A Friend in Need part II

A Friend In Need part II

Teleplay by R.J. Stewart
Story by Rob Tapert & R.J. Stewart
Directed by Rob Tapert

Episode synopsis:

Xena buries her sword and armor and takes off after the armies of Yodoshi. She does a surprisingly good job annihilating them, especially when her chakram ignites their entire supply of greek fire/gunpowder, setting off what is for all purposes a nuclear explosion. But there are 20,000 troops, and not even Xena can defeat that many. After sweeping her area with wave after wave of arrows, a samauri kills the already bloody and beaten Xena.

Xena's spirit, now given form and trapped in this realm by Yodoshi, appears at the tea house where Akemi and other female spirits wait to seduce souls. Yodoshi arrives and beats Xena until she submits to him. Xena leaves the teahouse once he disappears and almost immediately bumps into Gabrielle, who has been searching for her since finding her bloodied Chakram on the battle field. Gabrielle is understandably upset at the situation but agrees to do whatever it takes to bring Xena back from the dead. Ghost Killer tells her that if she brings Xena's ashes to the Fountain Of Strength by sunset tomorrow, Xena's soul will be restored to her body.

Gabrielle sneaks into the camp of the army and finds Xena's bloody, strung up body, sans head. She fights the samauri in order to get it, and easily defeats him. She denies him an honorable beheading, though, and just knocks him out. Gabrielle burns the body to ashes and then heads to Mount Fuji.

Back at the tea house, Xena and Ghost Killer set a trap for Yodoshi. After a fierce battle in which Ghost Killer is fatally wounded, Yodoshi barely escapes with his life. Ghost Killer reveals he is on his way to the Fountain Of Strength to heal himself. Xena arrives there in time to battle Yodoshi, but he manages to drink from the fountain and his returned strength allows him to crush Xena. As she lays suffering, Gabrielle drinks from the fountain and then kisses Xena in order to pass the water to her while Akemi distracts Yodoshi by unsuccessfully attacking him. Xena rises up and battles Yodoshi while Gabrielle fights the samauri again for possession of Xena's ashes. They win their respective fights, and as the last rays of the setting sun sink below the mountain range, Xena prevents Gabrielle from pouring the ashes into the fountain. Turns out that the 40,000 souls liberated from Yodoshi will only pass into a state of grace if their deaths are avenged. Therefore Xena, who is responsible for fire that killed them, must remain dead. As they watch the sunset together, Xena's spirit fades. Gabrielle sails off with Xena's spirit looking over her shoulder to continue the fight for good.

Xena was permanently harmed in the making of this motion picture, but kept her spirits up.

Moments Of Subtext:

• As Xena is killed at the begining of the episode, she screams Gabrielle's name while a montage of subtext moments plays out, obviously showing her dying thoughts.
• Akime, upon seeing Xena, says: "I want to write a verse to express how I feel, but there's no poetry of sufficient beauty."
• Gabrielle's reaction to finding Xena's spirit: "You're my whole life, Xena. I won't lose you."
  "You won't lose me," reassures Xena.
• Xena introduces Gabrielle to Akemi: "This is my soulmate."
• Ghost Killer asks Gabrielle: "Would you risk your life for the return of hers?"
  "Without hesitation," responds Gabrielle.
• As Gabrielle receives a painful tattoo, Xena lays next to her, holding her.
• Gabrielle's reaction (and this is some BEAUTIFUL acting) to finding Xena's bloody, headless corpse is painful to watch. She falls to the ground, fighting back her urge to retch. Finally she stands up and cries, "Give me her head!" with soul wrenching emotion.
• Another subtext montage plays while Gabrielle cremates Xena's body.
• Gabrielle carries water from the Fountain of Strength to Xena's beaten 'body' by drinking it, then passing the water directly from her mouth to Xena's in a life giving kiss. Very sensual. One image in the kiss is clearly a kiss and not Gabrielle passing water.
• As Xena prevents Gabrielle from pouring the ashes into the fountain they have the following conversation: "That is not right! I don't care. You're all that matters to me."
  "Don't you know how much I want to let you do this?" responds Xena. "But if there's a reason for our travels together it's because I had to learn from YOU. Enough to know the final, the good, the right thing to do. I can't come back. I can't."
  "I love you, Xena. How am I supposed to go on without you?"
  "I'll always be with you, Gabrielle. Always."
  Xena's spirit then fades away.
• The final shot is Gabrielle sailing away in a boat, with Xena's spirit beside her. "A life of journeying has brought you to the farthest lands, to the very edges of the earth," says Gabrielle.
  "And to the place I'll always remain: your heart," responds Xena. "So where to now?"
  "I think we should go south to the land of the pharoahs. I hear they need a girl with a chakram."
  "Where you go, I am at your side."
  "I knew you'd say that," says Gabrielle.
  Xena kisses Gabrielle on the top of her head, the boat sails away with just Gabrielle standing on the deck, and the final episode ends.

