PROMO TRANSCRIPTION
BETRAYED BY GABRIELLE
FACING PUNISHMENT FOR MURDER
Tien: So you have nothing to say in your defense, Xena?
XENA DISCOVERS THE TRUTH
Xena: Lao Ma was your mother
BEHIND THE MYSTERIOUS WOMAN
Lao Ma: Come to me, Xena.
WHO SAVED XENA'S LIFE AND THE RUTHLESS EMPEROR DETERMINED TO
END IT
Tien: The sentence is death.
Lao Ma: To conquer yourself is to know the way.
(Xena is tied to a cross; swords magically fly through the
air)
BATTLE ON, XENA
TV GUIDE PROMO
Conclusion. Flashbacks recall Xena's transformaton from evil
to good. But in the present, the "Green Dragon" has captured
Xena, and is breathing fire at her.
AIRING AND RATING
INFORMATION
1st RELEASE: 11/10/97
An AA average of 6.3
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
Variety did not report them for this week (DRAT!). But i did
deduce that X-FILES earned an 8.3 and STDS9 a 6.7; so, I am
assuming they were the top two and that XENA was 3rd with around
6.3-ish, and HERCULES a little lower.
2nd release: 04-06-98
An AA average of 4.2
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) X-FILES 8th with 5.9
(2) STAR TREK DS9 14th with 4.7
(3) XENA 16th with 4.2
(4) WALKER TEXAS RANGER 20th with 3.9
(5) HERCULES did not make the top 20.
3rd release: 12-14-98
An AA average of 3.5
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) X-FILES 12th with 5.0
(2) ER 17th with 4.2
(3) STAR TREK DS9 19th with 4.0
(4) WALKER TEXAS RANGER 21st with 3.8
(5) HERCULES 3.7
(6) XENA 3.5
(7) CROW 3.1
(8) EARTH FINAL CONFLICT 2.5
(9) MORTAL KOMBAT 2.6
(10) STARGATE 2.5
(11) NIGHTMAN 2.3
(12) OUTER LIMITS 2.2
SYNOPSIS 1:
This synopsis is by Bluesong.
The show opens with a "last week on
Xena" showing what happened in THE DEBT PART 1. Then, Gabrielle,
in the throne room with Ming Tien, asks to see Xena, but cannot.
Xena is placed in an indescribable large wooden square device
which goes around her neck. She is sent down to a mucky
water-filled dungeon. A guard asks Xena if it's true she was
betrayed by a friend. "No, not a friend," Xena replies.
Gabrielle sits with Ming Tien and asks again to see Xena; she is
terrified of what Xena will think of her. Ming Tien, through
flashbacks, tells Gabrielle how Xena taught him to rule when she
kidnapped him -- her ruthlessness combined with the lack of spine
in his father taught him how to be emperor.
In the dungeon Xena learns that Lao Ma
has been executed. She remembers in flashback all the things Lao
Ma taught her, which included a lot of philosophical sayings
about losing your desires and conquering yourself instead of
others. Lao Ma told Xena she must serve others. Xena said she
could serve Lao Ma. But Lao Ma said it is easy to serve someone
you love; Xena had to serve someone she hated. So Xena posed as
a servant girl and served Ming Tzu, Ming Tien's father, at a
dinner, and resisted the urge to kill him. As a reward Lao Ma
healed Xena's wounded legs, and Xena and Lao Ma embraced.
In the present, Gabrielle slaps Xena in
the face in an effort to get her to promise not to try to kill
Ming Tien again. Xena has tears on her cheeks. Gabrielle leans
down and whispers to Xena, begging her to make this promise so
they can ride away together. But Xena pulls away from
Gabrielle's hand, and Ming Tien sentences Xena to death. He
tells Gabrielle not to feel like she failed with Xena because he
was going to sentence her to death anyway, even if she had
promised not to kill him.
Now that Xena has been condemned, Ming
Tien lets Gabrielle see Xena. Gabrielle goes to the prison and
sloshes through the water. Xena won't talk to her. Gabrielle
says she realizes that her reverence for life has left an evil
emperor in power and cost her the life of her best friend. Xena
could not hate Gabrielle any more than she hates herself,
Gabrielle says. Xena finally turns to Gabrielle (with this big
wooden plank still around her neck) and says "scratch my nose,
will you?" Gabrielle bursts into tears. Xena tells Gabrielle
that she was angry, but she didn't hate Gabrielle. She says she
could never hate her. Xena then tells Gabrielle through flashback
how Lao Ma saved her soul.
After the healing of her legs Xena
learned to give up her will and desires. She floated through the
air with Lao Ma. The air dance was interrupted when Borias came
in the room. Xena attacked him. Lao Ma begged Xena to give up
her hatred, but Xena could not. Lao Ma wanted peace, and she
wanted Xena to be her "warrior princess." But Ming Tzu said he
owned Xena; Borias said he found her, and Xena said she belonged
to herself. So ownership of Xena was decided in a game of dice;
only they increased the stakes to include a body part of each of
the losers as well. Xena won. She claimed Borias's "heart" and
went after Ming Tzu. She killed him. She and Borias went after
Ming Tien, who watched all this, but Lao Ma (who is Ming Tien's
mother) stopped them with her mind powers.
In the present, Xena tells Gabrielle
that it took her years to understand what Lao Ma tried to teach
her. She says she was at the end of her rope just before she met
Gabrielle, and it was the teachings of Lao Ma that enabled her to
turn her life around and be "reborn." This is the debt Xena had
to repay.
Then the guards come for Xena and take
her to the throne room. She is placed on a cross to have her
head lopped off across the forehead. While she lies there, Lao
Ma's face appears before her, repeating all of those
philosophical words. Xena remembers she has to conquer herself
and all that other stuff, and somehow she makes weapons fly
through the air and land in the back of the executioner. She
makes her chains break open and frees herself. She fights off
several men with some conventional methods and then she uses her
mind to send a blast of power through the palace wall. She
starts crumbling the palace as people run. She tells Gabrielle
to get everyone out before the palace falls in. One last blast
buries Ming Tien.
Ming Tien comes out of the rubble and
tells Xena he wants to talk to her. He tells her he personally
killed Lao Ma because he knew she wouldn't use her powers on her
little boy. He says she cried over the loss of peace, and even
when he tore her heart out she cried. He picks up Lao Ma's book
of wisdom and says it did her no good. He gives Xena a hairpin
that Lao Ma wanted Xena to have.
Gabrielle returns and finds Xena before
Ming Tien as he sits on his throne. She tells him she doesn't
have to kill him because she's made him small and no one will
follow him now. She picks up the book and takes it with her.
Gabrielle says they will take care of the book. She tells Xena
she is proud of her for not killing Ming Tien and that she loves
her. Xena says "I love you too, Gabrielle." The camera cuts
back to Ming Tien, who has a hair pin sticking out of the side of
his head that Gabrielle cannot see.
SYNOPSIS 2:
This synopsis is by Mil Toro.
