Coming Home

All in all, I don't think this episode was too bad. I also don't think it was anything particularly special, either. It was certainly reminiscent of earlier seasons - which isn't too surprising when you consider that fan fiction scribe Missy Good penned this particular story. Still, it had a decidedly "been there, done that" kind of feel to it (and I'm not referring to the classic second season episode).

It played like a mixture of The Furies and Hooves and Harlots without the interesting conflict between the Amazons and the Centaurs. Not only that, but there were several Xenaverse cliches that made me sigh with barely restrained frustration. I'll get to the more offensive of those in just a minute.

The past couple of premieres have set the bar for season openers fairly high. Both Adventures in the Sin Trade and Fallen Angel are richly woven episodes where the emotional stakes are high. This episode, on the other hand, didn't feel particularly tense at all. It felt more like a midseason anchor. I didn't find the emotional stakes particularly high, despite the generally solid construction of the story. I'm not sure whether this is a result of Missy Good's writing, or the fact that last season's closer, Motherhood, didn't leave us precariously balanced on the edge of our seats. From what I've heard of Missy's fan fiction, it is probably a combination of the two.

I think everybody involved turned in solid performances, especially Kevin Smith. The former God of War had a hard enough time becoming mortal, he sure as heck didn't need the Furies bouncing around his cranium. He played the role very well, and didn't stray into the realm of over-the-top scene chewing too much.

Xena returned to familiar territory. The old school focus was back in full view, with only a little bit of residual guilt floating around. Gabrielle remained true to the character changes that developed during season five. I was pleased to see this, as I was afraid a fan writer might try to force her back into an earlier costume (so to speak). Both Lucy and Renee seemed very comfortable in their roles, and neither actress "phoned in" their performance. Even after five full seasons, they are giving their all.

Eve seemed to have emerged from the shell of self-pity and doubt that she had wrapped around herself in Motherhood. It seemed that she was starting to find a balance between her past and her present, and actually was starting to enjoy life again. It is unfortunate that more stories this season didn't focus on that struggle, as it made for interesting comparisons to Xena's early quest for redemption.

Then there are the Amazons, a perennial fan favorite. Presented to us in this episode was a whole tribe of new characters with no solid connection to the Amazons from the past that I was able to discern. This caused some problems for me, because I had a hard time caring what happened to them. Gone are the Amazon glory days of The Quest and A Necessary Evil. In fact, the notion that the Amazons are a dying nation seems a trifle hackneyed at this point. The producers have been playing that card since the first season. I can only be kept hanging for so long before I want a resolution to a storyline. Either have the Amazons die off, or have them experience a new beginning. Leaving them in a perpetual state of decline just gets old.

While the plot is fairly solid, with no chariot-sized holes, it felt recycled. The worst example of this was the "elaborate plan" where Xena fakes her own death. It wasn't that the execution of this plan stretched credulity (at least, not any more than this show usually does), it was simply that the elements of the plot had all been done fairly recently. The Furies figured into Motherhood, Xena faked her death in Looking Death in the Eye, and a major battle was avoided by Xena's timely misdirection in Amphipolis Under Siege. These are only a couple examples of recycled elements from recent plots. Recycling isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when there seems to be a reliance on it (as in this episode), it can give an episode a tired feel.

Perhaps the grognards were right, and there isn't any new territory to explore in this series. I didn't agree with them last season, and I don't really agree with them now. I can't find any major technical fault with this story; it simply lacks the spark of life that has made so many other episodes memorable. Is it a sign that the series has run longer than it should have? I don't think so, but perhaps the miles are starting to show a bit more clearly.

In final analysis, this episode feels more like an interlude between the seasons five and six. I think I can see where The Powers That Be were going with this one, but I didn't feel especially compelled to go along for the ride. It wasn't a bad episode - indeed, it would have made a pretty good mid-season anchor. As a season premiere, though, it falls short of the high standards set by previous years. On my own wildly subjective scale, I rate it a C-plus.

Back to Top