PROMO TRANSCRIPTION
GABRIELLE RETURNS TO RULE THE AMAZONS--
Gabrielle: This is my tribe.
(Julius Caesar lights a candle.)
Julius Caesar: They're a threat.
THE TRIBE CAESAR VOWS TO DESTROY.
Amazon: It's a trick!
(Xena pulls her sword on a soldier.)
Soldier: Wait!
AN ALL NEW XENA!
TV GUIDE PROMO
Gabrielle becomes queen of the Amazons after Ephiny dies at the hand of Brutus.
Gabrielle is called back to be queen of the Amazons when Brutus kills
Ephiny.
"Xena: Warrior Princess" meets Brutus-- and the confrontation could
change the course of Roman history.
When Brutus kills Ephiny in the heat of battle, Gabrielle becomes
queen of the Amazons; while Xena pursues Brutus, hoping he'll lead
her to Pompey.
When Brutus kills Ephiny, Gab is called back to be queen of the Amazons.
Roman leader Brutus manages to kill Ephiny, and someone has captured many of the Amazons to sell as slaves. Xena is called back to the tribe to become their queen. But is Brutus really the villain, or is
it Pompey? [from mania.com -- which is wrong..Gabrielle is called back]
AIRING AND RATING INFORMATION
1st RELEASE: 05/03/99
An AA average of 3.8
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) X-Files 10th at 4.9
(2) STDS9 12th at 4.3
(3) ER 15th at 4.0
(4) Xena 19th at 3.8
2nd RELEASE: 09/13/99
An AA average of 2.8
SYNOPSIS:
This synopsis is by Bluesong.
Ephiny, in amazon battle garb, creeps over to a dead body. Solari is dead.
Anmoris and Ephiny move forward, and then the amazons are fighting Romans. A
Roman in a silver suit nearly kills Anmoris. Ephiny saves her, and then the
Roman, after much fighting with the Regent Queen, stabs Ephiny. Ephiny dies.
Gabrielle fishes while Xena watches, amused. Xena and Gabrielle tease each
other, and as Xena acts like she's going to throw Gabrielle into the lake, an
amazon (Anmoris) suddenly bursts on the scene and makes to defend Gabrielle.
Anmoris tells Gabrielle she must return to the Amazons to take her place as
queen, because Ephiny is dead. Xena and Gabrielle enter the village, which
is pretty devasted, with lots of hurt amazons limping around. Gabrielle is
greeted by Shalaba and others. Xena takes charge, setting up a defense.
Gabrielle goes to Ephiny's hut, and kisses her on the forehead, telling her
goodbye. Xena and Gabrielle talk. Xena takes some amazons out and they
capture Brutus, the Roman who killed Ephiny. They take him to the village.
Anmoris tries to kill Brutus while Xena is talking to him to find out where
Pompey is, but Xena stops her. Gabrielle has Anmoris put in prison. Xena
interrogates Brutus, with the Xena Touch. Gabrielle cringes while Brutus'
nose bleeds, but eventually he spills his guts. Xena doesn't release him
right away, but only does so when Gabrielle implores her to do so, saying as
the Queen it is her right to determine his punishment. Anmoris and Brutus
talk about death. Xena comes into the jail and gets Anmoris, saying
Gabrielle has pardoned her. Xena takes the girl and several other amazons
and heads out. They figure out where Pompey will take the amazons he has
captured.
In Pompey's camp, he examines his new slave material, which he plans to sell
to pirates because he needs dinars. The captured amazons are marched along
to the sea. The captain says he smells an ambush, and sends men to flank the
group. Xena steps forward. Anmoris is captured by the men sent to flank
them, and the captain says he'll kill her. So Xena calls for a few other
amazons to show themselves, and she surrenders. Then Xena tells the captain
he'd better give it up before she whips his butt. The captain laughs. Xena
stamps her foot, flipping up her chakram and showing the captured amazons
that there are weapons beneath their feet. Everybody grabs a sword and
fights! The Xena Theme blares away (yay!) and Xena fights and is the Xena of
old! (Yay!)
Xena lets one guy get away, so he can tell Pompey he lost his slave material.
She tells Anmoris to take the Romans they have captured to the village, to
Gabrielle. Anmoris doesn't like Gabrielle. "Just the queen for this
situation," she sneers. Xena gives her a lecture about using swords and love
and hate and violence, ad nauseum.
Pompey isn't a happy soldier. He decides to attack the amazons. Gabrielle
calls for Brutus, and they have a chat. Gabrielle says she wants peace
between Caesar and Xena. Gabrielle proposes a treaty of peace and gives that
to Brutus.
Xena sets up a defense line, which includes stringing up Roman soldiers on
crosses and boiling oil. Gabrielle doesn't like this much. While they're
discussing this, Shalaba says that Xena has to come with her. From the hill
top they see another army approaching from the south while Pompey's soldiers
come from the north. Caesar's army. Brutus volunteers to go as a trade to
Pompey. But Xena lets him go to lead his own army. Brutus turns his army to
the east, to hit Pompey from the side instead of head on. The amazons return
to their defense line, but Xena has the Roman soldiers removed and put in a
safe place. Pompey's men fire artillary at the amazons. The first line
moves in; Xena tells Anmoris to protect Gabrielle. Xena jumps on Argo and
rides straight into the battle, slicing, dicing, and not letting anyone stop
her progress (go Xena!). Gabrielle, meanwhile, suddenly rallies the amazons,
telling them to go get 'em -- for Ephiny! The amazons run forward. Anmoris
stays with Gabrielle and throws her down in time to save her life. Xena
rides forward to Pompey. She jumps off Argo, and slices up some more guys.
She confronts Pompey, and they fight. She disarms him, and he pleads for his
life, saying Xena needs him to keep Caesar in line. She turns away and
Pompey gets up. He comes at Xena with a knife, and she slices his head off
(we don't see this, but you hear a very satisfying "swish"). The amazons
defeat Pompey's army. Back at Brutus' camp, he tells his command not to go
off in one direction, "that's amazon land. We stay out," he says. Xena
rides in, and drops a bag with a head in it at Brutus' feet. She tells
Brutus not to mention her name to Caesar.
Brutus goes to Caesar, and gives him the head of Pompey. He presents
Gabrielle's treaty to Caesar, and Caesar burns it, much to Brutus' dismay.
Caesar says he heard Xena was around, but Brutus denies it.
The Amazons have a funeral dance and procession for Queen Ephiny. Gabrielle
names Shalaba the new regent/queen. Anmoris invites herself along with Xena
and Gabrielle. Xena and Gabrielle go to the funeral pyre, and Gabrielle
cries while Xena puts an arm around her and stares into the flames.
COMMENTARY 1:
Commentary Beth Gaynor.
Wow, what a ride! Tons of action, some good pathos without
making the episode too painful, Xena gets vicious, Gab gets
noble, the supporting characters get amazed, and we even are
treated to the obligatory "we'll be silly for an opening
scene before things turn nasty." All the ingredients for a
rockin' good episode.
The Amazon Recycling Program continues. Solari and Ephiny
have joined the same scrapheap that Eponin and Melosa
went to, and a brand-spankin' new Chalupa is now in her
place. If Chalupa has a brain in her head, she ought to be
feeling real nervous about the survival rate of named
Amazons in this tribe.
A lot of people - me included - have wondered what the next
visit with the Amazons would be like, given that the last
time the Amazons saw Xena and Gabrielle, Xena attacked the
tribe, broken Ephiny's arm, and dragged Gab from the camp,
and since then, their sometime queen has forsaken battle.
Their reunion was anticlimactic: not a peep was made about
Xena's little lapse, and the tribe didn't even question
Gab's haircut, much less "Hey, where's the staff?" If the
rest of the episode wasn't good enough to cover that, I
would have been peeved. As it was, the story was good enough
to keep me from worrying about it. Which was probably what
the Amazons were thinking, too. ("Let's see... broken limbs
or decimation by the Romans. Hmmm.")
