Paradise Found

WOW. OK, this was trippy and had some problems, but... wow.

Important question #1 resolved: the BGSB survived its mistreatment in If The Shoe Fits! Like the whip from Day in the Life, replacements are apparently readily available in local markets.

I really liked this episode, and how it handled its plot. But jeeeee-miney, haven't we been through this territory before? How many times is Gabrielle going to follow whole-heartedly some spiritual guru who peeves Xena (but she falls for too), ends up threatening Gab, and Xena gets to pummel? We saw this same thing five episodes ago in Crusader (including Xena's "this is for your own good" attempt to leave). How about ol' Dahak's cronies in Deliverer? Fool Xena and Gab once, shame on you. Fool them twice, shame on them. Fool them three times, kick the writers in the butt, they're stuck. Since baddies can't hold a knife to Gabrielle's throat any more, they have to dupe our heroes.

Gabrielle gets the "I took the long way around to a clue" award for noting that maybe Xena enjoys fighting because she smiled when she battled some ruffians. Hello, Gab? Have you missed all the laughing and grinning she's been going for four seasons now? (OK, snarky comment aside, I think that was actually a setup for those of you just joining our show. But that was still a silly way to do it.)

Listen carefully when Xena's standing in the cave as Gabrielle checks out the noise (role reversal alert!) - there's an almost-gasp and a swoosh at the moment Gab must have fallen, and that's Xena gets worried and starts calling.

Xena's never afraid to pitch herself - literally, in this case - into a decision. She sees a hole in the middle of a huge cave, decides "What is it with you and holes, huh?", and throws herself headlong down it. Now THAT'S dedication to an idea - and to Gab.

Xena and Gabrielle fall down a hole, end up in a colorful garden, and a twitchy guy shows up. I expected him to cry about being late for a very important date, or for Aiden to scream "off with her head!"

Xena captures the Line of the Episode with "Yeah, in that yucky 'I'm in paradise' kind of way." What cynicism!

Gabrielle really leaps at that chance for a hot bath! Usually it's Xena who's the hot tub magnet, but I think Gabrielle has been sold on the merits of a good, long soak... took ya long enough!

Why did Gar bring clothes to Gabrielle? If he's been fighting Aiden all this time, why run an errand for him? What IS his gig around the estate? And for the payoff of the hysterical "sir" comment, Xena's "Do YOU see a 'sir' around here?" reaction, and Gabrielle's "nope, none that I see" look, who cares?

Aiden lays it out pretty flat for Gabrielle, although of course it doesn't really sound like it at first: "This place can help draw the goodness from you." Apparently, though, Aiden can only draw that goodness from someone being still and peaceful. Aiden can't get anything from twitchy Xena until she's been knocked unconscious - or fakes it, anyway.

"Here you become what you really are deep down inside. Everyone does." This doesn't really turn out to be complimentary for anyone. Gar is a twitchy, cowardly lunatic. Gabrielle is stoned. All right, bad joke: Gabrielle's good and peaceful, but naive and still-too-trusting. Xena gets the worst treatment of all, as she goes totally feral. After all this time, is this episode telling us that Xena really IS evil at heart, and her battles to be good are just fighting her true instincts?

One other very interesting note about Xena and Gabrielle's "core self, the real you": they're still integrally linked to each other. Feral Xena still wants to rescue Gabrielle, stone-d Gabrielle wants to do the same for Xena, and both will ditch their true selves for that cause.

Cool montage of Gabrielle and Aiden's yoga exercises against Xena's solitude. And while we're talking about people finally getting a clue after four seasons, XenaStaff seems to have fallen in love with Gabrielle's back in the past couple of episodes. Took y'all long enough.

I loved the phantom battle scene. Tai-Chi is a very calm meditation, but its movements are still based on fighting, which makes it oh-so-appropriate for Xena to use. And as the delusions and loss of control begin to set in, the movements become less and less meditational and more and more combative. VERY neat. And in the midst of the whole fight, and Xena's anger at the birdies and bunnies (and their later execution), the turtle stays safe and keeps plowing along. Is the turtle a symbolic Gabrielle?

