Orphan of War
The first season of X:WP went out on an emotional note, and the second season begins on a similar note. In Orphan of War,
we get a glimpse of Xena's past, and a look at some actions she regrets.
The episode (and season) starts out with a bang. Xena catches a bad guy's warclub and sends it right back into the same
man's crotch.
Then she wrestles him for it. "You want it...you got it!"
Xena has a son! And what's more...the son has a Kiwi accent. And he has blonde hair and green eyes. His father had black
hair and brown eyes and his mother has black hair and blue eyes.
I forget how to make one of those Punnett square's, but I think I'd have a hard time with the odds that Xena and Borias could
conceive a child with Solan's coloring.
When Xena first comes out of the bushes to meet with Kaleipis, she has a wicked look on her face. Then, later in the scene,
she does a great job acting with her eyes. She feels a lot more pain than she shows.
She's kind of rough with Gabs with "Get out of my way." It was uncalled for, but her emotions are obviously running high.
Why was Gabs just now finding out abou the Ixion stone? Wouldn't Xena have told her sooner?
Dagnine is one ugly dude!
I can just imagine the pain in Xena's heart with that first conversation with Solan, when she finds out her son hates her.
Borias could sing? Who knew?
Solan has big, beautiful eyes.
Would Gabrielle really consider blowing Xena's cover, or was it just a bluff?
I like the parallel...Xena teaches Gabrielle to use the staff (along with the Amazons)
Gabrielle is gong to teach Solan.
I swear, that shirt Gabs has on is made out of the carpeting we used to have in our basement!
The saddlehorn in the scene where Xena rides up on Gabs is making it's presence known. And yes, I notice the saddlehorn a lot! Can't help it!
It appears that Lucy lost weight over the break.
There's a great shot of her thighs when she's in Dagnine's tent.
I find it hard to believe that not one of the bad guys told Solan who his mother was. And what's even more amazing...Xena didn't seem concerned
that someone might.
Dagnine's laugh is ultra-annoying.
I've got a word of advice for Dagnine. DPXO...Don't Piss Xena Off!...she's like a cougar stalking him.
And I love that vertical leap she makes to get out of his tent. That's my girl...defying the laws of gravity!
Xena simply gives a little flick of her writst to hook the rope through the bars on Solan's cage...which would be impossible.
She calls him So-lan rather than So-lun as just about everyone else does.
If you slow motion the rescue scene, you'll see the ground starts to give way before the cage actually hits it.
Wouldn't it have made more sense to put the scabbard UNDER Solan's arm, when setting his broken arm?
Solan says he didn't want to talk about Borias anymore...he changes the subject...to talk about Borias.
When Xena says, "Yes, I would have killed them all," she looks sickened. I'd imagine she was sickened at the thought.
Oh gods, how long had Xena wanted to hold Solan like that? It was too beautiful!
Gabs looks a little embarrassed riding on Kaleipis's back.
Would there really be ten year old handprints...at least that noticeable?
"What you did up top was incredible!" I love that accent!
"This is where all those music lessons come in handy...just kidding." Huh? What did I miss?
"If you don't know...it must be Xena." Love it on the blooper reel and I love it here. It's just too funny!
Xena's awfully long-winded on that vine. I'm sure she has a magnificent lung capacity, but she was sending her breath an awfully long way!
She does a FORWARD somersalt off the pedestal and lands SIDEWAYS on the thugs. Impressive!
Gabrielle prides herself on being Xena's friend...I like that!
And I love this exchange...Gabrielle: I'm here for you.
Xena : Always.
It reminds me very much of the exchange between the two in Fallen Angel.
Unlike Gabbers, Xena doesn't look uncomfortable at all jumping on Kaleipis's back. Make of that what you will.
Xena kicks centaur Dagnine in the errr...testicles. I guess some body parts are universal.
Dagnine says he's Ixion. Kaleipis says tell Ixion that when he meets him in Tartarus. Why would Ixion be in Tartarus? I thought he
was a good guy.
Gabs was doing pretty well in her fight against the bad guy, but Xena still sensed her and chakramed for her anyway.
It seemed kind of funny hearing Solan call Xena "Xena". Dunno why.
Xena says, "Often we don't know if the things we do are right or wrong until much later." Could she be thinking of whether or not it was right
to give up Solan?
Xena reminds me of Meg during the final scenes. She does a nice job handling emotions that she is unfamiliar with.
Her emotions get to her so much her accent slips when she says, "But here you've got an uncle who loves you, and you've got friends who'll
protect you."
Solan's hair looks longer in this scene than it did in any of the other scenes.
I can't imagine the pain of Xena having to leave Solan again. Lucy commented she was unhappy with the way she acted that final
goodbye. I don't know why, it was very well-done.
I quickly grew attached to Solan, and enjoyed this episode very much. It had some bittersweet moments, that's for sure, but all-in-all,
I think Xena and Gabbers would come away feeling glad they visited the boy. That is, until next season, of course.
