The Debt Part 2
And one of the most ambitious sagas on Xena continues…
Xena's new costume in this one is interesting. Basically she's naked with a table draped around her neck.
When one of the guards commented he heard Xena betrayed by a friend, her response is scathing…"No, not by a friend."
Right before Xena is thrown into the muck, it doesn't look like Lucy. It is her, but she looks different. Weird.
Xena has no problem getting her own block to crouch on, but does it ever look uncomfortable!
Hmmm…could Gabrielle be feeling guilty about something?
Ming T'ien would be infuriating to talk to…He argues with everything.
Evil Xena was just plain rotten to young Ming T'ien.
What was the purpose in bricking up a wall in front of Ming? Was Evil Xena reenacting The Cask of Amontillado, or
was she just feeling particularly mean that day?
She gives Ming T'ien a cluck of her tongue, just as she does Argo.
Back to the present, those are some heavy-duty boots Xena is wearing!
I love Lao Ma's question…"Would you kill a mosquito with an axe?" Evil Xena would!!
Lao Ma gets straight to the point regarding the hair broach. "That can be a very useable weapon, if thrown at the right body
part."
Evil Xena loves to kill, and isn't shy to say just that.
I love her line…."Everybody's got to be full of something."
Xena tries really, REALLY hard to break the vase. It's kinda funny.
Xena's getting cranky, not liking her questions being answered with riddles. As she grows older though, she becomes
an expert at doing the same thing, sometimes driving Gabrielle to distraction.
I must say that Ming T'su is an idiot for not spotting Xena at the table.
Ming T'ien is much smarter, and love his double take when he spots Xena.
That kid is a good little actor.
When did Ming T'ien start talking? He never says a word as a child.
"To conquer others is to have power…to conquer yourself is to know the way." Wow! I've thought about that a lot, and
I still don't know what it means!
Did Lao Ma put her husband in the coma? I guess so, since she spoke of what a tyrant he was.
At least Evil Xena was observant enough to realize Ming T'ien constantly snubbed Lao Ma, and she didn't like it.
Why did Gabrielle strike Xena across her face? That was uncalled for!
Xena's state of stoicness is making Gabrielle bonkers.
Check out the dark circles under Xena's eyes…nice makeup job!
Xena just stares at Gabs as she caresses her face…then the tears spill over her cheeks.
Finally, she jerks her head away.
A favorite British actress of mine is named Josie Lawrence. Lucy looks more like Josie than herself when she is getting
her legs healed and expressing her gratitude to Lao Ma.
Does Lao Ma wait so long into her relationship with Xena before healing her, because she's afraid Xena would flee?
Can't help but love the way Xena runs up the wall to try out her newly healed legs.
And the hug she gives Lao Ma is very…interesting. Hmmm.
Xena looks like she really, REALLY wants to get out of the throne room when Ming T'ien is questioning her.
When Ming T'ien gives her the death sentence, check out Xena's expression. You can just see the faintest trace of a smile
on her lips.
Ming T'ien says, "I'm not a monster, you know." Yes, he is, and he's a liar too.
Xena can certainly be cold and emotionless when she wants to be!
Xena's "Scratch my nose, will ya'?" gets me every time!
Great tear up from Gabs, as it gets her too.
Xena says, "I was angry with you…I didn't hate you. I never could."
She'll sure be changing that tune soon enough!
I never figured out the purpose of the floaty dance, but at the same time, I never questioned it either.
But I like the way all of Xena's seemingly peaceful moments come to an abrupt end when she sees Borias.
She gets a great line in during the fight with him, "You always were a leg man."
Xena gets knocked unconscious more times in these two episodes than any other on the series.
Xena is going to be Lao Ma's Warrior Princess. So THAT's where she got her moniker!
When left alone, Xena and Borias don't take long to make up!
Ming T'su calls Xena a "worthless whore"' Them's fighting words!
Hee hee…love Xena's line, "You got the jewels for this one?"
Xena was the only one who slammed her cup down on to the table. Everyone watched with baited breath, and she
declares she won. Couldn't the others have at least seen what they rolled? It could have been a tie.