If there's such a thing as a good day of fighting, there's
also a good warrior death, and Ephiny got it. She fought so
well that her enemy praised her. That's about as good as it
gets. It's a shame to see Ephiny go. I liked watching her
start off so skeptical of Gabrielle to gradually become her
staunchest supporter. One question, though: what about
Xenon? I assume her son is growing up with the Centaurs, but
nobody mentioned a thing about it.
The whole net scene is extremely, beautifully , horrifyingly
cute. Gab's vow of non-violence seems to include not even
running when a taunting ("Here, fishy fishy fishy") warrior
princess is about to throw her in a cold river. But, Gab...
"it won't hurt the fish"? These are the same fish you're
planning to let suffocate in the air, behead, disembowel, and
eat, right? Get a grip.
"Oh, no, I surrender before Gabrielle." That's probably the
award-winning line of the season. But even though it's all
said in fun, Xena ends up having to put her money where her
mouth is. She wanted to let Brutus die, but she defied
Chalupa and obeyed Gab's order to let him live. When it
comes to the Amazons, Xena gives the lead over to Gabrielle.
Xena and Gabrielle made a beautiful, orchestrated show of
teamwork in this episode:
* No one, including the two central figures, blinked when
Xena started giving battle orders (although Xena did try to
save a little face by checking with Gab when she was done -
an appearance neither of them try to keep up through the
rest of the episode).
* Gabrielle made bold and gutsy alliances for peace that I
thought would drive Xena batty, until we found out that she
was stationed in the wings gauging Brutus's reaction right
alongside Gab.
* While Xena let Gabrielle have the reins for Amazon
leadership, Gab still respected Xena's battle machinations.
Even though she was horrified at the trap for Pompey's
troops, I think she was going to let it stand. If Gabrielle
had ordered the prisoners to be taken down, Xena would
probably have done it, but Gabrielle seemed willing to let
Xena make that call. Until Brutus stepped in to make the
point moot.
Gabrielle's immediate and assertive leadership was an
amazing thing to watch as I thought back to Gab's first "I'm
an Amazon princess!" kid-like declarations in Hooves and
Harlots, through her wise gutsiness in handling the mask in
The Quest, to this episode's true assumption of rulership...
with a little backing from the Warrior Princess. Little Gab
all grown up and saving Amazon tribes and all.
Amareese is kind of an Amazonian Joxer, right down to the
goofy hat, but with more competence in battle to back up her
blowhards and minus the pratfalls (thank heavens). The kid's
annoying, but she snuck into my heart when she got that
puppy dog excited look and vaulted the horse when Xena chose
her to join her raiding party.
What's with Amareese's talk about another tribe? And how can
she just hopscotch from tribe to tribe like she's doing?
What happened at her last one? And how much of all that "In
MY tribe..." stuff was pure malarkey? I got the feeling that
a whole lot of it was made up on the spot.
I've got ten dollars that says that Xena asked Gabrielle to
pardon Amareese and let her come along on Xena's crew.
Amareese is just the kind of overeager, troublemaking
hardcase that Xena loves to take under her wing.
When did Xena start throwing around this "we" word for the
Amazons? Since when did Xena identify with this tribe? Is it
because of Gabrielle's membership? Or maybe guilt about that
past peccadillo or those slaughtered Thunderdome Amazons?
This episode was full of fabulous shots of the Warrior
Princess in mondo battle mode. If I saw that fury on
horseback riding my way through the fireballing battlefield,
I'd take my chances with the wrath of Caesar and hightail it
for the nearest village to take up farming for the rest of
my days. That long melee with the chakram and the "Xena
kicks butt" music, capped off with Xena throwing three
swords into a guy like darts into the bullseye, got my blood
pumping like nobody's business. Have mercy, that woman kicks
butt.
"This one's for you, Ephiny"?? Maybe I'm still a little
gunshy from the Gabdrag out of the Amazon village, but
couldn't Xena have found a better way to beat the crap out
of Brutus than dedicating a horsedragging like a hit song?
Corny line, insensitive thought.
Xena sure twitched at Amareese's "Lucky for them, we have
just the Queen for that situation" crack, but I didn't quite
get it. Was she suggesting that Gabrielle was spending too
much time hiding in the village? A note for the future,
Amareese: if you have to explain the insult, it's not a good
one.
Brutus turns out to be an OK guy: an honorable warrior and a
loyal sidekick. But why all his rah-rah speeches for Caesar
as if he didn't know their previous history? We know he was
with Caesar when he betrayed and crucified Xena.
Joe LoDuca has given the Amazons a couple of kickin' new
dance tunes! And speaking of which, last week I mentioned
that Takes One showed off more male skin than female. I
guess the Xena folks decided to make up for lost time with
those tribal-dancin' Amazons. This was part strip show, part
National Geographic special.
Why did Brutus offer himself for Pompey? Pure generosity?
Did he figure he could escape, maybe with some valuable
information for Caesar?
"You better get back to camp. You might get hurt."
"You don't know me very well."
THIS is the Gabrielle that can show intelligence and
strength without fighting. I knew the writers could do it!
But at the same time, the non-violence gig gets put aside
big time without a word spoken about it. Gabrielle even goes
farther than she was willing to go in A Good Day, and leads
soldiers to their death, in the name of ruling her people.
Interesting note about when Gabrielle called the Amazon
charge: she led them with the battle cry "For Ephiny!", as
if this was vengeance for Ephiny's death. Except that this
was against Pompey's soldiers, who torched the village and
kidnapped Amazons... but Ephiny's death was at the hands of
Brutus's men. Maybe she was telling them to remember
Ephiny's strength in battle, but it was a bit misleading, at
best. But what a great job Gabrielle does with command.
Renee O'Connor impressed the heck out of me with those
growled orders and threats from somewhere way in the back of
her throat. Gab's been paying attention to XenaGrowls.
Pompey's a smarmbucket, and never so much as when he's wheedling
for his life. He richly deserved Xena's "Psych, I'm gonna kill
you anyway" move. Off with his head!
Brutus doesn't seem to heed Xena's warnings about Caesar,
but then he lies to Caesar about her, and fails to mention
who the Queen of the Amazons is.
Gabrielle keeps tossing that queenship like a hot potato.
When it comes back to her from Ephiny, she pitches it off
again lickety-split to Chalupa. I guess Queen of the Amazons
falls under the same "Nope, it'd slow me down from sticking
with Xena" category as hospices with crazed religious
zealots.
HIGHLIGHTS:
The final scene is killer. The sad, proud music, the funeral
pyre in front, the three circles of Amazons around, and the
teary-eyed Xena comforting Gabrielle, who feels free to
finally cry. What a way to end an episode.
COMMENTARY 2:
Commentary Beboman.
By the gods, what a good episode. After the India trilogy, I could not
believe they would be able to outdo themselves, but was I wrong. This was
an awesome episode, even if it was a bit on the Gabrielle light. This was
something I did not understand because I thought it was going to be a Xena
light given the fact that it dealt with the Amazons. I guess I was wrong.
Still, it was a great episode.
It was great to see the familiarity between Gabrielle and Xena return.
Loved the scene with the net and especially when Americe gets between Xena
and Gabrielle; that was very well done. I could not stop laughing during
that scene.
Another thing that made this episode for me was the union between Xena and
Gabrielle, even though they were at different ends of the spectrum. What
made it happen for me was that they both respected the other's idea and they
worked together as a team. They were a team. There was no bickering about
what was right or wrong. Gabrielle respected Xena's decisions as a leader,
even when she did not agree with them, i.e. hanging the Roman soldiers on
crosses. And Xena respected Gabrielle's decision not to fight. I found the
maturity and the understanding of each other so refreshing. I think the
idea of letting Brutus go was something that was planned between both of
them, taking into consideration both schools of thought. Loved it when Xena
came out of her hiding place when Brutus left. It showed the audience these
two friends were working together for a common good.
