This episode is one of the most difficult for me to watch. I'll explain why later, as I get into the details.
At the beginnning, Xena is feeling heavy guilt. And she's trying to figure out her own motives for her attack on Cirra. Not only does she regret what she's done, she's also trying to psychonanalyze her own past actions. I love the profile shot of Xena and Gabrielle as they discuss how Xena has changed! When Gabs says, 'You've changed, Xena", Xena smiles gently, as if she's heard this before. "Like this valley...Once it was a place full of death and violence. Now it's full of beauty and life. The same kind of change has happened in you." That's Gabrielle pep talking Xena and I'm sure the Warrior Princess was most grateful for such a heartfelt statement. No wonder she keeps Gabrielle around! "I wish I could see it that way," comes Xena's response. Will she ever be able to? Gabs says she'll wait here, and all it earns is a look. No goodbye, no nod, no smile...nothing. Xena basically freaks out from the memories when she rides through Cirra. She's outta there! Nice move by Argo to get Gabrielle's staff up to Xena! Gabrielle sure disappeared fast! Xena wasn't gone very long at all. What's up with the Callisto warcry Xena gives before jumping down before the savages? And why did Xena feel the need to fight the tribe anyway, when they were prepared to worship her? Xena throws the staff to Gabrielle like a javelin, but it isn't caught that way, in an obvious continuity error. Who are the savages? Where do they come from, and what are their plans for Gabrielle and the others? What makes the one girl stay behind? She doesn't act afraid. Xena is SO gleeful! That would have to be disconcerting facing her in a fight and seeing how much she was enjoying herself! At one point during the lengthy fight, she lands with her crotch in a savage's face, then does the twist in order to break his neck. I'm really surprised the censors let them get by with that! Did the girl warn Xena? Where did the necklace come from that the girl was wearing? It was exactly like M'Lila's, but no explanation was given. Xena pushes the girl aside, and then takes the full brunt of the log. it seems to me she should have been able to avoid the log... her reflexes are better than that! Getting hit by the log looked painful enough, then Xena was slammed into a tree. I cringe everytime I watch that scene! It looks excrutiatingly realistic! I can't decide which would hurt more...the log or the tree... Where did Gabs and the others go when Xena was getting pounded? One minute, they were standing in the pathway directly behind Xena, and the next second, they were gone. I'm always struck by the scene at the base of the tree. Xena is fading in and out, and can do little more than search Gabs' eyes. Gabs is trying not to panic, wiping away the blood, trying to figure out an action plan. It's so in character and so well done by both ladies! So this is an ambitious Xena before she became Evil Xena. Was she a pirate? How did she get her sea legs? Why would Caesar tell Xena he's worth 100,000 dinars? I guess it's because he's not afraid she will have him killed...if anything, he certainly doesn't lack confidence! How did he become a prisoner to begin with? "Caesar, Julius Caesar,"...love that! "Bond, James Bond." And I love the way Xena echoes it with her "big deal" attitude. Lucy always freaks me out when she does that one crossed-eye look. I can do it, but don't like to look at someone else doing it. Love Xena's big shiny sword and harem pants when she was on the ship...I would have liked to have seen more of her pirate days. M'lila, the Jawa puts up one of the best fights ever! Man, is she quick! Xena's willing to spare her...after what M'Lila did? It goes to show this Xena is fairly bright...she recognizes an opportunity to learn when she sees it. How did M'Lila get on the ship to begin with? What was her purpose in being there? Were M'Lila and Caesar really speaking Gaelic? I've gotta admit, Caesar was very charismatic. When Xena says she can tell him one thing about his destiny, he arches a brow. Xena tells him he's having dinner in her cabin, and gvies her own eyebrow twitch in response, only hers is far more subtle. Caesar is kind of creepy too. This Xena isn't that bright. M'Lila could have easily killed her. Plus, Xena wasn't talking with the pained manner people normally do when they're under the influence of the pinch. M'Lila's