[D736]

I was definitely disappointed with the end of the show. I just can't see Xena getting all weak in the knees for the little Japanese girl Akemi. I think that there should be a made for TV movie like Hercules had depicting a more proper ending for the show. Maybe, a bad dream sequence where Gabby wakes up and it was all a dream. They should go on with their lives and eventually growing old together. Possibly telling their life stories to grandchildren so that their legacy goes on. Maybe Gabrielle has a weak moment with a good looking warrior who gets her pregnant and then disappears to fight in some war. She then later gives birth to twins; a boy and a girl. This is to replace the daughter Hope that she had in previous episodes. Her and Xena raise the kids together and live blissfully together. The End.

EW

[D737]

Through the series, I never saw Gabrielle as a "warrior in training." Now this episode totally betrays what the character of Gabrielle is about, and presents her "true calling" as the one of the warrior. This I find totally ridiculous and makes the episode a total disappointment. If she would have left to open a hospice, I would find it more believable. But her as the lone warrior, is just out of character. She is not fighting anymore because she is following Xena around, she is fighting because she needs/wants to.

Its out of character too that she acted so "civil" when Xena told her she had to stay dead. Through the years we see Gab always following Xena wherever she went, "her path is my path." And now we see a Gabrielle accepting things in such a casual way, after all they have being through. C'mon, Herc acted more emotional when Ialous died. It is really a forced ending in my opinion. And I pity everyone who thinks Gabrielle's calling was the one of the warrior, and that the way of true redemption can be achieved through death. These people didn't learnt much through the series.

AJ

[D738]

My friend and I were VERY disappointed in the finale. These episodes had absolutely NOTHING to do with the rest of the series, or the fact that Xena had been forgiven even by the Gods.. when she was given the chance to live again. It was a Poor ending to a wonderful series, and as far as I'm concerned, the last episode was the "lost Scroll" episode. At least that contained some history, and timeline continuity. And they just HAD to add one more kiss.

In the words of the Sovereign "Very Disappointed"

B&P

[D739]

I've been a Xena fan for the past 4 years and consider it my "guilty pleasure" and the only thing I watch on TV these days. I was very disappointed that Xena died at the end of the program. After all the times she had died and come back from the dead during the course of the show, to have it end that way was a disappointment. Hercules ended with him and Iolaus walking off into the sunset and it should have been that way for Xena. I'm sure Rob Tapert had his reasons.

On a side note, I've enjoyed your web site and I'm glad you haven't stopped since the show has ended.

MD

[D740]

I am disappointed, not because Xena died...but the way they did it....decapitating her...was just too much...she should have been run through like a real warrior...I did however like how Gabrielle like caught the chakram...it was like Xena was inside her ...that she became what she wanted.."Teach me everything you know"

KS

[D741]

didn't like the whole beheading thing.. too many young girls watch the show. otherwise, great show

DW

[D742]

I loathed it!

Why Xena had to die and stayed dead was ridiculous. What makes more sense is this. In a male dominated and homophobic society, brutally killing the strong independent female, having her striped, whipped and raped by the ghost sucker, and separated physically from her female lover is still 'The Way'. This is why Xena's death is a tragedy.

MW

[D743]

I trusted Robert Tapert. All through the waffling of Season 2, I trusted him. Along came the Rift, and Xena suddenly being right where you'd expect her to be wrong, and dragging Gabrielle behind her from a horse -- and I trusted him. When Season 4 presented us with extremely disturbing images of women being crucified, I trusted him. In Season 5, when X&G turned into an old married couple, and took away Gab's natural ability as a mother, I trusted him. And when he said he wouldn't kill them in the finale, I trusted him. I trusted his vision. I trusted that he would lead me someplace I would actually want to go, that he would show how love and forgiveness can trump hatred, violence, and revenge. To paraphrase Stephen King: he led me into the darkest part of the forest -- and he left me there.

BG

[D744]

Concerning the final episode of Xena, I was far more shocked than disappointed...Throughout the series, Xena was an icon for that which transcended the very form of physical defeat that, in the end, she so fully embraced. One can try to be content with the perseverance of love and friendship between Xena and Gabrielle with one walking the earth, and the other the etheral plane. But it was in the ways the dynamic duo always managed to escape this glitch and move forward together on the same plane that so empowered the series for me....It was sad enough the series had to end, still, much sadder indeed, to see the final storyline so adhere to the everyday paradigm concerning life and death that we, as mere mortals must endure... For so many reasons the series was exceptional, a rare gem...so so sad and sorry to see it end... Yet as with all thing in life, love lends immortality...That which lives on in the heart, helps to birth new forms of itself through all who loved it.....