Also I enjoyed how, in an indirect way, the death of Ephiny helped to make
Xena admit that, deep inside, she was an Amazon. The death of Ephiny,
Gabrielle's friend and her friend, was Xena's realization that, even though
she had never admitted it, she was an Amazon. Loved it when Xena got close
to Ephiny's body and swore not to let her death go unpunished.
Once again, we, the audience, are shown what a great leader Xena is and her
great ability in battle. Xena is great at reading her enemy and her troops.
She knows what to say and what to do at the right time and her timing in
battle is great. She is good at setting the enemy up using their own
weakness against them. Love to see Xena take command of an army. It is as
if the character takes on a new life; being the leader of an army is
something Xena does very well and is something she enjoys. Also, Xena has
the ability to judge a situation and think fast on her feet. She can adjust
her battle plan at the drop of a dinar, taking advantage of all she has at
hand.
Loved the scene in which Xena rides toward Pompeii. The photography, the
music and the action just blended perfectly. The scene between Pompeii and
Xena was great; her timing was excellent. She did what she had set out to
do and she did a great job at it. Also loved the final scene between Xena
and Brutus. Those were some strong words she said, especially when she
tells him she was also a close friend of Caesar. The way she said it was
just right. It brought out some doubts in Brutus.
I enjoyed the new character of Americe. She reminded me of a young
Gabrielle, with a slight difference; Americe has long lost her blood
innocence. But she is just as wide-eyed and adventurous as Gabrielle was.
Remember in "Chariots of War" when Gabrielle catches up with Xena, Xena
tells her to go to a nearby village and Gabrielle says, "And miss all the
action?" It was a flashback to those good old days from the first season.
Maybe Americe is to be to Gabrielle what Gabrielle was to Xena. It will be
interesting to see how this character develops. Another thing that
attracted me to the character of Americe was that, in some obscure way, she
also reminded me of what Xena might have been like when she was young,
before Amphiboles was attacked. Americe seemed like a mixture of both a
young Gabrielle and maybe a young Xena.
Loved some of Americe' lines: "Xena, I thought you were taller" (Great
reaction by Xena.) Also loved Americe line after Xena's long speech about
Gabrielle and her non-violent attitude. That line was great with a very
good delivery.
There were times during this episode I thought Xena or Gabrielle had lost
their mark. But was I taken for a fool. Xena surrendered to Pompeii's army
just like that; that could not be and it wasn't. And when Gabrielle
pardoned Brutus, those were very good scenes. But at the same time, there
were some moments that really showed Gabrielle had not lost her touch, such
as when she tells Shalapa that it is Amazon law for the Queen to decide what
to do about Brutus. Also, when Gabrielle takes command, she uses the right
line to motivate the Amazons. Not bad for our new Gabrielle.
Then came the final scene and that was when I lost it. I had tears, I could
not stop crying. Yes, Ephiny was gone and Gabrielle held onto Xena and
finally cried just as she had done in "Death in Chains". This time,
however, Xena knew how to comfort her and Xena herself had tears in her
eyes. The only thing missing was Xena's burial song. I think Ephiny
merited that song.
There were very few things about this episode that bothered me. One thing
that was really a little overdone was the Amazon dancing. I would have
liked less dancing and maybe more Gabrielle.
The script in this episode was very good, the music was great (I had missed
Xena's battle theme; it was great to have it back.) The direction was very
good and the acting, as always, was excellent. All in all, it was a great
episode.
COMMENTARY 3:
Commentary Xorys.
Basically I feel pretty positively about this ep... although given
the circumstances it's hard to feel unequivocally happy. Still, I felt that
Gabrielle's character was handled better in this ep, for the most part,
than it has been for quite sometime. And Xena was on fine form, and given
scope to show herself at her best. And (the bottom line, really) the ep met
the criteria I discussed before for a really successful X:WP episode - it
made me cry, it made me laugh, and it kept me gripped throughout. I thought
it did sag just a little bit, after the set-up of the teaser, and before
the wind up to the finale really got started, when some aspects of the
exposition either lacked credibility or evoked confusion (in me, anyhow)...
but still I think it will end up rating as one of the strongest eps of the
season.
The rest of what I have to say is all so woven into the characters and
happenings of the ep, that we might as well launch straight into our wander
through it...
I knew they were going to kill Ephiny - the gods know I try to avoid
spoilers, but that must have been about the most unavoidable one yet. It
was *everywhere*! I almost wonder if TPTB weren't *trying* to make sure
that everyone knew in advance, so that the shock of Ephiny's death wouldn't
overshadow the rest of the ep too much. And it probably worked that way for
me - if I hadn't been spoiled about that, it would probably have knocked me
out so much, at least on first viewing, that I would have had trouble
settling down to watch the rest of the ep in real time.
So I knew about Ephiny. But then Solari dies too! And without our even
seeing her death - although at least they gave her the honour of a
confirmed death in battle, rather than just replacing her, as they did to
Eponin. (Perhaps they're taking a little account of the fan reaction to the
Amazons...) OTOH, whilst I found Solari a fitting and adequate successor to
Eponin, I'm none too convinced about Shilapa as a successor to Eponin and
Solari. I don't like to be negative, and I'm prepared to be won over in
future, but based solely on this ep, I just didn't feel that the actress
playing Shilapa managed to convey at all the kind of gravity and warrior
spirit required for a senior Amazon, let alone a candidate for Queen! She
wasn't given a lot to work with in the writing, it's true - she wasn't
hindered, but she wasn't given any big scenes in which to really establish
herself well... of course, it's hard to cram everything into 44 minutes -
but maybe they could have trimmed down some of the dancing in order to give
Shilapa a bit more chance to establish her character. Still, even without
better scenes (after all, Eponin and Solari never got much in that line
either), the actress could have given the character more weight, just in
her bearing and the way she delivered her few lines. As it was, I'm afraid
she came across to me more as a school girl than as a fierce and proud
warrior (sort of "Shilapa of the upper fifth"... "let's get out there and
show those girls how to really play hockey!") So the idea of choosing her
as the new Queen underwhelmed me, to say the least. Anyhow... two minutes
silence for the passing of Solari, please...
Amarice got real irritating real fast with that "In my tribe..." thing, and
I must admit for a while there I was afraid the character was going to be a
real liability. I expect some people still feel that way about her. Myself,
however, I was won over by the end of the ep... not necessarily that I
became enormously *fond* of the character - but I did feel that the way she
was handled was ultimately well done and interesting. I *like* ambiguity
and personality problems in featured characters, and I like a sense that a
character is dynamic and likely to develop. And especially I like it when I
truly don't know whether a character will make the right decision or not in
a given situation, and when I can't always read their motivations and
immediately peg where they're coming from in every scene. So... I thought
Amarice was worthwhile in this ep, and that she has potential. I thought
the actress who played her was good too - catching the mixture of
stubbornness and immaturity with real courage and spirit without playing
down to the character. I've got to ask though - doesn't she remind you of
Tara the terrible? (But then I looked more kindly on Tara than most people
apparently did...)
BTW I was kind of puzzled by this character's name - I'd never heard it,
and I didn't know how to spell it... so I did a bit of digging. "Amarice"
or "Amarise" is apparently a Hebrew name (like "Gabrielle"), and it means
"given by god".
So I ultimately liked Amarice as a character... but OTOH there seemed to be
little doubt that she was a complete menace to have on your side in a
combat situation the way she was at the start of this ep... undisciplined,
arrogant and inattentive. And why did she just lie there flat on her back
on the ground all through Ephiny's fight with Brutus? - She only gets up
right at the end, when Ephiny had already been stabbed. Hello? She was
saving your life, not inviting you to take a nap!
