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I have a real soft spot for this episode partly because it's one of the eps I remember really well from my pre-Hardcore Xena Fan days. I have a story to go with it -- the first time, I caught it on Sci-Fi about halfway into it. I loved it and really wanted to see the beginning, and EVERY SINGLE TIME it was on Sci-Fi or USA I would miss the first 15 minutes or so. Very frustrating! I think I finally saw the beginning only when I bought the Season 3 VHS set (for a price only slightly below what all 6 seasons now cost on DVD... but I digress ).

Anyway, for all its flaws, I love this ep. Yes, the, um, "plot" falls apart at the first touch of logic. For instance: why on earth doesn't Gabrielle just write, "Xena rejoins Gabrielle"? Why does she agree to Joxer's suggestion that instead of just writing Xena back in, they should "describe her" -- and the description just happens to include, "carrying the whip of Xena"? (Obviously, because the ep requires the presence of Minya, but really it would have been less of a stretch if Minya just happened to be in the town they were passing through.) And, as The EpTalk asked before, how on earth did the peddler end up in those caves? Were they a scroll magnet?

On the other hand, maybe the mark of a good episode is when it pulls you in and makes you watch first and ask questions about whether it makes sense later. And this episode is just fun! It's still one of my favorite comedies, with hilarious dialogue, a madcap plot that moves faster than you can spot the holes in it, and excellent performances by Renee, Ted, Kevin, Alex and Allison Wall (Lucy wasn't in it enough to speak of, really). And yes, there are some pretty interesting character moments.

My absolute favorite part was the "bonding" between Ares and Gabrielle -- it's so fitting that they first start warming up to each other while gushing over the wonderfulness of Xena! (Ares' imitation of Xena's "steely gaze" is great! ) Their reaction to the realization that they're warming up to each other was hilarious as well. "I didn't like it." -- "Right back atch'a."

Other favorite Ares lines, with great delivery by KS:

* "The leather. (after a pause) Mention the leather."

* (in response to Gab's "Innocent people are going to die") "Oh yes. Innocent people."

* "I promise -- once I get my powers back, I'll call off the attack."

And of course, the all-time classic...

* "Those caves are gonna start getting pret-ty full!"



Joxer and Gabrielle's interaction added a lot to this episode. I suppose it's a bit pervy that Gabrielle "seen through love's eyes" is naked, but I think that's how the scroll interprets it, no? I mean, what the scroll brings into existence is obviously not whatever the writer is thinking (otherwise they wouldn't be having all these problems!) but its own interpretation of whatever's written on it. Since the spell was cast by Aphrodite, obviously the scroll has a dirty mind. Hence, Gabrielle pictured through love's eyes = naked Gabby. Makes sense? As much as anything else in this ep. (And why the go-go dancing? Don't ask. ) Anyway, while I'm not a G/J shipper I thought his devotion to her in this ep was very sweet. Apart from the whole bit with buying her the present, I liked the moment when he tries to cheer her up by telling her that her writing is really good. Awww.

The interaction between Ares and Aphrodite was very cute as well. Underneath the bickering those two obviously have a good deal of affection for each other and it was sweet to see Ares being all big-brother protective with Dite when she starts whining. I also liked their teasing and Ares' gleeful laugh when Minya opines that Dite is "plain as dirt on a wagon wheel, just like me!"

And frankly I also loved the moments of plain old farce:

* Gabrielle's battle with the barbarians and Xena's "fish fight" (with running commentary by Joxer and gang);

* the warlord waiting for the signal from Ares and then seeing the peddler emerge from the caves followed by the three naked Gabbys, the barbarians, and the whip-wielding Minya;

* Joxer's reaction when the sisters of Gaia point to his scabbard and say "This would fetch a pretty dinar!" and Joxer thinks they're talking about, um... something else ;

* the drinking in the tavern and Joxer's beer hat;

* the barbarians, driven by the magic of the scroll, riding East, then West, then deciding to "disappear from the land" by becoming pirates and then finally going to the caves to rest (the barbarian leader's obviously befuddled reactions to his own rapid changes of mind were very funny!);

* the three naked Gabrielles and the reactions from Joxer, Ares, and Gabby;

* another moment that totally cracks me up: Joxer asking, "Minya, where are the barbarians?" and Minya's reply, "They stopped fighting and ran back to Barbaria!" Her delivery there was just great.

... and much, much else.

