More Readers' Thoughts on the Finale

Here are some thoughts of others on the finale:

Hi,

I just want to say that inspite of what the subject matter was, I enjoyed your synopsis. It was quite funny (like the Atom Bomb and Japanese with a Kiwi accent comment) and entertaining.

Although I haven't seen the final episode (I will today) or read any spoilers before, I already knew (subconsciously predicted) that something bad will happen and for the look of things, it did happen. Like most fans, I am truly, truly sad esp. after finding about the final episode. For me it is not because of the 'ending' but because of the end of the series. I know most fans were disappointed on how TPTB ended the show, I don't blame them coz we all love Xena and hurts for Gabrielle, but I thought it is the perfect ending. (I had a more morbid/romantic ending in mind but glad it didn't pan out.) I know many would disagree with me and I guess that includes you. But like any other deaths-friend or family (which XWP in a way is) there are different stages which we deal death: shock, denial, hurt, anger, and acceptance. I'm sure all the fans around the world or those who have seen the final episode are all going through right now. I for one doesn't accept that this is the last season but I know (now) when I see the final episode, I'll be thankful to TPTB that they ended it the way they did. It will be my acceptance and closure. I don't have to keep hoping that they will bring it back (if they do, it will be a pleasant surprise) and knowing that there is a possibility, that hope will keep hanging on the back of my head. I don't like that. When I saw 'When Fates Collide' I thought it would be the perfect ending but I know now that it isn't.

The way I see it, the reason why for me it is the Perfect Ending, it is because I know that Xena will be with Gabrielle forever and Gabrielle is Xena's eternity. And knowing that they are each others One Great (true) Love (and Xena got her redemption too). Fatalistic? Mushy? I guess, but I hope fans will eventually see it the way I do, it is a 'happy ending'. If it ended the way most fans wanted, like the ending on 'When Fates Collide', who knows what will happen to the relationship or would they be together or grow old together? Don't you think that's more of an unrealistic expectation to think so or hope for if we know they are both alive? I'll mourn but I'm happy. (I'm not crazy, ok?)

Thanks for reading my 'rantings' and I would greatly appreciate any comments or feedback.

X & G Rules,

~tezza~

Lucy's right when she says it's one hell of a rollercoaster ride. It IS the best episode of the season.

For the past few days, I've been having conflicting emotions about the finale, particularly the ending, and I'm trying to make myself to take sides cuz I don't think a neutral position is very good here. But you know what. One of the things that Xena taught us is to just follow our hearts and and be true to ourselves, so I'm not even gonna try to land on one side of the fence.

Do I like the ending? Yes, I'm growing rather fond of it; couldn't have had a better ending given what happened. Do I hate the ending? Yes as well, getting more and more so; I hate what TPTB did to the characters and the messages they sent. Regardless, the boat scene is one of the most beautiful scenes TPTB has done.

What'll happen if Rob Tapert is standing in front of me? I'll give him 2 sucker punches then 2 kisses on both his cheeks. I'm about 70-30 split between hating and liking it.

For the sake of me having an easier time reviewing the ep, I'm gonna divide the following into 3 parts. First is just the episode in general withOUT taking the ending into consideration. Second is the reason for why I do NOT like the ending, and third is the reason why I DO like the ending.

THE EPISODE

What a marvelously well done episode. The cinematography, the costumes, the sets, the action (gym routine), the makeup, the actors, the acting, the directing, the SFX, the music, and the story. All receive perfect scores and all deserve pats on the back. Yes, there were some major loopholes regarding Japanese traditions, but I don't expect TPTB to get all things right.

One running theme of the show and particularly this episode is LOVE. Love between a master and a student; love between lifemates. I don't much like Akemi but I do like how she affects Xena. From my count, there are only 6 ppl from Xena's long past that truly truly mean something to her. Akemi is one of them. During the few weeks that Xena's been with the girl, Akemi has managed to teach her what Lao Ma couldn't, to love and to trust. Akemi makes Xena a human. Xena loves Akemi enough to come back to her after so many years, not knowing what they're ultimately heading for. She loves the girl enough to forget the betrayal and manipulation that Akemi has bestowed upon her. She loves Akemi enough to hurt to have beheaded her, an act that she normally enjoys just a while back in Chin. Xena trusts Akemi enough to actually take her back home where there could very well be soldiers ready to kill her. Xena trusts Akemi enough to teach her ultimate lethal skill, the pinch. Lao Ma couldn't achieve that. One look at Borias and ALL her teachings were gone.