The story picks up where Part 1 left
off. Gabrielle has betrayed Xena's intentions to the Green
Dragon. She somehow talked her way into the palace and convinced
this guy to capture Xena and then I think she hoped that she
could get Xena banished from the Kingdom of Chin and get Xena to
promise not to come back to kill him. (Her naivete is so
unbelievable, I had trouble with this scene). She desperately
wants to talk to Xena and explain herself but Ming Tien refuses
to let Gabrielle see Xena at all. Meanwhile Xena is in the
dungeon, which is full of waist-high water, with a large heavy
board around her neck, (by the gods, that was *painful* to watch)
and meets a guy who knew Lao Ma and he tells Xena Lao Ma was
executed by Ming Tien. (I didn't catch this on first viewing,
but Ming Tien is not on his throne like he is when Xena is about
to be executed, so I am led to believe he was telling the truth
when he said he was the executioner of Lao Ma). Anyway, the
guy in jail from Lao's house is surprised that Lao Ma didn't save
herself with her powers and wondered if they were ever real.
Then Xena says they were and tells him how she tried to teach
Xena to use them for the greater good. In the past, Xena is made
to serve dinner to Ming Tzu and the boy. Xena is sorely tempted
to slice the guy's throat but somehow restrains herself. She
*really* wanted to, though. Lucy did an excellent job of showing
the war of emotions going on inside Xena.
We go back to present time, and
Gabrielle *slaps* Xena in the face and yells, "Say it!", meaning
she wanted Xena to promise to leave the Kingdom of Chin and
promise to never come back to kill the Green Dragon. Ok, folks,
up until this time, I had believed that Gabrielle was acting
within her character and I could see the motivations of the
things she did in THE DELIVERER, GABRIELLE'S HOPE, and THE DEBT
I, BUT THIS?????? My question throughout this scene was "Who are
you? and what have you done with Gabrielle?" I've watched the
episode four times and I still don't believe Gabrielle would
*ever* strike Xena like this, even if it was only once. The only
logical explanation was that she was *so* scared Xena would be
executed and *so* frustrated by Xena's stoic refusal, that she
lost it for a second. Plausible? maybe, but to me, highly
unlikely (what was R.J. and R.T. thinking????). I think what
would have been more likely is Gabrielle on her knees crying and
pleading with Xena to make the promise. It was clear Xena would
rather die than make a promise like that. In the end, we find
out why. She just couldn't. (During this scene, Lucy's stoney
face and the combination of tears was just incredible. How can I
even describe it except to say there was a duality of emotions
from the opposite ends of the spectrum that were conveyed).
EM-MY! EM-MY! EM-MY!
Anyway, Ming Tien finally allows
Gabrielle to see Xena now that it has been determined she will be
executed. Gabrielle goes to see Xena in the water filled dungeon
(more painful stuff, geez! it really set the tone of how barbaric
prisons used to be). Gabrielle wants to talk to Xena and at
first Xena doesn't answer and when she finally does, she says
"scratch my nose". Gabrielle bursts out crying. So much was
expressed in that one exchange - Gabrielle realised that somehow
Xena forgave her, Gabrielle was relieved that Xena didn't hate
her even before Xena says she was angry but she could never hate
Gabrielle, Gabrielle was grateful that they at least had a chance
to spend Xena's last few hours together, (I actually thought they
would kiss for a second, it seemed like they wanted to but the
board was in the way, oh well). It was sweet to see Gabrielle
helping Xena hold up the heavy board. Gabrielle also admits that
she understands now why Xena wanted to kill the Green Dragon and
is remorseful that she let her reverence for life stop Xena from
killing a monster.
Xena finishes telling her story of Lao
Ma and how she healed her broken legs and they both flew in the
air (how romantic that was! It was reminiscent of a scene from
BRIDE WITH THE WHITE HAIR, a Hong Kong movie that Rob Tapert has
said Xena is partly based on. It's available on video rental,
and I highly recommend it, both Parts I and II). Then Borias
enters the room and Xena falls to the floor and attacks him. Lao
Ma tries to stop her but she doesn't listen. She ends up kicking
him viciously and yells at him "you've always said you were a leg
man!" That scene was brutal. Finally, Lao Ma uses her powers to
stop Xena and flings her across the room like a rag doll.
At Lao Ma's suggestion and after much
resistance, Xena agrees to ask Ming Tzu's forgiveness and to Lao
Ma's plan to form a three-way alliance, Lao house (with Xena
being Lao Ma's Warrior Princess), Ming house and Borias (Xena and
Borias eventually kiss and make up). Ming Tzu resists the idea
because he says he already owns Xena and then Xena suggests they
gamble for the right to own her. She ups the ante and says the
winner gets Xena and a body part, minimum bet - a hand. Gruesome
thought. She asks Ming Tzu, "you got the jewels for this one?"
Wicked. Anyway, Xena wins and demands payment. Borias offers
his heart, which Xena gladly accepts. Lao Ma seems crestfallen
at her acceptance. Not sure if it was because she chose Borias
over her OR because Xena was continuing with the gruesome game
and hasn't learned anything. Anyway, Xena says she wants Ming
Tzu's heart and he quits the game saying it is nonsense and
starts to leave when Xena grabs a sword and takes out his heart
(I guess she was going to get it one way or another. Yikes!!!).
Borias comes to her aid and kills his guard, then Xena goes after
the boy. Lao Ma jumps in front of him and Xena says they can end
the blood line and then rule both kingdoms with Lao Ma handling
the noble stuff while X/B keep the peace. Naturally, Lao Ma
can't have any of this and uses her powers again to send Xena
crashing into the nearest wall. Borias is next. Then Lao Ma
picks Xena up and sends her crashing into another wall and yet
again into a third wall. Me thinks the woman was p*ss*d!!! Still
disappointed in Xena's choice of Borias over her? or just
frustrated that Xena is thickheaded as a boulder. Geez! This
woman had a million times the patience of Job to put up with
Xena's bullshit. Finally, Xena is on the floor, unconscious.
Back in the present, it's time for
Xena's execution. Xena and Gabrielle grasp hands for a few
seconds and then they take Xena to the execution room, take the
board off and lay her across a sacrificial alter of some sort as
the executioner approaches. This time, Ming Tien is clearly in
the background. Anyway, Xena starts remembering stuff Lao Ma
said to her and channels her energy to kill the executioner with
his own weapons and then releases herself from the metal
bindings. She fights off Ming Tien's soldiers with her bare
hands and some great kicks, then uses her newfound bolts of
energy to attack them. Finally, she blasts a hole through the
wall and the palace begins to crumble. Gabrielle is escorting
people outside and Xena sees Ming Tien and sends a bolt of energy
his way. He dodges it at the last second but Xena thinks he is
dead and starts to walk away. Then he gets up and calls to her
and Gabrielle tries to get Xena out of there (she is clearly
afraid of what Xena will do) but Xena wants to hear what he has
to say. They talk and Xena tells him Lao Ma was his mother and
he says he knew and was the executioner and generally 'disses the
woman. Xena loses it and kills him but pretends to Gabrielle
that she didn't. Whew! what an ending!!!
