Seeds of Faith

Written by George Strayton & Tom O'Neill
Directed by Garth Maxwell

There is a lot going on in this episode, and most of it isn't laid out for us on a silver platter. You've got to think with this one, which is why this show is so good. There is one major gaffe, but it doesn't have a significant effect on the thematic development of the episode. Also, while the pacing does drag slightly at times, the visual presentation of this episode is wonderful. Garth Maxwell does a wonderful job with what he's given, and the script is, overall, one of the finest the show has produced (in my opinion of course). Why? Well let me get into the meat of my critical analysis.

First off, I want to mention that I have no problem with the biblical trappings of the "new mythology" the show presents. I think the intention is to use symbols that are recognizable by a wide cross section of the viewing audience, rather than to proclaim the superiority of the Judeo-Christian mythos over any other. I'm not going to get into it any more than that, because I wrote a column on the subject. If you're interested, read my article entitled Closer to God.

You know, for a pregnant woman, Xena can sure whip those legs of hers around. The way she was jumping around, doing midair split kicks in that opening battle... I can only imagine how high she'll be able to jump once she drops the extra weight she's carrying around (and no, I don't mean Joxer). Those quads of hers must be getting quite the workout.

One question came to mind while watching the opening the second time around. At the end of it, Ares threatens Xena with the line, "I would hate to have to kill you both." Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but the thought that occurred to me was that while he might not have had any problem killing Xena, the kid was another matter. I don't think it's a sudden case of the morals (I doubt we'll ever have to fear that from Ares). The thought that occurred to me at the time was that Ares knew there was something special about the child -- something that has been hinted at in various places, and it served his purpose for the child to live.

Thinking about it now, however, the thought occurs to me that perhaps it was just a red herring on the writers' part to make us think that the child might be his -- after all, Ares would certainly be reluctant to kill his own offspring (at least until he knew whether he'd be able to control the child or not). So perhaps I am reading too much into things. If the comment is meant in the latter sense, it fails because the issue is never really addressed elsewhere in the episode. It's not a big deal, really, just something that came to mind.

Gabrielle seems to be overcompensating. Jumping at shadows? I mean, really. Perhaps she still feels guilty about the fact that for so long she wasn't doing anything, and is reluctant to allow anything to happen to the people she loves again. I think the opening fight was a good way to set the stage for where she's at now. She's acting on instinct, not listening to her head or her heart.

So we come back from commercial, and Xena is expressing many of the sentiments that the fans around here have been harping on for the past several weeks. What happened to the Gab who used words? Where's the bard we once knew? Why is she so quick to pull those weapons of hers? There is an answer, it's just not immediately forthcoming. Don't worry though, I'll get there.

See, Gabrielle's dilemma (as she tries to explain to Eli) is the same as the debate that was going back and forth on the net. Is violence a tool that should be used to promote peace? Isn't using violence to promote peace part of the problem, and not part of the solution? Gabrielle seems to be just as confused over the issue as she was when she threw her staff into the river in The Way. This is hardly a surprise; there isn't a clean cut answer to those questions. If there were, things would be very different in the world today.

We get another cool (albeit brief) battle scene with Xena where she puts the pinch on a guy (which hadn't been seen in a while). There is also a good interaction between Xena and Callisto. As Xena says, the old Callisto may be gone, but her memory lives on. It makes sense that Xena would be reluctant to listen to her despite having been the instrument of her redemption -- old habits die hard.

Anyway, the next scene that raises some interesting questions (and yes, I do intend to answer these, but let's get all the questions out on the table first) is the scene with Eli and Callisto, a.k.a. "The Moment of Doubt". The parallels to the story of Jesus and the Garden of Gethsemane have been drawn, and they do hold some merit. And it's not necessarily because the biblical parallel is intentional.

According to Joseph Campbell and his ideas about the monomyth, there is always a low point, the moment when the hero descends into the underworld, faces a moment of trial. In earlier myths, this trial was usually physical in nature, and in later myths, the trial becomes intellectual/spiritual in nature (as this one is). This trial, regardless of the form it takes, represents the death of the old, and the birth of the new. See where I'm going with this?

We have the "Twilight of the Gods" story line starting off here. The passing of the old order, and the beginning of a new; an era (and this is important) when mankind decides for themselves which way to go. And yet, as Callisto says, "The new world must be built on the foundation of the old one."

One question did come up from this scene, however. If Eli is the hammer that will cause the gods to fall, who is the anvil?

(One other quick parenthetical note, I think the ending of that scene went on far too long. I didn't time it, but had I been directing/editing I would have cut away to the next scene after just the close-up of Eli's tear-streaked face.)

Here's another Garden of Gethsemane parallel. Callisto's kiss (on Eli's cheek) reminded me of the moment in Garden story when Judas shows up in with those pesky Romans (almost as popular a bad guy as the Nazis), Judas indicates which one is to be taken by kissing Jesus.

When Xena returns to tell Eli they can get the people out through the southern pass, and he refuses, we get a bit of the old Xena back -- "So much for convincing people with words," she says. She then goes off to kick some soldier butt.

