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.