shirt is way too cool! I love the fact that Xena took her armor design from it! I've gotta get me one of those shirts! I tried the pinch...exactly as M'Lila demonstrated...it didn't work! Young Xena may not always be smart, but she certainly is a quick learner! "I can play too...Come on..." Xena's teasing of M'Lila was a little frightening the first time I saw it...I didn't think she was going to release her! But then she gives a genuine warm grin. Wow, does Xena clean up nice! She looked fantastic in the seduction scene! Caesar says AMphipolis with the emphasis on the first syllable. Love the circling manner Xena and Caesar use on each other. Both are animals stalking their prey. They WOULD make an unstoppable team, to quote Xena. Caesar muses, "I'll bet you know a lot about conquests." "Well, yes," Xena replies in a matter-of-fact, yet modest manner," I love it. Then Caesar says, "Some enemies are harder than others." Xena purrs back, "Oh, I count on it." Doh! So what exactly do they do? How do they get the gold? Why isn't there a medley of shots showing us exactly how Caesar and Xean team up? Xena's Roman salute is one of the few laughs of the episode...it's adorable! I like M'Lila's song...but couldn't TPTB at least tried to synchronize it with her moving lips? Xena gave M'Lila the necklace back, as she has it on later. Is it the same necklace the young girl wears in the beginning, or do they just look alike? "Kaizar"...that's the only word I could understand from M'Lila, and it would have to be Caesar's name. "It's all right," Xena tells M'Lila, "He's my friend." Xena doesn't use the word "friend" often...wonder exactly what it's supposed to mean in this context? Here's where the episode gets tough for me to watch. I feel too much for Xena. She looks so soft and trusting while Caesar approaches. But at least she can think quick on her feet. Referring to M'Lila, "I had to kill her becasuse she betrayed me." There's a really, REALLY bad edit when Caesar's leaning down toward her face. The side view has Xena with a haughty grin. The front view has her looking vulnerable. I'd like to think the more accurate was the side view, but I don't think so. Note that Xena isn't nailed to the cross...she's just hung there. And of course, it's Lucy's very own brother who does the leg breaking. Gabrielle's dedication, as she has shown before, is incredible. She's going to save Xena no matter what the cost. Where did M'Lila come from? Why did she become so dedicated to Xena so quickly? I have slow motioned M'Lila catching Xena as she falls from the cross, and although it's difficult to tell, it looks as if she is actually caught by one of M'Lila's arms coming up between her legs. That would be painful! I love the two knocks on Niklio's door...once in the present and once in the past. Makeup did a great job making Xena appear near death! Why would Xena have Gabs take her all the way to Niklio's, only to let herself die? It doesn't add up. The screams of Young Xena getting her legs set are blood-curdling! I was scared to death the first time I saw it! Amazing! Xena hasn't aged a day in ten winters! Heh heh. Pretty amazing job Xena does when M'Lila is killed. It's like she was bent on using her legs while avenging M'Lila. And, as always, I love it when the Warrior Princess music kicks in! Xena uses her hair as a whip? Come on! I love the wonky way Lucy looks when the new Xena is born. One eyes is open wider than the other...and both are glassy...and that sneer! I don't quite get the last scene, although the bubbles with scenes of the past are cool. Where does it take place? Tartarus? And why was Xena so bent on giving up anyway? I can understand she feels a lot of regret, but still find it hard to believe Xena would give up at anything. So that's it in a nutshell...this is a first-rate episode, but still difficult to watch. I don't like seeing Xena...ANY Xena hurt and made to look like a fool, which is what Caesar managed to do to her. Why did he turn against her to begin with? What had she done to deserve the betrayal? This episode will be continued in The Quest. And here are Gary's thoughts: This episode tells us of a younger Xena,and some reasons why she ended up as a Warrior Princess. Xena revisits Cirra,where ten years previously,she and her army wiped it out,leaving only a few survivors. The village was burned down for plunder and murder. Xena and Gabby view the remains from a distance,and