Now, things I didn't like about this ep ... not many. For some reason I'm willing to be quite forgiving even of things that should rub me the wrong way, such as the running "smelly Dite" joke. (Why does she have such issues with peronsal hygiene when Ares obvious does not? I suppose it could be related to the fact that he's been mortal before and has learned something about these things?) The fish line was a bit too much. (On the other hand, the repetition of "Gabrielle awoke with a jerk," which I used to think was overdone, now strikes me as quite funny. Particularly Joxer's belated "Hey, what do you mean, awoke with a jerk?" during the fish fight and Ares' exasperated, "Just stick to the script!" )

I do think it's unfortunate that the trend of Gabrielle not being able to save a cat in a sack without Xena in the Xena-lite eps (to quote from The Furies) continues here. As someone has noted, Gabrielle, a bard, really should have been able to figure out the key to undoing the spell if Xena could figure it out. And by the way, why didn't Aphrodite know how to undo her own spell, hmm? (Well, because then there'd be no episode. Right. ) But at least Gabby figures out how to bring Xena back. Yay.

Random observations:

* It struck me, on this rewatching, that the two main fight scenes in this episode -- Gabrielle vs the barbarians in the teaser, and Xena vs Thallonius with a wagonload of fish as her weaponry -- are basically parodies of "classic" X:WP fights. Gab's fight agains the barbarians raises the campiness and over-the-top implausibility of typical X:WP action to the level of downright cartoonishness as Gabby twirls on top of her staff and dishes out kicks while perched on top of it (and deflects the thrust of a sword with her mighty abs ). Xena's fish fight is an affectionate sendup of her combat moves, particularly with the eel-as-chakram.

* Minya's obvious crush on Ares was pretty amusing. "You know, I expected more from the God of War. I mean, without his powers, he's just a man. Just another big old -- leather-clad -- well-muscled -- gorgeous hunk of -- bad-boy -- man." It's funny that while Joxer confers with Dite, Minya keeps sidling up to Ares. I wonder what she was saying?

* Good catch by CasualFan that the warlord's concern about attacking the valley while Xena is there may have something to do with the fact that he's heard of Ares' habit of selling out his minions when Xena is on the other side!

* In the opening chat between Ares and Dite, it's amusing to note once again that Ares' attitude toward Xena is widely seen by other gods for the infatuation it is. "D'uh! Your little Xena!" Also, it's kind of curious that Ares says "Pretty soon when people think of 'love,' they'll be thinking Xena, not Aphrodite." Okay, obviously he's yanking Dite's chain, but why would people think of a warrior princess as "love"? Could it be that as early as S3 Ares already has love on the brain ... or something... when he thinks of Xena, hmm?

* Just the other day we were wondering where the girls get their money. Kind of interesting that in TQIM, it's Joxer who was going to pay at the tavern.

* Joxer's dad gave him the scabbard -- a family heirloom. The story of Joxer's relationship with his family just keeps gettin' more interesting!

* TOTALLY random observation: the other day looking at the cast info at Whoosh, I noticed that the old woman in the tavern in TQIM (the one who announces that the barbarians are headed toward the sisters of Gaia orphanage and then to ... what is it, Echinacea?) is the same actress who played the sinister knitter, the pre-Mycenean Madame DeFarge, in The Execution. Sure enough, this time I noticed it! More RenPics recycling!


Another question: the placement of this ep. I've always felt it should take place before the trip to Britannia, because, well, Gabrielle is just too ... chirpy. (And hey, if the scroll can make anything come true, why doesn't she write, "Hope returned to her loving mother Gabrielle, and she was good?" Hmm... maybe she's just in deep denial about the whole thing.) Also, it seems to me that Gabrielle's interaction with Ares when he sends her to Ch'in (which we will see in Forget Me Not but which actually takes place in The Debt) is much more understandable in light of their "bonding" in TQIM. In The Furies she was terrified of him (as she is when he first appears in TQIM, even as a mortal). When she sees him at the docks after Xena goes off to Ch'in, she speaks to him quite casually and irreverently.

Personally I think this ep should have run right after Been There Done That -- yes, another comedy, but I think it would have been better to group the comedies by two than to have a three-comedy arc in the middle of the Rift. Two should have been enough.

And my rating... 8.5 out of 10. Docking one point for the overly egregious plot holes and half a point for the overdone "Dite smells" jokes.