Amac Productions

Well, um, that was an episode.

I mean, we went from Xena straight up attempting murder to the two of them frolicking in the ocean together laughing.

I have a bit of whiplash, but also it works…? So I’m not mad or upset. It’s really good. Actually. It was just not what I expected, like at all.

When I started reviewing Xena and watching the show unfold, I don’t think there was ever a part of me that thought, ‘yeah, one day we’ll get to a point where they basically hate each other to the point of murder.’

A fact that even Xena sings about during the episode and Gabrielle as well. That they’re distanced by a hate and that Gabrielle is seeing a stranger in Xena’s eyes. Like, there’s no one in the world these two trusted more than each other.

Gabrielle crossed Greece facing off against countless people attempting to honor Xena’s last wish to bury her with her brother.

Xena nearly went blind opting to rescue Gabrielle instead of saving herself.

Countless moments when Xena has folded into Gabrielle’s whims, like during the Christmas episode last season, just because it makes Gabrielle smile.

Listening to her play music while they walk.

Silly bets. Moments by the fire. Lives on the line moments. The games they play in the middle of the day as they travel between adventures. The annoyances of traveling with someone for so long.

The love between them felt unmatched. Like there was no one else in the world they would ever choose.

All the love interests who have come and went or died. None of them ever enough to pull them from one another’s side.

All the hurt they’ve experienced together. All the adventures. All the times Gabrielle kept Xena from giving into her darkest urges while Xena tried so hard to protect the innocent girl she met in the woods that fateful day she wanted it all to end, burying her armor and weapons in the ground. Only to be inspired to do the right thing.

Watching Gabrielle mature from a naive girl following Xena around into a strong woman of her own right. With her own mind and opinions and understanding of the world.

Only to arrive at a series of events perfectly designed to tear them apart from the inside out.

Because there’s truly no force on Earth that could do it from the outside.

Xena’s blind rage for vengeance against Ceasar. Her first failure to save Gabrielle. Her trusting the wrong people with Gabrielle’s safety because she was too busy plotting against a man who wronged her so greatly.

Allowing for someone to wrong Gabrielle greatly.

Gabrielle’s first kill.

Leading to the birth of her child, born from utter darkness. A darkness that Gabrielle is completely blinded to as she’s filled with love for her child. Who could blame her?

Xena – on the other hand – wishes to protect Gabrielle by destroying the child. After failing so spectacularly, she doesn’t wish more darkness into Gabrielle’s life. An overcorrection that leads to more problems.

Except, this brings them to the beginning of the end. Gabrielle lies.

The first tears in their friendship as Gabrielle lies, knowing one day Xena will find out the truth, and that might be that. She’ll have to face off against her best friend or end her daughter’s life. An impossible choice for anyone.

Then Xena is faced with a choice of her own.

Remain on the path she is now or try to rectify a mistake she made by not loving her ex enough to change back then. Bringing her to a lie of her own with Gabrielle.

Then in an excellent showing from the writers and actors, we see them tiptoeing around each other. Waiting until the day when the bombs go off and everything is changed. Trying to enjoy the right now, while dreading the inevitable future. Still, they try. Forging on as best as they can as the chasm between them gets bigger and bigger.

Never quite on the same page as before.

Realizing they don’t look at themselves the same way they did before so how can they expect the other to?

What will it be like when they find out the truth? What will it come to? What will they be? Friends? Enemies? Indifferent? Nothing to each other anymore?

It builds and builds and whispers in the background of every moment together, every episode. Until the culmination last episode when everything goes horribly wrong and their children are caught in the crossfire. Truly the only love in the world that could bring them to odds and their knees.

Bringing us to this episode where everything is beyond broken including the two of them.

Gabrielle falling into despair.

Xena descending into a rage to end all rage.

Until it all bubbles over in a terrible, truly terrible confrontation that leads to them fighting on the edge of cliff screaming at each other that they hate each other. Wanting each other dead, until they tumble off the edge into a world that makes little sense but is exactly what they need.

Concocted by Solan who is determined to bring his mothers back together.

Xena and Gabrielle land in Illusia.

Allowed to act out their feelings without consequences when they’re plopped into this world. To fight against each other. Think the worst. Give into the worst and understand that it will not make anything better. In fact, it just might make everything worse as they’re forced to come face to face with the worst of themselves and each other.

I loved that Xena was like no, I didn’t kill you, I… I…

Yes, you did Xena. You tried that. In the real world and just now in the Illusia.

She’s almost aghast with herself, trying to understand how she’s got here even though she’s still angry in the scene. The argument doesn’t stop just because they’re disgusted with themselves. Instead of looking inward and trying to sort it out, they continue blaming each other until Illusia doesn’t allow it.

Honestly, Illusia is the sort of therapy we all need. Let’s be real.

It won’t allow them to say untrue things to each other without it hurting themselves. Instead, they’re forced to be brutally honest. That they’re both hurting. Hurt from the lies. The loss of their children. Hurt from their friendship breaking apart. From hurting each other.

Underneath it, they’re still angry and Illusia isn’t happy with that, dropping them into their next challenge. Or sucked into their next problem.

Because even through all the hurt, Xena has been faced with the idea of losing Gabrielle by her own hand and she’s not really thrilled about it. We’re past the murderous stage from Xena, so even though she’s angry still, she doesn’t want Gabrielle hurt.