Here are Gary's thoughts:,p>
This early episode,the first in Season 2,is one of the better ones.I believe
that the simpler the plot,the better the whole episode is.
Mainly it is another back-story about Xena's past...she had a child by
Borias,who we do not even see until The Debt later in this season.
Xena's former henchman kidnaps her son,Solon,and will use him to keep Xena
at bay so she will not interfere with his search for the Exian Stone.
The story opens with Xena and Gabby at a spot in the woods when they come
upon some odd totems and other symbols...they are in Centaur land,and Xena
meets Kaliapus,who reminded her that she promised she would never return.
Ten years before, Xena's army fought the Centaurs,and it was a draw. A
figure jumps from a tree at Xena and it is the ten-year old Solon,Xena's son
whom she hasn't seen since she gave him away as a baby. She gave him to K.
so that Solon would be safe,even with her enemy,and that she didn't want
Solon to grow up like her or be a target if he lived. K. agrees and will
raise him as his own son.
Gabby is surprised that Xena never mentioned this to her,since they had been
travelling together for a year. Meanwhile,Degnan(the warlord) had hired a
guy with a telescope to see why Xena was in the Area. Degnan
is looking for the Exian stone,which contains all the evil of the Centaur
Race. Its creator had the choice of making them good or evil,and the evil
was trapped in the missing stone.Degnan wants to become powerful and rule
the world. He says he must "make a list " of all the havoc he wants to
create. A thug,he has a sense of humor,tho scary.
The telescope guy can read lips,so he knows Xena has a son and Degnan knows
he can use this against Xena. Xena senses the spy and puts the pinch on him
and now knows Degnan's plan.
Solon must be kept safe. Gabby and Solon are in the woods during this time
and are attacked by a band of Degnan's thugs. Solon is captured,but they let
Gabby live so she can tell Xena to stay away.
Of course,what mother can abandon her child,so Xena finds Solon locked in an
iron cage,with his father's sword just out of his reach.Degnan enters his
tent to see that Xena is there waiting for him to find out what he wants
from her. Besides her staying away,this creep wants a little nookie from
Xena,who clobbers him and escapes with the key to the cage.
She is on a scaffold and pulls the cage up with her great strength.The thugs
spot her,and she fights them and the cage falls,but not before Solon uses
the key to unlock the door. The weight of the cage punches a hole in the
ground,exposing the Exian Caverns,which Degnan was searching for. Xena uses
her whip to rescue Solon,who is hanging inside the hole. Archers are firing
at them,so they both fall down the hole.
Solon breaks his right arm. Xena puts a medicinal pinch on him to relieve
the pain while she sets and splints his arm. They find the altar where the stone was,but the stone was taken a long time
ago by Borias,whose fingerprints are still on the altar. Solon,who always
believed it was Xena who killed Borias and Solon's "mother"
now thinks Xena isn't so bad after all.
Gabby and the Centaurs,along with some men try to find the pair. Xena blows
thru a reedlike root and it sounds like a distress call. The rescuers hear
the sound and drop a rope down another hole,and Xena and Solon are pulled
up,but Degnan,who is scarred and has one good arm,throws a dagger and cuts
the rope. The usual Xena-thug fight ensues and another rope is lowered,and
the pair are again raised,but at the last instant,the sword Solon had
falls.It breaks a seal and the green Exian Stone falls out next to Degnan.
He gloats,and Xena knows of the trouble ahead.
Gabby,who doesn't have much to do in this episode,is told to protect Solon.
Degnan mixes a brew with the stone and drinks it.He is distorted,and changes
into a really ugly-looking Centaur,a bit bigger than the usual Centaur. I
still do not see how he can rule the world,because he has only Borias'
sword,and any small army should be able to stop him.
Xena orders a big crossbow to be built,since regular arrows(bolts) can't
stop Degnan,who now says he is Exian.He sneers convincingly at Xena,and says
it was himself who killed Borias...now Solon knows the truth...Xenan
apparently didn't know that either.
Two Centaurs are killed by Degnan,and Kaliapus fights him,with Xena arriving
sceonds later. Xena kicks him in a pretty bad place,and he turns on
her,grabs her by the throat,and she jumps backwards and tells the Centaurs
to shoot the huge crossbow bolt,which kills Degnan.
That is the story...pretty straightforward,and it worked.
The best parts are isolated in this episode. Gabby again is kept in the
dark,even until Season 6 with yet another back-story,but she takes it fairly
well.I would have thought that Xena would have told her at least that...she
never had mentioned her brother Toris until late in Season one.
Gabby shows her advancing expertise with the staff,and I miss that a
lot,since she threw it away in Season 4 in The Way.
Gabby bravely goes with the Centaurs,and we see Xena and Gabby riding
different Centaurs in this episode.
What mattered to me,an incurable romantic,was the fact that even tho Xena
was the Destroyer of Nations,she thought enough of her son to give him up to
an enemy.