COMMENTARY 1:
This commentary is by
Beth Gaynor.
DEBT II was a hit-or-miss episode for
me. There were some stunningly good moments, and other ones that
left me tossing Cheetos at the screen. Some things worked, some
didn't, which left the episode feeling uneven. On balance, I do
like the episode a lot, but boy, some of those scenes still throw
me right out of the story.
Lao Ma surprised me: she turned out to
be a (mostly) good lady. Heck, they painted her to be practically
saintly. But this saint had serious bite. She had power coursing
under that calm facade like a lava flow, which gave extra punch
to the calm statements she made. I don't think it was meant to
be, but I found chilling the scene when Lao Ma shows Lao Tzu to
Xena. She was keeping a man alive by a thread, using pressure
points and comas, destroying his life's work to change it into
something he would have despised, and she called it a gift to
him? Brrrr. Remind me not to go knocking over there at Christmas
time.
Xena offered to serve Lao Ma. In a
throw-away moment. As far as we've seen, Xena has always
commanded, always led. Even as a young and inexperienced warrior,
she was the rallier of her village against Cortese. She captained
the ship we saw in Destiny as she expanded her conquests. Even in
DEBT I, when Borias led the army, Xena wasn't much of a
subordinate. But she was willing to give ground to Lao Ma.
However much Xena may have failed to take all of Lao Ma's advice
to heart, Xena definitely recognized her as a leader and a
mentor.
Once again, photography kudos all
around! These two episodes have had cinematography that beats
most of the junk that reaches the big screen. My two favorite
Kodak moments: the scene between Lao Ma and Xena with the bottles
on the table and the gorgeous golden silhouettes behind them, and
the distant shot in that weird floating scene, with yellow and
purple robes and scarves blowing in front of red walls.
Beautiful, beautiful work.
Phew, what a relief. Not even a minute
into DEBT II, Gabrielle said the words I had been waiting to
hear: "You said you would let Xena go!" Gab turned over Xena with
the belief that she was going to be able to negotiate them both
out of there. Unfortunately, the road to hell is paved with good
intentions, and naive Gab found herself smack in the middle of
Tartarus when she realized she hadn't counted on two things: Ming
Tien's cruelty and Xena's stubbornness-plus-sense-of-honor. "The
pathetic thing is I thought I was saving you," she confesses in
the dungeon. She thought she had hit on the perfect plan: keep
Xena from assassinating Ming T'ien despite her best efforts, turn
around, and go home with everyone's soul in one piece. Reality
check time for the amazon princess.
Where is the moment when Gabrielle
realized that she had seriously misjudged what was going to
happen? When did she finally figure out that this wasn't going
according to plan? I was waiting to see it hit her and never
spotted it. In the dungeon, she told Xena she hated herself for
what had happened, and I didn't believe her. It should have been
one of the gut-punches of the episode, it got pulled, and I have
no idea why.
Also in the "what th-?" department: One
little polearm stood between Gabrielle and Xena's execution? And
then when Xena did burst free on her own, Gabrielle still stood
aside without helping? It was time for some serious crash and
bashing, and Gabrielle stood rooted to the spot. (But great
surprise reaction when the torture implements started flying.) If
we want to put the Xena reality editor through some serious
gymnastics, the best conclusion I can come up with is that
Gabrielle is still reeling from having killed and doesn't want to
go anywhere near a fight. We haven't seen her swing a fist since
DELIVERER. Maybe the writers just seriously tripped up on that
one. I had expected it would have taken a lot more than one guy
with a stick to hold Gabrielle at bay.
Xena's interrogation by Gabrielle was
one of the moments that really worked for me. How gut-wrenching
can you get? It opened with Gabrielle's sudden strike at Xena's
head, which snatched my attention as forcefully as an actual slap
would have. Xena's cold, unfocused silence combined with the
tears falling from her eyes was sock-knocking. Xena's tears
weren't for the pain of the imprisonment, the stocks, or the
blow. They were for the pain of feeling so thoroughly betrayed by
Gabrielle. Gabrielle knew it, too, but kept driving towards the
single goal she had left; to get Xena to promise what they needed
to be able to leave the place behind. Her words when she finally
knelt close and pleaded were reminiscent of what she said in THE
EXECUTION when she realized how much trouble was ahead for them:
let's just turn our backs on this issue, and we can ride away and
never look back. Gabrielle has a tendency to play ostrich with
trouble when it gets too personal, and she doesn't even
realize that in both these cases, it would have meant that she
would win the issue (Meleager would have been free, Ming would
have been unmolested). Xena, on the other hand, has no such
inclination; the more personally painful the problem, the more
Xena bulls into it chin-first. Gabrielle never had a chance of
getting that promise out of Xena.
When Lao Ma healed Xena's legs, the
first thought that occurred to me as Xena laid down on the mat
was "Wow, she's actually still." It was the first time in those
flashbacks that Xena wasn't fidgeting, champing at the bit, and
lunging forward. Xena's manner had become much more subdued
around Lao Ma, but she still raged under the surface. I guess
that was supposed to be the point of the healing; Xena had
managed to find enough control to allow her legs to be healed.
I'm sure Lao Ma's plan was that eventually the same would be true
for her soul.
The leg-healing and floating-in-the-air
scenes totally lost me. Lao Ma and Xena's emotions escaped me - I
didn't buy much of the elation I was expecting Xena to feel at
being healed. And then suddenly we were in Willie Wonka's
chocolate factory and floating through the air. At the end, we
get the hint that it must have something to do with losing desire
and will, since Xena loses altitude the moment she sees Borias,
but I couldn't figure that while I was watching the scene. There
must have been some heavy symbolism and parallels with Chinese or
Hong Kong films, but it left me scratching my head.
The gambling scene, on the other hand,
was brilliant. I love the pacing and the acting all around. Watch
how perfectly Xena and Borias work in tandem. Neither of them
batted an eye in surprise when Borias offered his heart and Xena
immediately accepted. They read each others' intentions, leapt to
their swords, and made short work of Ming and his guards. Lao Ma
had reunited a highly dangerous combination; it wasn't the wisest
thing she ever did. And the scene foreshadowed a bit of the
switch that was in place by the time they reached Greece; Xena
was now charging into the fore, and Borias was backing her up.
And I'm betting he took the gift of his heart with dead
seriousness.
Those Mortal Combat-style chi attacks
were weird, but boy, Xena sure looked cool throwing them around.
When Gabrielle dressed in sackcloth, she got a potato sack. Xena
got a cool robe including rope sash, and looked kick-butt as all
get-out as she brought the Ming dynasty down around her own ears.
Renee needs to start bringing doughnuts to the wardrobe
department.
Yet another person gives Xena the "you
made me" speech. Ming Tien's accusation is almost a duplicate of
what Callisto has snarled. Xena's "I've learned to clean up after
myself" response is telling. She tortured herself after allowing
Callisto to die, but given the results with Ming, maybe she would
do it all again if she had to - and maybe even do it earlier if
given the chance. She doesn't give Ming Tien the opportunity to
make her regret letting him go free.