Xena really was going to kill Ming T'ien. What about her not killing women and children? Ming was a children!
But Lao Ma really tears into Xena…she bloodies up her face, and leaves Xena staring open faced into nothingness.
Gabbers dress sure did clean up good, despite her being in the muck.
Xena goes to the chopping block without hesitation. Does she know she's going to start doing mind tricks, or is she just
ready to die?
Check out the executioner! Xena was almost killed by Darth Maul!
Pretty cool fireballs Xena was sending!
At first, she was going to fry Ming T'ien, but he dodged her fireball. Then I guess, she decided to let him off the hook.
So when she says it's all over, I believe she's telling the truth. She was going to let him go.
She does say she's learned to clean up after herself.
I hate Ming T'ien.
Xena's delivery on "Lao Ma was your mother" gets me every time!
Xena is truly horrified by T'ien's sneering about knowing it was his mother, and killing her himself.
Xena deliberately lies to Gabrielle, although it was mainly to keep Gabrielle from preaching and whining. But still…it
was wrong. Add that to Gabrielle's betrayal at the end of part 1, and the Rift is going strong.
Gabs: I love you, Xena.
Xena: Love you too, Gabrielle.
But for how long?
And the Rift heats up big time in the next one!
What did Gary think of this one?
After Ming T'ien captures Xena,he has her thrown into the dungeon,a watery
place under his palace.Xena has a wooden yoke around her neck,so that she
cannot even reach her face with her hands. The guards put her near the edge
of the drop,and Xena jumps on her own. I believe she thought it was for
certain death;after all,her best friend had just betrayed her and she failed
in her mission "to make the Green Dragon small."
Gabby asks Ming if she can see Xena and is refused. Ming will not spare Xena
because she would just keep trying to kill him. Gabby had told him about the
attempt on his life to save "a life",and thought that Ming would let Xena go
if the Warrior Princess would promise never to try to kill him again.
Note:Xena jumps into a hole in Paradise Found and Soul Possession,too.
The prison has waist-deep water that seems to be steaming. I would have
thought it to be cold. There are rocks people can sit on,and Xena claims one
for herself. Some prisoners try to give her their clothes(she must be naked)
but she refuses.
How are the prisoners supposed to eat if they cannot reach their mouths with
any food?
Gabby tells Ming that Xena would never go back on a promise...of course she
does in later episodes.
Ming says that Xena taught him how to rule(ruthlessly) and that he was not a
monster. Later,he tells Xena that it was she who made him into the monster
he is. It reminds me of the Dirty Half-Dozen...Xena made them into
murderers,too.
Flashbacks galore: Xena walls the kid up in a small cave,but the rocks look
easy to just topple. There is good music throughout the flashbacks.
One prisoner tells Xena of Lao Ma's death.It was pretty gory,with her being
cut up while alive on a sacrificial table. The guy wondered if LM's powers were real or not,since she didn't save herself. Xena says they are real.
Xena is taught how to break a jar with mind-power. At first Xena just stomps
one,but LM does it by her own mind,and Xena wants to learn how to do it. We
never see Xena really learn this,but we see her use it at the end.
The scenes have odd angles,then are level,giving us an uneasy view of the
events.
Xena:(referrig to LM saying she is full of hate)"Everybody's gotta be full
of somethin'." Lm:Stop willing,desiring,hating...she tries to convince Xena to serve
someone she hates,to build some kind of character...the one to serve is Ming
T'su. In this way,LM is giving Xena a chance to live.
The meal scene was good,where Xena is a serving-ghirl. Ming does not notice
she is not Chinese,and makes rude comments about Xena to LM. He calls Xena a
witch,whore,and a stupid thug.
Xena has a knife and looks as if she will kill him for that.
Why doesn't the kid tell his dad that Xena is right behind him? Has he lost
all respect for him and wants him dead?
LM:To conquer yourself is to know the Way...too bad Gabby doesn't know this
in Season 4.
LM shows Xena her husband,a tyrant kept in a coma by The Pinch...she
actually rules and wants to make the kingdom a good one,even giving him the
credit.
