Eternal Bonds

Written by Chris Manheim
Directed by Mark Beesley

Poor Chris. I think all the writing she did this season is taking its toll. There are some blatantly frayed edges on this script, despite the fairly solid core story. With R.J. Stewart off working on Cleopatra 2525 and Steve Sears off doing his own thing, poor Chris is left to hold down the fort in terms of the continuing story arc. With so much stuff to keep straight, it is no small surprise to me that some of the details on this one are a little... hinky.

I have to say that I liked the parallel stories with Ares/Xena and Joxer/Gabrielle. I think they handled the theme of obsession and love rather well. It is a shame, however, that those very interesting stories are framed by some ludicrous plotting around the Twilight of the Gods. I like the idea, but the execution... it leaves something to be desired.

My first complaint? The three magi. When they first showed up I groaned, not liking the implications. Even when one of them was a woman, and they turned out to be vengeful priests after Eve... it was a nice little ruse, but I don't think it should have been used in the first place. Well... I might not actually go that far, but I wouldn't have used it. I mean, I'm all for borrowing mythic imagery from other sources and twisting it to suit the ends of the story, but this would have been too much, even for me.

My next complaint, since when is Laurel sacred to Artemis? I know TPTB are not known for their slavish devotion to accuracy, but according to the mythology, laurel is sacred to Apollo. Apollo saw Daphne, nymph daughter of the river Pineus and fell in love. She, fearful for her virtue, fled the god, who pursued her. As the chase drew near the river, Daphne called out to her father for salvation. He turned her into a tree -- a laurel. Apollo declares the laurel his favorite tree and decrees that laurel wreaths be used to adorn the brows of champions. (Ref: Ovid's Metamorphoses)

With Apollo one of the three gods gunning for Xena and the rest of them, why not use the exact same info and remain mythically accurate? Okay, I noticed because I'm an obsessive freak about this and remember bits of trivia that serve no purpose other than to clutter up my fevered brain.

But the fact that I am kvetching about this sort of thing should tell you something.

My third quibble (keep in mind we're still in the opening teaser); the mandrake isn't a tree. The mandrake is notoriously recognizable as being a "magical" plant in myths and legends from all over the world, but it is never described as a tree in any of the myths I've come across.

You know, I feel like I am picking needless nits. This is something that I occasionally complained about with regards to other people's reviews and commentary. There's nothing wrong with pointing out YAXIs and differences between the "real" version of things and the "Xena" version of things -- heck, that's more than half the fun for some people (I just don't happen to be one of them).

In this case, though, I think it shows how thinly stretched the writing during season five is. The core stories have quite a bit of promise, but the trimmings are frayed and sloppy.

The three points I mentioned are just a couple of the examples. Other critics have pointed out the absurdity of the framework surrounding this episode. The gods can't hit the fleeing heroines with the broad side of a tornado, so they resort to the aid of mere mortals. Even the concept of Ares helping them out doesn't wash -- not if all the other Greek Gods are banding together to get rid of the family. Had the whole story involved the mortal servants of the gods that would have been one thing, but this? Sorry. Try a different framework.

(If you'll forgive a brief speculative aside, it struck me that the gods may have been doing the very thing that would ensure their passing. They're going after Xena; hero of the people and defender of the common man. They're also targeting her innocent little daughter. It seems like the kind of thing that would get the masses annoyed with those Olympians. Perhaps the reason Ares sticks around in the future is because he isn't going after Xena.)

The sloppiness of the story framework aside, I really liked the core stories. Obsession is an interesting thing, and the two stories focused on different aspects of it.

Sure, the imminent death of a loved one has been done a couple of times on this show, but there's a reason it is used again here. It is a tremendously effective storytelling technique. It is only when faced with the possible death of Joxer that Gabrielle is able to face the difficult issue of their relationship.

She denies Joxer is in any danger at first, not only because she wants to stay with Xena and Eve, but because she knows that going off with Joxer will force her to face that difficult and awkward issue. The truth is, she doesn't love him in that way. She isn't sure how to deal with it. If she hated him it would be easy, but she doesn't. She cares about the lug, but is afraid that any affection or friendship she shows will be misinterpreted.

I was nearly up out of my chair with frustration at the point when Joxer was laying in Gab's arms, and she said that she wished she did love him. There should have been another line or two after that -- something to the effect of "It would make things easier" (because, in all honesty, I think that's what the unspoken thought was at that moment).

Anyhow, this sub-plot will is not over yet. It never is.

Then we have the Ares and Xena story. This one is also well done, a nice character driven tale. Ares does love Xena... sort of. Not the kind of love that Gab and Xena share (however you choose to interpret it), or even the kind of love shared by Joxer and Gabrielle. I don't think Ares loved Xena until she left him, and I think now it is really a case of possession and control than genuine love.

Perhaps that's not completely true. Ares does have honest feelings for the Warrior Princess, but he is afraid to show them because it makes him vulnerable -- something the God of War has never been fond of (just check out the way he behaves when he's mortal -- Ten Little Warlords and The Quill is Mightier spring to mind as classic examples). For Ares, everything is about "winning" and he feels some need to best Xena, defeat her. Consequently, their relationship is founded on antagonism, and is doomed to failure (at least in terms of anything lasting and meaningful).

But Xena has her own feelings for Ares. She enjoys the games they have played over the years. It satisfies a certain need she has. It wouldn't be too surprising to find that Xena is afraid as well; what if Ares is being honest? Sure, he is still looking out for number one (that being himself), but... does Xena really think that she and Gabrielle (and Joxer) will be able to stand against the gods without some sort of supernatural aid on their side? There aren't any offers forthcoming from heaven, so right now Ares is about the only choice she has in that department.

But can Xena risk her daughter's life on the chance that for the first time, Ares is actually being honest?

Some other things I want to point out -- I thought Joxer showed why Xena and Gabs are so fond of him in this episode. When he isn't being a macho, self-deluding ninny he's capable of greatness. He came up with the story about being attacked by Xena. He had the wherewithal to hide in the log when bad guys loomed nearby. He was constantly insisting how he was fine -- even when it was obvious that he wasn't. He honestly does want to help them, and doesn't want to be a burden. So his skills aren't that impressive, and he has some rather annoying habits. He's still a great friend, and well intentioned. I have to admit I'm a fan of the goof.

It was good to see the flying parchment return. The idea came to me just before Xena saw it -- nothing quite like the thrill of realizing something at just the right time.

I liked to see Xena using her maternal skills to defend herself -- I would personally take a sword in the gut over a faceful of dirty diaper. And using the diaper pins as throwing knives? Wonderful. Though I have a hard time believing that the second guy would have been killed outright by a needle in the cheek. Temple, sure. Chest, I can buy that. Cheek? I don't seem to recall any particularly vital organs there.

It is always good to see Xena and Gabrielle kicking butt -- that big battle at the end made up for what was otherwise a rather slow, talky episode. Sure it didn't really make sense, but I loved the moment when Ares froze the battle to offer Xena "one last chance". It reminded me of the moments in The Reckoning.

Still, when you boil it all down, the merits of this episode just don't quite pull it up out of the mire brought upon by the flaws. The core story is good, but the framing and setup for it just don't quite work. Plus, there are some sloppy details that just jumped out at me, and I didn't even have to think about them that much. I don't think this episode is particularly bad... it's just not particularly great either.

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