How did Xena tackle that guy at the beginning, then get back on her feet so fast? She was jumping over his head less than a second later.
I love Lucy's expression when she's teasing Versides with the pouch. She has an amazing lower lip! Gee, I'm not obsessed at all, am I? She's a terrific magician! One moment, she's holding a coin and only a coin, with four fingers showing...and a second later, two of the fingers are behind the coin holding a folded piece of paper! I got in trouble for eating paper in school. Xena apparently, can get by with it though! And that parchment was finger lickin' good! Hmmm...Xena seems kind of bitter when she describes Petracles. I wonder if they've met before? Heh heh. Somehow, Petracles isn't what I'd expect Xena to have been attractive to. I don't know...maybe he's too smooth a talker. Xena not only is a magician, but she's a hypnotist as well. "Give 'em their cattle." "Give 'em their horses." Ask and ye shall receive! I like Gabs and Petracles trying to best one another, but Petracles is undoubtedly the winner with "I talked Xena into marrying me." I think that one would have even shut up Salmoneus! When Xena asks Gabs to walk with her...she was being a bit obvious. Xena is quite bitter with Petracles! Versides is a comedian..."Assassination is for pay...Murder is for...kicks." Very nice beard grab by Xena, along with one of her anthems, "Be nice." Where is Argo during this one? And for that matter, where is Gabrielle's staff? At one point when a fight is getting ready to start, Gabs is swinging around her bag like an old lady in the park. Versides tells Xena not to yank him by the "short hairs" Uhhh...does someone else want to explain to him that his short hairs are NOT on his chin? They're approaching Mt. Pullus, which is where Gabs and Xena were returning from in Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts, and we see the same field with all the skeletons being overrun by spiders. Yeah, the same spider shot was used, but they WERE in the same location. Petracles' hat is very...horny. I suggest he ditch it immediately! There are lots of Indiana Jones' touches in this one. The rope bridge, for instance. Gabs is hilarious! After she's back on solid ground, she starts smacking Versides around him, telling him he "stinks" and is a "'smelly scumbag!"! I like Versides' response to Xena's dirty looks as well. "What?" he demands, putting his hands out. Gabs tells Petracles "I found some sticks near the campsite." "So you brought them out here?" "Yeah, that's strange," Gabrielle laughs. Petracles seems to be pretty honest with Gabs, but after all of Xena's warnings, I cannot believe she let him kiss her! That was just plain wrong! Besides the way Xena would react if she knew, Petracles was way too old for her. Xena is very, VERY bitter against Petracles. When they were all huddled discussing their plans to infiltrate Demeter's temple, I expected them all to clap their hands and shout "break" as they split up. Gabs made me laugh again. "Nonamia?" Hee hee! And, of course, it's across the "big waters...huge waters!" Xena and Petracles do a great job sending six or eight spears at a same time as they create the diversion. I got tickled at the riddle solving skills of Xena and the others. I could picture Batman, Robin, and Alfred in the Batcave doing the same thing! Versides overreacts just a wee bit at his disappointment in finding "just a rock." The shaft of sunlight showing the way is yet another homage to Raiders of the Lost Ark. That treasure room reminds me of the one the Little Rascals found. I expecting Versides to bury himself in it up to his neck. Xena learned an awful lot from her five seconds of reading the clue and looking at the map. She kew about the back entrance, the hall of silence, the whole enchilada. I wonder if she knew they'd have to move through Greg Brady's groovy room dividing beads? She is just oh-so-bitter at Petracles. Versides asks Gabs, "You know what my first godlike act is gonna' be?" "Cure world hunger?" she fires back. Heh heh. Doesn't talking qualify as making noise? Petracles should have set the room off the moment they entered! Why didn't they take off running when he crunched the skull? Isn't that what Xena told him they had to do? That was a long fight between Xena and Versides. Very cool the way she used his own weapon against him! When Petracles gives Xena the wedding bracelet, and she realizes he's truly changed...it breaks my heart. That poor woman has the worst luck with men! My final comment...who would have thought Jell-o would burn? There have been a lot of sad episodes of XWP, and I would rank this one pretty high in that category. It was also full of humor, action, and suspense. I enjoy it very much. And here are Gary's thoughts: This episode is a takeoff on the Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark,and somewhat like The Xena Scrolls. In each is a search for some kind of treasure or other valuable relic. The story starts out with a guy named Versides,an assassin,who kills yet another guy who killed ANOTHER guy who had part of a treasure map clue. Xena grabs the map part from the original killer and tells Versides that she is after the treasure,and he can follow if he wants to. He has two clues. Xena's old fiance,Petracles,is a warlord,and has the fourth clue. Xena,Gabby,Petracles,and Versides all go on the treasure hunt---the hunt for the lost Sumerian treasure. Also,Xena knows that there is a key to open the door to the Ambrosia,and does not tell the guys this. After the usual travelling scenes,they come to an area where there are lots of nasty tribesmen,who shoot a lot of blue arrows at them,but are lousy shots. They come to the inevitable rope bridge,and Pet goes across first,followed bt Gabby,who is then over-run by Ver,causing Xena's end of the bridge to collapse.It is made of old ropes and rotten wood. Ver climbs over Gabby to reach the top and Xena does her famous leap to get across. Gabby gets to call Ver a lot of nasty names. He says "What?!" as if Gabby's life didn't count. Demeter's Temple was a good scene. They have to get the red stone which will point the way to the treasure. Gabby and Ver go in as followers of Demeter,and offer a token to the priest. Xena and Pet throw a lot of spears as a diversion while Gabby and Ver steal the ruby. They get away after Xena knocks a few heads,and they come to three statues that were mentioned in the clues. They must,after reciting the clues in order,put the ruby into the right eye(pupil) of the center statue and wait until morning to see where the light beam points. The next morning they see that the sun makes a beam pointing to a cave opening,which has some rocks piled in front of it. It reminds me of the medallion in Raiders of the Lost Ark where the sun is focussed onto an area that tells where the treasure is. After they remove the rocks,the light points to a wall. Pet pulls a lever and the floor collapses,and the gang falls into a pit. A light is struck and they see the treasure. Ver sees the key and knows the Ambrosia is to be found. He escapes with Gabby as a hostage.How do they get out since they fell in a pit? Xena and Pet take a short-cut,very dangerous,because of the skeletons on the cave floor. Any noise will cause rocks to fall.This appeared to be the only other way out. They all meet at the Ambrosia hall,and Pet convinces Ver that he will join him. Pet tries to stop Ver and free Gabby but is stabbed. Xena and Ver fight,with Ver finally getting killed by his own sleeve spring-knife. Meanwhile Pet is dying. He gives Xena his wedding bracelet....he originally told Xena he sold it years ago. He dies,and the girls give the Ambrosia back to the gods by burning it. Problems: Gabby is taken with Petracles,even though Xena told her he was a smooth talker. Gabby kisses him in the woods and then goes back to the campfire...Xena knows something is going on by Pet's smug expression. Gabby should have heeded Xena's warning and not been so headstrong.She might have revealed the Ambrosia clue by falling for his smooth-talking ways. Also,with the Ambrosia playing a big part in various episodes,why didn't Xena use a piece of it to bring Pet back to life? If he ate it while alive,he would have been made a god. If placed in his mouth after he died,as Gabby did for Xena in The Quest,he would have been brought back to life. Xena knew the rules,with her understanding of how Ambrosia works.This was one of her many skills. Too bad she let him stay dead. What a wasted chance for happiness |  |