This probably marks me as a truly weird
person, but I cheered aloud when I saw that hairpin driven into
Ming Tien's skull. THERE'S the Xena we know - not this
enlightened,
let-'em-beat-me-up-and-imprison-me-while-I-tell-stories woman.
That was Xena's return to blood, her failure to live up to the
standard that Lao Ma and Gabrielle want to set up for her, but
darn it, it's the don'-MESS-with-me warrior that I love to watch.
Vigilante justice lives on in the Xenaverse.
It's Xena's turn to totally pull the
wool over Gabrielle's eyes. As best as I can piece together what
happened, Xena really was going to make it out of the temple
without killing Ming until he called her back. He bragged about
torturing Lao Ma to death, which was when Xena embroidered his
temples together. And she must have THEN - here's the kicker -
set him up in his throne and spoke to him, knowing that Gabrielle
was going to return. She staged it so Gabrielle never got close,
and led them both away while talking about how killing him wasn't
necessary (self-recriminations begin already!). The whole scene
is a cold setup to rival Gabrielle's story about Hope-pitching.
It's interesting to note that while one lied about killing
someone, the other lied about letting someone live.
And what kind of vicious twist of fate
is it that this led to the moment when Xena was finally able to
get the word "love" past her teeth for Gabrielle? Watch the sick
look on Xena's face almost the moment she said it. She hated the
fact that she could tell Gabrielle she loves her in the same
breath as deceiving her. This was also the first time that
Gabrielle, who has talked about loving Xena without problems,
really pushed a button to try to get that response from her.
She's searching big-time for some reassurance, and Xena provides
it, even though she's hating herself at the same time.
So let's take a look at Rift status.
Giving my best attempt to predict the writers' plans, we've laid
the Rift groundwork. Now it's a matter of dealing with
consequences and repairs. Who would have thought that the SMALLER
worries would be Xena turning her back on Gabrielle in Brittania
and Gabrielle betraying Xena to her enemies in the kingdom of
Chin? These "little" matters are mostly forgiven (though not
forgotten), and our favorite duo is on the way back to Greece,
wobbling as if on eggshells. Now they have to deal with the land
mines they've laid for themselves. We can be pretty sure that
Hope is going to reappear. Will word ever reach Gabrielle that
Ming Tien was killed in the attack on his palace?
Love is not a problem for these two;
even in their worst moments so far, their care for each other has
never even come close to being severed. This has boiled down to a
matter of trust. Gabrielle didn't trust Xena to find a method
other than bloodshed to deal with Hope. Xena didn't trust
Gabrielle to understand that killing may have been the only
option left for taking care of Ming. And they're both right. And
they're both probably going to be left defending wrong actions
they took for the right reasons with disastrous consequences for
each other. Angst ahoy!
COMMENTARY 2:
This commentary is by
Carmen Carter.
THE DEBT is easily the most beautiful
saga of the series, presenting an incredibly lush visual style
combined with exceptional production values -- from musical
scoring to cinematography to casting -- all of which contributed
to the epic scope of the basic storyline. The stunning look and
searing dramatic moments from Xena's past all helped to draw
attention away from the glaring plot holes and flawed
characterizations that, for me, marred the overall quality of the
show.
Although I really enjoyed the first
part of this story, I was unsatisfied with the conclusion, which
retroactively lessened the emotional impact of the first
installment. However, individual scenes impressed me -- and Lao
Ma was fabulous. Watching Xena's attempt, and continued failure,
to follow her mentor's teachings was riveting and revealed the
true horror of who the warrior princess had been, as well as
creating a much more complicated portrait of who the warrior
princess is now.
Seeing Xena revert to type when she
gratuitously kills the Green Dragon underscores the darkness that
we've all known is a part of her. However, the murder runs
counter to the idealistic and hopeful message that was central to
first and second season: that we do have control over our actions
and that the impulse to violence can be resisted. Storylines
involving murder, mayhem, revenge, hatred are a dime-a-dozen on
TV; the hallmark of this show has been watching a flawed yet
resolute anti-hero fight to keep her balance walking on the side
of good. It's a powerful image, and one I hope will not stayed
dimmed for too long.
Ironically, Gabrielle is the real
victim of betrayal in this story, with her actions and her
character reduced to nothing more than a convenient plot device,
used at the price of her character's integrity. Since the ending
of Part I demands an emotional high note, Gabrielle is pulled
into duty as the betrayer of Xena. This twist provides the
requisite shock value for a "to be continued" moment, but Part II
reveals that the shock is a contrived one. Gabrielle's action was
necessary to facilitate Xena's imprisonment, but the betrayal and
subsequent mini-rift serve no lasting dramatic purpose; they echo
the general betrayal theme without giving it any added resonance.
In GABRIELLE'S HOPE, the bard defied
Xena out of a pragmatic faith that has been central to her
character for several seasons, but in THE DEBT, Gabrielle appears
hopelessly naive and somewhat simple-minded in her surprise at
the Green Dragon's duplicity. This gullibility overshadows the
idealogical motives that supposedly fueled Gabrielle's
"treachery", and then her teary recantation and profession of
self-hatred completely negates the validity of her actions. This
despite the fact that Gabrielle is proven right in the end when
Xena slaughters the 16-year-old son of Lao Ma.
Having executed her one plot duty,
Gabrielle is relegated to a role of passive observer during
Xena's impending execution. The woman who has fought legions to
recover Xena's body, who has risked her own life time and again
to come to Xena's aid, who is willing to die for strangers, does
little more than flutter helplessly when the executioner prepares
to kill the warrior princess. Aside from being incredibly
annoying, this complete disregard for an established character
dynamic was a sign of sloppy writing, a reach for easy solutions
to plotting challenges.
Unfortunately, when plot mechanics
drive characters in unconvincing directions, the entire story
suffers a loss of crediblity. First and foremost this was Xena's
tale, and THE DEBT would have been better served by leaving
Gabrielle at the dock and finding a more creative and persuasive
way to build dramatic tension.
COMMENTARY 3:
This commentary is by
Deanna Hardrath.
I've read the episode guide, the synopsis and several other articles
covering these episodes in particular and found it interesting that a few
things that jumped out at me so completely didn't catch anyone else's
attention. (Either that or I'm just weird)
1. I firmly believe that Xena had every intention of leaving Ming Tien
alive at the end - she wanted to tell him, hurt him with the knowledge that
he had ordered his own mother executed. I think the decision to kill him
doesn't come until Ming Tien is bragging loudly about how Lao Ma cried as
he ripped his own mother's heart from her chest. Gads, what a powerful
struggle went on inside Xena at that moment. And Lucy Lawlass expresses
this so wonderfully without words - she really is an emotion-evoking actress.
