The Way

Great opening dialogue. "You shoot me down while I'm doing my philosophical stuff." Not only was Xena's takedown dead-on, but Gabrielle wasn't taking any of it too seriously. I enjoyed that little tradeoff. And it had such a wonderful payoff in the final "Thanks for not mentioning dams" line.

"Maybe violence isn't the answer to anything" says... Xena? And right before she skewers an evil eel? And speaking of which, how did she know that eel was evil? My Xena Reality Editor on my shoulder says that Xena must have detected it using her Ares willies. Who knew that would come in handy all the way over in India?

Check out the hop-n-whack Gabrielle gives her Power Ranger demon. A totally unnecessary move; she hops and then gives the whack at about the same height her shoulders were at in the first place. But it looked good, and that's what counts in a fight, right?

I love this show SO much. When the Power Ranger Demons were beaten and only the bug was left, I actually shouted at the screen "Stomp it! Stomp it!" "" "Yeah!" Sometimes I think they make this show just for me.

Eli calls Gabrielle and Xena "old friends"? He knew them for two days. This guy has a goofy sense of time.

Even the episode's disclaimer notes that Hanuman looks like he stepped off the Planet of the Apes, so I can't make that crack. I'm going to call him the Yeti, instead. And the Yeti was worse than useless. For someone whose way is loyalty, his loyalty doesn't buy much help. He arrived a day late and a dollar short in all the fights. I kept waiting for Xena to scream to him "WHY are you here, exactly?"

When we see Gabrielle from above, running from Indrajit on his carpet, she's running like a tenderfoot, not really digging those bare feet in. Which isn't really a continuity error - it works fine for someone just getting used to an outfit without boots... or an actress who doesn't usually go barefoot. It was just funny to watch.

Xena prays in, from what I can remember, only the second time in the course of this show (first time was in Return of Callisto). And both times were for the sake of Gabrielle. There are no atheists in foxholes or around endangered sidekicks.

The effect of rolling Gabrielle and Eli out of the magic carpet was very cool! I'm still not exactly sure how the editing was done from the small, wrapped-in-carpet pair to Eli and Gab actually spinning across the floor. (That must have been a fun day on the set: "And lights... camera... roll 'em! Oh, I'm sorry, I couldn't resist!")

Eli talks about stopping the cycle of violence in the world. Exactly like Gabrielle told Xena, waaaayyy back in the episode Callisto, that there was only one way to break the cycle of hate. That's how Gab knew that Eli's way was the way of love. Major continuity kudos. And I adored the way Renee O'Connor delivered the frustrated, almost angry "Love! I know that!" line. Come to think of it, I enjoyed Gab's attitude throughout that scene. A little bit of the old kid pounding away at prison doors, a little bit of the new woman arguing from her heart. That's m'Gab!

Exactly how does the way of love/nonviolence keep Eli from trying to escape? Non-violence does not mean non-action. As Gabrielle points out quite well, that's not too realistic. I think there's also an important difference between a way of non-violence, which is what Eli usually talks about, and a way of love, which is what everybody calls Eli's way. Didn't these pre-Mycenean people ever hear of tough love?

Watch Gabrielle's arms twitch as she meditates while Eli and Indrajit talk. Is Gabrielle struggling to stay focused while this nasty conversation is going on? Coming from the actress who just, two weeks ago, hit a much tougher arms-out pose without a quiver, I think it's gotta be a deliberate touch.

Krishna was an impressive casting - and makeup - choice. A mix of male of female and a great "I really DO know it all" attitude that none of the Greek gods usually show. Pretty neat!

I'm assuming that Eli is supposed to be a Jesus figure, although the show keeps that verrrry unclear. He mentioned "going home" prominently, twice, and yet neither Xena nor Gab asked the obvious "Where IS your home?" question. Why not settle that? We're trotting Krishna across the screen, but we're not identifying this mysterious person who will go teach his people about love? I guess XenaStaff is less worried about the possible Hindu protests than the Christian Coalition.

I'm going to tackle the topic of religion in this episode once and then be done with it. I'm surprised that the XenaStaff, who have been dodging and ducking the controversy of the "are they or aren't they?" question for four seasons now to avoid alienating anybody, made the attempt here to roll Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism, and Pantheism all into a single "Find your own way" message that will probably offend followers of all of the above. This show loves to test boundaries and push envelopes. It's one of the things I enjoy about it. Every once in a while, that means pushing too far, and I think this one pushed too far.

"I'm just an angry, ass-kicking -" "Warrior." Xena in ten words or less, at least according to her. (I think Gab would protest whether that's all there is to her.) But Xena finally gets the message she's been yearning to hear all along - she was born to be a fighter, and that's OK, as long as she's fighting for the right things. What a benediction, and it rocks Xena to her core. Gabrielle's choice of her way has more obvious and direct impact on her character, but I think Xena's is the more emotionally impacting one. While Gabrielle has been searching for her way all this time, Xena's been fighting hers. What a relief to not have to do that any more.

That was a mondo gruesome vision of the tortured Xena on the throne, but it was worth it for the mean-and-nasty look with Indrajit's voice after Gabrielle falls for the vision.

The fight between Xena and Indrajit wins the award for the grossest yet, hands down. (OH! I'm sorry, I couldn't resist that joke.) Hands stepped on, arms and heads chopped off, bloody bites, and daggers through hands and faces. Xena with both arms lopped off was pretty horrendous stuff. YUCK!

Somebody tell me WHY Xena waited so long to call on Krishna? Why not do it the minute the fight started, or as soon as she hit trouble?

Indrajit grabs Gabrielle's staff and sets the cloth on both ends on fire... except that Gabrielle's staff only has cloth on one end.

Gabrielle thinks she's watched Xena gets killed by Indrajit, and her response is to throw herself into a suicide fight against him. Was this another example of Xena and Gabrielle choosing to die together?

The director apparently loved Xena's Kali makeup job as much as I did - we got about a half-dozen shots of those blue eyes piercing out of that black face makeup. But the arm effects didn't do much for me. They both still mostly use the top arms. If you've got em, folks, use 'em.

Continuity kudos: Gabrielle's staff in the final scene is blackened from the fire Indrajit put to it.

In the last scene by the river, keep a close eye on Gab's scarf; it switches from being across her shoulders to wrapping around her arms.

That final scene quietly, gently, has the power to bulldoze mountains. Both Xena and Gabrielle spend most of it with tears in their eyes and catches in their throats as they take a long, hard look at whether they can stay together... and decide they can. For once, nobody was trying to sneak away from the other for their own good or any such nonsense; they had an actual conversation and came to a real decision.

Gabrielle gives up her staff and, presumably, fighting in general. That sucks. Let me clarify that opinion very carefully. The decision does not suck. The characterization and the writing do not suck. It makes perfect sense for Gabrielle, it's how her character started, she's coming back full circle to what she's been considering for a long time now. It sucks because I love it when Gab kicks ass. Here's hoping for a lot of backsliding!

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