*
And even though I knew it was going to happen, I was *very* sad to see
Ephiny die. She will be missed. She was actually my favourite character on
the whole show after Xena and Gab themselves, so I'll probably miss her
more than most. Still, I understand Danielle's career is going well, and
she probably didn't really want to play the role any more. I wish her well
in all she does. I know death is rather a revolving door in the Xenaverse,
but somehow I don't think we'll be seeing Ephiny again... unless we
actually make it to the Amazon land of the dead in a future ep! Ah well...
safe passage to eternity, proud Queen!
And what about poor Xenan? Now he's lost both his father and his mother to
the dogs of war... Where is he, and how mature is he now? (He seemed to be
growing very quickly - is that a Centaur thing?) It seemed kind of odd that
no one even mentioned him in this ep.
I quite liked the scene with Xena and Gabrielle and the net on the
riverbank (although I'm none too sure about the net itself)... "C'mon,
fishy, fishy, fishy..."
I also *loved* Amarice's line "Xena? Wow! I... I thought you'd be... taller."
I thought this was without a doubt the best ep yet in terms of treating
Gab's attempt to follow the path of non-violence. I actually got some sense
of respect for Gab's character in this ep... a real feeling, for the first
time, that she actually is the person we used to know, and that she's
seriously trying to reconcile her feelings about non-violence with the
responsibilities of her life... and realising that it isn't going to be
easy. Of course a call back to the Amazons was an obvious challenge that
she could expect to face (and which several folks discussed when she first
adopted "the way"). Mostly I felt it was well done, although I have to say,
I was rather disappointed with the half-hearted handing over to Shilapa at
the end - this seemed to me an irresponsible shirking of her own ties to
the tribe on Gab's part... I would at least have like to see her wrestle
with the decision a bit more explicitly. And I guess I was particularly
bothered because, as I discussed, Shilapa, as played, seemed so unsuitable
a candidate to me!
I was disappointed that we never saw Xena meeting Ephiny again, and now we
never will. I wonder if they *did* meet (off camera, between eps) since the
last, unfortunate, encounter we saw in Bitter Suite...?
This is the *third* different actor they've had playing Brutus! Doesn't it
occur to them that this sort of thing is a wee bit confusing for the
audience? Oh well, I suppose if previous actors aren't available, what can
they do? Quite a few characters have been played by two actors, but Brutus
joins quite a select group in being played by three... indeed about the
only other candidates I can think of are Xenan and Hope (who was played by
five actors, if you count the babies - but that's a bit different).
"Young, black hair, wore silver armour..." - and from *this* description
Xena knows that it was Brutus? We exsqueeze me, but that strikes me as
ludicrous! Plus, honestly, I wouldn't say that Brutus looked particularly
young - he looked old enough to be Shilapa's father to me (and she was the
one who gave the description...)
OK, there was one thing in the plot that got me thoroughly confused... if
it was *Pompey* who was attacking the Amazons because he wanted to sell
them as slaves, how come Ephiny got killed fighting *Brutus*, who was
supposed to be of *Caesar's* party, not Pompey's? I mean ok, assuming we
accept this thing of Pompey attacking the Amazons to make cash selling them
as slaves - although it sounds pretty dubious to me... surely almost
*anyone* else you picked would be an easier target for such a scheme than
the Amazons?? But still, let's accept that. But then why was the group of
Romans lead by Brutus fighting the Amazons? On the whole, I thought this ep
flowed well... but I thought this part was poorly explained and developed,
and considering how central it was to the functioning of the ep, it left me
confused and niggling through much of my first viewing, and it still
strikes me as as a major structural problem in the ep now. I can make up
explanations, but the ep didn't really seem to give me one. How about this:
Pompey initially attacked and was repulsed, maybe taking some captives; a
patrol of Amazons went out to try and determine Pompey's location and
dispositions and ran into Brutus' group, and the Amazon patrol attacked,
because they assumed, being Romans, these were part of the same army that
had previously attacked them... then Ephiny and her group came upon this
fight in full swing and just joined in. OK, now that makes sense to me -
but if that was what was intended, then the ep as aired fell a good way
short of effectively communicating it.
Erm... Xena's instructions to Shilapa (after they first arrived at the
Amazon village) seemed pretty basic - post a guard, fix the huts, do
something about setting up a defence... duh! If Shilapa can't even figure
out stuff like this for herself, what use is she going to be as Queen?
Xena says she is going to go after Brutus, because he'll lead her to Pompey
and the Amazon prisoners - but how does this make sense, if Brutus is with
Caesar's army, *against* Pompey? And she says that she's going after Brutus
because "Pompey's trail has gone cold" - but Pompey attacked the village
*after* Ephiny's fight with Brutus... so surely Brutus' trail is even
colder than Pompey's?? Ok, ok, sorry to keep picking nits - but I do *so*
like it when the scripts actually make sense!
Actually... I was talking about Shilapa in this vein before, but even
Amarice is a bit "jolly hockey sticks" at times in this ep - notably, for
example, when she's panting for Xena to choose her to go on the expedition
in pursuit of Brutus. But then Amarice is *meant* to be immature, whereas
Shilapa is supposed to be chief lieutenant and candidate for leader.
And 'cold trails' or not, apparently Xena had no trouble finding Brutus
wandering around the woods with a small group of men...
And *what* was with that pixie hat Amarice was wearing all the time - is
she trying to set a new Amazon fashion trend or something? It made her look
like an escapee from the Red Fairy Book...
Oh gods! So now we have a "Brutus-drag" to add to the Gabdrag? They really
don't like to let a good idea go under-utilised, so they? BTW, if you watch
Brutus during the drag, it's very obvious his breast-plate is rubber or
something similar - it's bending all over the place!
I don't know... it seemed to me that, although Xena initially said that
Brutus was Caesar's right hand, subsequently the impression was given that
Brutus was with Pompey in attacking the Amazons - I thought he must have
switched sides. But then later it's made clear that no, he's still with
Caesar against Pompey, and was supposed to hook up with a legion and lead
them against Pompey's army. I found this whole thing about Brutus' status
and why he was fighting the Amazons *very* confusing... and even after
multiple viewings, I still don't think I can be blamed for my confusions.
There's one thing about Xena - she always seems to end up giving orders,
and it's rare that anyone questions it...but then, can you wonder?
I had a great deal of trouble telling how Xena stopped Amarice from
shooting Brutus - I had to watch it several times in slow motion, and I'm
still not totally clear. She lashes out with her whip at what looks like
some clothes and things hanging on sticks - and somehow this causes her
chakram to fly into her hand. But why wasn't her chakram on her belt, as it
usually is? And where was it - in a bag, hanging up? Once she's got the
chakram, she throws it, and it cuts the branch Amarice is on (except in
slow motion it's quite clear that the branch is already cut and breaking
before the chakram even enters the frame...)
Somehow, throwing Amarice into prison to think about being in "her tribe"
didn't quite seem Gab's style - but then perhaps she's already feeling the
burdens of office (and it did conveniently set up Amarice ready for her
little chat with Brutus).
OTOH, Gab certainly looked *very* uncomfortable with Xena's putting the
pinch on Brutus...
During the pinch, Xena says to Brutus "Pompey's no friend of yours" - which
is where I did a double take... so Brutus is still with Caesar and
*against* Pompey, is he? So why was he fighting the Amazons...? BTW, if
anyone cares, although Xena says when she pinches Brutus: "30 seconds, you
die", which has always been the official line, in fact Brutus was under the
pinch for almost exactly *60* seconds. Mind you, I think the record is
still held by Gabby herself, who, IIRC, was under for 92 seconds in Devi.