Xena tells Gabby to wait for her while she rides down for a last look. She was just told by Gabby that Xena has changed like the devastated area has,and she should try to forget it. Xena sees in her mind's eye the raid,and a blue-eyed(not brown-eyed) Callisto asks "Why?" to Xena...for the wanton slaughter. We know it is Cal by the haunting Callisto music we always hear. Xena rides back and sees that Gabby is gone,with the staff lying on the ground. Xena picks it up and follows the trail to a nearby village populated by a bunch of cavemen-looking guys. There are piles of human bones,plus skulls,and they look as if they are cannibals. One guy sees Xena in a tree...he had just asked for a sign for his tribe. Xena jumps down on a bone-pile and looks at him. He calls her a goddess and he and his men kneel. He wants her to tell them their future. Big mistake here: Xena,realizing that these guys have Gabby and others tied up could have told them that as a goddess,she would bless his tribe and to release her "worshippers"...she would have god-stuff for them to do. Instead,she clobbers him and fights the oncoming bunch. The Chakram cuts the ropes and the prisoners escape. Gabby hits one guy with the staff and leads the others down a trail. Xena as usual,beats the bad guys up and runs,catching the Gabby-group.They run back up the trail,right where they came from. The chief and others fight Xena again...she wins,and he cuts a rope,releasing a deadfall,which hits Xena,sending her flying into a tree. He tries for the kill,but Gabby stops him,but he stabs Gabby's leg. Xena tells Gabby to get her to a healer in the mountains,since she is in bad shape.Her head was hit pretty hard in her collision with the tree,and she is bleeding. Now starts the story of Xena and Caesar,which alternates,sometimes confusingly,between now and ten years ago. Xena is a piratess,who with her one ship,has been raiding the coasts and telling the people that they had better not attack Amphipolis OR ELSE. Her story is that she has to have a buffer zone and cash to protect her village. Note:Cortese has already "razed the village to the ground"...see Death Mask.Amphipolis cannot exist. Enter Caesar. Xena stops her ship captain from killing the Roman nobleman so she can get the ransom. Caesar says he is worth more than Xena thinks,and she sends word that Caesar is in her power. Meanwhile,Caesar attracts Xena with his aura of self-assuranve. He says he is fated to rule the world. Enter M'Lila: She is a stowaway on the ship and fights everyone,and puts the pinch on Xena's leg,plus she kills the captain with it,too.Xena has never seen this power,so she spares the girl's life if she is shown how to do it. M'Lila agrees.M'Lila needs Xena to take the pinch off her after Xena does it back to her. Xena does not need anyone to release the pinch when she puts it on herself in Sin Trade.She moves her neck back and forth then. Caesar is relaesed at the beach after Xena gets the ransom. He vows he will return and find Xena. The previous night,he and Xena made out,so we see a naive Xena who believes that she will rule the world with this Roman.Wrong! One good line: Caesar sees Xena in a revealing red dress and asks where she stole it. She answers,and he says "now you know where to go back for the rest of it." Great line. Time passes,and some nice music and ship scenes abound. A song is sung by M'Lila(poorly lip-synched) and eventually Caesar's ship is seen. Xena meets it,and is taken captive by the treacherous Caesar. His men killed some pirates,and Xena and the rest are chained up.Later they are crucified on the beach. A vengeful J.C. has Xena's legs broken. Later,M'Lila knocks out the guards and takes Xena to the mountains for a healer,Miglio,to set Xena's broken legs. Note: even tho the legs are set,they are never straight,since we see a limping Xena in The Debt. Throughout this story,we see Gabby trying to get the dying Xena to Miglio.The snow scenes and dripping icicles are good. Gabby gets to the mountain home of Miglio and pounds on the door. He comes out,now grey-haired,and says he is THE healer. Outside,Xena is still awake,and tells him not to try to save her. NOTE: Why tell Gabby to take her to be healed only to refuse it? We see this same fool's errand in Friend in Need. Inside,Miglio tries to save Xena and then attends to Gabby's wounded leg. Gabby was pretty good about risking her life to save Xena,with the chief and wounded,with