Amac Productions

Ares is back because apparently, he is glutton for punishment.

Will he never learn?

He cannot beat Xena, and he should stop trying. Especially, when he tasks a freaking lunatic to help him do so.

Where did he find that guy anyway?

He was a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Yeesh.

Aside from Ares not understanding that he should never side against Xena or task nut balls to do his dirty work, especially when the nut ball isn’t even smart about anything. Like Xena didn’t have a plan for him keeping his army in one place. It’s like the first time Ares has met Xena.

She beat the Furies and Ares at his own game multiple times, but apparently today she took her stupid pills or something. I don’t know.

Regardless of Ares being Ares, this episode is curious to me for other reasons.

The people Xena chose to help her in this battle.

She selected this group based on past interactions. All of which came about because she turned them into who they are today. Which leads Gabrielle to an important question for herself – is she who she is because of Xena or because of herself?

It’s an interesting question.

One Gabrielle struggles to answer and Xena answers easily by the end of the episode.

However, I can see why Gabrielle struggles with this question. By all appearances, these people were once good people before they met Xena. Before she corrupted them for her own nefarious purposes.

Except, did she?

Some things about them were already there.

One hates men, when Xena has never shown any particular bias against the male gender.

Another is a chronic flirt.

Two are always out for themselves.

Each of them are distinct. They had skills Xena thought could be of use to her and she twisted them until they did as she needed.

Although Xena herself states they were like Gabrielle before they met her.

Were they?

Truth be told, if Xena was able to corrupt them, they were capable of these things before ever meeting Xena. And while to an extent I think we’re all capable of terrible things, I also believe that someone people find it easier to give into their darker urges. Such as Xena or the four people she recruits.

After all, she’s only able to save two of them from the path she helped them down in the first place.

Maybe they don’t find the darkness as appealing as the other two did.

However, is Gabrielle who she is because of Xena? Or because of herself? Would she be different if she met Xena while she was still evil?

No, Gabrielle. I don’t believe that.

I think we’re in part shaped by the world around us, but we also have a choice. We can let the world keep making our choices or we can find our own path. We’re reflections of the world that raises us, be it two loving parents, or not. However, I truly believe at some point we can no longer blame our childhood for how we behave. There are enough time and distance where you can choose to get help for yourself.

Change your path.

Decide for yourself.

We will live enough to learn for ourselves, the hard way or not.

Do I think Gabrielle would have been different if she met Xena when she was younger? No. I don’t.

She’s not the type to give into her darker urges.

Sure, maybe there was a part of her that wanted to be heroic like Xena and believed the sword was the way to achieve when she first began traveling with her. But the moment she picked the sword up, it was a line she realized she could not cross. Would not cross.

She hasn’t wavered in her beliefs throughout all their travels. Holding tight to her idea of good and evil. Standing up to Xena even when Xena starts to lose herself.

Carefully attacking so that she doesn’t kill.

Challenges the beliefs of those who believe they can never be good people or have fallen from grace.

She has a less naive view of the world. An understanding that not everyone wishes to be saved. Much like two of the four here, who despite being offered a second chance take the darker road. No one forced them into that choice. The very same Xena who apparently molded them the first time appeared and offered them a new choice. A new path.

Yet they choose the same.

Did she really make them?

Or did they simply use her as an excuse for their own dark impulses?

It’s easier to blame someone like Xena and say she made me do it, than admit those dark thoughts were always lurking in the background. You don’t have to take responsibility.

Except two of them do.

Their actions are their own. She may have shown them the darkness inside of them, but they followed it, and have continued without her influence.

However, she’s here now. Offering a new choice.

Two choose to take it.

Two choose to remain filled with darkness.

Though they both died because of it, which sort of made the world better. Two bad guys are dead and the other two aren’t so bad anymore. They’ve got a new lease on life.

Did she make them? No.

I think Xena was merely an excuse for them. Even to an extent herself. It’s easy to view their moral failings as her own when she apparently dragged them down with her. They didn’t have to follow. Yet they did. Xena takes the weight of their choices as her own, because maybe they would have been better off without ever meeting her.

Or maybe they would have been just as bad.

We don’t know.

Maybe they would have found another excuse.

As for Gabrielle, she may understand the darkness of Xena and the others, but she doesn’t let it pull her in. I don’t think there’s anything Xena could have said or done to convince Gabrielle to join her in the dark side.

If they had met while Xena was still evil – it would have been a sight to behold.

Because I for sure think this little blonde loudmouth would have been the bane of Xena’s existence in quite possibly the best way.

All it took was the right person to help Xena back to the light. It happened to be Hercules.