So when she’s sucked up by flames through a spinning wheel, she tries to save her.

Ultimately, bringing them to the place where things began to crack. The altar where everything changed.

And they learn the greatest lesson of all. One we could all stand to learn from and understand as hard as it is.

Hate isn’t the answer. It never is. Hate helps no one and nothing.

You can’t build from hate. It only destroys. And it never destroys what you want it too.

It destroys you.

From the inside out, until there’s nothing left. Until you’re empty and alone.

Forgiveness isn’t about the other person. It’s about you. Letting yourself put the hate down and let it go because it doesn’t serve you. It brings you nothing but more pain.

You don’t have to like the other person or even accept what happened. But sometimes, just leaving it in the past, and learning to move forward is more important to your mental health.

Holding onto it will never bring you peace.

For Gabrielle and Xena, if they don’t forgive each other. Turn back to love instead of hate, they’ll lose the most important person they have left. The love they had for each other. The person who will understand their pain better than anyone else in the world can.

If you can find a new balance, a new normal, a new love together, you can deal with your hurt and pain together.

You won’t be alone in it.

And sometimes, that’s way more important than being mad at the person you love. Sometimes, you just need them to hug you and tell you it’ll be alright. Even if they’re the one who did the hurting, because no one can comfort you like them. Because no one loves you like they do.

Not saying they don’t need to talk more or come to a new understanding. But this episode put everything on the table.

What hatred would bring them. A world without each other.

Or they could lay everything bare on the table at their most vulnerable and choose to go through it together with honesty and love instead. It won’t be perfect or easy, but it’ll be better together.

I really love this. It’s a beautiful moment as they conquer the things that fill them with hatred together, freeing them both from the chains of their own making. Bringing them to the end of Illusia, albeit with one more caveat.

Xena still hasn’t told the truth about what happened in Chin.

Which she does and begs both Gabrielle and Solan to forgive her for her mistakes. For not telling him that she was his mother or being with him more since his days were numbered. For lying to Gabrielle and breaking her promise not to kill the Green Dragon.

It’s a powerful moment as Xena is left entirely at their mercy.

Asking them to forgive her.

Which they do, allowing her to pass through the rain, and onto the other side.

While I do subscribe to the idea that if two characters must kiss for you to know they’re together or romantically inclined to one another, the writer has failed in their job – I do also like watching characters get to kiss. Like two things can be true.

I – for sure – don’t think that romantic moment after Xena passes through the rain needs a kiss to make it feel romantic.

Lucy, Renee, and the writers have managed that just fine without one. It’s perfect.

But I agree with my girlfriend who shouted, ‘Now kiss!’ When that moment arrived.

Because yeah, I’m human. I wanna see them make out there. It would be nice. I know it’s not going to happen. Which is why I’ll commend these two actresses until I’m blue in the face for making us feel everything we needed in that moment without a kiss. The eye contact and the smiles.

Followed up by the scene on the beach.

We didn’t need them to kiss to know how they feel or what was on their minds. The actresses conveyed it without words or actions through their eyes and shared look. I love that. They are truly powerhouses. We are so lucky that the stars aligned to have these actresses on the planet at the same time and then play these characters. Truly magical.

Overall, this episode is amazing from start to finish. Managing a satisfying end to the arch these two having been going through since the start of the season.

All of the choices were just downright perfect.

Including Hudson Leick as the one introducing Illusia. She’s so damn unsettling, it’s just wonderful. She truly made that opening scene into this world feel as crazy and wild as it needed to. While keeping Xena on her toes as she tries to understand that this is not the real Callisto.

I loved the choices of having the actors represent the hatred Gabrielle and Xena felt. Allowing them to burst when they let it go.

If this show is true to form, we’ll probably see a shift in how Gabrielle and Xena handle these characters going forward. Maybe with least rage and more calculation.

I loved the music. It was so good. Kudos to Xena for trying something completely new before anyone else and knocking it out of the park, leaving everyone who tries a musical episode after this reaching for the greatness of this episode. Because it was great. Absolutely perfect.

I don’t have anything negative about this episode other than I would have liked Solan coming back to life because I feel very cheated in his death. He was so innocent in all of this and clearly loves Xena and Gabrielle very much, he helped them restore their relationship. It is such a shame to have lost him.

Although, I suppose it could have cheapened things, but I also think there’s always a way to tell a story without losing what you have. So…

I don’t know.

Regardless, I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and how this change affects their relationship moving forward.

The writers broke everything down to its core of their relationship. Breaking it down and rebuilding it into something new. Seemingly something stronger than before. Which I believed to be unbreakable until these writers told me to hold my beer.

What will they be now?

With a relationship forged in shared pain, true love, and an understanding that not even hate will break them apart. One they decided was more important than holding onto that rage. Choosing each other over everything else. Or that pain. Choosing to be together and set it all aside or work through it together.

How will anything stand against it again?

I truly believe, these two will be stronger now than ever before.

Which leads me to – what happens now?

Honestly, I’m super excited. These writers are just so amazing and wonderful, and I cannot wait to see what they have in store for these two. To see how the rest of the season unfolds with them regaining their footing and on the same page again. Changed, but forged into something stronger.

Unbreakable. By choice. A relationship that’s been tested and survived.

Good luck to the villains or love interests or what have trying to get between them now.

Onto the next!

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