Touching scene when Xena watches Gabrielle break down. She stops herself from going to Gabrielle to comfort her. Is some serious guilt kicking in, there?

THE most sock-knocking image of the season so far: Gabrielle in white on the white side of the yin-yang symbol, with Xena's place on the black beside her, empty, as the darkly-dressed Xena does frantic sit-ups on Gabrielle's side of the yin-yang. A few pages could be written about the symbolism in that shot alone.

The scene when Xena meditates, brings her wound back, and then it disappears again, is still confusing me. Xena seems to be looking around for Aiden. Did Xena manage to manipulate the reality in Aiden's estate? If so, why didn't she keep working to exploit that? Did the wound disappear again because Xena couldn't hold it, or because Aiden WAS watching and fighting it? Why?

The hamster-toothed Xena was... well, ridiculous-looking. It made me laugh when I think I was supposed to be horrified. And dammit, WHY did they do it? The dark Xena in the bathtub, growling that she's "Perrrfect" after Gabrielle's retreating back, sent chills down my spine. When you have an actress that projects dark menace that well, why use a ridiculous makeup job to torpedo it?

Why are all of Xena's delusions about hurting Gabrielle? Is that her true desire? The desire of her darkest side, maybe because it knows Gabrielle is the worst threat to it? The worst thing to do that she can conceive of? Her deepest fear? Her guilt run amuck? Her discussion with Aiden about it is interesting. At first, she tries to deny the visions, starting into "I don't believe..." before she breaks, can't finish the sentence, and pleads for something to do about it. She does try to protest once: "I would never hurt Gabrielle," but Aiden jumps right in with "You say that, and you even believe it. [She DOES?] But if the darkness in you wins, no one is safe." Remind you of any bard-draggings across half of Greece, Warrior Princess?

Aiden's attempt to send Xena away is the first sign that all is not well. Aiden claims to bring inner peace to everyone, and that even he had demons as terrible as Xena's, but then he tells Xena to leave and abandon the place and Gabrielle. Whoop! Whoop! We HAVE a mismatch, ladies and gentlemen.

The backrub scene was astounding. Xena's frantic attempts to hide the blood evidence of her turmoil made a stark contrast to her soothing of Gabrielle (no hands like a sailor here!). Xena tells Gabrielle that she's taught her about "Kindness... and mercy... and love," but the word "love" is almost drowned out by the next drop of blood.

Gab wins the "out like a light" award: I expected her to at least pop her head up at the end of the backrub scene with "Wait a minute - GOODBYE?" Narcoleptic much, Gabrielle?

Xena's plan kind of lost me. She said she was going to let go of all goodness to keep Aiden from getting it. OK, but then isn't the goodness still... gone? Is it really something you can just put down and pick back up again like a sack of groceries? Maybe Aiden's death made it easy to restore: as soon as he was gutted, Gabrielle's blue was gone and Xena was still mussed, but looked more normal again. (Side note: sweet head-touching and hand-holding after Aiden was skewered - awww.)

Was everyone in Gar's platoon good and pure at heart like Gabrielle? No one was dark and nasty like Xena? Out of a group of soldiers? What were these guys, Greenpeace? Interesting comment on Gabrielle, too, when Aiden says that after Gabrielle gets in touch with her stillness (and Aiden gets to suck up all her good-n-lightness), "they'll" change the world. An entire platoon didn't give him that kind of power. Says something for Gabrielle that her spirit alone has more kick than a dozen or so other people put together.

I liked the weird melting effect of Aiden's world-shaping disappearing. What WAS Aiden, anyway? And why did Xena and Gabrielle end up back at their campsite in the cave, instead of in that other part of it?

Lesson of the episode: when you're in some strange guru's estate, don't wear his clothes. Keep your own. Otherwise, if it all turns out to be his mind power, you're nekkid. Right, Gab?

Great ending! "Do I really have hands like a sailor?" Xena smirks, Gabrielle pouts. Ha!

Return to the Wool-Gatherings.

	Web www.bethgriese.com