QA

[D745]

I've been trying to come to terms with the end of Xena for the last couple of weeks & have been trying to believe that Rob Tapert is merely unaware of what he has done, instead of deliberately just wanting to say "F--k you!" to the fans....I'm trying to imagine that he just doesn't have a clue that although he created Xena as a soul in need of redemption, he didn't notice that she had already found it & the show had become a love story, which he deliberately ended tragically. As the only evidence in his favor, I note that the first episode, Sins of the Past, was re-run a few weeks before the finale, making me reluctantly believe that just maybe he really thought the show was still about Xena's redemption, & too bad about Gabrielle and too bad, too, about the hopes of the fans for Xena & Gabrielle walking off together into the sunset. Tragically, Lucy, Renee, & the rest of the cast & crew were suckered into outstanding performances in support of "Rob's vision." But I guess the thrill of being the first producer actually to kill off your Title Character was just too tempting to resist. Sincerely yours,

AK
Charleston, SC

[D746]

I had hoped that the creator would have had a bit more respect for not only his own creation, but for the fans that made it what it was. So many different ways to have ended such a great show. However, I refuse to let 10 minutes ruin a show I truly enjoy watching.

LUW

[D747]

i loved xena, from the very first show. I was very disappointed in the ending i feel it did not do justice to the heart of the show,which was Greece and xena finding redemption. The ending should have occurred in Greece. AND WHERE DID EVE GO?

TC

[D748]

Beyond disappointed. I hate that Gabrielle had to ride off alone. Sure, we all know that Xena's Spirit will always be with her, but its still not right. They deserved a happy ending. Robert Tapert doesn't know what he's doing. Its been a few weeks since the Season Finale showed, but I'm still feeling incomplete from that ending. I know it sounds cheesy, but its the truth. The show had a great impact on my life and the lives of others. Following this show for 6 years and it ending this way, was not right. I hope they make a movie and have it end with Gabrielle and Xena together, alive and forever.

A very disappointed Fan
MFS

[D749]

To start off on a good note, I was very glad to see that Gabrielle played such a strong role and was actually leading. In Part I, Xena asks her to come up with a plan to save the town and has her execute it. In Part II, Gabrielle gets the sweet tattoos (yes, I am biased). She also kicks the *ss of the guy that took Xena's head...twice!! And I am also glad that she finally can use the chakram.

Now for the bad.... You know what I said throughout the last 10 or 15 minutes of the final episode? "That's not right!" After all they have been through and all they have done, it isn't right to have Xena die. The only reason that I didn't melt into a pile of tears on my hardwood floor is because I had a friend over and I don't cry in front of anyone. You better believe I did when she left. The ending of the show this way has left me with an empty heart and a head full of questions that can now never be answered. I still love the show and I enjoyed the last couple episodes but I would have liked things to turn out differently for Gabrielle and Xena. It was as if my soul had been ripped from me leaving a dull aching pain where my heart used to reside. I wanted to scream at the injustice of it all. Xena said she'd always be with Gabrielle in her heart but that is not the same as physically being there. I could really feel for Gabrielle. I know how I would feel if I were in her situation. I know how I feel now...devastated with a side of forlonging emptiness.

It has now been three weeks or so since I saw the finale and I am still not feeling any better about it. I've filled in everyone at work and even though they are not all avid watchers like myself, they all are upset with the outcome as well. Some have hopes that there will be a movie or that some other network will try to start up the show again. I think that is the only way I will ever have any piece of mind. So to summarize, I was disappointed with the way the show ended (i.e. Xena remaining dead which then leaves Gabrielle heartbroken and alone) but I still love the show.

CN

[D750]

I think that TPTB had good intentions to bring everything "full circle" but that was not how I wanted to see our heroes end their incredible six year journey. The show was incredibly done with brilliant choreography and writing but to leave one to travel on without the other...there can be no justification.

JO

[D751]

entertained and surprised too, but mostly disappointed

K

[D752]

Thank you for the opportunity to write about the series finale of Xena. I've withheld my thoughts for the most part because I didn't want to be influenced by other people's opinions and views. I've given myself about 3 times to watch FIN I & II (all I could stand) and tried to consider how I felt from different angles.

Xena and Gabrielle, or Lucy and Renee, were wonderful. Renee's fight scenes were the best ever, and the water dispensing scene wasn't bad either. These episodes actually made my stomach hurt, especially the pinch scene at the end of FIN I and when Xena watched Gabrielle walk away into the mist. I have always hated them being separated, even for a day, and seeing the finality of Xena's look made my heart sink. But on the opposite end of the board, their love was so true and if the viewers couldn't feel it, they had to brain-dead. Extremely bittersweet.