It could have been Gabrielle.

Truthfully, Gabrielle is an immutable good.

Even when darkness surrounds her, it cannot poison her.

Not even the most persuasive of it. We saw it in season two with the Horde. Xena slipped back into old habits and while it would have been easier to go along with Xena, Gabrielle refused. She refused to let Xena give up all her progress.

There must be another way.

She refused to let the bleakness of the situation ruin the version of herself Xena had become.

Dragging Xena back into the light kicking and screaming.

Not an easy feat.

We’ve already lived through Xena trying to tempt Gabrielle in that moment. To save herself and the others, Gabrielle could have easily justified it to herself as Xena was doing that, they needed to save themselves. It was a matter of life or death. Yet Gabrielle never lost sight that the people they were fighting were also people.

Xena offered the forbidden fruit so to speak and Gabrielle rejected it. Even snapping Xena out of her bloodlust.

So no.

I don’t think Gabrielle would be different.

I think the more malleable Xena would be.

As Xena herself offers at the end. She wonders who she would be without Gabrielle to help her.

Gabrielle insists that Xena was already on the right path when they met. Which is the truth as is that it would have been much harder for Xena without Gabrielle.

I almost disagree with that.

Moments like fighting the Horde or dealing with her past have almost corrupted Xena and forced a return to her darker ways. Like when Ares attempted to trick her with her father’s form. The Horde. She nearly lost herself.

The defining factor was Gabrielle pulling her from the brink.

Would she be the heroic Xena without Gabrielle?

No. I think she would have lost her way.

I think some people can be firmer in their convictions than others. Gabrielle is one of them and Xena isn’t. She needs someone like Gabrielle to keep pointing her in the right direction. To smack her when she missteps and never truly judge her for it. Or her past.

Even in this episode, Gabrielle regards what Xena had done before in a cool, calm manner. Even though it does upset her, she doesn’t ever hold it against Xena or make her feel bad for it. Xena is beating herself up enough over it.

Gabrielle doesn’t need to help. Nor does she want to.

This is a crux of their core relationship.

Gabrielle is the guiding force of good and heart and Xena is the brain and muscle to help see it through.

These are the best kind of moments from this show, because this is an amazing question to ask, and I can totally understand how Gabrielle could come to ask it. Did she have a say in her life?

I’d argue that no one has given Gabrielle more of a say in her life than Xena. Allowing her to explore the world and decide for herself how she wants to live in it. What that looks like and means to her. Not being told what to do or who to marry like her life was before.

Also, it brings Gabrielle’s relationship to Xena and herself to the forefront of the show and that’s when this series shines.

Gabrielle and Xena’s core relationship is the very beating heart of the show.

How they play off each other, like the teasing at the end.

How they relate, care for one another, and are always there together.

Even when the others were confused by Gabrielle’s presence, Gabrielle never entertained for a moment that she wouldn’t be following Xena. Or that Xena would leave her behind from this fight. They’re a team. It doesn’t matter what other people think of Gabrielle or whether they believe her to be capable.

Xena knows that she is.

Xena trusts her to have her back. Especially when so many untrustworthy people are around.

They know each other.

They make the show. Every time.

So when we get juicy questions like this, it’s amazing to watch.

It’s even amazing to watch Gabrielle have that moment I spoke of before when we turn around and decide for ourselves who we are. Are we going to be the product of how we were raised? Or have I learned enough, experienced enough to decide for myself how I approach the world?

She’s growing up even more than she has in the two seasons.

Part of that is questioning things. Taking apart your world views and putting them back together again to see how they work and stack up in the real world.

I love it.

I love these moments when they have these wonderful heart to hearts together.

While the villain was plain and boring, and the four were amusing and entertaining, the heart of the episode hinges on that question and Xena and Gabrielle.

The plot is nothing special nor did it need to be.

It’s merely a tool to put these characters in this moment to ask the hard question. It’s not the point and I love that for this series. I don’t need complicated plots or attempted redeemed villains with over-the-top backstories that take up too much space.

I need a nice tight focus on the characters we love. An obstacle for them to overcome and grow while doing so.

Character driven plots are always way more fun to me than plot driven characters.

This is a wonderful episode! Although, I’m terrified of what comes next since my girlfriend keeps mentioning the angst is coming and cackling like a witch over a bubbling caldron. So… I’m nervous. Wish me luck as I head onto the next episode.

Also, one last thing, Ares, please give up or at least find less unhinged help. Thank you. I know he won’t, because it’s Ares, but I had to say it. You’re never going to win man. Just give up and go home.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Until next time, leave a like, comment, and subscribe!

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