I enjoy this episode, although it certainly isn't groundbreaking. Still, there are some very intersting moments between Xena and Gabrielle.
Could it be that Xena is a wee bit jealous of hearing Gabs go on so much about Meleager? Judge Arbus is a scary looking man! Xena says that she's heard Arbus is a just and fair man. Turns out, she heard wrong. I like Gabrielle, "Whatever he did, I'm sure he didn't do it." Then she says, "Consider this...when we doubt that heroes exist in this world, who do we name? Hercules...Meleager..." Uh... what about Xena? Xena reacts more than Gabs or Meleager when the death sentence is handed down. She's a bit torn...she trusts Gabrielle, but she also knows what's she heard about Arbus. She's doomed no matter what she decides. I love her line..."I'm not a Little Lady." Arbus says, "Sometimes the truth can be a heavy burden." Xena agrees somberly, "Yes, it can." There's a lot of weight in that simple statement. Gabs says "one eyed man" and Xena immediately refers to him as a "cyclops." At first, I thought she was just being funny, but she's actually trying to subtly talk Gabbers out of believing Meleager's story. Gabs just takes off running when Xena tries to convince her. That doesn't seem like typical Gabrielle behavior to me. And Xena doesn't look upset that Gabrielle took bolts. She looks...irritated. It looks like it was all up to Gabbers to get Meleager out of jail...pretty clever. Now, I know Argo is amazing, but how did she get out of the stall so speedily? She was behind a gate when Xena was petting her earlier. What was the substance was Xena looking at in the barn? And why was there a skull there? That's a pretty cool move Xena uses, getting Argo to catapult her. Xena's pretty rough with Gabrielle when she makes her go. She's almost like a mom with an unruly kid. I can't believe Xena didn't just ride through the woods. With all of Xena and Argo's skills, surely they could have dodged a few trees. That was a pretty gutsy move on Gabrielle's part when she tries to stop Xena from going into the woods. Xena was enjoying squaring off with Meleager. He pops her hard and she just cracks her neck with a smile. Then she punches him and just about knocks his lights out. And I love her teasing line, "Oh, I have experience too." Acting out of character again, Gabs bugs me when she won't even listen to Meleager's explanation for what happened. Gabrielle herself says, "Friends don't lie." She should remember that come third season. Xena certainly had a point...You put people on a pedestal, and they're eventually going to fall. I love her description of the dead man, "Burly...butt ugly in a good light?" And some excellent arrow catching! One in each hand and one between the teeth! With that incrdible horizontal jump she did into the tree, why did she need Argo to accomplish basically the same move earlier in this episode? Note Lucy's shaking legs in the tree...she seems to be having trouble keeping her balance. I love Xena's gleeful laugh at discovering the noose...all ready to be put to good use! She's almost flirting with the would-be assassin. That was one ugly sword in the cave! Xena was the actual killer...it figures, somehow. Did Xena just say "Witness lady?" I rewound it...yep, she did! She's just too...too Xena! The executioner is very, very creepy! What happened to Meleager's horse? He ditched it when he went into the woods, but wouldn't it have made sense to retrieve it? Or did Gabrielle steal it? I love Xena's pat answer...if she was after the scared guy, he'd be dead already! The little coward sure knew exactly what to spill his guts about! In a sense, Xena was guilty a simlar transgression as Gabs. She had a preformed opinion about Arbus, just as Gabs had already made up her mind about Meleager. Gabrielle does seem like a daughter in the way she reacts to Meleager. All right, all right, I'll admit it...when Xena stole the Executioners's extra robe, i thought she was going to take his place. I fell for it...and couldn't figure out what had happened, until the truth was revealed. It was pretty clever how Xena saved Meleager. It was a good thing she was exactly the right height! Kudos to Gabbers for managing a smile right before Meleager's execution. I laughed at Xena's look of fake sympathy when Meleager told her he had rope burn. Was Arbus insane or just really, really spooky? Xena didn't look to be too thrilled to be part of Gabrielle's group hug. "Don't worry about it; people in our line of work never get to be that age." Xena delivers that line with a straight face. I don't like thinking