We also get a bit of the situation between Xena and Gabrielle. "Make sure nothing happens to him," she says. She thinks that Gabrielle and she are on the same page -- using force to keep the peace. The fact that she is trusting Gabrielle with this important task -- protecting Eli -- shows that she respects Gabrielle's abilities. This is the setup for the mini-rift we see later.

Anyway, Xena goes off to fight the baddies in a battle reminiscent of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Nothing else particularly remarkable about it, other than it is great to see Xena enjoying a fight. The grin and "come get it" gesture she gives say it all.

So now we come to the climax of the Eli story line. Eli's victory is in standing up to Ares; he refuses to be cowed by the gods, who rule by fear. Instead, he is confident in his own ability to make his own life and choose his own path. This is the victory. He shows what is necessary for humanity to throw off the old ways -- standing up to the gods instead of bowing before them. It seems that everybody else misunderstands this, including Gabrielle. They all believed that his faith would prevent Ares from doing anything to him.

We have a nice little mini-rift when Xena gets back form the bridge. As Gabrielle said early in the episode, she isn't Xena's child. She is able to stand her ground and justify her actions. She will not cow before Xena, she is her own person. Once again, we see the theme of individuality crop up.

We also have the wonderful scene between Gabrielle and Ares; the temptation, if you will. Gab once again goes off on her own to work out her aggressions on the helpless landscape, and Ares shows up to try and bring her over to the dark side. One line stands out from that exchange, and that is when Gabrielle says, "You don't know what I believe." At that moment, I honestly don't think Gabrielle is really sure either. However, she does come to a decision later on (and I'll get to that momentarily).

The funeral scene was very well shot (if a tad long) and Gabrielle in the sheer black shawl is a picture I want to have framed and mounted on my wall. Xena talks Callisto into taking her to the Dagger of Helios so that she can kill Ares.

This is the major gaffe I mentioned earlier. The Dagger of Helios was the key to the ambrosia in The Quest. There was never anything mentioned about it having god-killing powers. Incidentally, the dagger here is not the same Dagger of Helios shown in The Quest -- the blade is shaped differently. Ultimately, the gaffe here makes little difference, as the important elements here are that Xena is making her own choice and following her own path (completely in line with the theme of the episode and the series overall) and that she now has the means to kill Ares, should the mood strike her (and it seems to have struck her here).

One interesting thing I noticed from this scene (although I didn't catch it until the flashback later in the episode) was something Callisto said to Xena. "Eli died so that it would be easier for others to follow the way of peace." Note that she refers to Eli's path as the Way of Peace, not the Way of Love (which is how it was presented back in season four).

We now return to Gabrielle, and her moment with Eli's ashes. There has been some speculation as to what she meant in that little speech about "standing with Ares." Here's what I think after watching the episode again. She isn't joining Ares, but rather, she is going to use his methods against him. She will continue to fight, but fight for a world on her terms, not Ares's.

At this point she has decided what she believes, the conflict in her mind is resolved, and she has chosen her path. She is also gong to stand up to the gods and refuse to be cowed. That is the whole point of Eli's message -- it is not about peaceful means versus violent. It is about doing something not because the gods tell you it is the right thing to do, but because your own heart does. Gabrielle, in her own way, embraces Eli's message and goals -- she will no longer live in fear of the gods.

Gabrielle then goes and fights Ares because he is threatening the villagers. She stands up to the God of War, and while it nearly costs her her life, it is on her own terms. She has (at least it seems to me) listened to her heart, and done what she had to do. You know, if you had told me two years earlier that one day Gab and Ares would go toe to toe, I would have laughed. And while Gab did lose the battle, she made a good showing of herself.

So then we have Xena show up and threaten Ares with the Dagger. "It is only fair that you pay for [Eli's] life with yours," she says. This fighting is for the wrong reason -- it is vengeance, and is counter to what Eli stood for. It perpetuates the cycle of hate and violence, rather than breaking it (as standing up to a bully like Ares does).

The answer to the whole thing is a bit of a conundrum. The key is not whether you use peaceful means or forceful. The key is to know when to use the right means. To quote Lao Ma, "Would you use an axe to kill a mosquito?" When Eli was standing up to Ares, the proper thing to do was for Gabrielle to put up her weapons. When Gabrielle faced Ares, the proper thing was to stand up to him and defend the villagers' lives with her own (despite the fact that they were fickle mush heads who turned on Gabrielle). When Xena threatened Ares, the right thing to do was to put away the dagger and forgive.

It is a difficult thing to know, but I think with each other's help, the choices may be easier to make for our ladies in the future.

One final note or two, I think the fact that Callisto is the "father" of the baby (and is the baby as well) is beautifully poetic. The child will play a significant role in the Twilight. That Callisto, once the goddess of chaos and destruction, will be the cause of mankind's salvation from the gods is strangely fitting.

So to sum up, this was a solid episode. Well written, beautifully shot and acted, with especially fine performances turned in by Renee O'Connor and Kevin Smith. It's certainly not perfect, but I really enjoyed it, and a second viewing only made things clearer. My final grade? I have to give it a solid A-minus.

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