A Family Affair
This emotional journey is quite possibly my favorite fourth season episode.
Joxer's love for Gabs is sincere. He's bringing her flowers.
Did Xena climb down in the lava pit without a rope?
Where did all the kids in Potodeia come from?
Xena's hurt look when she realizes Xena isn't running the puppet show always gets me!
Her reaction when she "senses" Gabs is cool! Sorta like the way she reacts to Ares.
Xena's look is more emotional. She seems shocked, but Gabrielle doesn't seem surprised.
Then the mutual looks of joy break forth.
Gabs is happy to see Joxer, but way more happy to see Xena.
Xena grabs her and hangs on like she's never going to let go.
Don't you think Xena would have noticed the hanging body sooner?
Herodotus says, "Xena…we wondered when you'd get here."
Xena's cold response is, "Hello…nice to see you too."
Joxer is actually appearing all dashing.
But he still isn't that bright. "You know, any sister of Gabrielle's is a part of her family."
Gabs's dad accuses Xena of seducing Gabs away with heroics and filling her head with strange ideas.
Xena doesn't look too comfortable around Pop.
Gabs asks, "Are you giving up? Of course not. You never give up on anything, not matter what the odds, the cost or the pain." Xena gives her a look after that.
Gabs says, "I missed you, Xena."
Xena replies with "Backatcha."
Xena finds Dinsdale to be a formidable opponent.
NOTE: Dinsdale refers to Hope and Ares' child. I don't remember where I learned that was his name, but it is.
Xena tells him, "You shouldn't play with your food!"
But she looks nervous when he's attacking.
She and Gabs run the same distance from the barn to the house, but Xena is a lot wetter.
You just know Dinsdale is going to attack one more time!
Xena figured out it was hope because the monster just blew past her.
She gets tough with Joxer. She wanted to believe it was Gabs too, because she is good.
Does that mean Hope is a good actress? I never quite figured that one out!
Xena's sword polishing reminds me of something else.
Why would Ares release Gabrielle's debt? Stupid!
Xena's full of regret when she admits to Joxer she didn't hurt the creature.
Pretty clever getting Joxer to "calculate the flocks."
Xena: Think you can handle it?
Joxer: Yeah.
Hecuba seems to understand Gabs' wanting to travel with Xena.
But Herodotus wants to tell Gabs what a mistake she's making.
Xena just walks into the house without knocking.
Xena sounds so silly telling Gabs and Lila they walk fast!
It's a good thing Xena was there though!
Lila has monkey ears!
Loving Dinsdale can be painful, and dangerous.
Junior's cry sounds so forlorn.
There is some very cool photography with the two Gabs in the woods.
Xena and Gabs' reunion is SO good.
They are both literally sobbing.
How did Xena know for sure it was Gabs? By her expression?
They were clinging to each other tightly…very touching.
I love it when Xena gives Gabs' hand a long kiss.
Gabs is sniffing, and Xena has big ol' tears.
When Xena comes to talk to the folks, she lays her sword down.
Why didn't Gabs parents or Lila hear the sound of the swords floating? It was clearly audible.
And especially, why didn't they see the swords hovering around?
Gabs looks so sad watching her mom from the barn.
What was Hecuba crying about?
When Gabs and Lila were kids, they got lost in the snow. Gabs gave Lila her Solstice rag doll since Lila kept moving.
It's funny hearing Gabs, "Mom and Dad."
Hope appears in the mirror and Gabs doesn't. How does that work?
Poor Lila has to be so confused!
There's an excellent shot of Xena jumping from the background, flipping over Joxer, and landing in front of Joxer.
She throws the chakram, and it sticks in a tree, rather than returning to her.
Then she does a Fonzie move to get it free.
Xena tells Joxer to warn the villagers. "Now go!" he takes off like a shot with the sound effect to prove it.
Great dialogue here:
Gabs: Why aren't you dead?
Hope: Well, it's not for your lack of trying now, is it?
Gabs: I loved you, Hope, I just had to stop you.
Hope: For Xena?
Hope is more than a little jealous.
Love Xena's "Bite me!" against Dinsdale.
Gabs has a lot of courage approaching her grandson.
What a way for Hope to go…on the spike of her own kid!
Gabs and Xena are both actually said to see Hope and child die.
Xena tried to break free from the cycle of violence and hatred? When?
Gabs is Xena's way. And that's a beautiful sentiment.
Gabs puts her arm around Xena and lays her head on Xena's shoulder, for a nice ending.
This episode is bittersweet, but ends on a positive note.
