap her. The troops run off, leaving the surviving Amazons to survey the cadaver-strewn clearing. All this before the opening credits!

A club left at the scene is identified by Xena as being from Helicon, which Gabrielle knows is a fort on the coast. Is there anything these two together don't know? Lacking their queen, Varia, to lead them into battle, they turn to Gabrielle (Xena not being an Amazon, she is apparently deemed unfit to lead their army--go figure!). Gabrielle adopts a pained expression, as if she's not pleased to be in the leadership position. Seems strange that she's willing to pitch in with warrior stuff when needed, as long as she's not the leader! But her highly developed sense of duty and loyalty lead her to assume the role, and she leaps into it with a stiff upper lip, if not a great deal of relish. Of course, Gabrielle has Xena right beside her at all times. Xena may not be allowed to lead them, but they don't seem to have any problems with her being Gabrielle's first lieutenant. Somebody mentioned that it was strange that the Amazons jumped at Xena's commands as well as Gabrielle's, but they must recognize her as the second in command.

I have to wonder at Xena's battle plan, however. The Amazons are hardly a sea-faring people, but they are (were?) very good at sneaking around in trees. Sure, the obvious approach through the valley will be heavily guarded. But if Xena can sneak into the fortress alone, as she proposes, kill the leader, and then cause a "diversion," why not use the diversion to throw off the troops guarding the valley (rather than the ones guarding the coast), and let the Amazons attack with their strength. Instead, they attack with their weakest skill, and are subsequently virtually annihilated. But I can see Rob Tapert thinking: "Let's figure out some way to do a variation on the opening scene in 'Saving Private Ryan.'" And sure enough....

We get to see Varia, held captive back at the fortress, meeting Bellerophon, the head bad guy. He doesn't say what's up, but something has happened to cause him to alter his original plan (to simply kill Varia). He's very mysterious, but giving off a serious whiff of evil, in spite of a rather handsome appearance. Sounds like yet another warlord looking to take down Xena. Will they ever learn?

Then, we get to the Private Ryan part. It's dark out, and the Amazons are in a landing craft which appears to be moving without the benefit of anyone using an oar. The usual war movie scenes occur, with Amazons getting sea sick (Gabrielle's OK--she ought to teach her wrist-tapping trick to the other girls), questioning their bravery, and the leader, Gabrielle, moving about to calm the troops. One of the girls says she's worse than Joxer facing the dryads. I think a couple of you took that as a slam on Joxer's bravery, but I think she meant she's as scared as Joxer, since Joxer was obviously brave enough to at least face them, despite his palpable fear. He didn't have a lot of skill, but he often proved he had a lot of heart. And this appears to be another example of how Gabrielle's scrolls have allowed their earlier exploits to become part of the common history of this area. And Gabrielle, through the episode, does a great job playing Tom Hanks' Private Ryan role. Hanks was just a teacher, thrust into a difficult situation over which he has limited control, trying to do the right thing moment to moment. Gabrielle was just a sidekick, thrust into etc. etc.

Xena finally worms her way into the castle and meets Bellerophon, taking an instant dislike to the guy. "It's not nice to meet you, Bellerophon," she quips just before she launches into him without waiting for further explanation from him. A very quick round of blows finds Xena knocked on her can, and just by the look in her eyes, you can see she finds this no ordinary foe. So she decides to stop and resume the verbal fencing. We find that Bellerophon is the son of Artemis. The Amazons used to worship her, and he feels pissed off that the Amazons deserted their god and Xena ultimately killed her to boot. So his original plan was to simply get even with the Amazons, but when he saw Xena in the camp, he decided to change his plan to get her too. Somehow, he knows that Xena has lost her god killing capability (did he watch the documentary on TV?). Amazing how quickly news travels in a time before mass communication and global satellite systems.

Bellerophon actually gets a knife to Xena's throat in the ensuing fight. He lets her know that he's aware of the Amazon sea invasion, and as the catapults let fly, Xena gets upset enough to wrestle free of Bellerophon. Rather than fight him any more, she flees to go help the Amazons and work all this new knowledge into a revised plan of attack.