Although of course, there were also all the Ewokzons in AITST2, who
appeared to be under for *ages* - but then in that case I suppose you could
argue that time is distorted in the "spirit world".
The scene between Amarice and Brutus in the prison was actually possibly my
favourite in the entire ep... it kind of restored my faith in where things
were going, making certain things clear about both characters (and also
making it clear that the writer *meant* them to be that way, and was going
somewhere with them). So after that scene, we know that Brutus is a mature
and basically honourable warrior, and that Amarice is kind of mixed up and
immature... and it was done quite believably, and in a way that respected
both characters.
On first viewing I didn't see at all the point of Xena sifting the straw
(?) and sand on the path with her sword whilst saying "This is the route
that Pompey will take to the sea..." But of course it was a set up for how
the weapons would be concealed on the path for the later trick ambush. BTW,
I thought that Americans pronounced "route" like "rout", rather than like
"root", as Lucy did here (which is also how I would pronounce it).
I *really* liked Amarice and Xena's chat about Gab. Amarice's scepticism
about Gab's way made the perfect foil to provoke Xena into defending Gab...
and I liked the way she did it... "You know Gabrielle is *not* the weakling
that you think she is" ... "And you know what? Sometimes *I* don't like the
way she goes about it, but I've come to understand her..." I also like
Amarice's final speech: "Well... I still think she's wrong, but if you
trust her.... Nah! Sorry, can't go there. You'll just have to trust her on
your own!" You know, I could get to *like* Amarice! And it's nice when
characters aren't always instantly won over by a pep-talk from Xena, even
if it's a good one...
I see they're continuing to make quite convincing use of CGI to boost the
size of armies etc, as in the opening shot of Pompey's camp here, and later
when we see the legions marching in the distance.
The script went out of its way to portray Pompey nastier than he's ever
been. He looked less boyish too. Clearly our sympathies were not meant to
incline towards him at all here.
I liked the "double bluff" on the ambush... it had me fooled the first
time, pretty much - and it's nice to be surprised sometimes.
"I'm gonna give you one chance, Carminus - you give up now, and I'll go
easy on you." Good stuff! I was trying to place what it reminded me of -
and then it came to me: Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight, tied to the
millwheel, telling Daedalus she'll leave him the use of his legs if he
let's her go right now.
This was as a pretty violent fight - I believe the entire Roman patrol was
wiped out, other than Carminus himself... Usually (and realistically) the
bad guys give up and run before casualties reach anything like this level.
I believe the music during this battle was an arrangement of Xena's
fighting theme (which is certainly stirring music) that we haven't heard
before. There seemed to be quite a bit of new music in this ep... most of
the music for the Amazons, much apparently shaped by African influences,
sounded new to me.
And after the battle Amarice promptly disobeys orders again - Xena tells
her to round up the surviving Romans (so there *were* survivors) and take
them to the village as prisoners ("Lucky for them we've got just the Queen
for the job! ...Sorry!") But Amarice immediately heads off in the other
direction to scout Pompey's camp on her own. She get's away with it too -
indeed you could argue her decision was wiser than Xena's... spying on
Pompey gave them a needed warning (although surely Xena would have figured
that Pompey would probably attack?) Well anyhow, I guess Xena has to have a
certain sympathy with people who don't take orders readily...
"We move back to Amazonland by morning!" Yikes! It sounds like a theme
park! (Bring the kiddies to Amazonland this summer...)
I'm kind of confused again about the treaty thing... I can see Gab
proposing a treaty of peace with Caesar, and maybe even thinking it would
work (although even Gab has seen enough of Caesar to know that he's
ruthless and slippery). *But* apparently this treaty thing wasn't Gab's
idea, but a plan cooked up by Xena. So I don't understand... *what* was
Xena's plan? What did she hope to achieve by sending Brutus to Caesar with
a treaty? Did she figure that somehow this would make Brutus see that
Caesar wasn't to be trusted? That seems a bit far-fetched, really! But
otherwise I've *no* idea what Xena's plan was.
When the Amazons were dancing and rolling in the dirt before the battle -
does anyone know what that singing was? It sounded African to me, but I
don't know enough to really place it.
"We toss in a torch, and poof - Pompey-que!" LOL! These people are
outrageous sometimes - and I wouldn't have it any other way.
When they're looking at the legions from the top of the hill, Brutus says
"Caesar's taking advantage of the situation." But isn't Caesar back in
Rome? (That was the impression the ending gave me.) In which case, how is
he making tactical decisions in the field... carrier pigeon? Crystal ball?
I didn't particularly see how by "holding the line" (which basically seemed
to involve standing around doing nothing) the Amazons would "give Xena more
time", as Gab said...
Argo certainly has good brakes, eh? That's a neat trick, where she comes to
a dead stop and Xena somersaults off over her head.
"It's not about balance any more." *Another* good line! They're certainly
distorting the history a good bit here, though, having Caesar's struggles
with Pompey continue on almost to the eve of the fateful Ides of March (if,
indeed, it does turn out to be *that* Ides of March...)
"I was once a *very* good friend of his..." I liked the way Xena said that.
So isn't that CGI palace with the big fires beside it that we see at the
end meant to be in Rome? That was how I took it...
"Pompey's changed his hairstyle - too bad!" Yeah, there seems to be a lot
of it about, eh?
Well clearly Brutus is having his doubts about Caesar at the end... but I
don't quite see how Xena could have planned that. I mean Caesar could have
been quite happy to have and to honour a peace treaty with the Amazons, at
least for a time... most power-hungry dictators would be (if you've got a
treaty you can trust with A, it gives you a chance to attack B - and you
can always turn on A later...) Blatantly rejecting and publicly burning the
treaty would actually be a very unlikely response for a cunning and
ambitious leader.
They have peacock feathers at Ephiny's funeral? Maybe Xena and Gab brought
them back from the east...
As I said, I was disappointed in Gab's handing the Mask of Queenship to
Shilapa at the end. Gab didn't really seemed to have worked through her
attachments and obligations to the Amazons - not to my satisfaction,
anyhow. And Shilapa really didn't seem like queen material..
They seem to have a lot of potted palms in this Amazon village - are the
Amazons big on house plants, then?
*What* does Amarice say at the end? I thought it was "Kick butt and take
notes later" (sort of a reference back to "you kick butt, and I'll take
notes")... but on further viewings it seems more like "take *nibs* later",
in which case, what does it mean? "Names" perhaps?
So Amarice is going to travel with our gals for a while? "Trouble", as Xena
says. Actually I wouldn't feel too badly about the idea at all, based on
how she was handled and played in this ep. But it's a bit of an odd thing
to introduce just as we're heading into the season finale. Ah well, we
shall see what we shall see...
The music at the end was new too. Joseph LoDuca has really outdone himself
this season (although he's always been impressive, and a big asset to the
show).
Well it was nice to see Xena and Gab hugging again, although I wish the
circumstances could have been happier. This reminded me of one of their
first hugs, when Talus was taken away by Death... we've sure come a long
way since then, haven't we?
COMMENTARY 4:
Commentary Videntur.
Please note: This commentary was written after viewing all of the fourth
season episodes; therefore, references to the "Ides of March" do appear in
this commentary.
This was definitely a classic Xena episode. The action scenes were awesome
and the power and leadership of the Warrior Princess were truly displayed.
Let's take a look at how our characters shaped this particular episode.
Ephiny had a very little part with a long lasting effect. I was sorry to see
Ephiny killed in this episode, she was definitely one of my favorite
characters. Ephiny showed that an Amazon queen placed her life in danger
along with the rest of her tribe and many times the outcome was not
favorable. How can one tell when you have or have had a great leader? I
would say, when like Ephiny, in a battle, the mere mention of her name
invoked a feeling of patriotism and loyalty strong enough that the Amazons of
her tribe were willing to risk life and limb to defend the beliefs of the
Amazon nation.
