A Friend In Need Part 2 -- A Critique
David E. Milligan
First aired on June 18, 2001.
The story starts out at the end of AFIN part 1. Xena is burying her warrior breastplate, leathers
and sword, and using her Chakram to cover them up. She is in the gold and black armor. She hears
drums in the distance. And then the sound of soldiers coming, horses, and a wagon carrying barrels
and bombs with a flammable liquid and probably gun powder.
Gabrielle is also listening to the quiet. She remembers Xena's advice about listening to the sounds
behind the sound. She realizes Xena was telling her she is sacrificing herself. She runs back to
find Xena.
Xena throws the Chakram and it hits the wagon, spilling its contents. It then ricochets and knocks
a torch from a soldier's hand, igniting the liquid causing a tremendous explosion, which forms a
mushroom cloud. The fiery shockwave burns trees and soldiers nearest to the explosion. Xena, many
other soldiers, and Gabrielle are knocked to the ground.
Xena runs up a tree and begins to shoot arrows at the soldiers. When she runs out of arrows, she
jumps to the ground. Suddenly volley after volley of arrows fly toward Xena. She manages to catch
some and deflect others. But she is hit in the shoulders and leg. Then in the stomach. She gets
angry, pulls the kutana from its scabbard and attacks the soldiers, hacking, slashing, and yelling
Gabrielle's name. Many soldiers are killed but her wounds begin taking their toll. She hesitates as
she sees the samurai general and before she can defend herself, he cuts her head off.
Gabrielle enters the battlefield littered with bodies. She finds the Chakram covered with blood.
In the teahouse, Akemi is playing her instrument. The kutana reappears. A naked Xena walks in and
is dressed in a flowing red robe.
Gabrielle sees the ghost hunter killing the souls as the leave the bodies to keep Yodoshi from
swallowing them. Gabrielle insists Xena is alive.
Xena tells Akemi this underworld feels different from others. Akemi says it is a illusion projected
by Yodoshi. The woman with the anklet stamps her foot and it rings. Yodoshi arrives in a black
swarm. Everyone bows but Xena. His right arm becomes a fiery lasso. He grabs Xena and throws her
around. He uses his arm as a whip and burns the robe from her. Xena tells him she is at his
service. He turns back into a swarm and disappears.
Xena and Akemi are outside the teahouse. Xena leaves, knowing the anklet woman will follow. Xena
and Gabrielle find each other in the woods and hug. When Gabrielle asks about the robe, Xena says
she is going to kill Yodoshi. When Gabrielle tries to give her back the Chakram, Xena's hand passes
through it. Gabrielle realizes Xena is dead and asks how she could let herself be killed. Xena
tells her she had to do it alone or they'd both be dead. Gabrielle asks if that's supposed to make
her feel better.
The ghost killer arrives and Gabrielle tells him to stay away. Xena says they are working together.
Xena grabs anklet woman and throws her toward ghost killer. He stabs her and her soul is gone. Xena
catches the anklet before it hits the ground.
Back at the teahouse Xena tells Akemi with the anklet they can call Yodoshi when they're ready.
Gabrielle is walking over the small bridge to the teahouse. Xena tells Akemi Gabrielle is her soul
mate, but they are interrupted by the ghost killer. He asks Gabrielle if she will risk her life for
the return of Xena's. Gabrielle says yes. He tells her she must find Xena's body, burn it and take
the ashes to the Fountain of Strength on Mt. Fuji before sunset the next day.
Xena then introduces Gabrielle and Akemi to each other. Gabrielle starts to leave but Akemi says
she wants to give her something. She tattoos something on Gabrielle's left calf, and a dragon over
her entire back.
A thunderstorm breaks as Gabrielle finds the camp where Xena's headless and naked body is hanging
by her arms. It's all Gabrielle can do to keep from vomiting. She yells for them to give her Xena's
head, then cuts her down and wraps her in a tarp or blanket.
The samurai general comes up behind Gabrielle. He says killing Xena was honorable. Gabrielle says
she was outnumbered 1000 to one, and he is a fraud. She accepts a challenge to fight. They circle
each other carefully, neither making the first move. Gabrielle is listening to all the sounds. He
attacks but she sidesteps his sword, knocks him down and has her sword at the back of his neck. He
asks the she grant him a noble defeat and take his head. She knocks him out with the butt of her
sword., finds Xena's head, then leaves.
