Devi

The first question you need to ask is "Why are they going to India at all?" except perhaps to get away from the bizarre looking mountain peak that keep showing up in the death vision. Speaking of which, the vision isn't dealt with at all in this episode. Instead, Gabrielle finds that she has the power to heal. She is declare a "Devi", or healing deity. It turns out that a demonic entity named Tataka is the source of the power. Tataka takes over Gabrielle's body, and the true Devi (a street magician named Eli) heals the bard.

Here's my biggest problem with this episode -- western definitions of the dualism of good and evil are placed on a belief system that doesn't define them in the same way. Granted, I don't know as much about Hinduism as I do about other eastern religions. There is however, one thing that defines the eastern belief systems, and that is that "good" and "evil" do not exist in the sense they do in the major western religions.

Speaking of which, Eli calls upon Allah at the tail end of the episode, just before he heals Gabrielle. I don't know how much significance it has, other than to explain why he looks middle eastern. There could be more to it, but it isn't dealt with in the episode.

Gabrielle is continuing to do yoga, and even teases Xena a bit about it early on, unable to get her to try it. Seems she is trying to give Xena some of the peace she found with Aden in Paradise Found, despite the evil aspects of that encounter.

The transformation from Gabrielle to demon lacks one thing -- the ubiquitous "evil goddess" eyes worn by Eli's assistant at the beginning. I can understand Gabrielle not having them before then, as the demon isn't yet in full control. Once Xena figures out the ruse, however, all bets are off. The fight is a nice piece of work, including scenes of Tataka jumping up and down on Xena's back while the Warrior Princess is laid out stomach down on a bed of nails.

Xena puts the pinch on Gabrielle/Tataka to get her to lay still while Eli heals her. My mental reaction after she had been cured and Xena took the pinch off was, "That was never thirty seconds just now." (I didn't actually time it, but it seemed a bit longer than that.) That made the second Monty Python reference of the night. The first came early on when Gabrielle was denying being the Devi. I had flashes of the troupe's film The Life of Brian, where the masses follow Brian while he keeps denying he is the Messiah ("Only the true Messiah would deny his divinity!").

Anyway... Gabrielle is tricked again (that makes the fourth time in season four). In this particular instance, the power is coming from her -- so how could it possibly be bad? Besides, this shows she is manifesting the power to heal the world Aden told her about in Paradise Found. Viewed on its own, this episode won't make as much sense as if it is viewed with the background of Paradise Found.

There is, however, some nice conflict between our heroes in this one (and remember English Lit 101... conflict is the heart of any plot). Especially when Gabrielle is beaded up and Xena has come in with the vial of water from the Ganges. Gabrielle splashes it over herself, nearly crying, asking if she's melting away before Xena's eyes. It was an excellent dramatic moment, particularly when Xena comforts her a few moments later.

In the end, however, this episode falls a touch short. The reason for being in India (other than it's unfamiliar to the show's Western audience, and therefore exotic) isn't explained. Despite the drama, having two shows in a row where Gabrielle falls for a "false" spiritual power is a bit of a stretch, despite its direct connections to the previous episode.

In final analysis, I can't give really high marks to this episode. It is a step above Daughter of Pomira, but the problems I have with the story can't raise it much higher than that.

Oh yeah, Gabrielle wears three different costumes in this one. I kind of like the last one she wears, but it might be too much to ask for her to keep it, the way things are going this season. What happens to all those clothes? Maybe she sends them to Lila in Potidaea.

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