Commentary:

Well, here we go: my final review.

There has been a LOT of discussion about this episode on the net, some good, lots of bad. I understand why most people hate it as much as they do. It is incredibly painful to watch Gabrielle sail off on that boat all alone. I didn't think it would affect me as much as it has. I watched the episode while at my parents' house and when the episode ended I just went on with my day. (My parents, I'm sure, just don't understand why their son has a lesbian webpage other than it's just another entry into the 'Scott is weird' list.) It wasn't until last night, when I was entering the subtext moments into this website, that I found myself sobbing while I typed out their final conversation together. Weird. Not like me. But as rough as the last couple of years have been, I did live with these characters for the last six years, and now they are no longer a direct part of my life. They are in the past.

And yet, I can also undertand why the powers that be ended it the way they did. It is incredibly dramatic and moving, one of the more emotional moments I have seen on tv, and I am always pleased when tv can produce a strong emotion. I also undertand that given the history of the show, there was no way Xena could find that final redemption she has always sought except for in her own death. It seems to me to be thematically consistent. And even more tha ndoing the right thing, she has passed the mantle to Gabrielle, so that good will continue to be commited in her name.

But man, that last scene tears me up.

I enjoyed the episode as a whole. I liked the air of sadness that permeates both this and the previous episode. I like the drama that such extreme situations provide. And because of this, you will find no better acting anywhere on tv than what Renee O'Connor does in this episode. It is absolutely amazing. She breaks my heart every time I think of Gabrielle's reaction to Xena's decapitated body. And the last scenes...what can I say? She, I am certain, will have a long and prosperous career after this show if she so chooses.

It has been a fun six years, I thank you all for coming and reading and writing me such wonderful emails. But for me, the fun doesn't stop now. I will first do a cosmetic upgrade of Xena: Warrior Lesbian to a professional design, rather than the cheesy amateur page you are looking at now. (Don't worry, same content!) I will slowly revisit all the reviews and improve the ones I don't like. But most importantly, I will use this page to take a step forward. I am hoping to use the lessons put forward in Xena and use this page as a way to fight for good. I hope to include ways we can all be active in the fight for equal rights for homosexuals. More on this soon.

Thank you for all of your emails. Fight the good fight.

A Friend in Need part I

A Friend In Need part I

Teleplay by R.J. Stewart
Story by Rob Tapert & R.J. Stewart
Directed by Rob Tapert

Episode synopsis:

A monk arrives in Xena and Gabrielle's campsite, claiming he is a messenger from Akemi, a ghost from Xena's past. He tells his story of taking shelter in a teahouse with a brother monk, where three ghosts who are controlled by Yodoshi, Lord of the Darkland, tried to seduce them. His brother monk, once seduced, was absorbed into Yodoshi. The monk was able to escape with the help of Akemi's ghost who charged him with finding Xena in order to destroy this evil, giving him a sacred katana to pass along to Xena.

