This episode inspired one of the greatest controversies of the Xenaverse. Is Ares truly Xena's father?
I haven't spent a lot of time trying to picture Xena's Dad, but I never would have imagined him looking like Atrius. Wonderful stomp Xena does on the bad guy's crotch in the first fight. That was sarcasm. I like Xena's line, "He must have taken a blow to the head." "Don't you walk away from me!" Atrius tells Xena. Not a good way to endear yourself to Xena. In fact, it's more likely to get you killed. Xena's Southern drawl is very evident when she's getting ready to mount Argo and head to Locea. Ares reminds me of the Cheshire Cat when he disappears. All that's left is the smile. I found it kind of odd that Xena would be humming the funeral dirge. And it bugged me that she was humming it so fast. NOT a good beat that you can dance to! It's difficult to picture a young Xena with her father. I've tried. What happened to make Xena change her tune about her father from when she was little? Is all her bitterness there because he just up and left the family? What exactly did Cyrene tell her about her dad? Was it entirely the truth? Xena's warcry when she saves Atrius the second time is one of the longest ever. Does Xena catch the axe when she was expecting to catch the chakram? Is that why she looks surprised? The chakram hooked on her belt by itself! That's the first and last time that will happen! This is really bizarre, but sometimes the camera angle of Xena's sword makes it look more like a baseball bat than a sword. Xena almost acted offended when Atrius said she was just like her mother. I would think that would be a compliment. Shouldn't Xena be suspicious that the one memory she had as a child is the one her father brought up? Xena's first smile with Atrius was over her mom. Atrius says she's stubborn. Xena says she's strong. It's a nice smile, not the big Lucy grin, but still genuine. Xena doesn't want to tell Atrius about her life. I can understand that. I find it ironic that Gabs thought Atrius was Xena's dad, long before Xena did. This is an episode where Gabrielle leaves Xena...I'm going to have to keep track of these... Xena and Atrius look well-choreographed when they play "pass the bad guy". How would Atrius know about the pinch, which apparently he does? How come when Xena catches a knife, it's always to the SIDE of her head? When Xena rams Corellis's head into her sword, she misses by several obvious inches. "Take the village!" ranks right up there with "Kill 'Em All!" with me. The attack on the village wasn't much...I didn't see a single body fall, and Xena didn't fight anyone. DPXO=Don't Piss Xena Off...This law applies in full in this one! I love it when Xena's eyes go a little wonky...it means Evil Xena is lurking right around the bend! I love the way Gabbers looks when she stands up to Xena at the end...it's a great closeup! When she hits Xena, it looks like a backdrop is being used. Why? I think it's very important to notice that Xena would not hurt Gabs...it almost seemed like an automatic response. Can Ares be in two places at the same time? This is the first and last time he pulls off this feat, as far as I can remember. "Fight for me" was the trigger that brought Xena back to her senses. Ares had his army created for Xena...but it wasn't much of an army. Is Ares really Xena's father? Nope, I don't think so...he said it himself, "What is a father? A man who guides you, who teaches you how to live your life." He's equating a mentor with a father, and Ares was most certainly her mentor. How did Ares kick Xena's butt so easily? Did she let him win? Two episodes Ares said, "Until next time"...this one and The Reckoning...Does he ever do it again? Xena's speech to Gabrielle about family had to be very hard for her; but it was very heartfelt. And heart warming...she and the bard have come along way since Sins of the Past. All in all, not the greatest episode ever, but it offers some insight into Xena's background, plus reaffirms the growing relationship between Xena and Gabrielle. Here's how Gary felt about this one; This episode opens with the girls up in a tree,a scene RenPics does unusually well. There are also in other eps. the fadeout into or out of the trees,which is an effective scene-setter. The girls are watching some thugs holding some captive girls who are to be sold into slavery,so Xena and Gabby spot an older guy trying to save the captives. As usual,Xena jumps down from the tree and helps fight off the bad guys. Gabby arrives later. The guy is Atrius(we think) and identifies himself as Xena's long-lost father. Xena does not know then,as we do,that Cyrene,Xena's mom,killed him years ago when he was going to kill Xena as a sacrifice to Ares.This was revealed in THE FURIES. Anyway,Xena does not believe him for a minute. They free the girls later,and start taking them back to their town. On the way,the captives and Xena and Gabby stop by a brook to wash up,with Xena and Gabby standing guard. At that time,Atrius is being chased by two guys on horseback. Atrius is riding a horse,and the thugs say "stop,horse thief!" and refer to him by name.Xena chases them,and the thugs have Atrius cornered and are about to shoot him with crossbows. Xena tosses the Chakram,and it breaks the arrows,and then it hovers almost vertically for a few seconds,then flies down to land on Xena's belt-clip. I wish TPTB told us by the end of the series HOW this item works. Xena then confronts the thugs in the woods,after Atrius said he won the horse in a bet. The thugs agree,but WHY call him a thief if he actually did not steal anything? The girls are returned to their town,and Atrius says he owes a debt to another town when he himself had done wrong years ago. A side story is Carrolus,one of Ares' warlords. Ares says C will be replaced by Xena..."sometimes the best man for the job is a woman". C says he will kill Xena,and his men look for her. Later,when Atrius is grabbed by the villagers he wronged years ago,Xena says she will get the warlord,and for the villagers not to hurt her daddy...she is semi-convinced that he IS the real thing. She beats Carrolus in a fair fight,and the army will now follow her. She meant to just lead them away from plundering,but when she sees Atrius tied to stakes,upright,she sees he is near death. She screams"Take