about that. And that's basically it. I thought Gabrielle's behavior during parts of this were a bit out of character, but I did like seeing her stand up to Xena. I liked Meleager a lot more in this one than I did in The Prodigal, and all-in-all, enjyed this episode considerably. Here is Gary's take on the episode: This episode has one of my favorite characters,Maleagher,who unfortunately is in only two eps. He usually steals each scene,and it's too bad we had to see other lesser characters along the way in subsequent eps. The story opens with Gabby telling Xena that she got a hurry-up message from Maleagher,the mercenary who helped save Potadiea in The Prodigal. He is on trial for murder,as we learn later,and Gabby invades the courtroom of the evil Judge Arbus,who lets her speak.Gabby says that,without even knowing the charges,that whatever M. did,he didn't do it. Arbus says the sentence is death for the murder of an unsavory guy who was killed the year before. A woman saw M. with a bloody sword at the scene of the thug's death. Outside,before the girls entered the courtroom,Gabby makes the mistake of saying that M. is her friend,and the girls are attacked by some guys,whom the girls pound out with their usual verve. M. explains to Gabby,while he is in jail,that he was framed,and that the real bad guy is a one-eyed guy. Gabby tells this to Xena who asks if it is a cyclops. Gabby sneaks in a bunch of food and wine for M's last meal,and the guards take it instead. I suspect the wine was drugged,so Gabby takes the jail key and lets M' out to find the one-eyed guy. Too bad she does not leave with him,as she is captured at once and is being rough-housed by the crowd. It is never explained WHY the townsfolk had such a vendetta against someone who supposedly killed such a sleaze as the "victim" M. supposedly killed. They grab Gabby,and Xena rescues her,promising to take Gabby with her to bring back M. for them. Arbus agrees,and the girls go.They ride Argo,following M's trail,and Gabby tells M. to run thru a thick woods to escape Xena. Gabby tries to stop Xena with her staff,because she does not believe her friend M. to be guilty of anything. Xena does her usual jump and runs after M. thru a rather interesting stretch of woods,with twisting trees. She gains on him and they fight hand-to-hand---no swords. For an old guy,he is pretty good against Xena,but of course,she prevails. Gabby learns that M. can't remember if he really killed the thug,since M. was drunk at the time. Gabby will not talk to him for lying to her. She appears to be more mad at him for the drinking than the lie about the one-eyed guy. Note:In the woods scene,why does Xena,who is s fast runner,have to do those cartwheels? Probably for just the effect for the audience. Also,in the town before the action begins,Arbus says M. will be executed when the sands run out of the hourglass,but Xena says M. will be executed "tomorrow". Meanwhile,townsfolk are pushing on a bench to witness the hanging. There is the unusual scene,reminiscent of the French Revolution,in A Tale of Two Cities,with an old woman knitting as she watches other people die. Gabby is angry at the campfire when Xena tells her to talk to M. and try to forgive him. Gabby says "friends don't lie"---WOW! Wait until Gabrielle's Hope and subsequent eps,especially The Debt,Gabby. On the road back to town,Xena stops three crossbow bolts aimed at M. from a hidden archer in a tree. Xena climbs up and knocks the guy down,and she grabs a ready-made hangman's noose to rope him. This seems hard to do since the noose is designed to not slip. Anyway,she has this guy working for Arbus hanging with the rope around his waist. He says M. must die. She leaves him there with his crossbow on the ground. He is hanging,spinning like a top,but still is wearing his sword. Xena has allowed the guy to escape and get back to town to warn Arbus.This allowed the posse to find Gabby and M. later....a mistake by Xena. The trio goes to a cave to find the sword M. picked up on the fateful night. He had described it to Xena,and she realizes that it was she who killed the thug...he merely died at the stable where M. was sleeping of a drunk. She tells M. this,and has to see the sword to make sure. She leaves Gabby and M. in the cave. She has to find a little guy whom she saved from the dead guy. She finds him.He tries to club her,but she easily disarms him. He tells her that Arbus is such ah sleaze that he allowed an innocent man to be executed before to further his own reputation as a good judge. Arbus had said that Xena could be pulled in to