The Abyss

The Abyss

Written by James Kahn
Directed by Rick Jacobson

Episode synopsis:

Segment one:

Virgil and his companion flee through the forest from a tribe of warriors. The warriors capture and drag Virgil's friend back to their village. Xena and Gabrielle arrive at Virgil's campsite only to find it deserted, with blood everywhere. Virgil creeps up to the tribe's village only to see them cooking his friend.

Segment two:

Virgil, running away from the village, sets off an alarm and is quickly captured but the cannibals. Xena and Gabrielle are also attacked as they search downstream for Virgil. Gabrielle hesitates long enough to get stabbed and thrown in the river. Xena dives in after her, but Gabrielle's foot gets caught on a branch and she is dragged under.

Segment three:

Xena finds Gabrielle and drags her to a nearby cave. Gabrielle recovers, and Xena pries a piece of sword out of her side. As Xena cares for her, Gabrielle grows feverish and hallucinates back to when Xena was hunting her and Hope. When her fever breaks, Xena lashes her to her back and climbs the cliff in the rain. She tells Gabrielle to not be afraid, she will come for her, and then calls out to the cannibals and hides. The cannibals arrive and take Gabrielle back to their village.

Segment four:

While Gabrielle is treated by the cannibals for her wound, Xena scouts out the village in a uniform and mask she stole from two sentries she defeated. She spends the next day building a dam. Gabrielle, meanwhile, heals and is taken into the village, tied up, and covered with mud (and possibly herbs and spices.)

Segment five:

Xena arrives and fights off the whole village while the others make their escape. Xena leads the tribe to the dry side of the dam that she has constructed. Gabrielle eventually cuts the vine holding the dam together, and all the cannibals are killed as Xena jumps to safety.

Disclaimer: Virgil's appetite was suppressed during the making of this motion picture.

Moments Of Subtext:

• Gabrielle is still wracked with guilt for killing an innocent from the previous episode: "Xena, if I had listened to my heart do you think that boy would still be alive?"
  "You did listen to your heart. You thought he was going to kill me. Your heart said to protect me."
• Xena kisses Gabrielle's hand as Gabrielle halucinates about Hope, saying "I love you. I would never hurt you; you know that, don't you?"
• Gabrielle confesses to Xena, "Xena, I have a last request."
  "I don't want to hear it."
  "Not, I'm serious. You don't want to know?"
  "What is it then?"
  "I don't want to be buried with the amazons."
  "Alright. Well, in fifty years when the time comes..."
  "Xena, I want to lie with you, with your family in Amphipolis."
  "What about your family?"
  "I love them, but I'm a part of you. I want it to be like that forever."
• During the above speech, Xena caresses Gabrielle's face and they hold hands. Xena kisses the top of Gabrielle's head.
• Soon afterwards Gabrielle says "Any path is okay, Xena, as long as it's with you."
• When Gabrielle is captured by the cannibals, Virgils promises her that he will rescue them. Gabrielle merely says "Be ready when Xena comes." Her faith is with Xena, not any man.*

Commentary:

My goodness the subtext is out of control in this episode! The moments between Xena and Gabrielle in the cave are as intimate as it gets. Never have I felt this happy about the direction of their relationship. Here it is barely subtext, it is maintext! I just hope that this loving continues through the rest of the season. This looks to be the best subtext season ever!

I was a little disappointed to see that Gabrielle and her staff have not had a permanent reunion. She is back to her sai in this episode. She also comes to terms with the mistakes she has made and confirms that her path is with Xena and always will be. I can handle that with episodes like this.

The cannibals make really good villains in this episode as they are totally nasty looking and as vicious as they come. They make the Horde seem like little girls. But I have to admit that when the episode began and I saw all these people running around with pig heads, I thought that they had finally made a great looking monster. But then they just turned out to be masks. And these guys need some better fighting skills. Biting people during combat? That seems a little too close contact to be effective. Are their appetites really that out of control, or were they just trying to freak out their prey? Now, I don't know squat about being in a real fight, but I think I would not want my head that close to my enemy.

Some other odd things in this episode: Virgil goes crashing through the trees, panicking after seeing that the cannibals have cooked his chum. He trips over a wire, startling a bird which attracts the attention of the cannibals. Now, how did they heard the bird call but completely miss him knocking over trees while stumbling away? Must be selective hearing. When Xena brings Gabrielle's drowned body into the cave, I keep hearing wolf howls in the background. It seems to me to be an odd sound effect choice for a watery cave. And how does Xena revive Gabrielle from drowing? (Glad you asked!) She pats her face, and Gabrielle rouses herself, spitting up all the water she inhaled! Who would have thought it would be so easy?! Our heroines have become so adapted to dying that they are immune to it! And somebody tell Joseph LoDuca to calm down with the music while Xena is building her dam. Sounds like the Olympics or perhaps Braveheart is going on somewhere just off camera!

*Thanks Raquel!