I mean, catch the reaction in her at Ming Tien's statement that he knew Lao
Ma was his mother all along. What a heartless bastard this kid was - and
let's not forget, as coldly as she responds to him about cleaning up her
messes - throughout the episode Xena is well aware that it is SHE who
created Ming Tien.
2. I think we see yet another "rebirth" of Xena in this episode - a
poignantly sad one actually. I think at the moment she realizes the lack
of desire that Lao Ma espoused so frequently to her, is when she frees
herself. I think that Xena reaches the same pinnacle of choice she did
when Borias entered Lao Ma's house - to completely let go of all that makes
her "Xena" and turn to the things that Lao taught her and become truly good
- but Ming Tien, with his final statements pushes her back over the line
into much of her old ways. How wonderful that Xena remains the same
butt-kicking warrior we have come to know and love - but how sad that
release from her guilt-ridden soul eludes her yet again. I thought this
one of the most powerful moments in the two episodes.
3. Another moment that is sort of lost in its own subtleness is the sheer
joy and relief we see in Xena as the other prisoner speaks of Lao Ma - for
a brief second when Xena believes she is still alive - and in that same few
moments, is made aware of her death. Man, how many emotional somersaults
can we take!!!! And the utter joy and sheer love that crosses Xena's
face, against the backdrop of everything that's going on in present day is
incredible - as is the gut wrenching pain we see seconds later when the
truth of her death is revealed. All I can say is - someone pass me the
Kleenex PLEASE!
Also, I don't know about anyone else, but I think they did poor Gabrielle a
great disservice in these episodes - it isn't the whole "betrayal" thing
that bugged me - I can almost swallow that from Gab - she really didn't
want Xena to throw away everything Gabrielle sees Xena as having
accomplished over their time together. But to put her in such a deadpan,
cliche role throughout the episode - all I can say is "BLECH!"
And as for Jacqueline Kim - WOWOW!!!! The combination of Lucy and
Jacqueline together was packed with powerful moments for me. I sure hope
they bring her back in some way or another - I mean heck, in the crazy
universe that Gabrielle and Xena travel, surely it isn't beyond
comprehension that someone of Lao Ma's power couldn't come back in some
sort of ethereal way? Heh...how about as Xena's occasional conscious?
Nah, poor Xena has enough do-gooders on her back already I suppose.
Btw, I love the XWP staff for throwing in all those loose-end tiers
throughout the season - the revelation to Gabrielle about Ming Tien being
dead in "Bitter Suite" was awesome - but even more surprising and wonderful
was Gabrielle's revelation about her talk with "Ares" and how she arrived
in Chin ahead of Xena. Another yippee for a unique gut grabber... Anyone
else ever feel like saying "Just when you thought it was safe to go back
into the water" after these moments? ;)
Okay, and lastly - two questions - fodder for thought as they say...
1) I wanna know what happened between Lao Ma and Xena after Lao tosses her
and Borias around like rag dolls - obviously something else happened
between then and Xena's return from Chin.
2) I wanna know WHY, years later, Ming decides to have his mother executed
- there's obviously a story left untold there.
[Editor's note 05-30-98: The show will return to Chin in XENA's 4th season...hopwefully to shed more light on these curious situations.]
COMMENTARY 4:
This commentary is by
Mil Toro .
In the Xenastaff's 2nd attempt at a two
parter (the 1st being DESTINY and THE QUEST), I must say that
DEBT II was equally as excellent as DEBT.
It is rare on TV where both parts are
equally as visually stunning, captivating, riveting and
phenomenal as these two episodes were. If it were up to me (yeah
right), Lucy Lawless would get an Emmy for her portrayal of the
dual role of Xena (past and present) in this episode. Some
scenes with her were the most amazing and incredible she's ever
done. She's never been better.
How did Gabrielle get to the palace
efore Xena? My theory is that she stowed away on the same ship
Xena took and then went straight to the palace to talk to Ming
Tien and since Xena waited until nightfall, Gabrielle got inside
ahead of her. It's a stretch, but to me nothing else makes sense
and they didn't explain it either, so there ya go.....
In the opening scene, when Gabrielle
and Ming Tien are talking and he asks Gabrielle why she betrayed
her friend, Gabrielle says she thought Xena was betraying herself
and she didn't want Xena to go back to the way of murder. Ming
Tien says that "murder is in her blood, in her soul. It's more
natural to her than love." Those were chilling words and after
watching the rest of the ep, I came away with the feeling that
it's true about Xena. It's no wonder Xena keeps so much of
herself away from Gabrielle. I'd be frightened too, Gabrielle of
Xena and Xena of herself. Would Gabrielle stay if she knew the
truth? the whole truth? Would she believe it? She didn't seem to
want to, but that is her strength although it may also be her
downfall. This rift is hardly over.
Don't know if anyone else noticed this,
but in the execution room, when first Lao Ma, then Xena are
placed on an altar of sorts, the altar is shaped in the Chinese
character for wood. At first I thought, ha ha, funny joke
because the altar is literally made of a thick wood, but it also
is a Chinese astrology symbol. In Western astrology, there are
four elements - fire, water, air and earth and each of these
elements have their own symbolic properties. In Chinese
astrology, there are five elements - metal, water, wood, fire and
earth. I don't know enough about Chinese astrology to say what
"wood" represents but I believe both Lao Ma and Xena are
connected somehow by this wood element. I found the symbolism
fascinating.
After Lao Ma shows Xena how lethal a
hairpin can be, they had this conversation:
Xena: You could kill someone using a hair broach?
Lao Ma: When necessary. I don't like to kill.
Xena: Everyone has their preferences. I happen to like a
good kill.
To me, this was a very telling confession by Xena and after the
ending, I happen to believe it's a part of Xena that she will
never eradicate. She *likes* to kill. I've thought this many
times before when after Xena has plunged her sword into someone's
heart, she enjoys it too much, although she isn't as obvious
about it as Callisto. Nevertheless, a good example would be when
she killed Celano in HOOVES AND HARLOTS. He was clearly no match
for her and she could have easily disarmed him and captured him
like what later happened with Krykus. But with that traiter guy,
she toyed with him for a bit first and then killed him savagely.
The first time I saw it, I wondered why Xena killed him and now I
know why. She *likes* it.
An excellent subtext scene between Lao
Ma and Xena was when Lao Ma tells Xena that she has to stop
willing, desiring and hating, that she has to serve others. Xena
says (with much difficulty, I might add, she's clearly a Top), "I
could serve you, is that what you mean?" Lao Ma says, "It's easy
to serve someone *you love*" (my emphasis). She tells Xena she
must serve someone she hates, the Ming guy. Xena says she would
rather die and Lao Ma answers, "You've been dead for a long time,
I'm offering you a chance to live". Powerful words. This entire
scene reminded me of the old TV show, KUNG FU (the original one),
when they flashed back to his childhood. I kept expecting Lao Ma
to call Xena "Grasshopper".
