The Royal Couple of Thieves
Right off the bat, let me just say, I love Bruce Campbell and his portrayal of Autolycus. Now, with that said...
Just as I think of Xena's eyebrows when I think of The Path Not Taken, I think of Xena's hair when I think of this episode. During the entire
run of the episode, it doesn't look as if Xena combs her hair once. It's pretty well a mess during the whole thing.
During the chase scene, it's funny that Xena is calm, cool, and collected, while Autolycus is most definitely not. I'd expect the Kind of
Thieves would be used to being on the run.
Why didn't Gabrielle tell when Autolycus had worked his hands free in the tavern? Did she know Xena had a backup plan?
I love Gabs' giggle at Xena when Autolycus fell flat on his face.
The ego talk of Xena and Gabrielle was very obviously just that, but it served its purpose...nice job!
Xena pulls the toothpick out of her cleavage...note how Autolycus gives a double take as to where the toothpick's former home was!
Great line by Xena, "Stick to the philosophy and not the fantasy."
The banter between Xena and Autolycus is terrific. Xena's forcing herself to grin until Autolycus refers to her as his "concubine". Suddenly, she won't
play anymore-watch the smile fade to a sneer.
Very nice go-go boots Xena has on to go with that outfit!
More banter...Autolycus: You know that really is a good look on you.
Xena: Don't start with me now.
That toothpick was very thick! I never noticed Autolycus being that gap-toothed.
Excellent timing by Xena on the jerk she uh...jerks backward.
I don't understand why Xena was so angry after the overboard stunt...it wasn't as if Autolycus had planned it or anything.
Autolycus muses, "Yes, you see a woman't chastity is like a new hat. A beautiful thing that is...going to kill me." Autolycus ends his line
when he sees Xena approach shooting daggers with her eyes. How might he have ended his line, had he not been distracted?
A. Looser everytime you try it out.
B. Never available in the right size
C. Non-refundable
Autolycus has some pair on him (to quote Xena), when he opened his mouth for her to feed him the grapes. He's either very very brave,
or very very stupid.
"Nothing...is as big as mine." I'll just let that line speak for itself!
If there's one thing I've learned with this show, it's never flip Xena for everything! Notice the coin goes into her cleavage...to replace
the toothpick, no doubt.
Xena's dance of the three veils music sounds very much like the theme from Peter Gunn.
Autolycus sidles over and scoops some candle wax from the platter a candle sits on. Would the wax still be soft?
I love the way the music swells up with a dangerous tone when Xena puts the pinch on the guy during her dance.
And I love it even more when she pauses her dancing, waiting for him to fall, before she continues on.
Once again, Xena shows she can play along for awhile, but she has a breaking point.
And Xena's story about how the village took her in and protected her is just as manipulative as the ego trip she and Gabs laid on Autolycus earlier,
but this time, he didn't respond as if it was a ruse.
It was an..err...interesting pose Xena put Autolycus in when the guard entered the room.
And a nice head bash by Xena to discourage Autolycus's line of thinking.
In fact, Xena uses several interesting tactics in this one. She was certainly able to get Arkell's attention.
I was rather shocked the first time I saw Xena press Arkell's face between her breasts. But her look of utter boredom to Autolycus is hysterical.
Later, Autolycus asks, "Is your life always like this?" Xena's response is, "Pretty much." "Sheesh!" is all Autolycus can manage. Sounds like he wouldn't
be up to life with Xena and Gabs.
I really, really like the conversation while Xena and Autolycus are changing clothes. I always see a few sparks between the Warrior Princess and
the King of Thieves...maybe it's just wishful thinking, but they're very much in evidence here.
I know Xena told Gabrielle to mark the trail, but I thought Gabbers' markings were a little too obvious. Okay...a lot too obvious. Wasn't she marking the trail
for Xena? Xena could follow the trail a fish leaves as it swims from one side of a pond to the other.
Is it just me, or does Sintares have really long fingers?
I cringe every time I hear that crunchy sound when a pressure point is hit. I imagine some guy in a control room stomping on plastic cups.
Xena basically stops Sintares killer move with a Three Stooges defense. Check it out.
Xena stabs one of the bad guys in the crotch...I truly think that's over the top. She looks she gives when she stabs him is one of disgust...interpret
it as you will.
Here's a question that your eternal life may hinge on...when the Ark of the Covenant is opened, do you follow the rules of the Xenaverse or do you follow Indiana
Jones? Indy tells us not to look at the Ark, while Xena says we have to face the truth. Hmmm...I know whose advice I would follow...Do you?