Next,we see Gabby slap Xena in the face,screaming at her to say that she
will not try to kill Ming T'ien...Xena is silent,but has tears in her eyes.
The Green Dragon condemns Xena to death.
Xena's legs are fixed by LM,and Xena then is dressed in fine silks by LM.
They both can float in this scene.
Ming now says Gabby can see Xena in the prison. Gabby goes down there and
talks to a silent Xena. Gabby says that she does not blame Xena for hating
her. Gabby betrayed her and kept an evil tyrant in power. She thought she
was saving Xena from herself.
Xena;"Scratch my nose." Gabby breaks down and cries at this point,and the
music is nice. Gabby helps hold up the heavy yoke,and Xena tells her more of
the story.She also says she could never hate Gabby(how about The Bitter
Suite?).
Xena says LM saved her life,soul,spirit,and her entire being. Xena later
shows gratitude by betraying her.
The flying scene is good...is Xena doing it on her own,or is LM holding her
up? When Xena sees Borias,she falls and attacks him,despite LM telling her
to stop. This is Xena's defining moment...she can stop hating Borias and be
good...she chooses to stomp him.
Xena:(stomping Borias)"You always were a leg man."
LM gets them calmed down and wants a three-way alliance with
Ming,herself,and Xena and Borias. She will make Xena her "Warrior Princess."
She tells Borias that Xena is capable of profound loyalty(how about the
Gabdrag?).
Xena and Borias literally kiss and make up.
Ming comes to LM's place and demands Xena back,since she is his property.
Borias has a claim on her,and Xena says she belongs to herself. Xena
suggests a dice game...winner take all,including a body part from each of
the losers. Ming doesn't want to do it,but goes ahead anyway.
Xena wins,(surprise) and demands Ming's heart. He says no,and leaves. The
camera work was good in this scene,building up the tension.
He attempts to leave,and Xena murders him. Borias kills a guard,and now Xena
wants to kill the kid,wiping out the line. Lao Ma stops Xena and Borias by
tossing them around like rag dolls. Xena looks dead,since she is
unconscious,but with her eyes open. The alliance is finished,no doubt.
Lines from the dice game:
Ming...Xena is a worthless whore.
Xena:You got the jewels for this one?
Xena tells Gabby the Debt is for the fact that she was reborn,and she owes
LM for that.
The execution scene is good. Xena is led to the table/altar to be cut up.
Gabby tries feebly to stop it.
Xena thinks back of LM's teachings,and she is able to use kinetic powers to
throw the weapons around,and break the chains. She then fights the guards
and starts destroying the throne room. She is silent except for one
war-cry.She tosses a ball of Force,not a fireball,and everything is getting
destroyed. Ming's place is a wreck,and as all others have left,he tells Xena
that he himself killed Lao Ma,his own mother. He knew mommy would not hurt
her little boy.
Xena had started to leave twice and was kept there by Ming's talk. He gave
Xena back the hair brooch that was a gift for her from Lao Ma.Also,there is
the book of Wisdom that LM had written. He tells Xena that he is a monster
because of Xena.
Xena learns that she only had to make him lose face(make him small),and
tells Gabby this. Meanwhile,Ming is dead with the brooch stuck in his
temple. Xena had lied to Gabby as they left the palace.
The ending left me with an uneasy feeling,since Xena's love for Gabby
is contradicted by her actions in subsequent episodes.
Here are Andrew's thoughts:
Xena's fate is left in the hands of the "Green Dragon", as the flashbacks to her dark past continue. Gabrielle, meanwhile, is faced with the consequences of betraying her friend.
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XENA AND GABRIELLEGabrielle is made to look both gullible and ineffectual in her scenes with Ming T'ien. Her efforts to secure Xena's release come to nothing, and only a fool would believe that Ming T'ien would allow a potential assassin to go free. She scene where she hits Xena to try to get through to her
is particularly disturbing. Xena, for her part, totally ignores Gabrielle. This seems to be a combination of anger at her betrayal and shock at the news of Lao Ma's execution.
Xena's words to the young Ming T'ien, "I'm the scourge that your god sent to punish your people", were used by Attila the Hun when he invaded the Roman Empire. We also see her
walling up the terrified child to hide him from Borias. "Xena: Warrior Child Abuser"? Somehow, it just doesn't have the same ring to it...