Xena's self-sacrifice upset me more than anything. The scenes where she was shot with arrows and fought a bloody fight were fabulous, but almost unbearable to watch. Her stripped and beheaded body hung in the rain and poor Gabrielle having to see it with no warning was emotionally horrific. I kept putting myself in Gabs' spot, finding the person I loved more than anything in the world murdered and mutilated. What courage to keep going forward, but her false hope ended up being the hardest thing to take. When Xena spoke to Akemi's ghost and said, "I'm afraid that what's done today may not be undone", I realized she knew this time might really be it. So courage on Xena's part is admirable, but so painful. Painful like when Gabrielle fell into the lava pit in Sacrifice II, and their conversation outside the temple seemed like Xena would be the one to die. But it was Season 3 and we knew it would be okay in a couple of months!

It's bad enough for the series to be ending, but the manner in which the book was closed was much too final and certainly too brutal. Maybe the writers did let her die the death of a warrior. She did just that. But considering how the fans have shown their love and support for this series over the years, and I think there could have been a better choice for their exit. So yeah, I'm disappointed.

Do you think you guys at Whoosh! can contact Liz Friedman and Katherine Fugate to see if they can give us Varia:Queen of the Gorgeous Amazons for the next 5 years or so? =)

MM
Arkansas

[D753]

I won't accept the ending as was given..I prefer to believe xena and Gabrielle continue in there travels as previously done; not as xena a "spirit" and Gabrielle remaining mortal.

MS

[D754]

ouch. That hurt.

I've never emailed a Xena site before, although being a HUGE fan, but I gotta get this off my chest. The first hour and fifty five minutes of the finale was fantastic- I totally loved it. The last five minutes SUCKED!!! It felt to me like that lame last-minute excuse to keep Xena dead effectively undermined all the good that had been accomplished in the last six seasons. As if all Xena's efforts at redemption through love and good deeds meant nothing. I understand TPTB's desire for a dramatic storyline, plot device, etc., but this just felt wrong.

Loved the kiss, though.

A Xena fan in Vancouver
JM

[D755]

What a poorly scripted ending to a great series. Unbelievable. I expected better. They should have hired some "real" screenwriters for an episode this important. The gore is unnecessary. What the h*ll where they thinking? Obviously, they were not thinking. How sad.

LR
Seattle, WA

[D756]

Most of us are really in denial over the series itself ending, not whether the last show worked or not. It was a brave way to end, but if she had to die, I wish it had been in Greece...

How I loved the earlier seasons of Xena, but I accept all the artistic choices the Writers made over the years. So sorry, Lucy, if some of us are slow to "cut the cord", we'll get over it, someday..

IU

[D757]

I think there was no closure. Don't introduce a completely new character when there isn't closure with any of the others: Eve, Aries, Callisto, etc. With a two part series to play with, there could have been more emphasis on Xena and Gabbie! (besides the best part)

CD

[D[G2]

TPTB shouldn't have killed Xena.... such a disappointment.

TR

[D759]

Although there were some aspects I liked in this episode, particularly the work of the actors, it was a very difficult end to a series that meant the most to me of any I have seen in the last 40 years. The lack of hope I felt at the final image, of Gabrielle alone, was devastating.

If I knew that TPTB intended a continuation of the story starring Lucy and Renee, I could have weathered this as I have previous apparent ends to our heroines' happiness, but without such knowledge, I continue to grieve as many others do.

AT

[D760]

How sad that a show that matured into celebrating the redeeming powers of love and self forgiveness , chose to end with a regression into vengeance and "penance" as the truths we must follow.

Did they owe us anything? Of course they did. If a show airs in the forest and no one is there to watch it, does it make a sound? There is an organic relationship between a story and its audience. To now state that RT had a "defiant" vision, and it was his right to decapitate, mutilate, and "punish" our beautiful, strong heroine because she was a "war criminal"?? .... disappointing, indeed.

When Fates Collide is my finale.

Thanks for your wonderful site and your dedication to the cause!

NB

[D761]

How could they kill Xena??
How could Gabby let her die??
I was extremely disappointed!!!!
I am still upset!

RV

[D762]

Unless there will be an "Official" set of books or a follow-on movie, this end left too many strings.

So many things are still left to be covered. Plus, if you are going to drag on the "Love" for so many years, you should have at least gone out with a bang, not just another "creative kiss" that isn't really a kiss.

KDN

[D763]

I didn't want it to end the way it did. I thought they were soulmates, in show of course, I that maybe they could die together. I have their spirits meet by a white horse and ride away. Doesn't Gabrielle have to redo her self like Xena did, for all the murders she did, or did she. I am disappointed in how it turn out though, but I guess Rob did that for a reason. I didn't like when Xena said, "old friend," to Gabrielle I didn't like that part. She could say bestfriend. I don't know. I like to see other season of Xena and a movie on how she first started being a warrior princess. In taking all her evil Xena and putting them together, act like Xena and Gabrielle seen each other in a dream. I don't know if you heard of Savage Garden the New CD Affirmation Listen to the songs actually the words. Don't use the subtext to it. This is how I feel. I didn't want the show to end.. Thank you for your time in reading this.