The music during the Ark scene is great...very reminescent of Biblical epics.
According to what I've been taught, the actual Ten Commandments wouldn't be in the Ark of the Covenent. The two stone tablets
they were recorded on were broken into little pieces.
The grin on Xena's face at the end, before Autolycus tries to move in to kiss her is my all-time favorite expression. I love that big ol'
Lucy grin!
And to put a final touch on this episode, kudos to Gabbers for slipping Autolycus's ring off his finger!
If you couldn't tell, I enjoy this episode very much...it's one of my favorites.
And as for Gary's thoughts on it...
This episode introduces Autolycus,a recurring character on XENA:WARRIOR
PRINCESS.He is known as the King of Thieves. We also see Gabby in
robes,posing as a monk(ess?). The setup is for Xena and Gabby to lure Auto
into stealing a diamond,to draw him out. Then,after the girls catch him and
tell him the "diamond" is a piece of rock sugar,he agrees to steal back a
priceless chest containing the "character" or way of life of a village Xena
pledged to help.He wants to live up to his reputation.
Auto pretends to be Sentares,a warrior-philosopher,and Xena goes along as
his "assisstant". Auto refers to her as his "concubine".He wants Xena to
wear some revealing costumes. He says any concubine of Sentares would wear
nothing less. Gabby's best line is "anything less,and it wouldn't be."
Xena and Auto board a ship bound for the castle where the evil warlord/thief
is. He has stolen the chest,and does not open it. When all the bidders are
there to get the chest,he says he does not fear it,so it cannot be used
against him. An elaborate system of bells and wires are the security. Auto
sneers at the security and tells Xena he can steal it.
Meanwhile,the funny moments are at the banquet where Xena has to do the
dance of the three veils. She later smears food all over Auto as a
punishment for making her go thru with it.
A subplot is the fact that the real Sentares has killed a lot of people. A
warrior tells Auto that he will get revenge on Auto(Sentares) for killing
his brother. He pushes Auto and Xena overboard,but they hang on one of
Auto's small grappling hooks. Auto later gets aboard,and while flicking a
toothpick at the guy,Xena hooks a rope on him at the same time,making it
look as if the toothpick knocked him out.This impresses the rest of the
bidders.
At the banquet,Auto is telling lies/stories about how great he is when Xena
enters. Auto asks "Did you do my laundry,Cherish?". She says,"Yeah...you
left something hanging on the line",in reference to them being tossed
overboard.
The warlord who stole the chest is murdered,and all are suspected. Auto and
Xena find the missing chest in their room,and the guards are searching for
it. Xena pretends to be giving Auto a backrub,while he lies on the stolen
chest.
Xena's funny line was when they first noticed there was only one bed. Auto
says he will flip her for it. She actually flips HIM and keeps the coin.
They want to put the chest back,so they sneak into the room and lower the
chest by rope from the rafters. As Xena watches the door,the second-warlord
arrives,and Xena pretends to make out with him,saying Sentares isn't much
good at lovemaking. Auto,after getting tangled in the rope,puts the chest
back,and Xena whirls around allowing Auto to look as if he has just entered
the room and acts as if he is jealous.
Meanwhile,Gabby arrives wrapped in a blanket. The REAL Sentares,a
martial-arts expert,kills the killer of the first warlord,and threatens to
kill Gabby if Xena tries anything. Auto is revealed as a fraud.Our gang
escapes,and Gabby is recaptured not long after by Sentares. Gabby is a
prisoner with some villagers...they will be the target of the weapon in the
chest. Auto and Xena arrive and fight the bad guys.Xena and Sentares
fight,and Xena kills him,as she usually does to bad guys.
All are stopped except the second warlord. He opens the chest,and like
Raiders of the Lost Ark,he is killed. A twist is this: In Raiders,looking at
the open chest killed the bad guys.In XENA not facing it killed the bad
guy.The three heroes did not look away and were spared.
In the chest were what we know as the ten Commandments,and Auto is amazed
that it is wrong to steal.
Gabby,Xena,and Auto return the chest to the rightful owners,and they pay
him. He returns the money secretly,and leaves Gabby and Xena. Gabby remarks
that if she knew he was going to do that,she would not have taken his
ring,which she promises to return to the rightful owner that HE had stolen
it from. It would have been nice to see how she could have stolen something
from the King of Thieves.
This was an entertaining episode,with Auto getting most of the funny lines.
Next
Season 1
Home