Our next character, Brutus, shows that "blind loyalty" is different than the
type of loyalty described above and can have dire consequences. With Brutus,
you definitely saw a man who was wise but placed his loyalty in the wrong
person. Brutus was a man of matureness and wisdom which was definitely shown
in the conversation between him and Amarice in which he makes Amarice seem
like a 5-year old child. Also, you could tell that Brutus had respect for
Ephiny and for Gabrielle; however, he knew that the true power of the tribe
was in the hands of Xena. You especially hear this when Gabrielle and Brutus
are speaking and Gabrielle offers Caesar a treaty of peace between the Romans
and Amazons. Brutus accepts but makes it known that it is contingent upon
being accepted by both Caesar and Xena. Brutus also knew that Gabrielle was
definitely someone who he could trust and I think this first became clear to
him when Gabrielle pardoned Amarice.
This leads us to Amarice who is definitely a worshipper of Xena and a
criticizer of Gabrielle. Amarice definitely has a great deal to learn
including that of knowing that our bard can definitely fight when she has to.
I had to laugh at her over enthusiasm when Xena was picking riders to help
her find Brutus and chose Amarice who developed a big facial grin and hopped
on her horse and rode off. Once Amarice matures, she will be a good fighter;
however, let her mature on another show and not on Xena, Warrior Princess.
When Gabrielle first arrives and the amazons rejoice at having their
queen back, Gabrielle looks at Xena who reads the plead for help and starts
giving orders to the Amazons (and yet maintains Gabrielle's dignity by asking
her if the orders met with her agreement). There are many times in this
episode where we see that Gabrielle does not agree with Xena's methods but
does not outwardly criticize Xena. One prime example was the "neck pinch"
placed on Brutus by Xena (note: haven't seen the "neck pinch" in a long time
- it was great to see it again). Definitely we know that Gabrielle is a
woman of peace, but unlike Eli, Gabrielle has many more complications in her
life to deal with.Therefore, where Eli can choose the way of total love that
means hurting no one (including your enemies), this is not a reasonable
choice for Gabrielle to make. An Amazon queen must be willing to fight and
die and so must a friend of Xena's. I think the solution of Gabrielle
choosing the way of friendship (as seen in the episode "Ides of March") is a
great way of Gabrielle still choosing the way of peace but also being able to
defend her friends when needed. [If I may digress here for just a moment. I
know that some may think it strange that Gabrielle's displays such talent
with a sword in "Ides of March" and such great fighting abilities; however,
when a person sees a person that they love, hurt and about to be killed -
you'd be surprised how strength can come from out of nowhere. Look at
stories that you hear where mothers have actually lifted cars off of their
children when the child's life depended on it. Therefore, I don't feel that
the strength shown in "Ides of March" nor the sword ability displayed by
Gabrielle are impossible]. Getting back to "Endgame", I loved it when at the
end, when they were preparing for battle, Amarice told Gabrielle that maybe
she should go back so she wouldn't get hurt to which Gabrielle stated to
Amarice "You don't know me very well" and I agree Amarice does not know the
fighting bard that we have all grown to know and love nor does Amarice know
Gabrielle's capabilities.
Xena - Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! This was classic Xena. The fight scenes
were fantastic and the leadership, knowledge and matureness displayed by our
hero is a wonder to watch. What I like is that Xena did not always agree
with Gabrielle, but she defended Gabrielle's wishes. This is also seen when
Xena states to Amarice "Sometimes I don't like the way she [Gabrielle] goes
about it-but I've come to understand her." When Xena mounted the horse to go
and look for Brutus, you could see and hear the loyalty she invoked in the
Amazons. Let us not forget that in the episode "Hooves and Harlots", Xena
defeated the Amazon queen, Melosa, and was made queen of the Amazons. When
you think about it, Xena could actually claim the title since she did have it
and it was never really taken back from her in battle, instead she willingly
gave it back to Melosa. Another powerful scene was at the end when Xena rode
her horse into battle with explosions taking place all around her - again the
powerful leadership of the Warrior Princess was displayed. I couldn't help
think about how powerful Xena looked in this episode and how broken and weak
she was at the end of the episode "Ides of March". Also, this episode lets
you see that again, the Chakrum is a weapon that is able to take the heads
off spears and cut through chains and yet breaks in half in the "Ides of
March". Definitely, a broken chakrum indicates a broken warrior, also, if
only something as powerful as the chakrum can destroy Xena does this not
again prove that Xena's parental heritage may come from the god Ares.
The best scene was at the beginning, when Gabrielle is showing Xena her use
of the fishing net and ends up throwing the net over Xena and then waits to
see Xena's reaction. Only Gabrielle could throw a net on the Warrior
Princess and get away with it - the scene was hilarious and I loved it.
Also, when Amarice jumps in between Gabrielle and Xena, the way they both
looked at her was like she was a strange being from outer space - it was
great. Best line was when Amarice instructs Gabrielle to run while she holds
off the enemy (which unknown to her at the time is Xena) to which Xena
replies "Oh no, I surrender before Gabrielle". One of the many things that I
like about this episode was that there were many times when Xena and
Gabrielle did not share agreement on various methods of obtaining information
or desired effects; however, neither one openly criticized the other.
Kudos to Gabrielle for showing Amarice that you are more than worthy to be
called an Amazon Queen and Major Major Kudos to Lucy Lawless for giving us a
character that shows leadership, strength and power and one that also has
been
called and is definitely worthy of the title Amazon Queen. Also Major Kudos
to Lucy for the fight scenes - they were truly classic Xena all the way.
COMMENTARY 5:
Commentary JoJo.
As I study this episode I find that it was an excellent Xena episode. Xena episode, not Gabrielle. Considering that the entire plot centered on the Amazons, Gabrielle played such a minuscule role in End Game's events...much less significant than she deserved (in my opinion, anyway.)
It begins well, with an above average fight scene and an above average death scene (The expression on Ephiny's face was a wonderful piece of acting)...but couldn't the writers have devoted a longer amount of time to the death of
such a beloved character? She really didn't get much more time than Perdicus and I know how much we all love him. :) But even this I could have excused had it not been for the total lack of Gabrielle in this ep.
She hardly ever accompanied Xena into battle, she didn't seem to have any idea of what was going on, and the entire time Xena was running the tribe. Isn't Gabrielle supposed to be the Amazon Queen? Which brings up another
sore spot with me...how can Gabrielle be an Amazon Queen if she refuses to fight? By the ending of the episode it became apparent that can't. She just hands off the mask which Ephiny had always meant her to have and says, "Take it. Do what Ephiny would have done." Ephiny would have kept the mask and fulfilled her duty to her tribe. Heck, she did fulfill it!
I had hoped that in this episode Gabrielle would renounce her new, "Way" and take up the staff of an Amazon. I miss the old Gab-hacking bard...without the staff her character isn't half as fun. She just sits and mopes about how she can't hurt people and how Xena is always hurting people... But anyway,
what we now have is an early season one episode where Xena does everything and Gabby just sits back and watches. Only Gabby doesn't crack jokes... The show seems to be regressing Gabrielle's character by taking away almost everything that made her interesting; non-violence on an action show can only
go so far.
I came away from the TV feeling extremely betrayed and shocked, expecially by Gabrielle's casual sacrifice (even though she didn't seem upset enough to call it a sacrifice) of her Queenhood. With the loss of her Amazon "connections" I feel that she is giving up the last elements which endeared
her character to me. With my estrangment from Gabrielle I feel alienated from the show...but perhaps this is a good thing; now I have an extra hour to spend studying.
Alas, poor Gabrielle...I knew her, Horatio!