answer for her own crimes,but he needed proof---that's the LAW. Xena believed him at that time to be fair,but now she knows the truth. At the cave,M. leaves Gabby all he has in the will he dictates to Gabby. He hears a noise,and is knocked out with one punch by a bad guy. M. was always described as a warrior who killed hundreds of soldiers in battle,but a mere thug got him easily. Note: when M. fought Xena,it took a lot of effort for the Warrior Princess to nail him. The bad guy was another bad guy in One Against an Army whom the girls found at the beginning of that ep. Why was this thug sent alone against two great warriors,Xena and M. with Gabby along? Didn't Arbus think he was out-classed? What was the noose for if he was trying to kill him with an arrow? M. and Gabby will be executed soon---they are in jail,and Xena will be killed on sight if she tries to enter the city. Meanwhile,a note of levity is inserted into the story. The Executioner arrives in a black hooded robe. Arbus tells him to get into his comfortable clothes while he awaits his job...he says the robes ARE his 'comfortable clothes'. He is called later when M. is led out to the gallows. A hand(Xena's) reaches for the spare robe. We think she will impersonate the Executioner and save M. M. goes up to the trapdoor,and looks at Gabby,who is waiting her turn in the jail,and the door is dropped. M. falls and is hanged.Gabby,who does a great job of showing grief,cries and looks miserable. Arbus,back at his courthouse,sees M's body brought in.The coffin is placed on a table and Arbus says the cause of death was JUSTICE. The voice he hears next is of Maleagher. M. says Arbus killed another innocent man. Arbus,stunned,says it does not matter if anyone is innocent---what HE says,goes. Xena,in an Executioner disguise,reveals her true identity,and there are a lot of witnesses to Arbus' confession. He then is forced to pardon M. as his last official act and is himself jailed to await his own trial. Gabby is overjoyed to see M. alive. Xena explains that she sneaked under the scaffold,and M,when dropped,landed on Xena's shoulders,stopping his fall,thus saving himself. Gabby slaps him for scaring her for nothing,but she does understand why it was that way---there was not time to tell her. I really thought M. died,since another person Gabby loved,Perdicus,did die at Callisto's hand. This scene was cleverly done.The same music was used in another prison ep......Locked Up and Tied Down. Note: How did Gabby get a message to come to save M in the first place? How would M know where Gabby was? It reminds me of Gabby supposedly trying to send messages to Xena in A Family affair. Xena says that people in their line of work never get that old,referring to the knitting woman who holds up a toy hanged man,as M. says good-bye and is chopping down the gallows. Thus ends the story. I liked it,despite the flaws of the lone archer sent after the trio,and the fight and chase scene in the woods was interesting.Maleagher is a great character,witty,even better than Autolycus,with a dry sense of humor,and I wish RenPics had a few more eps with him in them. One flaw was the prominence of the hourglass...it seemed to take forever for it to empty,and Xena's comment of M. dying "tomorrow" just made it trivial. And here's Andrew's review: Xena and Gabrielle find themselves at odds over whether or not someone dear to Gabrielle is a murderer - a situation foreshadowing the tragic events of Season Three * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * XENA AND GABRIELLEThere's some nice verbal sparring between our two heroes concerning Gabrielle's description of Meleager's exploits. It's more in character than the bickering of A DAY IN THE LIFE, and shows two people who are comfortable enough in their friendship to make fun of each other. Gabrielle is devastated to find that Meleager has been tried and convicted of murder. Typically, she reacts on an emotional level, flatly refusing to believe his guilt. Xena, on the other hand, refuses to take things at face value. This reinforces my view that Xena is the "head" of their relationship, while Gabrielle is its heart. Arbus raises an interesting point when he tells Xena that he could put her on trial for her past deeds, despite her reformation. Turning over a new leaf doesn't alter the fact that she is a brigand and murderer whose crimes have, to date, gone unpunished. Speaking of crimes, Gabrielle commits one when she aids the escape of a convicted murderer. However strong her belief in Meleager's innocence, what she does here is undeniably wrong. (Yes