When Lao Ma tells Xena that the boy is
her son, there is a glint of humanity (Lucy played this to
perfection) as several thoughts hit home (1) how she had
kidnapped and ransomed that same boy; (2) guilt over how she
treated him when in her captivity; (3) guilt over the knowledge
that she would have killed that boy with absolutely no remorse if
she didn't get what she wanted; and (4) why does this woman waste
her time with me, a no good evil to the bone, worthless monster?
All these thoughts were conveyed through a few expressions by
Lucy in this scene. Incredible.
THE FINAL SCENE. This part is a bit
rambling so bear with me. Xena clearly intends to kill Ming Tien
and aims a palm full of energy at him. He hits the floor but
escapes serious injury. He tells Xena he has something to tell
her. Xena turns around and Gabrielle says, "Are you....?" Xena
cuts her off and says "I'm fine, don't worry, as far as I'm
concerned this is over." Gabrielle knows that Xena is quite
capable of still killing this guy and doesn't get to finish her
question. Even though it seems Gabrielle is about to ask Xena if
she is all right, to me, what she really meant to ask is "Are you
going to kill him?" At first, Xena takes Gabrielle literally in
answer to "Are you all right?" and says "I'm fine", then adds,
"don't worry, as far as I'm concerned this is over". To me, this
is where Xena's Great Lie begins. It *wasn't* over for her, or
else she wouldn't have gone back to talk to him. I think she
wanted to kill him with the energy bolt but when that failed, she
somehow decided to at least give him a chance to talk his way out
of her *not* killing him.
A revealing piece of dialogue is when
Ming Tien says "You made me, Xena, you taught me to be the
monster I turned out to be" (BTW, this actor was horrible, he's
lucky Lucy carried the scenes on her broad shoulders) and Xena
says, "I know, it's part of why I'm here, I've learned to clean
up after myself". Clearly she meant "clean up after herself" is
to kill him, to destroy the "Frankenstein monster" she had
created. But then the guy makes a few more costly errors and
he's obviously not scoring any points with Xena. In other words,
he has just talked Xena into killing him when she was giving him
every opportunity to spare his life. He then hands her Lao Ma's
hairpin and he says it was her last wish that it be returned to
Xena. Then he says that Lao Ma cried like a sentimental fool and
was still crying even after he ripped out her beating heart. It
is clear that Xena crosses over the edge at that moment and kills
him with the hair pin even though we don't see it.
Gabrielle re-enters the room and sees
Xena talking to the guy. Gabrielle thinks he's still alive. I'm
sure Xena heard her come in and staged the "conversation" with
Ming Tien. When we see Xena's face, she has obviously crossed
over into madness. She has failed Lao Ma's final test and she
knows it. I believe Lao Ma did *not* want Xena to kill Ming
Tien, but find a way to "make him small", like her staged
conversation of him losing face with his people. That, to me,
would have been the way. Earlier, Lao Ma told Xena that "to
conquer others is to have power, to conquer yourself is to know
the way." Xena did not conquer herself and quell her murderous
"instinct" and therefore did *not* find the way, but instead gave
into the power of conquering others, i.e. murder. Lao Ma
obviously could have used her powers to save herself from
execution *without* killing Ming Tien (despite his claims) but
somehow felt by sacrificing herself would save so many, even
though I'm not really clear on this part.
To me, "make him small" did not
automatically mean Death, except that's the way Xena took it
initially and even after going over all the lessons Lao Ma taught
her, still was going to kill him with the energy bolt. When that
failed, she got sucked into Ming Tien's goading and used Lao Ma's
hair pin to murder him. It's almost as if Xena hadn't learned a
damn thing in 10 years time, except more lethal combat skills.
Finally, Gabrielle leads Xena away and tells her she loves her
and after a moment's hesitation Xena says she loves her too. I
think she hesitated because I don't think Xena thinks Gabrielle
will love her after she finds out the truth about what happened
and about her. Xena clearly believes, just as Ming Tien did,
that murder is in her blood, in her soul and it comes more
naturally to her than love. (Big Sigh, sad but true).
Frankly, I don't know how they will
resolve all this. Both Gabrielle's and Xena's lies are hardly
little lies, they are major monumental lies that undermine the
building blocks (i.e. trust) in their relationship or anybody's
relationship, for that matter.
Nevertheless, this is an incredible TV
show and I'm just in awe of what they are doing this season.
This episode really made me think. LOVE IT!!! Just like THE DEBT
I, on a scale of 1-10, this is episode is a 20!!!
WHIMPERS, MURMURS, AND A LOVE GONE
TOO FAR:
12-21-98. From R.J. Stewart's (the executive producer of XWP) RealHollywood 12-15-98 chat:
EvyWP asks "Are we going to watch more of Lao ma?? Say yes pretty
please! hehehehe"
R.J.Stewart says "Oh would I LOVE to say yes! But, I don't think
that's going to happen, I loved Jacqueline .. boy was she great!
And, I loved writing that character, boy was that fun. I don't think
she'll be coming back. She loved the experience, but she's gone on to
other things. We keep in touch. Keep in mind, she is dead .. we'll
have to do one of our ..."
12-21-98. From R.J. Stewart's (the executive producer of XWP) RealHollywood 12-15-98 chat:
Maya Kraj-Krajewski asks "RJ Stewart, what is our favorite episode
of Xena?"
R.J.Stewart says "...I've got a bunch of them so it's a tricky one. You
know one that I respect a lot as a well designed story and I'm
surprised that it's not mentioned more often .. "Remember Nothing"
from the second episode, Chris Mannheim wrote it. I think it turned
out well .. I watched it with a group of people and people who weren't
Xena fans were impressed with it. I love the China two parter and
anything with Callisto in it .. and shows that have a lot of things
happening between X and G. It's a hard one to answer. I remember "I
remember nothing" so well because I was watching it with non Xena
fans and they were so impressed with the craft that went into it."
05-30-98. At a Digital Worlds AoL chat on 02-12-98, Steve Sears took on the folowing questions regarding THE DEBT:
Question: ...did you settle on when or if Xena will get her energy bolts back?
Tyldus: ...we talked about that. It was an incident of pure essence that cannot be recalled at will.
Question: ...I really like the idea of attaining Xena attaining a moment of pure essence for the power. I think it gives her something to strive for
Tyldus: ...It's something I learned when studying Tae Kwon Do. A purity of purpose and essence is only restricted by a lack of focus.
Question: ...where did Lao Ma get purity of essence?
Tyldus: ...Her upbringing and the basis of an esatern philosophy that invites introspection.
Question: ...Xena is very good at focus.
Tyldus: ...But her focus is always around a central thought or emotion. There is the concept of letting go and directing as opposed to focusing an emotion. It's a great thing to debate, though! RJ and I spent hours talking about it.
Question: As opposed to letting go and producing Ty?
Tyldus: ...you got that right!