Xena and Gabrielle, two halves of one soul. Enough said. The pinch scene at the end of part 1 had me crying like a baby. I had the same reaction as I did when Mulder kissed Scully minus me knocking off the lamp and the laughter. I just learned that Lucy doesn't watch always watch completed episodes and the finale is actually one rare case when she does. She watches it once and she too thinks Xena is "outed." What more can I say?

The battle at the beginning of part 2. THIS is what Xena, the Warrior Princess is about. This is her courage, determination, skill, bravery, honor, and strength showing for one last time. My *dad* doesn't watch the show AT ALL b/c he thinks it's a cheap copy of HK kung-fu shows, but he just never says it like my mom does so as to not hurt my feelings. He was washing the dishes at that time and he stopped doing anything when the battle was on, while my mom was eww-ing and tsk-ing the whole time. The scene is simply awesome.

The acting. As I said, part 1 is for Lucy, part 2 is for Renee. Both gals delivered, both gals should get Emmy's. If this isn't good enough for any awards, I don't know what is. And did you all see Lucy's six packs? Gods!! Last time she showed her belly, no packs were there!!!

THE ENDING - WHY I HATE IT

I have always wanted a happy ending for the show. This means Xena and Gabrielle together in life or death, happy and finally at peace with themselves. This implies that Xena finally finds the redemption that she yearned for for the past 6 years. I don't want my hero to die simply b/c I don't want her to. It's selfish I know, but it's the end of the show and like Gab, I don't care. It gives both Gab and me too much heartache.

Like my mom, my first reaction was Xena's decision to stay dead makes no sense to me. Those 40000 souls are DEAD. I don't even think Xena's responsible for them b/c she only acted in self defense; she did not intend to kill those ppl at all, she just wanted them to stop beating her and go away. Yes, she's angry that Akemi's urn was broken and all her ashes got blown away, BUT, she did not intend to *kill* ALL 40000 ppl. Regardless, Xena still bills herself for their deaths and she went to great depth to release those souls from Yodoshi. All's good up to here. Xena should have come back to life after this because her duties are done; the debt that she owes these souls is repaid, they are released. But no. Xena goes an extra UNNECESSARY step to *stay* dead to *make sure* that those souls can go to a state of grace in their afterlife. Since when is a "murderer" responsible for the victims' afterlives? I can go as far as buying that Xena being responsible for these ppl's DEATHS, but afterlives? No. That depends on individual well-beings. If the dead was a good person before, s/he goes to heaven, and vice versa. We have seen this on the show. Why is Xena responsible to make sure that those souls go to heaven? Even if this is true, that some how by staying dead, Xena can help those souls. That still doesn't stand b/c DEAD PEOPLE ARE DEAD. No matter what Xena does, those ppl are still dead. Dead is dead, can't change that. So Xena's paying her life AND Gabrielle's life AND their friendship for a lost cause.

This leads to the whole Xena/Gab soulmate argument. Back in Fallen Angel, another legend made, Xena said time and time again that she will NOT make Gabrielle live without her. She will go to heaven AND hell just to be with Gabrielle. Gabrielle also declared at the end of the ep that they'll be together for eternity, never to be separated again. If all they meant was just their spirits being with each other, then why in the world did they go into so much trouble just to actually be together? Well, guess what. Gabrielle is left a widow for life. Not only did Xena die on her, her ghost also disappears at the end. As the sun sets, so goes Xena's spirits. I take the boat scene as Gabrielle talking to herself and the Xena we see is just her own imagination; it isn't Xena's ghost b/c the ghost is GONE. Gabrielle is left alone for the rest of her life with Xena's urn and the memories from the past 6 years. Is that enough for Gab to last a life time? Should it be enough for the soulmates? Where did Xena go? Off to lalaland with Akemi?

Tapert and RJ said at the Museum of Television & Radio that they had 6 years to come up with Xena's ending and they decided to kill her off b/c she IS a war criminal at the very end who can find true redemption through death only. What kinda of crap is that? You're saying that once a person killed, no matter what s/he does afterwards to atone for that wouldn't be enough except for his/her own death? That justice can only be served through another death? So after 6 years of saying love and forgiveness can overcome hatred and violence, you come back to tell me that vengence wins at the end? Xena said it herself, in order to release those souls to a state of grace (which sounds like crap to me), they NEED TO BE AVENGED. What's the point of the past 130 something episodes then? How DARE you preach about ending the cycle of killing and hatred with humanity when at the end, you kill off the hero because she used to be a killer. How DARE you talk about the greater good. If you go straight from Sins of the Past to A Friend in Need, then yes, Xena comes full circle b/c her self-perception hasn't changed. But Xena HAS changed during the 6 years. Why did you write Xena as a good, selfless, changed person when you've decided since day one that you'd condemn her to death? TPTB personally instill hopes and dreams to people who've done wrong things in their lives and personally trashed them and spit them at their faces. What a hypocrite.