folks, this is me criticising Gabby! Do not adjust your sets...) Xena's right to point out that running won't help Meleager's case, but Gabby retorts that his hanging won't help it either - and it seems that Argo agrees with her! Watch Xena when she fights Meleager - she's enjoying it! Fighting a skilful opponent always seems to bring out the Warrior Princess's love of combat. Gabrielle actually stands against Xena, trying to block her path, which says a great deal for both her courage and her conviction of Meleager's innocence. It strikes her doubly hard, therefore, when Meleager confesses that he probably IS the killer, and that he was drunk at the time. Xena warns Gabrielle of the dangers of putting heroes on a pedestal, and Gabby's statement "Friends don't lie" eerily foreshadows the events of GABRIELLE'S HOPE and THE DEBT II. Gabrielle has a couple of touching scenes with Meleager, first in the cave when he leaves her everything in his will, then later in their prison cell. As previously seen in THE PRODIGAL, Renee O'Connor and Tim Thomerson have a great on-screen chemistry, making a very convincing "father/daughter" pair. Xena's plan to save Meleager during his execution while making it look as if he's dead is a clever one, soon flushing out the real villain of the piece - Judge Arbus. Her comment to Gabrielle regarding the old woman, "People in our line of work never get to be that age", comes true (for Xena at least) in A FRIEND IN NEED II. GENERAL OBSERVATIONSMeleager the Mighty is in my opinion an underused character, making only two appearances. Tim Thomerson has many of the best lines in this episode. His dry comment on the choice of execution method (hanging, beheading or being torn limb from limb) is a gem: "They didn't have a blade big enough, the square wasn't wide enough, so hanging wins - lucky me!" As is his reply to Gabrielle's question about his recent activities: "Oh, this and that - saving villages, defending the helpless, getting convicted of murder." Having said that, there are some other good one-liners: Souvenir Vendor: "An actual reproduction of the possible murder weapon that was never found!" Gabrielle (to Meleager): "Just hang in there - sorry!" Executioner (to Arbus): "These ARE my comfortable clothes." Meleager hides the truth of his drunkenness from Gabrielle because he doesn't want the young woman he regards as a daughter to be ashamed of him. Happily, they're reconciled before his "execution". Like Xena he relishes a fight with a skilful opponent, telling her "You are so good! As good as I was, once." He must have been an awesome opponent in his prime. The old woman with her knitting is a humourous reference to the French Revolution - I love her finished handiwork! Argo gets another chance to show off her fancy hoofwork, catapulting Xena into the midst of an angry mob. Xena refers to Gabrielle's sojourn at the Athens Academy in Season One - continuity, by the gods! Two plot twists for the price of one - not only is Xena revealed as the killer (justifiable homicide, as it turns out), but Arbus is shown to be a ruthless hypocrite who built his reputation on the execution of an innocent man. We're also led to believe that Xena has taken the executioner's place, when in fact she's hiding under the scaffold in order to save Meleager, a clever piece of misdirection by the writer. FAMILIAR FACESMatthew Jeffs (who plays the head guard) first appeared as Gothos, the ruffian Xena killed at the beginning of DREAMWORKER. The villager in a hurry to get to the courthouse is played by Colin Francis, who also appeared in DREAMWORKER as the swordsmith who sold Gabrielle the breast dagger. LITTLE PROBLEMSJudge Arbus is really ahead of the time - the term "lynching" wouldn't be in common use for another two thousand years. Meleager's would-be assassin gets off three shots from a crossbow in only 12 seconds, which is plainly impossible. In addition, the noose with which Xena catches him is far too small to go around his body. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A much-delayed sequel to THE PRODIGAL, this episode has no later repercussions. Meleager disappears from the Xenaverse without a trace, a sad end to a likeable character. THE EXECUTION is well written, and shows that conflict between Xena and Gabrielle can be generated without a melodramatic "end of the world" story arc. Although they're in conflict for much of the time, both principals remain in character, and the occasional flashes of humour keep the story from getting bogged down. All in all this is a minor episode, but a good one.