COMMENTARY 6:
04-04-00. Commentary Philip Teo.
I have awaited this episode for a very long time. And one of my favourite recurring characters is going to die this episode! She is none other than Ephiny, the regent queen of the amazons.
I really wished Ephiny didn't have to die. I know Danielle had other projects on hand at that time, and felt that this character should come to a rest, but surely filming one episode per season of Xena wouldn't be too difficult, would it? Fortunately, though her character is killed, Danielle Cormack still returns in the next season to guest star("LifeBlood") as another character. We love you, Danielle!
Solari didn't really have to die. She could have been brought back in a later episode, since Jodie Dorday was away at that time. Maybe she could have been brought back to help the amazons in their future battles. Keeping her around would have been better than just killing her off.
Anyway, the initial teaser with the Amazons-Romans battle was spectacular. However, I felt that the fight scene between Ephiny and Brutus could have been stretched longer. After all, if they really wanted to kill off Ephiny, at least let her put up a long good fight before she eventually gets killed! In this scene, Ephiny was killed too easily. Ephiny may not be Xena, but she is certainly a good fighter too. Watch how she took care of all the baddies by herself in the Hercules episode, "Sky High". I am sure with luck, Ephiny could even have defeated Brutus. Even if she really had to die, the director could have let Ephiny put up some cool moves first and give Brutus some beating before she eventually loses and die. We will miss you, Ephiny!!!
I was wondering how did Amarice track down Gabrielle and Xena. This doesn't make sense. Xena and Gabrielle are constantly moving about, how on earth did Amarice know where they were, much less track them down so fast?
I was also wondering, was this Shalaba character ever introduced before? Why did Gabrielle greet her like as though she knew her?
I was a bit disappointed at how Brutus was captured. I would have wanted Xena to fight him and defeat him. This would show Brutus, not all women can be bullied so easily! I mean, look at Brutus's face even when Xena showed up. Instead of showing fear, he still called his men to charge on, acting like as though he could defeat our warrior princess! Think again, Brutus!
I was really glad that Gabrielle took charge and out-ruled Shalapa. I hated Shalapa at that point for insisting that they kill Brutus, even when Xena said no. Go, Gabrielle! Being queen of the amazons has its advantages.
The scene where Xena and amazons try to rescue the other amazons was rather good. They really showed those Romans that the amazons are not women to be trifled with. And Xena's chakram is really handy. Watch how she neatly used it to block attacks from the soldiers and even stab someone in the back!
I like the way Gabrielle talked to Brutus about the peace treaty. It was nice to see Gabrielle back in command again and being serious. Gabrielle was not her usual self in the previous self, "Takes One To Know One". She was being foolish the entire episode. At least, Gabrielle here was acting like the one we all know and love.
When I see the final battle scene of the amazons battling the Romans, I keep thinking; if only Gabrielle could participate! Recall how well Gabrielle fought in "A Good Day" ? She could defend herself well on a battlefield as we have come to see. Gabrielle's fighting skills have improved over the seasons, and if she could lend a hand here, fighting with the amazons, it would have been spectacular. Too bad for her new code of life.
Xena riding Argo onto the battlefield was nicely done. That scene was really beautiful. It showed the power of our warrior princess. Pompey certainly didn't look worried on seeing Xena break her way through his army. And Xena was really fighting it out as we saw how intense she was putting herself in, as though winning this battle was the most important thing in her life.
Pompey should have known better than to try and fool Xena. Did he really think Xena would fall for his words so easily? Come on, Xena has dealt with so many warlords in the past, why would she believe Pompey? I was also wondering one thing. If Pompey had walked away, would Xena still kill him anyway or let him off?
When Xena handed Pompey's head to Brutus, I wanted to slap Brutus' face. He really then still believed Caesae was his friend and not give creditability to the words of our warrior princess. Yes, Xena was betrayed by Caesar and hated him. But she has learnt the error of her ways that by giving in to hatred, she would not solve matters. Watch ("The Deliverer"). Xena would not want to make the same mistake again. In fact, Xena already became wise in ("When In Rome"). I remember Xena saying those words, "Anger clouds the mind, and prevents focus". This line came from "Sacrifice I". How true that statement is. Brutus only started to doubt himself after Caesar burnt the peace treaty. Serves you rite, Brutus. It obviously came as quite a shock to him when he saw how Caesar treated that peace treaty.
I love the final funeral scene where Xena and Gabrielle stood admist the dancing for Ephiny. The music was sorrow and I really cried the first time I saw that scene. I felt the sorrow Gabrielle was feeling. It's a feeling of loss....Ephiny was dead, and she was never going to be back. That kind of feeling really puts you down. Ephiny....we will really miss you! Sob! Even Xena displayed a sense of sorrow on her face, though it wasn't so dramatic like Gabrielle's. But I thought Lucy did that expression rather well. Controlled but the sorrow was displayed there. Great work!
I guess this is the end for Ephiny, but if the writers want to bring her back, I wouldn't say it's impossible. After all, we did have a living example of a recurring character being brought back time after time. Who else but our warrior princess's nemesis, Callisto?
Hope to see you again the production of Xena soon, Danielle. I am sure many fans out there would love to have you back on the screens.
WHERE HAVE I SEEN YOU BEFORE?
By Xorys.
* The feisty but immature young Amazon Americe was played by Jennifer Sky,
who is new to the Xenaverse. If you recognised her, it was most likely from
her stint on General Hospital, playing Sarah Webber, from 1997-98. She was
also in the TV series Emerald Cove, and the TV feature Our Son, The
Matchmaker. Or perhaps you recognised her from the Buffy The Vampire Slayer
episode The Pack, in which she guested as Heidi. She also appeared in
episodes of Sins Of The City and Out Of The Blue.
* Ephiny, of course, was played, probably for the last time, by the
charming and forceful Danielle Cormack, who can also be seen in the HTLJ ep
Les Contemptibles as Lady Marie de Valle. She has also appeared on the New
Zealand soap Shortland Street, as have most Kiwi actors (but not, as was
pointed out to me, Lucy Lawless...) Danielle also appeared in two episodes
of the series High Tide, playing Jill McMillan in the episode Dead Heat,
and Meghan Kelly in the episode Sitting Ducks. At the movies, Danielle can
be seen in Channelling Baby (with Joel Tobeck, known to us as Strife and
now Deimos, and Amber Sainsbury who we saw as Regina in the HTLJ ep Lost
City), in Via Satellite, in Siam Sunset, in Topless Women Talk About Their
Lives, in A Game With No Rules, and in The Last Tattoo... unfortunately all
of these are essentially New Zealand "art" pictures, and they're pretty
hard to find in Northern parts.
* Caesar, Julius Caesar, was played as usual by Karl Urban, whose other
Xenaverse roles are Cupid (in For Him The Bell Tolls and A Comedy Of Eros,
and the HTLJ ep The Green-Eyed Monster), and Maell in Altared States.
At the movies, Karl (who is a Kiwi, born in Wellington in 1972) can be seen
in the 1998 thriller Heaven, which also features Clint Sharplin (Opakas in
Sky High, Kenickus in Regrets I've Had A Few, and a Celtic Villager in
Resurrection), and in the NZ war movie Chunuk Bair, with Geoff Dolan (who
headed the Fashion Police in Greece Is Burning and who was also the chief
goon in And Fancy Free, and Orenth in The Lady and the Dragon) and Norman
Forsey (King Lias in W.P and W.P.T1, Casca in BTDT, Megas the old prisoner
in Key To The Kingdom, Tiresias in The Road to Calydon, The Festival of
Dionysus and The Outcast, Old Merlin in Once Upon A Future King).
* This was presumably Jeremy Callaghan's last appearance as Pompey the
Magnus. We first saw Jeremy as the ambitious (but subsequently mellowed)
punk Palaemon in Blind Faith, and he has previously played Pompey in When
In Rome and A Good Day.