In the teahouse. Xena puts on the anklet then rings it. Yodoshi bursts in. When he sees Xena he
asks where the other woman is. Ghost killer pops up from the tub and stabs Yodoshi in the back. He
is flipped over and the sword goes flying. Xena grabs it and kicks Yodoshi into the tub. When she
tries to stab him, the water boils and he rises up as steam to the rafters. The steam condenses and
a drop falls to the floor and Yodoshi is reformed. Ghost killer is stabbed by Yodoshi. Akemi is
thrown into the tub and Yodoshi blows on it, freezing the water and trapping her. He and Xena fight
some more. She cuts off his right arm then stabs him. He turns into a swirling flame and rockets up
through the roof. Xena breaks the glass and frees Akemi.
Gabrielle lights Xena's funeral pyre.
Ghost killer tells Xena that Yodoshi has gone to the Fountain on Mt Fuji. He dies.
Gabrielle rides toward Mt Fuji but the samurai general is blocking her way. He shoots her horse
with an arrow. They begin to fight. The urn with Xena's ashes is kicked up into the rocks.
Gabrielle and the samurai fight within site of the urn. When he is knocked out by Gabrielle, his
arm hits the urn and it rolls over a cliff. Gabrielle can see it lodged in a bird's nest ten or
fifteen feet below.
Yodoshi is at the Fountain and is using a sword to try to open a valve to let it flow. Xena runs up
and throws him away. She is waiting for the water. As it starts to fall, he blows on it, freezing
it. The ice breaks up and flies everywhere. Xena is blown a dozen or more yards away and lands
hard and is out.
Gabrielle runs back to find Xena. Xena tells her she needs water from the Fountain. Akemi is there
and tries to kill Yodoshi. He blows her away from him. He sees a piece of ice and using his tongue
grabs and swallows it. His arm and strength have retuned. He sucks so hard Akemi is finally sucked
in and swallowed.
Gabrielle runs to the Fountain and puts a handful of water into her mouth. Yodoshi spits a fireball
at her, but the dragon on her back deflects it back at him. She runs to Xena and they kiss. A few
drops of water pass through Xena's lips and she is restored back into her Warrior leathers. She
takes the kutana from Gabrielle. Gabrielle runs back to the cliff edge to retrieve the urn while
Xena and Yodoshi fly through the air as living flames, sitting trees on fire.
They alight to earth and sword fight. She kicks him away and turns her back on him. As he runs up
she stabs him, then cuts his head off. The souls begin to fly out of his neck.
Gabrielle manages to climb down the cliff to get the urn and climbs back up. The samurai is there
again. She throws the Chakram, hits him in the head, catches it, then runs to the Fountain just
before sunset and starts to dump the ashes out when Xena stops her. She says even though the souls
are free, their deaths must be avenged for them to be released into a state of grace. She has to
stay dead.
Gabrielle begins to cry, saying it's not right and she doesn't care. Xena tells her it was her
travels with Gabrielle that has taught her the good and right thing to do. They sit at the fountain
watching the sunset, and Xena fades away.
Gabrielle is on the ship holding the urn. Xena's ghost appears and tell she will always be alive in
her heart. She asks what now? Gabrielle says she will go south to the land of the pharaohs. Xena
says she will always be at her side.
..........
How to review this? Many mixed emotions. Since I don't want to end this final review of
the final episode on a sour note, I will start out with the bad things.
For only one wagon of incendiaries it sure was a massive explosion. I guess it killed
most of the three armies that were closest to ground zero.
Why could ghost-Xena hug Gabrielle but couldn't take the Chakram? Even Xena seemed
surprised. (Which would have been more effective against Yodoshi - the kutana? Or the god-killing
Chakram?)
The most damning, of course, was that Xena had to stay dead with nothing but a last
minute "oops, sorry 'bout that." Although it would have spoiled the surprise ending, we should have
had some hint, some inkling, some kind of warning what was to come. Was it really necessary to kick
us in the teeth just when we could see the happy ending approaching?