Unlike TPTB, I'm not even sure if Xena's found her true redemption to all the things that she did. The only reason why Xena chooses to stay dead is so that the 40000 can go to heaven. Now I'm not a creative person, but I'm sure that if TPTB really wants Xena to do something extra to help these ppl, they could have come up with something more original than dying. The way I want Xena to find redemption is not through death but rather through acceptance of who she's become. I want her to be able to put down her sword and say to Gabrielle "That's it, I'm done atoning for my past. From here on out, I'm only living as me, not as a person paying for past mistake." This to me would have been much more effective and "bold" than her dying because we all know Xena's a good person except Xena herself. She knows it, she just doesn't accept it. And Xena isn't even sacrificing herself for ALL of 10-ish years of burning/pillaging/raping villages in all the countries that she'd been to, which would have been a slightly more convincing arguement. No, she's only paying for this particular event in Japan that she isn't even responsible for.

The death itself. I know that the Japanese see decapitation as an honor and should only be given to a true warrior. I also know that the Japanese value tradition and proper etiquette a LOT and I doubt hanging a beheaded, beaten, naked, dirty body in the rain is an honourary treatment for great warriors.

However. I am not 100% adverse to the idea that Xena needs to die. I can accept Xena dying if and only if she dies for a just cause for the greater good. Eg. If, for some reason, Xena's death means the 40000 souls can come back to life, so be it. Let Xena die because her death has a purpose behind it, because it serves the greater good. This isn't the case here. Dying to allegedly redeem oneself is still selfish. In this case, I cannot accept Xena's death.

THE ENDING - WHY I LOVE IT

Like Lucy, I love what the ending means to Gabrielle. Given that Xena's dead, TPTB couldn't have come up with a more beautiful and meaningful ending to the show, to Gabrielle, and to the relationship. I love the ending because Gabrielle put me in awe as well.

Gabrielle could definitely have brought back Xena to life, but she didn't because she made the choice to honor Xena's death. Early on, Gabrielle made the choice to not kill that sh*thead samurai and only did so when push came to shove. Gabrielle chose to let Xena go because she believed in Xena. Gabrielle chose to (I believe) pick up where Xena's left off to continue her fight for justice and mankind. Gabrielle chose to make a positive turn on every event despite the fact that they're deadly.

In this sense, it's good that Xena died. *duck duck duck* Xena's absence allows Gabrielle to grow to a warrior of her own merit. Not a mini Xena, but Gabrielle, the warrior bard with a dragon at her back. In the episode, Gab demonstrated that she can COMPLETELY stand on her own without Xena, she even goes so far as knowing how to use the chakram and the pinch, 2 of Xena's greatest skills. She can so completely stand on her own that being with Xena any longer might even put a damper on her growth. I want Gabrielle to be able to make the times and be a part of history like Xena was. This is NOT to say that Gab wouldn't be able to do great things had Xena not died, but Xena will somehow always overshadow Gab. May be it's Gabrielle's chance to get her own sidekick and be a mentor to someone else. It pains me to say but it's prolly best for Xena and Gab to part ways so the world can benefit from 2 heroes at the same time. Now of course they can't just MAKE them go apart cuz otherwise the Tapert Household would have received bomb threats by now. So how else can they do that? Kill off Xena but make sure she stays integral to Gab's life to reflect the fact that they will forever be soulmates. TPTB delivers. Granted, the I-will-always-be-in-your-heart statement is getting rather stale, but it works here. Even though Xena's dead, she would never leave Gab by having her memories planted firmly in Gabrielle's heart. And it's also pretty clear that Gabrielle doesn't really mind not having Xena's physical presence with her since Xena's soul will always be alongside her. As long as Xena's not dead to Gabrielle, Gab is fine. They will always be together in spirit. Xena's death means Gabrielle's birth.

Not to mention they DID end the show with a sail off to the sunset, and Gabrielle IS happy and at peace with herself.