One good hit, and the Amazon ships goes under, engulfed in flames. Yet more Amazons die. Amazingly, some of the Amazons don't want to swim to the beach, as Gabrielle commands. Sure, they have catapults, but where else are you going to go? You're floating in the middle of the Medditerannean Sea!

Filming a battle scene at night would be difficult, so we find the Amazons washing ashore at sunrise. In the best Private Ryan fashion, they are besieged by exploding catapult bombs and volleys of arrows. It's quite literally a blood bath, as the water runs red (they don't show it, but you know it is). Here again, I found the sped-up filming gave the scene the same hyperreal feeling that Ryan had as Tom Hanks surveyed the carnage with reserved detachment. Death is all the more frightening for being both grisly and random. Gabrielle begins to put aside her own aversions to violence in order to help the tribe in a time of drastic measures where to lose is to die. She begins to show a very hard, calculating expression.

Sure enough, Gabrielle asks one of the Amazons to run away as a diversionary tactic. She hopes to draw the fire away long enough for the remaining Amazons to rush up the beach to cover. Essentially a suicide mission, I'm surprised she doesn't ask for volunteers, but the girl she chooses accepts the challenge and runs off only to have a catapult bomb drop right on top of her. But how do those guys aim those ancient catapults with such accuracy? Of course, that's not much of a diversion, and a great many more Amazons bite it before they finally reach relative safety among some sand dunes.

Xena has apparently been swimming all night, as she finally rises up from the water and pretty much strides all the way up the beach to the Amazons without too much effort. She's there to help, but all she gets is an ear full of grief from one of the girls about not knocking out the catapults. Hey, girl, you weren't there. Give Xena a chance to explain. But by this point, I guess tempers are at the breaking point.

Meanwhile, back in the fortress, Bellerophon tells Varia that perhaps they can come to an "understanding." Something bad's about to happen!

But first, an Amazon tries to run for it, only to wind up not only being a Callisto-like pin cushion, but also a target for another well-placed bomb. You can't get much more dead than that! Xena says they've only got one option left, and she runs up the same way, only without the arrows and bombs (is invisibility also one of her skills?), and chakrams the offending catapult into fiery submission. However, as the Amazons run further up the beach, they find out there was a second catapult, and it wastes no time picking up the attack. A few Amazons remain, and they finally find a place where they are out of the line of fire.

Apparently Varia "understands" Bellerophon, as the cease in bombardment signals Varia's return. They find her blindfolded and shackled, walking down the beach. This is when we see Xena cut through metal wrist bands with her chakram. It slices, it dices.... She claims Bellerophon was returned because a "queen should die with her tribe." However, she looks away, as though hiding something. Or is she simply embarassed about her subjugation at Bellerophon's hands? We'll soon find out.

Gabrielle wants to leave the wounded where they are before setting Xena's suggested (she's not the leader, remember?) battle plan in motion. Xena claims this will lead to their slaughter, being defenseless and all. Again, I question her logic. I don't think Bellerophon would waste troops on killing the wounded (and thus non-threatening) Amazons until after he was done with the current battle. There would be plenty of time for that later. And if the Amazons won, they can go back to get them. You don't drag your wounded into battle. Just as Gabrielle states, it would slow them down, distract them, and open them up to attack.

Again, I find it strange that Gabrielle would volunteer to go find the path used to return Varia to the beach. Surely, a tracker with Xena's skills would have no trouble following the footprints right back up the beach and straight to the fortress back door. It turns out this plays straight into Varia's plans (the "understanding" she had with Bellerophon), and we see Varia with a bow about to take out Gabrielle as she runs across the sand towards the woods. Xena, with her usual timing, grabs the arrow just as Varia lets it fly. She calls out to Gabrielle, who turns to see exactly what's going on. It's a trap (you can almost hear her brain thinking, "Oh, shit!"), and the bombs again begin to reign down on poor Gabrielle. Boy, is she pissed, and she strides back into the Amazon's makeshift camp. I can't remember when I've seen that much anger cross her face--her eyes are simply ablaze with indignation! And who could blame her?

