Amac Productions

Welp, I’ve met Ares this episode.

I don’t like him.

But I do like him.

Does that make sense? No?

I thought not.

Let me explain.

Ares is a slimeball. He’s terrible. He killed three people just to lure Xena into a trap and force her to become a warlord again. He’s not a very nice god. Not at all.

But damn, if I don’t like him as a villain.

Now, I do know from spoilers I’ve seen that Ares will be in the show throughout it’s entire run, so I’ll be seeing him again.

As he indicated himself at the end of the episode as well.

And damn if I’m not looking forward to it already!

He’s a formidable opponent for someone like Xena.

And I did mention that I wanted to see her tempted. Ares is the perfect candidate for temptation. After all, he stands for everything she once did.

Nor do I believe his whole schtick about wanting a peaceful world.

The god of war? Wants peace?

Give me a break. Who would buy that?

But I loved him covering all the angles he could. Covering his footprints up. Disappearing at the right moment. Trying to get into Xena’s head. Succeeding at one point.

I don’t think he counted on something though.

Something Xena has never had before.

A best friend.

Correct me if I’m wrong but I think this is the first time they call themselves that?

And I think it’s also the first episode Xena changed her sword to sit on her back instead of her hip. Which I like much better. Makes her seem scarier. The other way made her seem smaller with the hefty sword strapped to her side.

Anyway, back to my point!

Gabrielle.

Xena didn’t snap out of her haze until she hurt Gabrielle.

That was the moment she snapped back to her newfound self.

Through Gabrielle, she sees the person she wants to be. Something worthy of Gabrielle’s friendship, trust, and hero worship.

She also sees what she’s fighting for now.

A better world for Gabrielle.

A world where justice and the law are the same thing.

In that moment, Xena saw herself heading right back into darkness and snapped out of it.

I love that Gabrille was the catalyst.

I have a feeling that will be a trend.

Not to mention how it could work in reverse too.

After all, what will happen as they get closer and Gabrielle’s life is inevitably threatened?

In this episode, she was willing to slaughter the villagers to protect Gabrielle’s freedom.

Something she wouldn’t do to save herself.

What will she do when she falls in love with her?

On the flip side from Gabrielle’s point of view, I noted something interesting at the start of the episode.

She was teasing Xena.

They were arguing about where the road was and Gabrielle says “Yeah, that’s what you said an hour ago when I still had feet.”

A bit of the hero worship is wearing off.

I loved that little detail because your hero will look different after you spend time with them. They’ll start to become normal to you.

Someone who bugs you just like family and friends.

The detail was so perfectly tossed in to show how things are already changing between them.

Including Xena’s smile.

Xena actually smiled when Gabrielle said that, and teased her about not getting lost.

I don’t think I’ve seen her joke before.

Laugh freely before.

Enjoy herself.

But she did. With Gabrielle.

I enjoyed that.

I also enjoyed Gabrielle’s ability to warp and twist the story back into the proper narrative during the trail. I think for a moment, Xena thought they might have a chance with Gabrielle talking them out of killing her.

The point about the swrods clanging. Her finding the footprints. Asking about the money.

She found a lot of good angles until the injured but still alive man showed up.

Heck, even I thought for a moment she was going to get Xena out of this jam.

But I loved her growth and understanding that Xena was right about justice not always working out. That this seemingly goodie two shoes was willing to perform a jailbreak for her.

We could see it meant a lot to Xena.

I doubt she’s had many people who have come back for her because they care about her and not because she was useful to them.

However, I feel Gabrielle was a little naive in her forgiveness of Xena.

She did smack her across the face. I feel like that warrants a serious conversation, not just a quick apology.

I did – however – like that Xena brought it up again to talk about. She wanted to approach like an adult admitting a mistake. Gabrielle brushed it aside again.

This is a moment that drove home for me that Gabrielle is very young.

She understands that Xena is reformed warlord.

But I don’t think she truly gets what that means.

That darkness, that rage, they were always live inside her. It won’t be the last time it comes out.

And it can hurt them both.

But I don’t think Gabrielle sees that. Not really. She sees the person standing in front of her who didn’t want to slaughter farmers. The Xena who told her to run and not look back. The one who has protected since the moment they met.

The rose-colored glasses are still firmly in place when it comes to that part of Xena.

Honestly, this episode was one of my favorite thus far.!

So many good Gabrielle and Xena moments with a bit of growth from them. A conniving villain. Ares was introduced. Xena was deemed the very essence of goodness.

For my final though, I loved the little moment between them at the end when Gabrielle punched Xena.

What was she thinking? Ridiculous girl.

Then we have Xena who seems amused beyond all reason. Which is also funny to me.

Not to mention Xena filling her in as they walk away and are getting more playful with each other.

Amazing love it! Can’t wait to see more!