I was also incensed by Gabrielle's attitude on the ship. Her words were, "A life of
journeying has brought you to the farthest lands - to the very edges of the earth." And she was
happy about it! Her soul mate had sacrificed herself, twice, and chose to remain dead. She has
asked more than once how could she go on without Xena? That made no sense to me at all.
And shouldn't she have been taking Xena's ashes back to Amphipolis? And trying to find
Eve to give her the bad news? There are a half dozen more important things than heading south
(which, BTW would not take her to Egypt. If the ship was directly south of Japan, the next stop
would be New Guinea and then to Australia. If the ship was farther west, in the South China Sea,
south would take it to Borneo or to the Indonesian Islands. But if the ship had made it into the
India Ocean, going south would take Gabrielle to the South Pole.).
The tattoo on Gabrielle's calf and back. I can see that the one on her back had its
function, but it should have been burned off in the process. I'd much rather see her bare back than
the tat.
For someone on a sunset deadline, it seemed rather stupid to waste hours like that.
Gabrielle could have gotten to the Fountain way before the samurai and Xena and Yodoshi and could
have done what she should have.
Although Xena told Akemi Gabrielle was her soul mate, both X&G have said things like
this - when Gabrielle starts to leave to find Xena's body, Xena says, "good luck, old friend." Old
friend? Old freakin' friend?!? If neither wants to refer to the other as 'lover' surely they could
find something less formal than 'old friend.' And wouldn't a farewell hug and/or kiss have been in
order?
But some things weren't so bad --
The monk getting his head cut off while Xena and Yodoshi were fighting in the teahouse
was kind of cool.
The drums were cool.
The music was good, although most of the time I was watching the show and not consciously
paying attention to it.
Xena laying waste to so many samurai.
The final battle between Xena and Yodoshi.
So, was Xena really there on the boat with her, or was she just a figment of Gabrielle's
Xena's-not-really-gone mind tricks?
And some things were as good as they get -
All of Gabrielle's fights, starting with the sword fight in the rain, to her hand-to-hand
fighting to keep the urn, to her finally having enough of the samurai and using the Chakram to take
him out. AND her way of throwing it. Loved the look on her face when it returned to her. Almost
like she realized it was hers as much as it was Xena's.
Gabrielle in blue. I always like her wearing blue.
And, of course the Kiss of Life Gabrielle gave Xena. Something the camera could have
lingered on for much longer, IMO.
One thing I noticed -- Gabrielle put a handful of water into her mouth just before she was hit
with the fire spit. Then she turned around and swallowed before she ran back to Xena. Why not get
another mouthful, then go to Xena?
Just about all of the moments with Xena and Gabrielle were very touching and a pleasure to watch
(with the two obvious exceptions being the 'old friend' scene and Xena stopping Gabrielle from
pouring out the ashes). Both women gave it their all, as usual.
And some general comments -
Why would ghost killer be killing the souls of the enemy? Who cares if Yodoshi swallows
them? They're the enemy, hell bent on Higuchi's destruction!
Right up to the last five or so minutes, this episode was everything we could have wanted
in a finale (other than closure with all the Xena characters we would have liked to have seen one
more time) - beautiful costumes, good music, great scenery, and amazing performances by Lucy,
Renee, and some of the others, right up to the last five or so minutes.
During the May 2001 "Last Dance in Pasadena" show with Lucy and Renee, Lucy was saying
about the yet-to-be-shown finale that she loved it, but didn't like it, with the accompanying groan
from the audience. (If you'd like to hear them singing 'Last Dance' together (and see a pregnant
Reneé) it's here -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZTf9xH3xe0 Renee proves that singing is
not one of HER many skills <g>)
That very last scene of the camera pulling away from Gabrielle is not the same on the DVD
as was originally aired. I taped the episode, so I remember. It slowly pulled away from Gabrielle,
showing her standing totally alone on the deck (one of the most heartbreaking scenes of any TV show
or movie I had ever seen!) On the DVD we still see her alone, but at a distance, and then the
camera pans to the sunset. Why couldn't they have CGI'd in a ghostly image of Xena standing next to
her? At least then we'd have some kind feeling that Xena was, indeed, with Gabrielle.