Xena guesses, and rightly so, that Bellerophon told Varia he'd let the Amazons go if she killed Gabrielle (thus ensuring Xena's eternal suffering at the loss). Of course, Xena knows, and I think Varia knows in her heart, the guy can't be trusted. He'll come back and get them all, but Varia was desperate, as queen, to do anything to save her tribe. Cyane (most of the Amazons we have names for survived storming the beach) and the other Amazons want to kill Varia for her treason against a sister Amazon, and it's wonderful to watch Xena come in, acting much as Gabrielle usually would, to play the peace-maker and defuse the situation. Varia gives her word "as an Amazon queen" that she won't try any further mischief, but Gabrielle simply shakes her head and scowls, in effect telling Varia her actions speak louder than her words. Considering how often Varia has crossed Xena and/or Gabrielle this season, it's amazing she hasn't been taken down by now. How many chances does she get? But Xena looks at Gabrielle as if to say, hey, can't you see the remorse in her eyes? "She was desperate to save her tribe," Gabrielle later acknowledges. So Gabrielle gives her yet another chance. No sense killing your allies when there are so few left!

This leads to an excellently done scene of Xena and Gabrielle talking things over in the sand. The camera work is simple but elegant. Beginning with a far off shot of the two, they are surrounded by vast expanses of blowing sand and pure blue sky. This emphasizes the fact the two are basically "alone together," even with the Amazons around. They act more as one with each passing adventure, and here again, they sit and discuss strategy and things of a more personal nature. During their conversation, the camera draws almost imperceptably closer until it zooms in on Gabrielle as she mulls over the great burden of being Amazon queen in time of battle. Xena claims she's not acting like the friend she's known all these years, and Gabrielle agrees. "It's not me, Xena," she says, "but it is the queen of the Amazons. That's who I am, whether I like it or not." It makes me think back on the innocent Gabrielle who first accepted the rite of caste back in "Hooves and Harlots." I wonder if she ever dreamed that the responsibility would weigh so heavily upon her? More than any other, this scene really bears the imprint of director Michael Hurst, who has such an empathic way of dealing with these characters and drawing out the qualities that makes us love them so.

By cover of night, the Amazons attempt to swim (pulling the wounded and dead Amazons along with them) around to the other side of the fortress. When sharks begin to nose about (are sharks found in the Mediterranean?), Gabrielle pulls one of the dead bodies off a raft and floats it out into the water as shark bait. She immediately disappears beneath the water. From what I know of sharks, this would probably get the shark riled up at the taste of blood, and it would be more inclined to return to attack the Amazons, bobbing unprotected in the water. Instead, one body seems to fill it up, and the shark attack is averted. Gabrielle worries that this use of the dead Amazon was disrespectful, but Xena reminds her that in times of war, you do what you have to, and the Amazon would've been glad to have served her tribe one last time. "Would you have given yourself for her?" Xena asks. Of course, Gabrielle would, and they set forth with renewed determination.

Back on land, and apparently unobserved by the enemy (no bombs or arrows evident), Gabrielle gives a touching speech about Amazon duty and sacrifice at the burial of the Amazon queens who died in battle that day (remember, this group consists of several individual tribes who banded together for strength so there are several "sub-queens" as well as the "uber-queen," Varia or Gabrielle in this case). Xena tries to console Gabrielle, who's obviously upset at the death occuring under her leadership. Gabrielle won't take her comfort, saying she's got to be as ruthless as she can be for the sake of the Amazons, whose safety is her ultimate concern. "Let's end this now, then," Xena says. "You know what you have to do." Varia watches from afar, looking both remoseful for her actions and glad that she's not in Gabrielle's shoes at this moment. This proves to be a last quiet interlude before settling down for the final assault on Helicon.

