From: davideml@bellsouth.net   
      
   "Lilah Morgan"  wrote in message   
   news:Z3p6i.19714$3P3.17160@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...   
   > Ok first things first...even though this was a great episode, it was trippy   
   > as hell...I kept/keep wondering what the writers/PTB were smoking.   
   >   
   > Now onto the ep itself...the acting in this episode excelled Maternal   
   > Instincts quite a bit. Very subtle acting by Lucy. Even though she's   
   > determined to wreak vengeance on Gabrielle, you can tell she's not in full   
   > hate mode, and that she still loves her, she's just grieving and feeling   
   > betrayed by her. Her raged expression breaks a few times just for a split   
   > second, once when Ephiny says her name with some compassion knowing Xena   
   > lost her son, but also as a warning to calm her down(of course Xena doesn't   
   > appreciate it, in a way it's like Willow attacking Xander when he keeps   
   > telling he loves her in the S6 finale, she doesn't want to be loved because   
   > she can't handle it at the moment because caring means pain).   
   >   
   > The other times are just after the Gab-drag when Xena dismounts and she   
   > looks at the beaten/bloody unconscious body of Gabrielle, and her expression   
   > is momentarily concerned for Gabrielle(side note, Xena didn't use Argo for   
   > this, and I'm guessing the reason is Argo wouldn't have let Xena do that to   
   > Gabrielle, and also because of what that would do to Xena herself when as   
   > Illusia Callisto mentioned, killing Gabrielle doesn't do anything but hurt   
   > Xena more), and then when Illusia Callisto shows Xena an image of Gabrielle   
   > looking all angelic, the way Xena says her name, you can tell she still   
   > loves her.   
   >   
   > And when Gabrielle knocks them off the cliff which sends them to Illusia, I   
   > always had a thought in my head that if Gabrielle had just walked away after   
   > she kicked Xena in the head, Xena might have just let her go. Kinda like in   
   > The Debt 2 ending where Ming T'ien seals his fate by mouthing off 'bout   
   > killing Lao Ma when Xena was all set to walk away. Though it was Gabrielle   
   > who didn't just walk away here...she tells Xena she hates her then tackles   
   > her off the cliff. That was brilliant. Then we get the intro to Illusia.   
   >   
   > I guess not much scares Xena anymore, but Illusia's introduction with   
   > Callisto acting all cheery even though she's saying nasty stuff   
   > occassionally, and all the talking animals and other weird effects, I would   
   > have just started screaming or something. Oh well. It was still cool...when   
   > Callisto's inside the wheel of fate, her line "Follow your fate" just made   
   > me think of Ursula's intro song to Ariel in Disney's Little Mermaid. I know   
   > there is a bunch of Tarot stuff in this ep, but I don't know much about   
   > Tarot right now(hope to fix that though), but what was the meaning of the   
   > lion and bull and eagle and snake? And Callisto's line 'bout 'lies may be   
   > truth and truth may be lies' cuts right to the heart of the matter, since   
   > betrayal is what started the 'rift'. And as mentioned, when Callisto shows   
   > her the picture of Gabrielle, the way Xena says her name just...there's so   
   > much love and pain mixed together. So there is hope(bad pun, sorry) that   
   > Xena can forgive her. She   
   >   
   > Gabrielle's intro to Illusia...I really wish they wouldn't have had Joxer be   
   > 'silly' for his song, because this is not really him. His giggling and   
   > tripping over things and such when they have him be somewhat sauve as well   
   > was just annoying.   
      
           Since this IS Illusia, I wonder just how much of it is from Xena's and   
   Gabrielle's mind? It   
   seems like Gabrielle always looks as Joxer as a clumsy oaf.   
      
   > They have Callisto not being violent at all, why can't   
   > they have Joxer not be clumsy? The guides make perfect sense though,   
   > Callisto for Xena as a reminder of the price of her warlord days as well as   
   > how vengeance fails, and Joxer for Gabrielle since he's still 'pure' in that   
   > he's not a warrior at all, he's never killed anyone, etc. He's kind of a   
   > reminder of what Gabrielle wishes she could go back to. And I don't like her   
   > being mean to him...her "So much for the Elysian Fields theory" line when   
   > she realizes Joxer is there pisses me off. First off, Joxer may not have any   
   > aptitude towards being a warrior, but he's done some very heroic things. He   
   > charged into Callisto's lair to rescue X/G in Return of Callisto, tried to   
   > protect Argo from Callisto(even though they had switched bodies and it was   
   > Xena, not Callisto, but Joxer didn't know that), and just tried to protect   
   > Gabrielle from a crazed Xena. Granted in each case it was like a lamb to the   
   > slaughter pretty much, but the thing is, Joxer KNEW that, but still wanted   
   > to save his friends. So Gabrielle, get a clue and give Joxer some respect.   
   > He's always been there when it comes down to it. Xena treats him better than   
   > you do. Back to Gabrielle's intro to Illusia...her thoughts that this is the   
   > Elysian Fields and saying only heroes wind up here and her confusion about   
   > being there, proves she's not feeling that good about herself right now,   
   > thanks to all the events of the last few months having caught up to her in a   
   > most horrible way. And her not wanting Joxer to see her naked, were the 3   
   > naked dancing clones of her in Quill is Mightier not anatomically correct?   
   >   
   > And now we have Ares' intro, and what an intro it is. He doesn't hesitate   
   > for one moment to let Xena know that he wants her back in the worst way.   
   > Talking about being hard up...for the record, Xena gets to get nekked twice   
   > in this ep, Gabrielle only once. Sorry bard, guess you got your nekked quota   
   > fill in Quill is Mightier. Interesting note, for her 'warrior' outfit that   
   > Ares has for her, it's kinda like her one from the days with Borias. The   
   > hair is even similar. I felt the song was kind of annoying...not Ares' part   
   > though, just some of the thugs' lines. Saying Xena's looks(as in glares and   
   > such, not her appeal) can curdle milk...that's classy...blech. Though it was   
   > interesting to have them sing that Xena's back where friends are true. Um,   
   > what friends? She really didn't have any friends in her warlord days.   
   >   
       Maybe they were comparing themselves to The Betrayer -- Gabrielle.   
      
      
   > Gabrielle in the Illusian version of Potedaia...a typical version of how   
   > Utopia is a fallacy, because it's not as good at it seems. They don't   
   > hesitate to say that Xena destroyed Gabrielle and she needs to kill her as a   
   > mercy thing. All while talking about how peaceful and BORING village life   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)