Jeremy was a regular in the Australian TV series Police Rescue, and also
appeared in the Police Rescue movie in 1994. He was also in the Australian
movie The Hostages, and in The Munsters Scary Little Christmas (a 1996 TV
movie not, of course, featuring the cast of the original series).
Jeremy has made guest appearances on several Australian TV series -
SeaChange, GP, Blue Heelers, and Water Rats (which stars Jay Laga'aia,
known to us all as Draco).
* "Caesar's right hand" (but he'd better watch out), Brutus, was played
this time by David Franklin. Previously Brutus was played by Grant Triplow
in Destiny and When In Rome, and Dusen Young in A Good Day, thereby, I
would suggest, winning him the prize as the most confusing character in the
Xenaverse.
David has never appeared before in the Xenaverse, but David Franklin is a
fairly common name, so I'm a bit unclear about his previous credits. There
is a David Franklin who appeared in The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children?
with Rene=E9 O'Connor (which, alas, I haven't seen), and also in the
Australian TV movie Fable with Monroe Reimers (the ill-fated priest Vikram
in Devi). But then there is also a different David Franklin who has
appeared in a bunch of Australian movies (The Missing, Violet's Visit, Rock
n' Roll Cowboys (TV), Shame, Early Frost, My Brilliant Career). Since both
these actors are apparently antipodean, presumably either could be our new
Brutus... can anyone who's seen any of these other performance say whether
either of these "David Franklin"s is actually the one who played Brutus?
* Pompey's lieutenant, Carminus, was played by Stephen Butterworth, who
previously played this same role in A Good Day. Stephen also played the
forbiddingly named Thanatos in the HTLJ ep Hero's Heart.
He was also in the Australia / NZ coproduced TV mini-series Mirror, Mirror.
* Xelafus, the Roman commander from whom Pompey took over the legion, was
played by Tony Wood. Tony hasn't been seen on XWP before, but on HTLJ he
played Eluvius in the ep Highway to Hades, and Bluth in Monster Child in
the Promised Land. He was also in the 1985 UK movie The Angelic Conversation.
* The new Amazon Queen Chilapa was played by Nicole Whippy, for whom I could discover no prior credits.
* The ep was written by Steven Sears, who still comes second, after R. J.
Stewart, in number of XWP writing credits - he is credited as "Writer" for
Dreamworker, H&H, ACAOTPB, AFOD, TRCOT, TGG, OOW, IS, The Price, Lost
Mariner, TDHD, The Deliverer, The Bitter Suite, WIR, Sac 1, A Good Day,
Past Imperfect, and Between The Lines, and also credited as "Story Writer"
on Remember Nothing and The Quest, and "Teleplay Writer" on Destiny and The
Quest.
* The ep's director was Garth Maxwell, who previously directed Mortal
Beloved, The Execution, Lost Mariner, Forgiven, Past Imperfect, and Devi.
He also directed the HTLJ eps Gladiator, All That Glitters, The Sword Of
Veracity, and We'll Always Have Cyprus.
ADDENDUM
11-07-00. From Carolyn S. I've been doing some tutoring on Aussie movies this semester. Anyway main
movie for this week was "Shame". The main bad guy/rapist reminded me so
much of a young XWP Endgame/Ides of March Brutus, that I just went to the
Whoosh ep guide and found this with the Endgame stuff.
"But then there is also a different David Franklin who has appeared in a
bunch of Australian movies (The Missing, Violet's Visit, Rock n' Roll
Cowboys (TV), Shame, Early Frost, My Brilliant Career). Since both these
actors are apparently antipodean, presumably either could be our new
Brutus... can anyone who's seen any of these other performance say whether
either of these "David Franklin"s is actually the one who played Brutus?"
Has anyone responded to this so far? Well, in case they haven't I reckon
it's the same guy.
I have been provided with tutor copies of a couple of the above movies but
left Shame in my office at the Uni today. I do have a copy of My Brilliant
Career at home.... I hadn't noticed any Brutus looking character when I
watched it a few weeks back, but have just checked it again.
David Franklin is in the credits as a Possum Gully character (Sybilla/Judy
Davis's home) as Horace. So he could have been one of Judy D's younger
bros. hardly in MBC very much at all.... not even a speaking part. Probably
very young then (MBC 1979). In Shame (1987) David Franklin (if I've got the
correct character) wouldn't have been much more than a teenager.
WHIMPERS, MURMURS, AND A LOVE GONE TOO
FAR
03-06-00. Steve Sears, a former co-executive producer of XENA, appeared on the NetForum on or around February 9, 2000, under his Tyldus rubric, and shared the following:
[responding to this question]"Maybe in the case of Ephiny and Solari, RenPics would have to shell out
payments to their creator every time
they were used - and I assume that person is Sears. Perhaps we can speculate
that Taproot told him to wrap the characters because RenPics would only use
X% or 0% of his creations after he bailed on the show - again, cost factor.
You don't burn popular characters for the hell of it. ""
When a character is created, there is a character payment that is paid to
the creator of the character every time it is used. That amount is somewhere
between $300 and $400. Hardly enough to keep a character from being used.
So, no, that wasn't the reason. Of course, anyone could have e-mailed me to
ask what the case was.
I've explained why the characters were killed off. Ephiny's death gave the
episode more dramatic drive for Gabrielle, but I had another version where
Ephiny lived. Danielle said she didn't want to continue the character, so
that made the decision easier. It had nothing to do with her being busy.
Callisto was killed off for the reasons I previously stated; the character
was becoming repetitive (even some fans pointed THAT out). I also said that
the only way to bring Callisto back was to drastically change her character.
I would think that becoming an angel would pretty much be a way to do it.
No lies there. And I can't say what happened with Kevin Smith. It happened
after I was gone and I haven't spoken to him in a long time.
The research stands, sorry. Nothing was being manipulated in that regard.
But to put it into a time frame, I believe it was done in the early part of
season four, when Callisto was still strong. As I said, I was surprised at
that as well.
04-14-99. Ephiny bites the big one in this, and we have been guaranteed a passing the bar worthy of such a character. The ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT clip from the show (04/99) looks like Amazon City with visits from Caesar and Pompey. Looks like Cleo might not have made this one. Pity. I wanted to change WHOOSH to the Gina Torres Page.
03-26-99. In an amazing example of economy, apparently this episode is the result of fusing together the previously independent episodes of DEATH OF POMPEY [nee LOVE AND DEATH IN ALEXANDRIA] and AMAZON REUNION. Who knows what that means other than a lot of people dying.
02-05-99. Steven L. Sears. writer and co-executive producer of XWP, on DWO AoL Chat, 02-04-99, stated that: "I'm writing Amazons tonight, as a matter of fact....As the rest of the series unfolds, keep an eye on Gab's "spiritual and character" growth. And think of the Amazons."
10-10-98. It was hoped that Ephiny (Danielle Cormack) would appear in this episode, but Cormack was involved in making a film so she had to bow out of the production.
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR
These things are by Beth Gaynor.
What's with the "rider approaching!" warning when Xena came
to talk to Brutus after the battle? They were only 20 yards
away from each other. And somebody should tell Xena to get
some privacy before building a conspiracy. Maybe Brutus
won't tell how the battle went down, but a dozen other
soldiers could.
For all their coolness, the Amazons still suck at bird
calls.
MORE THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR
05-11-99. From Nick Nayko. Were the Bolsheviks inspired by Amarice's hat? It seems remarkably similar to the budyenovka used by Semyon Budyenny's cavalry during the Russian civil war and worn by the Red Army until the end of the Second World War.
TRANSCRIPT
Click here to read a transcript of END GAME .
DISCLAIMER:
Pompey's reign came to a head during the production of this motion picture.