D

[D764]

To tell you the truth I don't know what I was expecting from the last episode. I had heard rumors that Xena was going to get killed. The rumors were true. I just didn't like the fact that she got killed. I was kinda of hoping Ares would be in the last show.

KC

[D765]

I guess I really was shocked. I was unable to view the first showing in its entirety, it really was too heart breaking to see the END come so decisively (besieged with arrows, beheaded and then denied closure of such a great warrior as a whole person), I was crushed. I really grieved for many days, even my cat had empathy for my great loss.

The acting of Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor were superb.

The legend of Xena and Gabrielle can never be duplicated. Thanks from a senior and avid viewer.

PS

[D766]

When Xena, at the end, decides to stay dead, she says

"But if there was a reason for our travels together it is because I had to learn from YOU enough to know the final, the good, the right thing to do."

So when Xena says she had to learn from Gabrielle what to do, it's as if she were being sarcastic; what's she's doing is simply what she would have done at the beginning of the show, if Gabrielle had not stopped her. This is doubly disappointing: First, it turns the entire show into a wild goose chase; nothing that happened during the six seasons ultimately mattered. Second, the barbaric message is that seeking redemption through good deeds rather than blood sacrifice, is "the bad, the wrong thing".

What are we left with in the end? The message of the power of love and forgiveness is dead. Xena is dead. The love story is dead. Only Gabrielle is alive, but doomed to a life as a lone killer without her soulmate, it's hard to imagine she will ever be happy. The ending is not so much "hard" or "defiant" as it is defeatist.

S

[D767]

Xena has killed gods and to met that as a end is totally outrageous. Hell, come on people let's get real. Xena is not that dumb..... They could have kept that and not ended at all... I turn my television off and burned my xena collection from the past six years..... They really messed up! Oh, just messed up the show completely.... I hadn't been this upset since Le Femme Nikita went off the air with that sorry ending too...

TG

[D768]

The fans deserve a better ending. Xena should have lived and shared the rest of her life with Gabrielle. They could find new adventures together. Love is stronger than death. There are ways of bringing Xena back to life for Gabrielle and the fans. Ares could bring her back. It was an incredibly cruel thing for the fans to go through, seeing Xena hung up without a head and then seeing Xena's head on a platter. The picture of that is very hard to take. It's so sad to watch the show now knowing that the one someone that you took into your heart for a role model and hero had to be killed. That makes the fans feel so lost and heart broken. Xena promised Gabrielle that she would never die on her in the Quest. Make that promise true and bring Xena back to us. It's nice to have someone like Xena to give us the strength and courage to over come our fears and take a stand for ourselves. The fans need Xena to live. Without Xena, where are we? We need Xena to live again. Xena makes us feel good inside. Xena makes us wanna go out and make something of ourselves. The fans don't need a dead hero. We want Xena to live. I love the show. I want my hero back please. Mend my broken heart so I can watch the sun set in happiness.

X

[D769]

Actually none of the above. Disappointed because of the ending of one of the most creative series in generations and more importantly because of Xena's inability to achieve redemption for her " Sins Of The Past". I know all love stories don't have a happy ending , but this series that has meant so much to so many deserved a more upbeat finale.

I am always amazed at the amount of charitable monies that Xena fans have raised internationally for "The Greater Good" whether it's for a children's hospital in New Zealand or a beach clean up on Long Island, New York, Xena fans have paid "The Price".

It disturbs me that Xena must continue to pay for a "Past Imperfect". I know that she found "The Way" even before she met Eli. There is definitely a "Purity" in the relationship between the character of Xena and her fans. It is more than just an "Animal Attraction". Hopefully our "Fallen Angel" will raise her "Chakram" once again in an upcoming movie so the "Eternal Bonds" between our two favorite "Kindred Spirits" will once again unite so Xena's "Heart of Darkness" can be "Forgiven". We deserve this "Legacy"and just one more "Day In The Life" of Xena and Gabrielle!!!!

JC

[D770]

Very sad--no fair that Xena had to die and leave Gabby all alone.

AM

[D771]

The series finale was not satisfying. I've followed Xena since the first season Hercules. I think they tried to put too much into the last couple of minutes. Also the camera angles were irritating.

TT

[D772]

Tragic and most disturbing ending to this heroine's life and love.

CH

[D773]

I would have liked to have seen Xena and Gabrielle ride off into the sunset together and leaving the impression that more adventures were in store for them.

SW

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