What's the plan of attack? They obviously don't have the ability to actually storm the walls of the fortress, so Xena rides up to the back door on Argo II and challenges Bellerophon to come out and finish the job himself. Of course, he's happy to oblige.

A quick aside: speaking of Argo, has anyone noticed how little Argo has had to do this season? Sure she's around, but she's just a horse now. She displays none of the brilliant, nearly human intelligence she's shown in the past. In a season with a back-to-basics theme, surely we could see more of our favorite four-legged friend lending a hoof now and again. Last time she did much of anything was in "Animal Attraction."

During the ensuing fight (in which Xena, despite her earlier troubles with Bellerophon, seems to be toying with him to a degree), Xena is slashed on the upper left arm (naturally), and then for a change of pace, on the upper right arm! Just when you thought you'd seen it all! She's knocked to the ground and gets up winded, staggering, and appearing to have an injured wrist on her sword arm. She practically falls over to Argo to ride off, and Bellerophon chides her for not living up to her reputation as a tough fighter. Ooh, burn! Of course, this is just Xena's way of drawing Bellerophon and his men out of the safety of their fort. They follow her right into an Amazon ambush. As the Amazons leap out of hiding, there's a great closeup shot of Bellerohon and Xena locking eyes. They both know this is the final showdown. Someone's going down. If you've seen this show before, you can probably guess who!

The following battle is nothing particually special by Xena's standards. Just a lot of swordplay, kicking, and that sped-up action that simply emphasizes the kaliedoscopic editing. But I will go on record to say (as most of you noted) that it is amazing to see Gabrielle, courtesy of the film editor, switch weapons about with such dexterity right in the middle of a fight. First, she's got her two sais out, her sword sheathed on her back. Then she's got one sai out, her sword in the other hand, and the second sai nowhere to be seen. She quickly finds the lost sai, resheathes the sword, and continues on with her usual weaponry. Then, as Xena gets Bellerophon on the ground and gives him one last chance to stop "the cycle of killing," she's back to the sword/sais combo. I'm not sure even Xena could do that!

Bellerophon may be handsome, but he apparently doesn't know much about his own heritage. Being a half-god, he feels he should be invincible, so as Xena turns away, he pulls out a knife and attacks her. Hey, Bell, ask Hercules if being ony fifty percent god gives you immortality. Know thyself. Xena, however, finds that his mortal half seems to be located in his stomach, as she slices him open with her sword. "It didn't have to end this way," Xena says, as he collapses. "Yes, it did," is the reply. If Xena'd read this week's script, she'd have known too.

Cut off the head, and the body will die. So, off run the fraidy-cat soldiers, with a pumped up Gabrielle in hot, lethal pursuit, still waving that sword around like a pro. As Xena watches her friend consumed by blood lust, she appears about to cry. She must be wondering what Gabrielle would have become without her warrior influence. Where is the love? That must be a tremendous source of guilt for Xena, even when the two aren't engaged in strictly violent pursuits. But as we've seen here, a lot of Gabrielle has come to reside in Xena now, and the two have grown together in many ways. Certainly, as much as they spend all their time together, this was inevitable and not the "fault" of a single person. Xena calls out for Gabrielle to stop, and suddenly, Gabrielle, smeared with blood, sees what she's been doing. The look of disbelief and horror that crosses her face is shattering.

"You won," Xena tells her, without much conviction. "I don't think I did," Gabrielle ponders. "With each battle...I lose more of myself." (This week's underlying theme.) Cyane steps up, and Xena reminds her that her tribe needs her. Gabrielle puts her chin up, and goes back to queen mode. She approaches Varia and crosses wrists with her, as they did in the opening. "To a strong Amazon nation," she says, but the words ring somewhat hollow. What nation? They are a few beat up rag tag survivors, hardly a "nation" any more. But the Amazons repeat the phrase, and even non-Amazon and normally excluded Xena joins in. And the optimistic look on her face seems to indicate that she truly believes it. But the camera pulls back, just before the final fade, to reveal only about a dozen survivors, including Xena and Gabrielle. Without men, how will they repopulate? Just one of many mysteries of the Amazons! What a bittersweet ending.