05-30-98. At the Burbank 98 convention (01/17/98) during the talk of Robert Tapert, the executive producer and BIG CHEESE of XWP, a request for more Jacqueline Kym was greeted with enthusiastic cheers. Tapert was pleased with Jacquie Kym's work, but there did not seem to be anything on the horizon for her. There were no plans to bring her back. Also, in a near-final question, someone wanted to know why there were not more Asian-looking actors in episodes like THE DEBT. Despite his name, Grant McFarland is Asian, in fact he is Malaysian. But Tapert also said that
New Zealand just wasn't that large a community, acting-wise. "It's like trying to cast a series in Des Moines, Iowa," he commented. But he also said it's a happy home for them, and they don't want to leave.
01-31-98. Robert Field, aka Avicus, on 01-18-98, at the Burbank II Con stated
that while it usually takes two weeks to edit an episode of XWP (somethings including evenings and
weekends), "THE DEBT Parts 1 and 2 took five weeks to edit. He also stated that most of the episodes
have difficult sequences, and that THE DEBT have several one of them. There was one aerial shot that
had seven versions, and it was very time consuming to edit it. And there also was a five minute dialogue
section which was hard to cut.
01-07-98. Robert Field, aka Avicus, on 01-05-98, stated on the Xenaverse list that
"THE DEBT Parts 1 and 2 was a total of 16 days of shooting by Main Unit. Second
Unit probably did about two and a half weeks of shooting as well - including
some pick up shots that I requested to correct some minor errors."
Xena comes back from China!
Scuttlebut is that this may be the best show of the season.
Already rumors of the best action scenes yet with lots of extras
riding horses and running amuck.
Supposedly this episode makes DESTINY
look like LEAVE IT TO BEAVER in terms of intensity. Yup, we are
talking the evil Xena...everyone is on the edge of their seats to
see if THE DEBT too takes place ten years ago.
Just as Iolaus learned the martial
arts from an eastern teacher, perhaps Xena picks up a few
pointers in China. And just think, YOU will be there.
ACTING CHOICES
:
This commentary is by
Joanna Sandsmark.
I was asked if I would speak a bit on
Lucy Lawless' acting choices in THE DEBT I & II so I figured I'd
give it a shot.
One of the most spectacular moments
onscreen, ever, and one that has been oft discussed on XENA
lists, is Lucy's expression after Gabrielle slaps her, in DEBT
II. Lucy is simply beyond incredible in these moments. She
tapped into something so deep that she was able to communicate
with us every thought in her head. We, the audience, literally
become *successful* mind readers here. How extraordinary. She
gives *us* a mystical power. We know what she is thinking as
clearly as if she has told us in two pages of detailed dialogue,
yet she never says a word.
One of the things I love about Lucy's
acting is that she often uses subtlety instead of scenery
chewing. "scenery chewing" is a theatre expression about those
performances where an actor shouts and wails and carries on
almost appearing to rip up the scenery, in order to get across
that the character is angry or passionate, etc. In the slapping
scene, another actor might have chosen to try to communicate
Xena's feelings by giving us outward anger or dissapointment or
hurt or betrayal. Instead, Lucy is "stone-faced" (though of
course, there's nothing really stonelike at all in her
expression, is there? It is just the outermost layer of this
layered piece of acting. The one that tells us Xena is a stoic,
which we all know. Xena doesn't want to let go).
In acting, what is interesting is not
the emotion that needs to be portrayed, but rather the struggle
against the emotion. Think of a scene you've seen where an actor
bursts into tears at the slightest provocation. Now think of one
where you see the actor fight against those tears and finally,
they lose that struggle. Why is that more interesting? Because
that's what we do, as humans. Once we're past childhood, we stop
crying at the smallest provocation. We learn to fight our tears
and our emotions. We don't want others to see our weakness. So
here is Xena, on her knees, her head trapped in that heavy wood,
her "best friend" slapping her and screaming at her, and she
knows she cannot do what Gabrielle asks. She cannot promise
because she will not go against her word. And she knows it means
her own death. And she knows that it was Gabrielle who led her
there. So she puts on a stoic mask, not giving Gabrielle the
satisfaction of showing her own feelings. But those tears.
Those swiftly flowing tears (and my God, Lucy didn't even blink
to make them fall -- they just poured from her eyes. These were
real tears. You can even see her nose drip -- a major clue that
it isn't glycerine drops just prior to yelling "action").
Silent, swift tears were the only thing Xena couldn't stop. It
isn't like she could turn away and hide them. She can only go on
pretending with her expression that they aren't there. She
doesn't sniff, she doesn't blink, she pretends to be stone.
Amazing.
Okay, so everyone has mentioned that
moment. It's an obvious one. What about a less obvious moment?
Again, I love subtle moments. When instead of punching a line,
Lucy throws it away, or puts an interesting spin on it.
Debt 1: When Xena first meets Lao Ma.
Lao Ma calls her by name and Xena says, "Oh, you've heard of me."
Notice the wonderfully subtle emphasis on the word "me" instead
of just on "heard." I think most actors would read this line
punching "heard" because that's the obvious meaning -- 'No
kidding? I'm famous?.' But Lucy, with that big smile, puts just
enough on 'me' to show pride, and the hint of competition with
Borias (of course she's heard of you, but look, Borias, she's
heard of *me* too!). What it does is take away the question; the
surprise. Xena isn't finding it strange that Lao Ma has heard of
me, she's basically saying "that's as it should be. I'm
important. Me." With just this one simple shift in emphasis,
Lucy gives us an insight into Xena, sets the stage for her
interraction with Lao Ma at the start, gives us clues into xena's
*need* to be important and special and feared and not just
Borias' woman. And yet the line is basically thrown away. Just
a quick moment that hits the audience more subliminally than
anything else.
There are many moments like this. Many
times when a small line will be almost thrown away but the impact
of it, and Lucy's read, will make its way into our minds as we
watch until we get a picture forming without being beaten over
the head.
And those scenes without dialogue, like
the slapping scene, or the scene with Xena in the cage -- Lucy
speaks volumes without saying a word. Watch her face in the
cage. Watch the way the scene is cut. Look at how much we learn
about this almost animalistic Xena from just her eyes, the
sharpness of her movements, the way she holds her body, etc. She
does an incredible job in that scene.
One more example and then I'll stop.
DebtII: Xena is in the dungeon. She's
confused, worried, still new to it. Then men drop clothing by
her. She asks why they're doing it. The other prisoner tells
her it's tribute for attempting to kill the emporer. "Oh, they
like that, huh?" she says. I love how she says this line. It's
a very soft read, but there is self-disgust in it. Her
expression is harshly judgemental of herself, but the line comes
out so softly, a marvelous contrast. She knows this is why she
is in the dungeon, why her life is falling apart. She knows that
killing is why Gabrielle betrayed her. She sees all this and now
she's getting tribute for it. It's almost too much to bear. You
can hear the irony in her voice; it's almost humor. The strength
of Xena. The warlord getting tribute and her own mockery of
herself and her life for having chosen this path instead of that
of Lao Ma.
What I love about this was that the
disgust was in her face but not in her voice. Many actors like
to make sure you get the point. "I want to show self digust
here, so I'll make sure you know that's what's going on."