While travelling to Japan Xena tells Gabrielle of meeting Akemi, many years ago, when she was in the land of Chin with Borias. She heard of a land further to the east, and reclaimed Akemi from her abducter in order to ransom her back to her rich and powerful father. Akemi, however looks upon Xena as a teacher, with eyes full of worship. Arriving in Japan, Akemi, still professing her love of Xena, offers to lead her to her father's fortress. She instead brings Xena to her grandparent's home, so that she can pray to their spirits. Xena, furious at being deceived, almost cuts her head off, but instead Ameki goads her into visiting the local armory and stealing a sacred katana. Later that night, in a bonding moment, Xena teaches Ameki how to do the pinch. Arriving at her father's fortress the next day, Xena and Akemi surprise her father. As Xena fights off his guards, Akemi puts the pinch on her father, Yodoshi, and kills him for murdering her mother, siblings, and grandparents. She then runs herself through and asks Xena to honor her by cutting off her head with the sacred katana.

In the present Xena and Gabrielle arrive at the japanese town of Higuchi, which has been sieged by the armies of Yodoshi. Xena and Gabrielle use the water tower to put out the fires that threaten to consume the town, and the invading army retreats. Xena and Gabrielle are proclaimed heroes until confronted by Ghost Killer, who reveals that the armies attacking the town are the 40,000 souls under the power of Yodoshi, thanks to Xena. When Akemi killed Yodoshi, his soul was too evil even to be accepted into the afterlife. Xena brought Akemi's ashes to the family temple in Higuchi, but was attacked by the townsfolk for dishonoring their graveyard with the ashes of a woman who had commited patricide. Xena, fighting back, started a fire that swept through the town killing 40,000 people. Those souls were then consumed by Yodoshi on their way to the afterlife. Xena vows to Ghostkiller to do anything she can to help undo this torment she was unaware she had caused. Ghost Killer says he has the power to kill Yodoshi, but he is unable to get close enough because he is mortal. Only another ghost can kill Yodoshi.

Xena and Gabrielle share a loving moment before tomorrow's battle against three armies. Xena, who has been very supportive of Gabrielle throughout the episode, letting her take the lead and commenting on her solutions to problems, teaches Gabrielle the pinch so that she will now know everything that Xena knows. She then sends Gabrielle off to a far part of the battlefield before walking off, alone.

To be continued.

Xena and Gabrielle's Flying Circus & Amateur Fire Brigade will be arriving in your town soon.

Moments Of Subtext:

• Akemi tells her captor: "You won't kill me; Xena won't let you, because in her heart she knows that she will soon love me."
• Borias comments on the adulation pouring out of Akemi: "She worships her teacher."
• Commenting on a love poem Akemi gave to Xena, Gabrielle says: "So beautiful. To have written something like that she must have loved you very much."
  "The truth is, Gabrielle, she broke my heart."
• Akemi, with Xena, writes a poem in the snow: "In a flurry of snow, two breaths become one and disappear into each other."
• Listening to the sounds around her, Xena says to Akemi: "Your heart is beating harder than normal."
  "You're a master of war, yet you know no words to speak of love. And then you go and save my life. There's no greater gift of love a teacher can give a student than that."
• Akemi's last words before Xena beheads her are "Time and love, they go on."
• Xena has Gabrielle put the pinch on her, and as blood trickles out of her nose she says: "Gabrielle, if I only had 30 seconds to live, this is how I'd want to live them; looking into your eyes. Always remember: I love you."

Commentary:

Here we go...the begining of the end. It's hard to find a lot to say about this episode. I love the subtext between Xena and Akemi, especially because when it's over, you realize that Akemi was the one in control the entire time and manipulated Xena to perform what she needed to do. This may be the first time Xena has been the one manipulated (that I can think of.) But because a mojority of the episode takes place in the past, there is not much on Xena and Gabrielle's relationship other than a brilliant and emotional scene between the two of them when Xena finally shows her the pinch and declares her love for her. Everyone is right, there has been very little subtext this season, it has all been maintext. Also, Xena's relationship with Gabrielle in this episode is very "I'm grooming you to be the next me." This leads me to believe that Xena will die in the finale, but that's just a guess.

I also love the nod to the Evil Dead movies with the first person perspective of Yoshido rushing towards the tea house. Thanks guys!

Because of Lucy Lawless' performance, because of the nurturing relationship she suddenly has with Gabrielle, there is this whole quietly sad tone to the episode, which I find wholly appropriate. Maybe it's not even there, maybe it is me projecting onto it, but it is working for me. I am looking forward to next week's episode.

