From: davideml@bellsouth.net   
      
   "Lilah Morgan"  wrote in message   
   news:ZBhWh.7011$3P3.4365@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...   
   > This was a very intense episode, no doubt about it. Gabrielle's denying   
   > scream when she not only just realizes she killed someone, but was set up to   
   > do that from moment one, that's a sound that'll stay with you(much as Xena's   
   > screams later on in Maternal Instinct...btw, Ephiny in MI says to Gabrielle   
   > "Word was Xena helped Boadicea defeat Caesar", so at least we know how it   
   > turned out). And I agree that putting all the blame on Xena for what   
   > Gabrielle went through is a bit harsh. I agree that Khrastafar when he saw   
   > Xena, he knew right away to mention Caesar. I'm guessing Dahak talked to him   
   > the way Najara's dijin talked to her. There was no stopping her from going   
   > to Britannia to bring him down after that. But as already mentioned, no one   
   > forced Gabrielle to go. Granted Xena is more intent on bringing down Caesar   
   > than anything else, EXCEPT the both times Gabrielle is in danger, first with   
   > the crucifixion setup, and then at the temple. As soon as she realizes   
   > Gabrielle is in trouble, Caesar matters as much as a cockroach to her. She   
   > goes straight to save/protect Gabrielle, and everything else is forgotten.   
   > Yeah she didn't pay too much attention to Khrafastar spouting his fake peace   
   > and love crap 'bout his God to Gabrielle, but we know Xena's not into   
   > 'religion', so that's not surprising. He was playing both Gabrielle and Xena   
   > from moment one, knowing exactly what to say to get Xena/Gabrielle where he   
   > wants them. Xena thinks the 'One God' is the Israelite God, and given how   
   > the Israelites once took her in when she was injured in her warlord days,   
   > knowing what kind of person she was then, Khrafastar's thing 'bout not   
   > killing the warlord even though it was in battle and crap, would fit in with   
   > the good people she knew the Israelites to be. Plus there's the whole 'the   
   > enemy of my enemy is my friend' thing that Joxer mentioned in Been There   
   > Done That. Caesar is Xena's enemy. Khrafstar's cult is Caesar's enemy.   
   > Therefore Xena was bound not to have any reason to distrust him. Another   
   > reason Xena didn't think the cult was an issue is because of Ares. She knows   
   > to pretty much automatically distrust him. So him wanting the temple   
   > destroyed and saying the God is evil...well, as the Rate-A-Xena commentary   
   > for this ep mentioned about that, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" is something Ares   
   > might have wanted to read. Xena knew Ares was trying to manipulate her into   
   > destroying the temple/cult, so again, another reason she wouldn't believe   
   > there's a problem. That's her only responsibility for what Gabrielle went   
   > through. For not believing Ares when he told her the truth, but again, she   
   > really had no reason to trust him. If Xena had known the truth, she most   
   > likely would have blown up the temple and dealt with Caesar. And on to   
   > Gabrielle...boy did she get the short end of the stick in this episode.   
   > Almost crucified, betrayed into killing which went against all her beliefs,   
   > and knocked up with demon spawn on top of it. Some people complained about   
   > having her 'raped' was a horrible way to go, it made the show mundane, blah   
   > blah blah. I didn't have a problem with it. I didn't even see it as 'rape'   
   > in the normal sense. It was a fiery God mystically impregnating her, which   
   > was anything but mundane. And the 'rape' was pretty much ignored in the wake   
   > of Gabrielle's first kill and demon spawn Hope. Those were the important   
   > issues. Not to mention Gabrielle's trust in the goodness of people   
   > being...forget being battered, it was put through a grinder, tossed on the   
   > floor, and stomped on a few dozen times. She's got some serious   
   > soul-searching to do now. Let's hope she can remember that yes she did kill   
   > someone, but she was setup/tricked into it, and it was a self-defense   
   > reflex.   
   >   
           Pretty good analysis.  In a pretty huge nutshell.   
      
       I remember reading about the 'rape' of Gabrielle by Dahak when the ep   
   first aired, and I didn't   
   think of it that way either.  I suppose if this had been some R rated gore   
   fest you see in the   
   movies nowadays, there would have been some serious sexual violations going   
   on, but the way it was   
   done in The Deliverer, like you said, it was a mystical impregnation (other   
   than by a hellgod over   
   an altar of fire, is it so different than the mysterious impregnation of Xena   
   by Angel/Callisto? Is   
   it something Xena would have welcomed had she known about it beforehand?).   
      
           And I get the feeling that no matter what the argument, Gab will   
   always feel there might   
   have been something else she could have, SHOULD have done, other than take a   
   life. I don't think   
   she will ever feel it was anything but HER decision, even in the heat of the   
   moment.   
      
           I feel that her lying about Hope not really being dead will have more   
   serious consequences   
   than anything Gab may do as a result of killing Meridian.   
      
       I just LOVE this show!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!   
        : - D   
      
   --   
   David   
   http://geocities.com/daviderl31/xena.htm   
   http://geocities.com/daviderl31/GabPics.htm   
      
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