the snow and a long trip. She also had made a sled Argo could drag with Xena on it. Alternating between now and ten years ago,Xena fights the Romans when they find her when her legs were broken. Miglio is knocked out instantly,M'Lila fights and then takes a crossbow bolt in the back meant for Xena.She dies without a word. Note: Xena,tho she was with M'Lila for a long time,didn't know her language,or even her name. She says"M'Lila,huh?".It is not that she didn't know the girl brought her there...she just did not know her name. Anyway,in this confusing back-and-forth,Xena kills the Romans,even standing on her hands to kick with her injured legs. Miglio said she had remarkable recuperative powers,but COME ON! Caesar said to the guards to bring her to him dead by nightfall,so the trip to Miglio's and the healing,leg-setting,etc,and the Romans finding them must have taken just a short few hours. Xena says today a new Xena is born with a new purpose...death.Note: Cortese,who burned down her village and killed Lyceus,and sent Toris and Xena running ultimately,is not the reason she has death as a purpose. Xena does die. Her spirit leaves her body...this equals death. She is on a cross in Tartaras,and M'Lila is there to tell Xena that it is not her time to "really" die. Xena knows that she must return...but HOW? We see later in the next episode,The Quest. A grieving Gabby tries to get Xena to come back,much like Xena says in Doctor in the House. And as for Andrew's opinion: We learn much more about Xena's past as, in flashbacks, we see the act of betrayal that turned her into a monster. This episode is the first of a trilogy, continued in THE QUEST and A NECESSARY EVIL. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * XENA AND GABRIELLEXena still finds it impossible to forgive herself for what she became. This is driven home by her vision of a young Callisto losing her sanity as Cirra burns. Gabrielle, on the other hand, sees only the woman Xena had become since then. Incidentally, this was the first scene in which I noticed Gabby's ears are pierced! Despite being wounded herself, Gabrielle manages to rescue Xena and does everything she can to take the Warrior Princess to Niklio the healer. She demonstrates that she has learned the correct whistle commands for Argo since THE GREATER GOOD, and improvises a litter to transport her injured friend. The flashbacks are set "ten winters ago", placing them some 18 months after the sack of Amphipolis and the death of Lyceus. Xena is still ostensibly acting to defend her home but is growing more ruthless and ambitious, with her thoughts turning to conquest. At the same time she seems rather naive, being easily taken in by Caesar. She's also trusting to the point of foolhardiness in allowing M'lila to demonstrate the "pinch" on her. Xena's death echoes Gabrielle's in IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?, but Gabrielle's grief is more restrained. Nevertheless, she succeeds in calling her friend back - Xena realises that the world still needs her. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS The flashbacks to the destruction of Cirra make me shiver just thinking about them. The first time I saw the young girl I thought "Ah, Callisto!", but I wasn't prepared for the look of sheer uncomprehending horror on her face when she turned round. Callisto sends Xena running with one accusing question, "Why?". Full marks to Rebecca Kopacka for a stunning performance. Karl Urban is perfectly cast as "Caesar...Julius Caesar" - I love the James Bond reference! He plays Caesar as cool, self-assured to the point of cockiness, and totally ruthless. From what I've read of Caesar, this is a very accurate portrayal. Julius Caesar was in fact kidnapped by pirates as a young man. He promised that once he was ransomed he would hunt them down and crucify them - a promise he fulfilled. M'lila's trick of cutting her way down the sail was, I believe, first performed by Douglas Fairbanks in a silent movie. The amulet she wears is identical to that worn by the little girl seen in the episode's "teaser". Niklio uses acupuncture, which implies he has studied in China. This, coupled with Xena's recuperative powers, allows Xena to fight off the Romans who attack her in his house. She must have knocked her shinbones out of alignment, however, as she is lame when seen in the flashbacks of THE DEBT, PART 1. The scene of Xena's cross spinning over the fires