Soul Possession

Soul Possession

Written by Melissa Blake
Directed by Josh Becker

Episode synopsis:

Segment one:

In modern times, a scroll is found in a sea cavern which reveals that Xena was married to Ares.

Segment two:

Revealing the contents of the scroll at a press conference, the Centre for Historical Accuracy of Key Research in Ancient Mythology tells of a period of time in Xena's life after Adventures In The Sin Trade II and A Family Affair. Xena finds Joxer who is still mourning Gabrelle and drags him on a search for Gabrielle, whom she now knows is alive due to a vision from Alti. Ares appears to her and offers information on Gabrielle if Xena will marry him.

Segment three:

Xena roughs up Ares but he insists that he wants to marry her in front of the Fates, an eternally binding contract. Xena, knowing it is her only way of finding Gabrielle alive, eventually agrees.

Segment four:

Joxer throws Ares a bachelor party where he reencounters Meg, who helps him get over his grief and believe that Gabrielle can be found. Xena, at the wedding, declines to marry Ares and instead throws herself into the lava pit where Gabrielle "died."

Segment five:

Ares saves Xena, and admits that he did the same for Gabrielle and Hope. He also tells Xena that in exchange for saving Hope, he owns Gabrielle's soul. He offers to release her soul if he can have Xena's. He'll let the two of them live out their lives, but he will own Xena's soul for all the rest of time, in her future incarnations. Xena agrees to this and signs a scroll, which she then steals from Ares and hides in the ocean. In the present, Ares arrives to reclaim the scroll and therefore Xena's soul. But Xena, Gabrielle, and Joxer are there (in the forms of Harry, Mattie, and Annie Day from the episode "Deja Vu All Over Again") to battle him. Ares is tricked into accidentally blowing up the contract.

Joxer's natural process of elimination was harmed during the making of this motion picture.

Moments Of Subtext:

• Annie tells a couple of hand holding Xena fans that Harry and Mattie got married and they react "Xena and Gabby finally a couple!"
• Harry and Mattie are a very tight couple, and make reference to the joy of their honeymoon.
• Xena explains to Ares why she wants to get married next to the lava pit. "I should be as close as possible to the one person in the world I meant to spend the rest of my life with."
• Mattie approaches Annie, who now has Xena's soul. "Xena, no matter how hard Ares has tried he has never been able to break us up."
• Annie tells Mattie, "You know, I liked you better blonde, but I can go with this."

Commentary:

A cute episode that finally tries to deal with events that happened three years ago. I was pleased to see Joxer for one last time. It also reminded me about how good the show used to be, back when I actually cared about the characters. It is good nostalgia.

Many Happy Returns

Many Happy Returns

Written by Liz Friedman and Vanessa Place
Directed by Mark Beesley

Episode synopsis:

Segment one:

Xena and Gabrielle encounter a goup of religious zealots about to sacrifice a virgin. Xena rescues her using the Helmet Of Hermes and flies her to safety, where J'nia, the virgin, is annoyed because her sacrifice was ruined.

Segment two:

Xena and Gabrielle decide to cure J'nia of her religious zeal by introducing her to a real god, Aphrodite.

Segment three:

The four of them travel to Thebes, and once they arrive there, the Helmet Of Hermes is stolen by a warlord.

Segment four:

J'nia becomes a disciple of Aphrodite, and asks her to make her fall in love. Unfortunately, Aphrodite hooks her up with the warlord's son. Xena, Aphrodite, and Gabrielle rescue her and the Helmet from the warlord's lair by posing as J'nia's parents and a wedding planner. J'nia, however, is recaptued by the zealots along with the Helmet.

Segment five:

The zealots offer the Helmet to the warlord in exchange for his protection. Xena and the warlord fight, until he is defeated and J'nia saved.

