Monday, December 8, 2014

A Fistful of Dinars

Gabrielle and Xena's former fiancee are engaged in a bragging match, in which the fiancee declares that he got Xena to agree to marry him. Gabrielle gives an ambiguous smile, could be a smile of defeat, or a knowing smile, of what she could say. Xena later confronts her fiancee over his flirting with Gabrielle. "Don't mess with my friend." "What makes you think I have?" "I've seen your line of seduction before, remember? Your giving her all the same looks you used on me. It's very familiar territory." "If you didn't have your fingers pressed against my life at the moment, I'd say you were jealous. Are you?" "You hurt my friend and I will rip your throat out." It could be inferred that Xena is jealous over Gabrielle.
AlBi points out: Gabrielle bursts into a clearing where Petracles is chopping firewood, making a lame excuse to talk to him. The first thing she says to him, in a jealous tone, is "I wanna know what happened between you and Xena". Later on, an unusual insight into Xena's protectiveness of Gabrielle emerges - Gabrielle: She warns me about you. Petracles: She's right to warn you (in light of the fact that Petracles later makes a play for Gabrielle, he is confirming Xena's suspicions of him as competition for Gabrielle's heart). Further into the conversation we learn about Gabrielle's depth of feeling for Xena - Petracles: I asked her to marry me because I thought that was the best way to conquer her. Gabrielle: (snorts) I bet you had a surprise coming. Petracles: No Gabrielle, it worked (Gabrielle looks shocked). She was mine (Gabrielle looks crestfallen). At the end of this conversation, Gabrielle runs back to the camp fire, where Xena is sharpening her sword. When Gabrielle sees Xena she stops running, and looks incredibly guilty. When Petracles enters the camp site soon after, Xena looks deeply upset..
And Ignacio points out: When they’re walking, Xena warns Gabrielle about Petrakles, her former fiancee, and Gabrielle answers: “You can trust in me. I’m not a kid already”. Xena stops walking, like surprised, and lets Gabrielle walk before her. At first she doesn’t answer, but seems like she’s thinking a lot about what Gabrielle said. After some intense seconds, watching Gabrielle walk before, she says smiling to the air: “I know”. After kissing Petrakles, Gabrielle runs away from him to Xena. She seems really ashamed, lowering her eyes, and when Petrakles walks on by, she looks at Xena with a really guilty expression. It could be because Xena warned her, but nothing dangerous happened. That’s why I think the correct interpretation is that Gabrielle feels she treasoned Xena’s love.

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