of Tartarus is very impressive. MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS DESTINY was the first XWP episode to be Emmy-nominated for its musical score. Ironically, the most memorable piece is not a Joseph Lo Duca composition. If memory serves me correctly "M'lila's Song" is a traditional Scottish air. Sadly, it is unavailable on the soundtrack albums. FAMILIAR FACES Rebecca Kopacka played Clotho, the youngest of the Fates, in REMEMBER NOTHING. Karl Urban first appeared as Maell in ALTARED STATES. LITTLE PROBLEMS Young Callisto's eyes should be brown, not blue. This oversight in no way detracts from the power of the scene. Who are these Children of the Sun, and where do they come from? They look like they'd be more at home in the upper reaches of the Amazon than in Ancient Greece! After being freed by Xena, Gabrielle shepherds the other captives away from the Children of the Sun's camp. Oddly enough, when the chief and his followers catch up with them, Gabby starts leading her charges back the way they came. She obviously realises her mistake, as they can be seen watching Xena's fight with the chief from a safe distance. Who is the girl with the amulet matching M'lila's? Her presence is never explained. In HERE SHE COMES...MISS AMPHIPOLIS Xena spots a thread attached to Miss Messini's harp strings. In this episode she fails to notice a tree trunk suspended by ropes! Speaking of which, doesn't that trap seem to involve a lot of effort for a "one shot" weapon? The timeline takes another hammering in this episode. Apparently Julius Caesar was a contemporary of King David - pretty good considering they lived about 1,000 years apart! Okay, now we know how Xena learned the "pinch", but where did M'lila learn it? It's hardly the sort of thing someone would teach their slave, and actually seems far too easy to perform. After all the times Gabrielle has seen it done, you'd think she could do it too. The lionskin rug in Xena's cabin has a tongue - this must be made of plastic, since a real one would rot, but they didn't have plastic in the first century BC! When Caesar's ship is spotted, Xena calls out "Bring her around - we're going to join them!" Lucy Lawless loses her American accent when she does this, sounding very English. Caesar's abduction by pirates occurred long before he met Brutus. Xena could not possibly have survived long enough for M'lila to rescue her at night. Her legs were broken when it was still full daylight, and tests have shown that a crucifixion victim whose legs were broken would begin to asphyxiate after only 10 minutes. XWP consistently shows leg-breaking as a punishment when it was in fact an act of mercy, sparing the victim hours or even days of agony. How do Niklio and M'lila know each other, and why doesn't Xena even know M'lila's name? All M'lila had to do was point at herself and say "M'lila" - even someone fairly slow on the uptake would have gotten the message sooner or later. My biggest issue with this episode is that it reinvents Xena's motives for becoming evil. In the past we were led to believe that her downward spiral began with the death of Lyceus - this was explicitly stated in DEATH MASK. In this episode, however, the death of a woman whom she hardly knew is shown to be the turning point. How could M'lila have meant more to Xena than her beloved brother? There is also a problem with the chronology of Xena's past. In ORPHAN OF WAR we met Solan, Xena's 10-year-old son. His age implies that he was born shortly before the flashback scenes of DESTINY, but in later episodes we learn that after escaping from Caesar Xena spent some considerable time in the Ch'in Empire and the Eurasian steppes. If Solan was conceived just three months after M'lila's death, he would still be only about eight and a half years old by the time Xena met him again, which is doubly confusing as he looks about 12! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * DESTINY is a dramatic and visually impressive episode with a splendid villain, but possesses many flaws. The greatest of these is the reinvention of Xena's past. Now it is Julius Caesar who is responsible for her descent into evil, not Cortese. My guess is that TPTB wanted to introduce Caesar as a recurrent villain, but needed to give Xena a strong personal motive to fight him. Unfortunately they did so at the expense of Xenaverse "history", something they would do with depressing frequency in later seasons.