Moments Of Subtext:

• Gabrielle pokes Xena's breasts when asking her not to play any practical jokes on her (because it is her birthday.)
• When J'nia mistakes Xena for a god, she wraps herself around her and says "Take thy humble servent, J'nia, to thy bosom."
  "Whoa!" warns Xena, "these are spoken for."
• To prove to J'nia that Xena is not a god, Gabrielle pinches her bottom.
• Xena and Gabrielle engage in some nude frolicking at a local pond.
• Gabrielle squeals and giggles when she believes that an eel in her bed is, in fact, Xena.
• Aphrodite greets Xena and Gabrielle with, "Well, if it isn't my favorite girl group!"
• Gabrielle gets all excited when she finds out they are travelling to Thebes to see Sappho perform.
• For her birthday, Xena gives Gabrielle a poem she had Sappho write for her: "There's a moment when I look at you, and no speech is left in me. My tongue breaks, then fire races under my skin and I tremble and grow pale, for I am dying of such love, or so it seems to me." Both are overwhelmed by the poem and hug.
• Finally, Xena puts on the Helmet and she and Gabrielle fly off together.

Commentary:

Tons of subtext in this episode. Tons. After that ending, one could probably officially declare them "out of the closet," however I think we all know that the next new episode will put them right back into the land of vague looks. This episode is very fun to watch from a subtext viewpoint though.

When Fates Collide

When Fates Collide

Written by Katherine Fugate
Directed by John Fawcett

Episode synopsis:

Segment one:

Caesar has escaped from Hell and chained up the Fates. He alters the tapestry of life so that he did not crucify Xena shortly after meeting her. Reality rearranges itself to accomodate this. Caesar is now still Emperor of Rome, and Xena is his Empress.

Segment two:

Alti is in this reality too. She is the high priestess of Rome. The three of them attend a play put on by Gabrielle, where Xena is overwhelmed by her instant connection with this playwright. Caesar becomes jealous, and Alti uses this opportunity to attack Xena with the idea of becoming the new empress.

Segment three:

Brutus saves Xena and Alti is jailed. Caesar arrests Gabrielle claiming that Alti named her as a co-conspirator. Xena makes her way to Gabrielle's cell where they tenderly share their feelings for each other. Xena agrees to free Alti in exchange for more visions of her future, which reveal the truth that this is not the intended reality. Gabrielle is brought out to be crucified.

Segment four:

Xena stops the crucifixtion by promising to cooperate with Caesar if he spares Gabrielle's life. He agrees and she is set free. He later, however, dispatches Alti to kill her. Xena interrupts that assassination and fights off Alti but roman troops arrive and subdue her.

Segment five:

Xena is crucified by Caesar, who is killed by Alti. Gabrielle, in her grief over losing Xena, goes to the temple of the Fates and finds them chained up and the loom in chaos. She destroys the tapestry, reinstating the proper reality.

Moments Of Subtext:

• Caesar complains about his fate: "I get stabbed in the back by my good friend Brutus while Xena gets to ride off into the sunset with her girlfriend."
• After the play, Xena throws a rose to Gabrielle, and they make eye contact. Each clearly feels a connection to the other.
• Caesar is clearly jealous of the connection Xena and Gabrielle seem to share.
• "Do you really believe that kind of love exists?" asks Xena.
  "It's what we all dream about, isn't it? Someone looks so deeply into our soul that they find something worth dying for." Gabrielle responds. They spend a beat looking into each other's eyes.
• When Xena and Caesar leave the post-play party, Gabrielle watches them leave in slow motion, obviously full of emotion.
• In their bed chamber Xena admits to an interest in Gabrielle, then refuses to sleep with Caesar.
• Xena watches Gabrielle from her balcony across the courtyard.
• Alti confronts Xnea: "I saw the way you looked at her tonight during the play. Wouldn't Caesar give anything to have you look at him that way?"
• "I'm not your empress; I'm your friend" says Xena as she gets Gabrielle off of the cross.
• "Xena, when I thought I was going to die, it all became so clear. My life is empty despite my success. I write about love but I've never felt it before." Gabrielle confesses to Xena before leaving Rome.
  "Rome is not safe for you. Leave now."
  "I will never forget you."
• "Xena, when I'm with you, this emptiness that I've felt my entire life is gone," Gabrielle tells Xena.
• "I can't let you die," Gabrielle tells Xena.
  "Some things are worth dying for; isn't that what your play was about? Being prepared to sacrifice all for love?"
  "For love."
• "I'll love you forever" Xena tells Gabrielle.
• Gabrielle confronts the Fates in her grief: "Your loom destroyed what was meant to be," she says before destoying reality.
• "I love you Gabrielle," says Xena as she is crucified.