It's clear from their scenes together that Xena loves Lao Ma, and I think it more than likely that she was in love with her. I commented on the chemistry between them in my earlier review and it's even more evident here, especially in the "air dancing" scene.
Xena nevertheless blows her chance of redemption by killing Ming Tzu and trying to kill Ming T'ien. Only years later would Lao Ma's message come back to haunt her, presumably between the events of THE WARRIOR PRINCESS and THE GAUNTLET.
The reconciliation between Xena and Gabrielle in the dungeon is one of the most touching scenes in any XWP episode. Xena's simple request, "Scratch my nose, will you?" defuses all the anger and resentment between them. Sadly, her declaration to Gabrielle that "I didn't hate you, I never could" will be proved false by the middle of the season.
Xena manages to harness Lao Ma's power to free herself and partially demolish Ming T'ien's palace. Gabrielle is clearly still worried that her friend intends to go through with his murder, but Xena has finally realised what Lao Ma's message actually meant - that the Green Dragon must be "made small" by publicly humiliating him. The loss of face suffered will ensure that Ming T'ien's people will no longer follow him.
Xena is horrified to learn that Ming T'ien killed Lao Ma personally, and the revelation that he knew she was his mother is too much for the Warrior Princess. She kills him with Lao Ma's hairpin and lies to Gabrielle to make her friend think she spared his life, another disturbing development in their relationship.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONSMing T'ien is actually grateful to Xena for teaching him the value of terror. She turned him into a monster, just as she did with Callisto. It's worth noting that Xena's few surviving victims all seem to have been left emotionally crippled (see also Thalassa in LOCKED UP AND TIED DOWN).
Ming Tzu calls Xena a "stupid thug", a very fair description of her at the time and almost identical to my own words in the previous review.
Lao Ma has many skills! She can shatter a vase with a thought, and heals Xena's legs in a matter of moments. She also keeps her "brutal tyrant" of a husband in a coma, then does all her good work in his name. She also intends Xena to be her "Warrior Princess", working with Borias to keep the peace.
The "air dancing" scene is beautifully choreographed.
Note the red weal around Xena's neck after her wooden collar is removed - a nice touch.
LITTLE PROBLEMS
The collar Xena wears is based on that used for convicts in ancient China but is much too large, presumably to hide her nakedness. Also, the impact of her hitting the water wearing it should have snapped her neck.
Xena tells Gabrielle that Lao Ma "saved my soul, my spirit, my entire being", but it took the best part of a decade for her to even begin to change. In the meantime, as we shall see in later episodes, Xena committed some of her worst crimes.
Why does Lao Ma allow Xena to set the stakes in their game? It's clear she's up to something, yet Lao Ma doesn't intervene until after Xena kills Ming Tzu and threatens Ming T'ien. Did Lao Ma want Ming Tzu dead, hoping to rule her son's kingdom as regent? We'll never know.
If Lao Ma could have such a profound impact on Xena, why couldn't she do anything to change Ming T'ien's nature? Even if she couldn't reform him, she could have put him in a coma as she did with Lao Tzu.
Despite her having been knee-high in presumably filthy water, Gabrielle's dress dries out instantly and doesn't have a stain on it!
If Xena can free herself and cause Ming T'ien to lose face, thus destroying his power, why didn't Lao Ma do the same instead of letting him kill her? This one question undermines the premise for the entire story!
The revelation that Ming T'ien murdered Lao Ma knowing she wouldn't harm him is a cheap device to justify his death at Xena's hands. She misinterpreted Lao Ma's message as a request to kill him, causing the "mini-Rift" between her and Gabrielle, so something had to be done to put Xena in the right.
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As with Part 1, this is a deeply flawed episode. There was no reason for Lao Ma to die at Ming T'ien's hands, so why did she do it? Simply to justify a two-part story and further undermine the Xena-Gabrielle relationship, it would seem. Change for change's sake is never a good thing, something Rob Tapert and R. J. Stewart forgot when they embarked on the Rift Arc.
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