CONLUSION

So why is it that I hate more than I like the ending? Because the "good" version is not absolutely neccessary. Gabrielle does NOT have to be away from Xena to be the warrior bard that she will be. But they DO so need a good reason to kill off Xena and in my book, they failed. Xena did not die an honourable death. I would have taken this a little better if her death actually means something. But honestly, I still want Xena to remain alive because to end such an (formerly) inspiring show with death sounds too negative to me. And I'm first and foremost a Xena fan, so of course I want her to live. Who would want their hero dead? Who would be offended if Xena had remained alive? Who seriously liked Xena's death as the ending? I think the answer is "no one" on all counts.

I can grow to like this beautiful ending with the Gabrielle interpretation in mind, but I cannot grow to accept Xena's death and its implication.

All that said, I give both parts a 10.

We will miss you, proud Warrioress.

--

Jane

"It's 5% talent, 15% skill, and 80% hanging in there." - Lucy Lawless

 Shana -

Glad to know that I'm not alone in my reaction to the finale. What was that all about?!?!? You summed up well the flaws of the episode. For me the ending seemed forced, and incongruous with Xena's walk on the road to redemption during the rest of the series. Maybe I'm just having trouble keeping up with the rules of the afterlife - they seem to change every time Xena and Gabrielle move to a new geographic location. The burning question for me is: Why all of a sudden does Xena have to die to grant the souls of her victims salvation? In no other episode do we see that need, and we've certainly seen Xena up against worse memories than this in the past (did I miss something, or weren't those 40, 000 people sort of killed by accident, after the fire that Xena started got out of control? Not that that makes it any better for them, I suppose, but she certainly has done some more intentional things in the past.) It seems that that little condition of her death being required for the souls to fully rest would be a pretty important issue in the whole scheme of things, one that Akemi would be sure to inform Xena of so that her whole trip to the other side would be worth the trouble. Xena says that Akemi didn't tell her about that condition so that Xena would cross back over to the living, but that makes no sense. Seems like without that bit of info, Akemi and co. would be trading one purgatory for another. (Maybe I missed something, and would pick up more of this in another viewing. But like you I can't bring myself to watch it again right now.)

I too was disturbed by that final shot of Gabby alone on the boat. Sure, it's great that now she's an accomplished warrior like Xena. But at what cost? Surely she would rather have a living, breathing Xena by her side instead of a bunch of memories and newfound fighting skills. Although I realize that the series started out as the story of a woman seeking redemption for her past, I think that they've worked long and hard for 6 years to make it about a great friendship as well. To close with the tragic end of that friendship is a letdown and a disappointment.

Why not end with Xena accomplishing her atonement AND Gabby realizing her dream to know all that Xena knows, and BOTH of them living to tell the tale?? If the writers were going to get all Shakespearean about it, they should have given us more build-up, rather then closing the season with a couple of goofy (albeit, fun!) episodes, and then hitting us with the tragic end all at once (or maybe that's my own fault for choosing to watch both part one and part two all in one night). I personally would like to take a trip in the Wayback Machine and rewrite the ending in one of two ways:

1. Xena tells Gabby about the need for vengeance for the 40, 000 souls (although AT NO OTHER TIME in the show have any of her innocent victims demanded this sacrifice. Sorry, I just can't let that one go!), and Gabby reluctantly agrees to not spill the ashes. At that moment, Xena dissolves into ...Aprhodite, or some other deus ex machina (I realize that there aren't many gods left, so I'm not sure who it would be, but give me time, I'll iron it out) who proclaims that Gabby's great love and willingness to make this ultimate sacrifice has somehow overridden the need for vengeance and has affected the grace that the 40,000 needed to get to wherever they were going. So as the last sliver of daylight cuts the horizon, Gabby spills the ashes into the water, Xena is restored and, yea! they live happily ever after.

2. Don't insert this spur of the moment caveat about vengeance at all. Haven't we seen enough of that in this whole series already? It was so satisfying to hear the proclamation that Xena had achieved redemption, why muck it up with another condition?? So let Gabby spill the ashes and yea! they live happily ever after.

Oh well, I guess we can always hope that the influx of fan reactions (and I'm sure there will be one) will pursuade the powers that be to give us at least one more movie or something to right this grievous wrong, and give us back our heroine. I realize that all news from Renaissance et al so far indicates that that is not likely, but hope springs eternal. With so much that is wrong in the real world, it would be nice to be able to retreat to our fictional heros to inspire us to do good and persevere.

Thanks for your review!! I look forward to reading more!! (this was my first visit to the site.)

Cathy

Further Thoughts on The Finale 1
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