After watching six season's worth of episodes, I think we almost take Lucy's and Renee's acting for
granted. We just naturally expected them to continue to give these amazing performances without
realizing how much time, effort, dedication, and talent these two wonderful actors gave to us, the
fans, week after week after week. No thanks can ever express to them our love, appreciation, and
loyalty. And it goes without saying (but I will anyway) that Lucy and Renee are truly two
beautiful women, both blessed with delightful physical beauty, and extraordinary inner beauty.
(That's my opinion, and I'm sticking to it!)
Also on this disk is the Director's Cut of FIN 1& 2. Since I won't be going back to work until
Wednesday, I'm going to try to watch it sometime in the next two days and report on what was taken
out and how it might have affected our opinions if it had been the finale that was aired, and not
the one we saw.
I have never heard anyone say anything about what if Gabrielle was the one who died and Xena lived?
How would that have affected Xena's journey of atonement and redemption? (Yes, I know - fodder for
the fanfiction writers.)
...........
The commentary was with Renee, Rob and Lucy. From the way Rob was talking, if he'd had
the time to film certain scenes the way he wanted to (such as Xena fighting all the samurai, or
Gabrielle's fight in the rain, or Gabrielle's fighting the samurai in the rocks) and not leaving
out the scenes that were cut for time, the finale could have been a three episode arc. Also, if the
money was there. He also said the scene of Xena burying her armor wasn't scripted, but he felt it
was important that it had to be in the episode. Also, the drummers couldn't play the drums, so the
drumming had to be added in postproduction.
When the scene with the Kiss came up, Rob said (kiddingly) that he didn't want to do it,
but both Lucy and Renee insisted on it. Lucy said he kept yelling, "Kiss her! Kiss her!" (Rob was
the director.)
Lucy said she laughed at how great the scene was when she read the part about Yodoshi
using his fire arm on Xena.
Renee said she thought it took about 8 weeks to film both eps, but Rob said it was only
18 days.
Renee also said she was cold and wet while filming the fight scene in the rain with the samurai,
but nothing was as bad as being covered with mud on "The Abyss". And she loved the fight with the
samurai in the rocks.
While Gabrielle and Xena were watching the sunset, Gabrielle was leaning against Xena's shoulder.
When Xena disappeared, I expected Gabrielle to topple over. Rob said the same thing. Renee said she
was told to sit real still for the shot.
..........
Okay, how do I rate this? Up until the last five or so minutes it could have been an easy
9 or even 9.5. But being bushwhacked at the very last minute is no fun and shows very little
respect for the devotion and commitment the fans have given to the show for six years.
Yes, there are those who feel that Xena's death brought things "full circle", although I have no
idea what that means. And some of them think that Xena's death was necessary for Gabrielle's final
growth as a true Warrior. Well, I say that's crapola. They started this journey together and they
should have finished it together.
So - a nine for the first 95% of the episode. And a zero for the last 5% works out to a 4.5.
XWPXWPXWPXWPXWPXWPXWPXWP
6-21 Friend in Need Part 2 . 4.5
6-21 Friend in Need Part 1 . 9
6-20 Soul Possession ... 8.5
6-19 Many Happy Returns . 8.5
6-18 When Fates Collide ... 9.5
6-17 Last of the Centaurs ... 8
6-16 Send in the Clones .. 7.5
6-15 To Helicon and Back . 9.5
6-14 Path of Vengeance .. 9
6-13 You Are There ..... 9
6-12 The God You Know .. 8
6-11 Dangerous Prey .... 7.5
6-10 Old Ares Had a Farm . 8.5
6-09 Return of the Valkyrie .. 8
6-08 The Ring ....... 8
6-07 The Rheingold .... 8.5
6-06 The Abyss ..... 8
6-05 Legacy ....... 9
6-04 Who's Gurkhan? .... 9.5
6-03 Heart of Darkness .... 9
6-02 Haunting/Amphipolis . 8
6-01 Coming Home ..... 8
Average ........... 8.3
--
David
http://geocities.com/daviderl31/xena.htm
http://geocities.com/daviderl31/GabPics.htm
http://www.geocities.com/daviderl31/XenaEpisodeCritiques.htm