Commentary:

Wow.

Wow.

A good episode, and it's is all about maintext! This episode is purely here to show that Xena and Gabrielle are meant to be, that their love crosses realities, and that nothing can stand in its way. Nearly every scene of this episode is there to talk about the love felt between these two characters. It is also an interesting episode because it steps into another reality, and it is always interesting to play "What might have been."

This episode also has what I think is on of the best endings I have seen in a Xena episode. You come back from commercial to find Xena being crucified, Alti stabbing Caesar while having sex with him, Gabrielle confronting the Fates in comfortless grief as she decides to destroy reality rather than live without Xena. Very powerful stuff.

Highly recommended.

Last of the Centaurs

Last Of The Centaurs

Written by Joel Metzger
Directed by Garth Maxwell

Episode synopsis:

Segment one:

Three centaurs are ambushed by warriors and two of them are slain. Ephiny appears to Gabrielle and warns her that Xenan, her son, is in danger. Xena and Gabrielle find out that Lord Bellach has placed a bounty on the centaur's head.

Segment two:

Xena and Gabrielle pose as assassins to question Bellach on this bounty. They find him to be the spitting image of Xena's lover Barias. Bellach explains that he is doing this because the centaur has kidnapped his daughter, Nicha. Ephiny leads Xena and Gabrielle to Xenan only to find that Nicha has not been kidnapped; she has eloped.

Segment three:

Xena reveals to Gabrielle that Bellach is indeed the son of Barias and Natasha, from whom Xena seduced Barias. Xena and the others find the centaurs' secret town, which has been razed and all the centaurs killed. Xena confronts Bellach with the truth, that his daughter is pregnant and he has committed genocide against her husband's people, people that Barias honored. Bellach proves he is beyond reason though, and Xena kidnaps him.

Segment four:

Xena shows Bellach the pit of centaurs and leaves him to confront his own guilt. Nicha goes into labor as Xenan leads Bellach's men away from her. Xena deleivers the baby just as Bellach and his troops arrive to exchange the now captured Xenan for Nicha.

Segment five:

Xena fights off Bellach's men until Nicha emerges from the hut with her son, asking for peace. Xena reveals to Bellach what an honorable man his father was, and how far he has strayed from that ideal. Bellach makes peace with his daughter and his new son in law.

The Centaur population was severely harmed during the making of this motion picture.

Moments Of Subtext:

• Ephiny appears to Gabrielle with the words, "Gabrielle-- as beautiful as ever."
• Gabrielle seems really upset after Ephiny leaves.

Commentary:

Another mediocre episode. The plot is weak, the characters one dimensional (not even two dimensional!) Bellach is one of the worst characters to come along in Xena, which is a waste for such a good actor. He is immune to logic or any sort of common sense, he commits genocide for the flimsiest of reasons, and then changes his mind and decides, Whoops! He was wrong the whole time. "Sorry about wiping out your species, son." "Gee, that's okay now that you've forgiven us, dad." Which of course does not say much for Xenan, who takes all of this in stride. And Nicha, too, who is comfortable having a mass murderer for a father.

Another example of how stupid the producers of this show think we fans are, is when Bellach reacts to something Xena says, something he has heard in the past, and they flashback to a scene we viewers saw about ten minutes ago. This is either poor writing, poor directing, poor editing, or some combination of the three. What an amazing way to underestimate your audience.

And speaking of bad writing, what is with Gabrielle constantly coaxing Xena into killing Bellach? Did Gabrielle have a bowl full of evil for breakfast? Has she temporarily forgotten her personality of the last six years? Or, more probably, do the makers of this show think that we are total idiots?

Send in the Clones

Send In The Clones

Written by Paul Robert Coyle
Directed by Charlie Haskell

Episode synopsis:

Segment one:

In the present a mysterious woman (who looks an awful lot like Alti) exchanges cash for Xena's now 2000 year old chakram and two hair samples. Three Xena fans are summoned to her laboratory where she reveals she has cloned Xena and Gabrielle.

