From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   5.3 Succession   
      
   First air date was Oct 11, 1999.   
      
   The story starts out with Ares and Mavican coming out from under sheets   
   where they have been having sex. Mavican expects to be the one to give him   
   an heir. He says no, she was just a good time. She knows it's Xena he wants   
   and wants to know how she got the job. He says she never asked for it.   
      
   Cut to an off camera fight between Xena and five bad guys, they all go   
   flying while Gabrielle is begging Xena to let her help. Next Gabrielle is   
   taking two water skins to fill at a fountain and complaining to herself   
   about Xena. Ares appears and sympathizes with her.   
      
   Ares compliments her on her use of the sais. He disappears and suddenly two   
   knives fly through the air and cut holes in the water skins. Mavican tells   
   her she's looking for Xena to kill and wants to start with Gabrielle.   
      
   Mavican throws a spear at Gabrielle and Xena intercepts and breaks it in   
   two. Mavican throws a lot of knives or throwing disks at Xena but she   
   deflects them. Then Xena throws her new Chakram. It splits and ricochets off   
   everything while Mavican ducks, dodges and dances away from them. They draw   
   swords and begin fighting. Ares appears and throws a god-orb and they are   
   thrown backward. He doesn't want them fighting in the temple of Demeter.   
   Mavican throws her sword at Xena but Gabrielle diverts it with one of her   
   sais. Mavican tells them she wants to be Xena's successor.   
      
   Ares opens a vortex portal and says if they want to fight, it will be where   
   they can do no harm. Mavican jumps through. Xena refuses, but the portal   
   gets stronger and sucks her and Gabrielle through. Gabrielle lands in a dark   
   room with a light coming down through the roof. Xena and Mavican are in the   
   woods somewhere. Xena discovers that she and Mavican have no weapons. They   
   fight until Xena knocks Mavican down into a ravine or down a steep hill.   
      
   The sun sets and now Gabrielle is in the woods and Xena is in the room.   
   There is a vision portal so Xena can watch Gabrielle. Gabrielle comes up to   
   a campfire but isn't sure whose it is. She does something to a vine, then   
   lets it out as she goes into the camp. Mavican jumps down from the trees.   
   Gabrielle jerks on the vine and a small log tied to it trips Mavican. But in   
   the end Mavican knocks Gabrielle out. When she wakes up she's in a sapling   
   cage hanging from a tree limb. Mavican tells her her destiny is to beat   
   Xena.   
      
   The sun rises and Gabrielle turns into Xena. Mavican throws sharpened sticks   
   at Xena. One goes into Xena's belly. Mavican gets close but it's a trick and   
   Xena knocks her around. The cage falls to the ground. Xena tips it over onto   
   Mavican and gets out, but Mavican has escaped.   
      
   Ares appears to Xena in the woods. He tells her Gabrielle can't see Xena   
   when she's in the room. Xena realizes Ares is testing Gabrielle and not   
   Mavican to be Xena's successor. Xena tells him she'll never follow him, but   
   he says he hasn't heard his offer. He questions if Xena really knows her   
   anymore.   
      
   Xena sets some traps for Mavican including using thorned vines. Just as Xena   
   ties her up, the sun sets and Gabrielle is back. Mavican knocks her back   
   down and unties herself.  Gabrielle sees a staff leaning against a tree. She   
   goes for it and it releases a log on a rope that hits Mavican in the belly   
   and knocks her down. She throws a piece of flint rock and hits Gabrielle in   
   the shoulder, Gabrielle runs off.   
      
   Gabrielle finds a cave and at the back if it is a very very deep pit with   
   vines hanging down it. She builds a fire and waits. She finds a note written   
   on bark tied to the staff. It's from Xena. It says she can't kill Mavican   
   because Ares wants her to.   
      
   Ares appears to Gabrielle in the cave and wants her to hear him out. He says   
   Xena is too set in her ways. And he wants Gabrielle. She asks what will   
   happen to Xena. He says she'll go home to her mother knowing someone she   
   trusts is in control. He gives her one of her sais and tells her not to take   
   too long , and when she kills  Mavican he'll know she's ready.   
      
   Mavican comes into the cave and they fight. Gabrielle gets the chance to   
   kill her but doesn’t. She throws the sai away. The sun comes into the cave   
   and Xena appears. Mavican gets the sai and they fight. Xena leaps up to some   
   vines, jerks on them and the cave entrance is blocked by boulders. Xena and   
   Mavican  end up hanging from one of the vines over the bottomless pit.   
   Mavican yells for Ares' help. He makes the portal appear and Xena (and   
   Gabrielle) are sucked back to the temple. He leaves Mavican hanging.   
      
   He appears back at the temple and tells Xena she won. Xena say she and   
   Gabrielle won. He says she gave her the opportunity for greatness and Xena   
   says following him isn't an opportunity, it's a curse.   
      
   Xena promises Gabrielle she will see her as she really is even though it's   
   hard for her to face. And she says the next seven little bad guys they come   
   across, Gabrielle can fight.   
      
   ………………   
      
   Another Xena wannabe. And like the others, she's pretty tough. But I guess   
   (Jenya Lano) Mavican's main claim to fame is her massive cleavage.   
      
   No Wonderbra for her!   
      
   Ares was back to his old smarmy, self-serving, manipulative ways. It was   
   good to see him again.   
      
   A few comments –   
      
   If I had been Gabrielle trapped in the spotlight room, I think I would have   
   been looking for a door or window instead of just squatting down to wait.   
      
   Not sure if I really like Xena's new maternity warrior outfit. Give me a few   
   more eps to make a decision. I do like Gabrielle's, although the loincloth   
   panel hanging down in front looks kind of funny.   
      
   I thought it was odd that so soon after abandoning the Way of Love Gabrielle   
   wanted to kick some butt, and even complaining about Xena not letting her.   
   In for a penny, in for a dollar, I guess.   
      
   I never quite understood the conditions of the contest. If Mavican kills   
   Xena, she's the new successor/heir. But if Xena kills Mavican, she stays in   
   the other dimension (presumably separated from Gabrielle) forever? Or was it   
   that Xena couldn't kill her because she wouldn't die, and only Gabrielle   
   could kill her dead?   
      
   No need to ask how Mavican was able to cut down all those saplings and build   
   a cage out of them in such a short time   
      
   I did like the part that Ares said anyone could ask for his help, but that   
   Xena remembered that he once told her that if anyone asked for his help,   
   they didn't deserve it.   
      
   (So I wonder, did Mavican fall into the pit, or did she manage to get back   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)