the village!" and rides down the hill with the army following. Meanwhile,Ares tells the dying Carollus that he was used by Ares...heh-heh....some surprise.It was a ruse to get Xena to take the army and do damage as Ares wants.This Ares guy never gives up. Xena frees Atrius and wants to kill the villagers,since he apparently dies.Gabby,in her few scenes,tells Xena not to give in to violence and murder.Xena ignores her,and Gabby hits her from behind with a pitchfork,knocking her down. Xena then has the sense knocked INTO her,and realizes,when Atrius is not dead,that it must be Ares who is impersonating her long-dead daddy,since he tells Xena to exact revenge for what they did to him. We never hear WHY the viillagers break their word with a violent Warrior Princess. Ares will kill Xena if she does not join him. She refuses,and he throws a sword at her,but stops it from hitting her,and leaves,defeated---this time. Xena thanks Gabby for stopping her,and all ends well. This was not a complex story,but it gave us a chance to "see" Xena's family,even if a lookalike was used. We have seen Cyrene,Lyceus,and Toris,so that makes it complete,as far as TPTB wanted us to see. One problem: Ares,who is pretending to be Atrius,is staked out and away from the action. He later shows up at the warlord's camp to gloat.How can he be in two places at once? We have never seen Greek gods do this. Besides,wasn't anyone in the town actually watching the prisoner,who was such a despicable killer to them? Here are Andrew's thoughts: Xena is reunited with her long-lost father (or is she?) as Ares plots once more to win her back to his side. ************************************************************ XENA AND GABRIELLE Xena loves a good fight, doesn't she? Her "Hey boys, wanna play?" just cracked me up! A nice touch was the sight of her sitting on the hillside humming her funeral dirge from THE PATH NOT TAKEN. Although she tries to hide it, she obviously has fond memories of her father - as usual, it's Gabrielle who brings them to the surface. Xena's getting REALLY showy with her acrobatics - her somersault from Argo's back, letting her chakram hook itself on her belt as she does so, is totally impossible but great fun to watch! There are some nice moments in Xena's showdown with Kirilus. She catches his dagger almost casually and purrs "Not very sporting, Kirilus" then, having beaten him, blows a stray wisp of hair out of her face. Interestingly, when Kirilus attacks her from behind she just incapacitates him - in later seasons she generally kills opponents who do that. Xena's "psycho" phase is very well handled. What's really scary is that she's almost smiling as she tells Gabrielle to get out of her way. It's as if she's already seeing the death and destruction she intends to cause, and loving it! A beautiful line to Gabrielle at the end - "For me, our friendship binds us closer than blood ever could." So, one of Gabby's childhood pastimes was breaking and entering - she's pretty nifty when it comes to picking a padlock! She's also the ideal person to convince Rhea that she'll be accepted if she goes back home. Gabrielle understands self-sacrifice - in SINS OF THE PAST she was prepared to give herself to Draco's men to save others, and in this episode she's prepared to leave Xena so that the Warrior Princess can bond with her father. She asks Rhea "You loved your sister but...you left her?" I think this is the first time either one of the two friends admits she loves the other. It's also Gabby who foils Ares' plan, standing up to "psycho" Xena and, when words fail, quite literally knocking some sense into her friend with a pitchfork! I love her nervous laugh when Xena says "I owe you one". She's clearly unsure whether her friend means a favour or a mild concussion! GENERAL OBSERVATIONSAres has a great line in the opening scene - "Sometimes the best for a job is a woman!" He also says that Kilrilus has built his army in seven months. If you count backwards (allowing two Xenaverse months per episode) you'll find this one takes place a about eight months after Ares' first appearance in THE RECKONING - just the right time him to hatch his new plot. He seems to have been posing as Atreus for some time, as the incident with the "stolen" horse indicates. More kudos to the casting department. Tom Atkins is perfect as Atreus. I really wanted him to BE Xena's father, and was quite disappointed when he turned out to be Ares in disguise. There's a real chemistry between Atkins and Lucy Lawless, and I have to admit I was completely foxed the first time I saw this episode. As for the question of Xena's parentage - is Ares her father or not? He seems to be implying he is when he says "There's a reason why I play the part of Atreus so well." Just before killing Xena's would-be assassin Atreus snarls "You tried to kill my little girl". Was that just an act for Gabrielle's benefit? Perhaps not. There's a look of fatherly pride on his face as he watches Xena fight, although that could just be Ares admiring her skill. Oddly enough, when Xena calls his bluff Ares can't kill her despite his obvious anger. This implies a VERY close bond between them. Yes, I know he tries to seduce her in other episodes, but the Greek gods weren't too fussy when it came to incest - Zeus and his wife Hera were also brother and sister. You have to feel sorry for Kirilus. Ares really suckered the poor guy! LITTLE PROBLEMS One of the things that threw me when I saw this episode for the first time is that on two occasions Ares appears to Kirilus when Atreus is otherwise engaged - the first time he's riding with Xena, and the second he's being beaten and hung out by the villagers. I thought at first it was just projection, but the second time he touches Kirilus. In MATERNAL INSTINCTS Callisto (by now a goddess) says "Even I can't be in two places at once." Apparently Ares can - it must be a "god thing"! ************************************************************ A very enjoyable episode with good acting from Lucy Lawless, excellent support from Tom Atkins and Renee O'Connor playing a fairly low-key but still crucial role. Is it just me, or was Kevin Smith a lot more menacing in these early appearances as Ares? It may be a case of the character being overused, but he seemed to lose his edge in later episodes.