Segment two:

The Xena fans provide compilations of clips from the television show that are meant to resurface the dormant memories in the clones. After they leave for the day a mysterious person enters the lab and loads clips of evil Xena which the Xena clone starts to respond to.

Segment three:

More montages are shown to the clones, finally awakening the Xena clone who puts the pinch on one of the Xena fans.

Segment four:

After Gabrielle wakes up and the situation is explained to them, Xena and Gabrielle begin to adjust to the present and watch reruns of the show based on their lives. The scientist leads Gabrielle outside where she is promptly arrested by the local police for "breaking and entering." Xena takes off to rescue her and the scientist who looks just like Alti reveals that she is, in fact...Alti!

Segment five:

Alti has brought Xena to life so that she could revert her to her evil ways and ruin Xena's new found reputation in the modern world. Confronting the evil Xena in a junkyard, Alti almost converts her to her own cause, but Gabrielle awakens Xena's good side. Alti is defeated in a fight, and the clones appear to die in the ensuing explosion.

No Xena fans were harmed during the making of this motion picture.

Moments Of Subtext:

• Commenting on a montage made by the subtext friendly fan, one of the others says "You'd think all they did was sit around in baths and campfires emoting."
  "I included other things, but I feel very strongly that Gabrielle is the most important relationship in Xena's life."
  "If you start talking about subtext, I'm gonna barf!"
• The horny male fan wants to take advantage of the unconscious clones: "We need a more hands on approach. What about a bit of cardiac massage?" To which the subtext friendly fan responds "He could be right. Or mouth to mouth..." as she gazes at Gabrielle.
• Once again, the subtext friendly fan gets caught up in the moment: "Think about the fun they had together; the baths they shared." "If you're talking about their 'special relationship'" responds the male fan, "I'm into that! Just let me watch."
• A long subtext montage is shown to the clones to attempt to counteract the evil Xena clips shown.
• After the clones awake, the subtext friendly fan thinks to herself, "I know... after lights out I'll play them a full season of Ellen episodes!"
• When the clones watch a scene of Xena and Gabrielle kissing, Gabrielle looks uncomfortable while Xena looks pleased and satisfied.
• Xena reacts to Lucy Lawless' portayal of her: "I like the one that plays me. She's kinda sexy."
• Puzzled after watching several full episodes, Gabrielle asks "What are they trying to say about our relationship anyway?"
  "Who knows," responds Xena.
• When "Alti" puts her arm around Gabrielle, she reacts rather strongly, if uncertainly, to it.
• The subtext fan reacts to a discussion of Gabrielle: "She's plenty more than just a sidekick!"
• Xena is brought back to the side of good by Gabrielle's stirring of her memories which sparks another subtext montage.
• When Xena and Gabrielle are seen driving off in a taxi at the end of the episode, Xena has her arm around Gabrielle and they are clinking a couple of champagne glasses together.

Commentary:

Another over-the-top episode that is based on a cute idea but is just so exaggerated and in-your-face with its slapstickish jokes that it makes it difficult to enjoy. Nobody enjoys a good poke at obsessive compulsive fans like me, but the charicatures in this episode are so two-dimensional and over done that they lack any interest for me. The plot is weak at best. Alti has brought Xena to life to ruin her reputation? How many times has Xena defeated Alti? Has Alti become the stupidest person in history during her journey through time?

Several other things caught my eye in this episode: As Alti holds up Xena's chakram in the begining, while it is touching nothing but air and her hand, it makes a metal-chinging-on-metal noise. When she hands an envelope of cash to her lackey, he starts to flip through it and she says "It's all there." He stops. I think this line has made it into every movie since 1920. I could be wrong. I loved that the evil Xena montage showed to the clone was on a disk which was clearly marked in big, bright letters, "Evil Xena" and also had some sort of "Evil Xena" screen saver on it. I like Star Trek just fine. I also am amused by the jab at the end of the episode against Star Trek fans. But any simpleton knows that Doctor Spock has nothing to do with Star Trek and was an author of books on rearing children. It's Mister Spock, people.