Heart of Darkness

Written by Emily Skopov
Directed by Mark Beesley

Heart of Darkness isn't anything truly spectacular if I have to be totally honest. Still, when compared to the first two episodes (Coming Home and The Haunting of Amphipolis), this episode seems much closer to the quality that you expect from Xena: Warrior Princess.

The basic plot of the episode isn't anything tremendously complex, and follows logically from the events at the end of Haunting of Amphipolis. Since Xena killed Mephistopheles (an event we are reminded of in a brief opening recap), she is the rightful ruler of Hell. This episode revolves around her attempt to find a replacement for her on Hell's throne. That replacement is found in the Archangel Lucifer.

Overall, I found this episode rather dark, and certainly the dramatic stakes were higher in this episode than in the previous two episodes. However, the storyline seemed to have a few missing pieces that detracted from the overall coherence of the episode. The new writing team on the series was still, apparently, figuring out how things work in the show.

From the impression we get at the end of Haunting, as soon as Xena killed Mephistopheles, she became ruler of Hell. Apparently, it wasn't quite as simple as that. The gate to Hell is still open behind Cyrene's tavern, waiting for Xena to descend to Hell and actually assume the throne. This seeming incongruity isn't a big deal -- it still works with the idea from "Haunting". The throne of Hell is vacant, and traditionally the individual who deposed the former ruler takes over the job.

Incidentally, this is somewhat reminiscent of Piers Anthony's On a Pale Horse - the first volume in his Incarnations of Immortality series. In that novel, Death is an office held by a mortal -- a strange kind of full-time job. Death is effectively immortal while in office, though he can still be killed -- usually when he gets sloppy. The person who kills Death takes over the job, becoming the new Death. I don't know if there was any influence, I just noticed the similarity.

Anyhow, Michael and Raphael -- archangels from Fallen Angel and other episodes convey this information in season six. We are also introduced to Lucifer, who apparently is interested in sending Xena to Hell not because it is the right thing to do, but because it will likely earn him a promotion with the man upstairs. (I will address the myth twisting in this episode later on.)

Lucifer descends to Earth, and Xena reveals the dark heart hiding inside the beautiful exterior by tempting him to commit the seven deadly sins. It is at this point in the story that the largest plot hole is found.

The hole is not that Lucifer didn't commit all seven sins -- though that issue was debated back and forth quite a bit. Rather, the plot hole is that there was nothing presented in the episode to indicate that an Archangel could be corrupted in that fashion. I suppose if we take the events of Fallen Angel into account, Lucifer's corruption is understandable. After all, Xena becomes a demon after earning her wings.

There are two problems with this line of thinking, as I see it. First, Xena willingly gave up her angelic status in order to redeem Callisto. Secondly, the events of Fallen Angel took place twenty-four episodes earlier -- hardly something that will remain fresh in the mind. I feel the ball was dropped at this point.

The situation that played out in the background of this primary plot added a degree of dramatic tension to the proceedings. The open gate to Hell was corrupting the hearts of those in the area. Everybody's dark sides were surfacing, and it gave the cast the opportunity for some excellent performances.

Lucy clearly relished her role as temptress, and Renee was likewise vamping it up. Greg Lee turns in a solid return performance as Virgil, and sparks flew between him and Renee. The costuming added to the highly sensual feeling of the episode.

Interestingly enough, I never really doubted that Xena was in control of herself the entire time. There have been times in the past five years or so where she was a lot farther over the line than she was here. The Price comes to mind, as does Paradise Found.

For me the tension came from Gabrielle. She has a lot less experience dealing with her dark side, and I wondered if some conflict might develop from that direction. In addition, Eve has no experience with her mother's dark side, and it is perfectly understandable that she would think things were spiraling out of control.

All in all, the story was a lot more solid than either of the previous episodes this season. There were a couple of things missing, but I think they can be chalked up to cuts for time.

Speaking of cuts, was it just me, or did the editing feel really clipped in this one? In a couple of the battle scenes there was a blow or two we never saw land. It felt like the cuts were made a second or two sooner than they should have. This is the first time I've ever felt the battle scenes were badly edited.

Now to address the myth twisting that took place in this episode. First of all, the Seven Deadly Sins are (as far as I can determine) a construct of the Catholic Church. It isn't a bad idea to incorporate them, but it does really start to make the borrowing from Christianity feel a bit forced.

Look also at Lucifer. According to legend, Lucifer Morningstar was the highest of all the angels - the "Right Hand of God", if you will. His fall came about as a result of pride and jealousy. According to legend, when God created humanity he loved them more than he loved the angels -- setting them above everything else in his creation. Lucifer rebelled, leading one third of the angels into battle against the heavenly host.

Another interesting bit of information about Lucifer is that he was the most beautiful of all the angels, and is most commonly depicted as a blond Adonis. While the actor portraying Lucifer here turned in a good performance, he didn't really fit the classical image of the foremost fallen angel. In fact, when Lucifer appears in other stories and legends he continues to be an individual of surpassing beauty, not the hideous monstrosity he transforms into in this particular episode.

Also, in my research I discovered that Lucifer is not necessarily "The Devil". While both of them are symbols of "The Adversary", they aren't always interchangeable.

With all this information, here's what I think has been done. Mephistopheles is one of the old guard of deities, like the Olympian pantheon, that must go the way of the dodo if the new age of Eli is to come about. The legend of Lucifer's fall is combined with the popular Christian image of the Devil, and takes his rightful place in the new "Elite" religious system that is being put into place.

This isn't a bad thing, but I think that they are trying too hard to tie this storyline off. Back when the Christian imagery began to appear, I supported the move (for reasons I have explained elsewhere). Now I find myself growing tired of the arc. It's not because the stories are boring (because for the most part they aren't), but because Rob Tapert and the writing team seems to be doing the very thing I cautioned against back when it started; they have given a specific shape to what I feel should have remained an indeterminate form.

In conclusion, this episode wasn't too bad. It's not one of the greatest episodes of the series (in my opinion, it isn't really a competitor), but it was certainly the best we had seen so far in the new season. The solid performances, excellent atmosphere, and dramatic tension are balanced out by a couple of writing gaffs, editing blunders, and questionable myth shaping. Still, overall it is a worthwhile effort. I give it a C-plus.

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