They'll put it in their face, their eyes, their voice; they'll
punch the right words, they'll drive that point home. But Lucy
knows that we'll see it with just that small movement of her
mouth, and by looking away, dropping her head. So she lets that
speak and says the line calmly, softly, ironically. This way,
it's layered. We get more than just the one emotion, we get
several. She does this so often. Giving us information with her
voice and information with her eyes and information with her face
-- and sometimes, it's all different messages. Depth. Such
incredible depth.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Highlights by
Beth Gaynor.
I *loved* the irony of Xena earnestly
telling Gabrielle about her beating of Borias. She was healing
the damage with one person who had betrayed her to Ming while
retelling her vicious retribution on another person who had done
the same thing.
The greatest Xenaverse tweak to history
yet: the Tao Te Ching was actually written by Lao Tzu's wife
under his name. Cracks me up every time. I've said it before,
I'll say it again: there is NO mythos or historical event that
Xena can't resist turning inside out.
"Scratch my nose, will you?" It was
cheesy, it was manipulatively emotional. Even the music was
soft, warm, and fuzzy. And blast it all, it worked. What a
perfect response from emotions-always-on-hold Xena to let
Gabrielle know that she could forgive her.
Emotions-never-in-check Gabrielle nearly breaks down in relief
and immediately helps with bearing the weight of the stocks. I
reveled in it. There's still lots of Rift trouble brewing for our
heroines, but that was a nice moment to heal up some of the
fractures and get them back on the road together again.
THINGS TO LOOK OUT
FOR
From Jennifer. Notice the intriguing round doorway in the king's castle that was shown repeatedly during Debt II? The shape looked rather familiar and, when they showed a closeup of it, our suspicion was confirmed...it's the same "keyhole" doorway that appears in HERK's Men in Pink...complete with the chakram decoration!
From Vicki. The knight's
round table from GABRIELLE'S HOPE makes an appearance on the wall of Lao Ma's house in DEBT Part
2. Gotta love those prop people.
From Beth: The origin of the Warrior Princess
title is revealed; it was Lao Ma's plan to make her the Warrior
Princess of China. And sitting beside Xena at the time the plan
is revealed was Borias, who, as the only other witness, was
probably responsible for spreading that title to Greece.
From Beth: Although we saw more of the designs
that match the chakram, we didn't find out anything more about
the weapon's origin. Like M'Lila's shirt design on Xena's armor,
the design on (one side of) the chakram must be a remembrance of
Lao Ma, but not directly from her. Does that mean that Xena
designed the chakram? At the least, it means whoever gave it to
her knew of her association with Lao Ma. (Another possibility is
that Lao Ma *was* the source of the chakram, just sometime after
this episode's flashbacks have ended. But personally, I'm betting
that after that attack on Ming Tien, Lao Ma pitched Xena and
Borias outta there and they rode hell for leather to overrun half
of Greece.)
From Beth: Is Xena going to keep her superpowers?
I sure hope not; I don't want her eating ambrosia, I don't need
her to be Ares' daughter, and I don't want her throwing energy
blasts at anything that annoys her. I don't think she will;
XenaStaff seems to agree that Xena should be kept within the
realms of mere mortals (though just barely). It will probably be
explained like that weird floating scene, which she lost when
Borias came in. This time, she lost it when she shish-ka-bobbed
Ming Tien's brain; the effect will probably be the same.
MORE THINGS TO LOOK OUT
FOR
From KSZoneW.
Ming T'ien's throne room in "The Debt II" on XWP struck a similer look to the throne room im HTLJ's "My Fair Cupcake".
From KSZoneW. The windows in the Dance Hall in HTLJ's "My Fair Cupcake" were also seen in XWP's "The Debt II" and "The Deliverer"
From KSZoneW. The music used during XWP's "The Debt and the Debt II" for the "Evil Xena" intro, was also used in HTLJ's Armaggedon II's evil Xena. It had a "Gothic Oriental" theme to it.
From KSZoneW. In Armaggedon Now II during Evil Xena's thronetime in Corinth, the soldiers wear Oriental like clothing. The same outfits where worn by the soldiers and Ming Tien in "The Debt II" episode.
THE TAO TE CHING Part 2
Things by
Judith K. Parker.
The symbol upon which Xena is bound in
DEBT II is the Chinese character for wood. This could have
another meaning, but to a Taoist it is half of the symbol for
"P'u" or "wood not cut," also translated as "uncarved block."
The principle of the uncarved block is
that things in their original simplicity carry more power than
things that are changed.
Of course, the wood Xena is resting on
what HAS been carved -- into the symbol for wood. Complicated,
huh? And Xena herself has been changed -- from the village girl
to the half-mad warrior to a warlord and, finally, to the woman
who has been trying to atone for her past. It seems significant
to me that she has always been shaped by outside forces, not by
herself. Cortese, Caesar, perhaps Lao-Ma, Hercules, and
Gabrielle have all left their stamp upon her. Even Ming Tien, an
unimportant pissant, if there ever was one, "forces" her to kill
him. When will Xena return to her own "uncarved" simplicity;
when will she find her own center, her own power? When will she
clear her mind of DESIRE so she can hear the natural rhythm of
things?
When she learns to recognize, to listen
to, her own inner nature and the natural order, Xena will no
longer be manipulated by other people and by outside events. She
can reach a state known as Wei Wu Wei, "doing, not doing." This
is what Lao Ma was trying to teach her, especially with her talk
of softness and of water. Nothing is softer than water if you
are floating in a warm pool or if it is being poured from an urn
onto your body. Yet, you cannot WITHSTAND a raging flood.
Here's the rest of the story, the part Lao Ma didn't tell:
(This is a shortened version of a story
told by Chuang-tse.)
In China there is a waterfall that
plunges with such force that no living thing can survive its
turbulence. One day, K'ung Fu-Tse saw a man caught in the
churning waters. He ran to save the man, but, by the time he got
there, the man had climbed out. K'ung Fu-Tse asked the man what
power he had to survive. The man said, "I go down with the water
and come up with the water. I follow it and forget myself. I
survive because I don't fight the water's superior power."
Or, in the words of Lao-tzu (Stephen
Mitchell translation of the Tao te Ching):
The gentlest thing in the world
overcomes the hardest thing in the world.
That which has no substance
enters where there is no space.
This shows the value of non-action.
Teaching without words,
performing without actions,
that is the Master's way.
Xena, no matter how many skills she
has, and how much strength she has, and how much cleverness she
has, will never be a Master until she masters herself.
The Tao never does anything,
yet through it all things are done.
If powerful men and women
could center themselves in it,
the whole world would be transformed
by itself, by its natural rhythms.
People would be content
with their simple, everyday lives,
in harmony, and free of desire.
When there is no desire,
all things are at peace.
(Tao te Ching, Stephen Mitchell translation)
TRANSCRIPT
Click here to read a transcript of THE DEBT II .
DISCLAIMER:
Xena and Gabrielle's relationship
suffered another blow (although Gabrielle doesn't know it
yet) during the production of this motion picture.
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