Animal Attraction

Written by Chris Manheim
Directed by Rick Jacobson

The first comic episode of the season was an absolute joy. There was a great deal of discussion on the Chakram mailing list about various aspects of the episode; funny bits, not-funny bits, what people liked and disliked, etc. I'm going to try not to repeat anything that was hashed out at length, merely point out what makes this episode different and special.

First of all, it is funny I was reminded in many ways of the classic screwball comedies that came out of Hollywood in the golden age of the studio system. The Amarice/Arman story wasn't quite as much fun as, say, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, but still, I enjoyed it tremendously.

I thought the story line about Gabrielle and the horse was well done. It was obvious to me from the moment Gab saw the magnificent creature in the trap that she would ask "Xena, can we keep him?" I'm not a softy or anything, but I fell in love with those gorgeous eyes in the first close-up (in fact, anybody who was listening closely would probably have heard a murmured "awww..." come from me -- I get caught up in this stuff, okay?). Gabrielle typically falls for people in pain, emotional or otherwise. I mean, three come to mind right off: her late husband Perdiccas (who was all torn up over the war), Talus from Death in Chains, and (of course) Xena herself. Is it any stretch that she'd fall right in love with a stallion who's got his foot caught in a trap?

Unfortunately, this pain thing Gab has isn't foolproof -- otherwise she and Joxer would have hooked up long ago. As far as the Joxer/Gab plot in this episode goes, I thought Joxer acted like a royal pain most of the time, but let me see if I can put it into perspective...

Joxer tells Gabrielle he loves her, but says he doesn't expect anything. Having kind of been there myself, that's partially true. After all, he's carried a torch for this girl for how long? He may say he doesn't expect anything, but deep down he does. Not necessarily for her to return the sentiment and they live happily ever after -- I think Joxer recognizes on some level that's not going to happen (he's been around Xena and Gab enough to know that). But she hasn't really given any reaction at all. I think that's really all he wants -- a reaction of some sort.

I think Gabrielle cares for Joxer and likes him all right, she just finds him incredibly maddening. She doesn't like him in a romantic way, but she never really gave much thought to the fact that he might like her that way. She's been thrown for a loop, and is still trying to get a handle on it. I think Joxer was feeling neglected this episode -- Amarice and Arman were either making puppy dog eyes at each other, or trying to claw each other's eyes out, Xena was catching up with an old friend (and finding out about a new one) and Gabrielle was obsessed with her new horse. Of course he's going to be obnoxious.

The Talia story with the western theme was also a lot of fun. The look of the town, the sound effects, the whole cliche turned on its ear the way I've come to expect from this crew. The shootout with knives, all of it was wonderfully done.

Now to the big issue in this episode, the revelation of the pregnancy. For people that think it wasn't given enough attention, it is one of the major plot arcs of the season. Should they exhaust the story potential before it even gets started? There's plenty of time to focus on Xena being "up the duff". I think they gave it enough attention. The questions of who, how and why will all be answered eventually, so just sit back and enjoy the humor of the situation. After all it was kind of funny.

In summary, I would like to borrow a line from that great show-biz philosopher Slappy Squirrel when she said, "Now that's comedy." This is a fun episode with a light touch and more than enough to entertain even the most jaded Xena fan. Minor plot quibbles aside (like where Talia went when she rode off on her horse), the fifth season seemed to be on a very good track.

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