Lost Mariner

Why did I like this episode? There wasn't much action, the plot didn't even travel all that far. But with the help of fine performances and pretty ships (I'm a land-lubber who's a sucker for the high seas) this was a great popcorn-chewing episode; the brain could putter along in low gear while the enjoyment settled in. I had quite a fun time.

I didn't notice this nearly as much with either Destiny or Ulysses, but this time, all the photography on the ship *really* showed the rolling of the waves; those sets were pitching to and fro so much I kept wanting to grab my Pepsi can to keep it from falling off the end table. They should put a warning label on this episode to tell people with severe motion sickness to take their dramamine before watching. The actors were all clutching table edges in nearly every scene as they tried their darndest to look seaworthy (except for Renee, of course - she didn't have to pretend for a second that she had sea legs).

Speaking of our bard, Gab sets the bar high right off the bat with the line of the episode, "So unless you want a quick and colorful deck-washing..." The puppy love she endures from Altrech and the squid-eating are great running jokes. ("Whoops, we got serious for a whole three pages, here. Quick, let's put Gabrielle on a crate with a tentacle hanging out of her mouth!")

Cecrops was a great character, and the actor was fantastic. That guy had panache. The show dove back into the deep end of the talent pool after wading around with Ulysses. Anyone notice that Cecrops was big enough to make even Xena look short? Fantastic voice he had, too. It was good to see Xena and Gab run into an immortal that they can actually get along with; maybe we'll see the Found Mariner pop up again sometime.

Many folks brought up how easy Poseidon let Ulysses off in his episode. Now, that tidal wave that hit Cecrops: now *there's* Poseidon showing his muscle. After these past two out of three episodes, I think Gab will be perfectly justified in threatening Xena with a staff-bashing if they set foot anywhere near a shore again. Two shipwrecks, one tidal wave, one whirlpool... this all adds up to "I'll take my water fresh, thank you very much."

About this challenge that Poseidon set up for Cecrops. He had to sail until love redeems him - more specifically, as it turns out, his love for others redeems him. And this made sense for the most part: any time Cecrops spoke of it, he assumed someone had to fall in love with him (although Hidsim's sacrificial love should have tipped him off that he was on the wrong rabbit trail, there). He wasn't bothering to show any affection or love for anyone around him - he'd just be watching them age and die, anyway.

What about his love for his woman on the shore (I'm not even going to *try* to spell that)? We're not given any doubts that it was incredibly sincere. It would seem that, even more specifically, he had to redeem himself by showing love for his shipmates.

That would also offer an explanation for the problem I had when Poseidon offered that Cecrops kill off Xena to end his curse. Poseidon seemed to have put himself into a no-win situation; if Cecrops pitched Xena into Charybdis, the curse would be ended. If he didn't, and showed enough love to sacrifice his own good for Xena's, he would be showing love and would be redeemed. Maybe this was more obvious to everyone else and I was just missing it, but I think the conditions of the curse were a deal more narrow than were actually talked about in the show; Cecrops had to love his shipmates enough to sacrifice himself to end the curse.

Two minor plot threads that got left hanging: WHAT was up with the statue head that was supposed to come to life and speak during full moons? Cecrops and Gabrielle talked about it, a shot of the sea showed a nice, beautiful full moon - I was waiting for that darned head to pop up any moment, but it never showed. The oft-mentioned treasures of Poseidon were also swallowed up without a second thought, except for the emerald. Go figure; I guess the writer had a few more ideas than 40 minutes of air time let him explore.

INNNNteresting idea someone proposed about Hidsim being Gabrielle's real father. It hadn't occured to me, but it's always a possibility (especially in the Xenaverse!). Gab's parents were conspiciously absent in The Prodigal and, unlike her sister, have never figured heavily in her background. The writers definitely left themselves with a nice, big door they can walk through any time, when Cecrops returns to Xena and Gabrielle to announce that he's found the daughter at last - and that it's Gab. The only reason to do this would be if some matter from Hidsim's past was now going to need Gabrielle's attention... like I said, a nice, big, open door for the writers.

The producers keep out-doing themselves with over-the-top, ridiculously funny effects. Xena making a football-field-sized horiztonal leap to get to the ship - no arc whatsoever in that jump - was to die for. I laughed so hard I almost missed the joyous reunion of Xena and Gab. That scene - and Gabrielle suddenly remembering how seasick she was ("I'm seasick... come to think of it, I'm *really* seasick") to collapse against Xena - really pegged the subtext meter. Any way you want to slice it, Cecrops had zip chance of taking off with Gab without Xena. And then Poseidon tries to do the same bloody thing and tells Xena to walk without Gab; at least Cecrops didn't know any better. Poseidon's a god, he shoulda known to give his offer to both without wasting any time. Silly water god.

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