The scenes where she wanted to tell Solon that she is his mother were
heart-wrenching. Solon's visit to his parents' grave was a good one since
Xena tries to say Borias and she were good friends,and she wanted to sing
for Solon,but he runs away.
Xena's facial expression in giving up Solon was truly sad,and at the
end,with the leaves changing colors,and she reminding him she was his friend
was especially sad.As she walks away at the end,knowing he will be safe,and
also knowing she cannot tell Solon he is her son is just great.The
freeze-frame at the end shows us Xena's torment,and it couldn't have been
done better.
Too bad TPTB didn't stick with simple human emotion and straightforward
plots...so much more is gotten from that.Less is more,as they say. Paradise
Found is another gem that did this to perfection.
And Andrew's review:
Xena is reunited with the son she gave up many years before as she tries to foil the schemes of her former lieutenant Dagnon.
·XENA AND GABRIELLEGabrielle has a new outfit - the so-called "bilious green sports bra" (BGSB). She has also improved her staff work and can recognise centaur totems. Xena pulls a really neat spear-splitting trick to kill two bad guys. Kaleipus becomes the first to address her as "Destroyer of Nations".
There's some tension between Xena and Gabrielle as Gabby thinks Xena should tell Solan that she's his mother. Xena turns on her and snaps, "This is none of your business." Gabrielle later admits that the choice is Xena's but that she still disagrees with her, neatly defusing the situation without really backing down from her position.
Gabrielle's comment to Solan, "She always does what's right - even when it hurts her. I forget that sometimes." would be contradicted by Xena's behaviour in several later episodes, notably EVE. Gabrielle also tells Solan "A sword makes you a target." - something Xena taught her in DREAMWORKER. One thing she appears to have learned herself is the "twist and somersault" manoeuvre using her staff as a fulcrum, seen for the first time in this episode. Xena really didn't have to help her out in the final battle - she was more than holding her own.
Xena has some nice bonding scenes with Solan, especially their final talk together. I've often thought Lucy Lawless's greatest asset as an actress is her expressive face. It could be argued that it's TOO expressive for a supposedly stoic warrior, but her performance in the final scene is flawless. The look of mingled pain, regret and sheer helplessness on Xena's face as she leaves is just heartbreaking.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
Renee O'Connor's name now appears in the main credits - and not before time!
Dagnon is an interesting figure from Xena's past. Despite his maimed face and crippled left arm, he commands the fear and respect of his men. His use of a lip-reading henchman with a primitive telescope is a stroke of genius and he has some great lines, notably:
"I'll kill Xena! I'll kill Hercules! I'll take Athens! I've got so much to do... I'll have to make a list."
And: "If this doesn't work... one of you gets my tent, the other gets my horse."
He also mentions Thersites, the assassin killed by Xena in A FISTFUL OF DINARS.
Kaleipus is an impressive character, a great leader who commands the loyalty of humans as well as centaurs. He's also a devoted foster father, and is clearly concerned that Xena intends to take Solan away from him.
FAMILIAR FACESMark Ferguson (Dagnon) played Krykus in HOOVES AND HARLOTS.
LITTLE PROBLEMS
Solan looks nothing like Xena. It might be assumed that he takes after his father, but as we later learn Borias was very Eurasian in appearance.
Mark Ferguson and Paul Gittins (Kaleipus) are missing from the guest credits at the beginning of the episode. There's just a very large gap before David Taylor's name appears.
Xena says that she ordered Borias captured unharmed, and it appears Dagnon did not know Xena had a child. This is not the impression given in PAST IMPERFECT. The "Sword of Borias" seen in that episode also looks nothing like the one carried by Solan. In the flashback to the time when Xena gave Solan to Kaleipus she wears her "present-day" armour, not the earlier style with the "dragon wing" shoulder pieces. In PAST IMPERFECT she wears a Scythian style outfit. Let's have some consistency, people!
When Xena realises she's being watched, she mounts Argo and covers about half a mile in only 16 seconds - that's just impossible!
When Solan's cage drops, the ground underneath it gives way before it actually hits. Solan is still inside at the time - he couldn't have reached out to grab the edge of the hole without the cage hitting and probably killing him. He and Xena fall for at least three and a half seconds, giving a minimum drop of 55 feet. I'd expect a lot more than a broken arm from that - how about four broken legs?
Borias' handprints wouldn't have survived 10 years. They'd have been washed away by rain falling through the hole above the altar.
Xena must have REALLY powerful lungs to blow through that hollow root!
Dagnon makes a really accurate cast with his dagger, but why aim at the rope? Xena would have been a much easier target.
How does Xena know that it will take a ballista bolt to kill the Dagnon/centaur hybrid?
Gabrielle tells Solan "You know, this is the only Xena I've ever known." What about the "psycho warlord" she became in TIES THAT BIND?
This is a good character episode for Xena, filling in another blank page in her history. Unfortunately it's let down by some
uncharacteristically sloppy writing by Steven L. Sears, and TPTB's penchant for reinventing Xena's character would cause
contradictions in later episodes.
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