Well, the big discussion topic this weeks seems to be the role reversal (or lack thereof) between Xena and Gabrielle. Most everyone seems to think that they traded places this week, with Gabrielle becoming the leader and Xena assuming the role of loyal sidekick. It felt this way to me until I read John's rebuttal. He seemed to feel that Xena was leading, acting through Gabrielle, whereas Gabrielle was not being warriorlike out of love of battle, but out of her love and concern for her Amazon sisters, a standard Gabrielle sentiment. I think what we've seen isn't so much the reversal of the two, but rather their meeting in the middle. Xena becomes more like Gabrielle in her respect for life and appreciation of friends and family. Gabrielle, meanwhile, has learned that the world is not an ideal place, and sometimes even a peaceful person must use violence to protect oneself and stand up for what's right. The two haven't swapped, they simply have learned to think in similar ways, and they intuitively know when to adopt each outlook to balance what the other is doing. When Gabrielle sees Xena getting carried away with an attack, she calls her on it. This week, we saw Xena do that to Gabrielle. To me, this indicates an ever deepening bond between the two. We also saw this week how they have learned to disagree on a plan of action without it turning into a battle of wills. I'm impressed. The two seem to be communicating much better than last season.

As for the episode itself, I had a somewhat mixed reaction. Again, I think we've seen about enough of the Gabrielle wrestling with her conscience over her violent deeds. But it is a rather fascinating position for her to be in, and I think most of us would think we'd react in much the same way as our bard (recoiling with horror), and that gives us an empathic link to her character that draws us into the moral dillema. Bellerophon was also a bit disappointing. For the son of a god, it seemed that he was rather easy to defeat in one-on-one combat with Xena. Sure, he pushed her hard initially (even drawing her blood several times), but in the final battle, he quickly fell and was killed. Not much of a villain. Even Varia's getting a bit tiresome, with her now-I'm-good, now-I'm-bad schtick. As I outlined above, I also found a bit of the battle strategy a big dodgy.

That being said, I found the episode perhaps greater than the sum of its parts. It was a fast-paced hour in which the story pretty much caught me up in an adrenaline rush. There were a couple of well placed quiet breathing places, but overall the action carried me away. Any Renee fan should welcome the chance to see her really take charge of the show. She really did an admirable job of acting (like we'd exect less from this talented lady?), and Lucy responded by playing the sidekick and allowing Renee her moment in the sun. She was always there, always in the center of the action, yet she never seemed to cramp Renee. The two work so well together, and this episode was a very good example of how their current relationship functions. I have to wonder how much longer the Amazons can continue. Seems like every time we meet them, somebody's trying to wipe them out! The reason for them getting this tribal council thing together in the first place was because their numbers were shrinking and they needed the strength of the entire Amazon nation in order to continue. Unless my eyes deceived me, in this episode alone, they dwindled from a couple hundred (at least) to a dozen. You figure a few of their wounded can be patched up to carry on, but then what? Since there are no Amazons in our time, I assume at some point they were conquered (presumably after Xena was long dead and gone, unable to protect them any more). But today, a couple of slips aside, I thought the Amazons were brave and gave a good account of themselves. I'll rate this a four chakram affair (out of five). Despite its several minor flaws, I really enjoyed its excitement and energy level. Another treasure for the final season. Makes me wish Michael Hurst would direct every episode.
Rick(Gabriologist since the late 20th Century)
Visit my web site at ricks-studio.com for Episode Reviews,
Humorous Quotes, and other Xena-themed writing!

"Take that! And that, and that, and that!!!" --Gabrielle, standing atop a pile of twitching bodies
"Gabrielle, it's not nice to kill people." --Xena
"These are the network executives who cancelled our show!" --Gabrielle, wiping blood from her sais
"Leave some for me!" --Xena, reaching for her chakram