And here’s Gary’s review:
This episode follows the first two of Season 4, and finally has Gabby in it,
but way too much more. Return of Gabby, Hope, and a monster, with a
disappointing non-explanation of what should have been the best show ever.
It opens with a man in the woods at night with his dog. The dog is killed
and the man is later dragged to his death, too, by a shadowy creature.
Meanwhile, we see Joxer tossing daisies, Gabby's favorite flowers, into the
lava shaft Gabby went down with Hope. Joxer yells as Xena's hand grabs
his...it reminded me of the final scene from CARRIE where the dead hand
grabbed the girl.
Xena crawls out of the shaft and goes to drink water because it is so hot
down there. She never took any water with her, or even a rope. She says she
had a vision beforehand (with Alti) and what she saw in the shaft convinced
her Gabby was still alive. "I couldn't be sure until now."
Exactly WHAT did she see? Footprints? A scrawled message? We NEVER know.
Joxer says "nobody could survive that(the fall)...and besides, there's the
lava." For once, the "idiot" has it right.
Moving on, Xena and Joxer go to Potodeia, where Xena knows Gabby must have
gone. They are at a festival, and there are a lot of pinwheels, items we see
thru the whole show, but we are never told how they figure in. They are also
blended later with the windmill at Gabby's house.
Xena sees Gabby (really Hope, as it turns out) and an unrealistic reunion
takes place. Gabby kisses Joxer and says she missed him, too. He faints.
Xena looks happy, not stunned or overjoyed.
Xena: "I thought I lost you forever."
Gabby: "You nearly did." Gabby/Hope says she got knocked into a niche in the
wall...we saw her fall at least a hundred feet, so even if that were true,
that kind of fall would result in at least broken bones or burns or bruises.
Nothing there at all.
Xena says she senses danger...Hope, we will now call her, says there
is...Joxer runs over and tells the girls to come and see the problem. Hope
says, in a soft voice, that it is the first death of a man...usually animals
are killed by some THING raiding the area.
Note; A giveaway that it is Hope, is that she now walks with her arms stiff
at her side...she did not do that in Sacrifice.
Xena is introduced to Gabby's mom and dad...Hecuba and Herodotus. Joxer
meets Lilla, too, and the girl seems to like him. Did Xena meet Lilla
before?
Alone with Xena, dad scorns her for corrupting Gabby and luring her away
from her family. She is changed forever, he says.
That night, the girls set a trap with some fresh-killed meat in the barn.
Hope and Xena (Xena still does not know it is Hope) wait until almost dawn
for the monster. It does show up and knocks Xena's Chakram to the ceiling
beam, then does the same to her sword. She sees that it went right by Gabby
and now knows it is the Destroyer and that it IS Hope. Xena is able to drive
the critter away with the lantern light, and the girls run to the house
where everybody is up, including Joxer. Xena bars the door and windows as
everybody else stands around...Joxer never draws his sword, and Herodatus, a
former warrior, never helps. I believe that it is Hope who holds everyone
passive, allowing the monster to kill Xena. Daylight finally drives the beast away. Xena tells Hope that she wounded it...Hope looks concerned, and mom and Lilla bind a wound on her knee. Hope just looked irritated at that.
In the kitchen, Xena convinces Joxer it is Hope and the Destroyer is her
"child." He scoffs at this, but Xena bullies him into believing it. He knows
that Hope must die...(again, no doubt.) Xena says to protect the family, they must play along and make Hope think she is still Gabby...Joxer says that "it must have been Hope you saw in the vision after all." How does he know that?
Lilla tells Hope that Xena will kill the monster. Hope looks ticked off at
that. There is a pinwheel on the windowsill...Lilla is told by Hope that
when the monster is dead, she will leave with Xena, so why don't they spend
some time together?
WAIT! Are they seriously going out alone with a killer-beast around? Who
knows its habits? Also, the "picnic" they walk to has no food basket. Lilla
is a bit dizzy here, hearing Hope say there will be plenty of food...for the
Destroyer....raw Lilla.
Xena catches up with them, and Hope changes direction, coming to a ruined
bridge. She was going to take Lilla to the cave. Hope goes out on it, makes a
face with her telekinesis, and the bridge partially falls. She calls for
Lilla's help...the girl goes to her and Hope pulls her to the edge, and Hope
is now on the land-side. Xena grabs Lilla's hand while Hope says, "I'll get
father."
She really goes to the cave where Junior is to see how bad he is wounded.
Xena rescues Lilla and then talks to Joxer again. He asks what about Xena
not being able to kill Hope without being killed herself, since the deal
Ares made with Gabby and the Fates.
Xena: "The deal with the Fates...Ares released that debt when he thought Hope
was dead." She says she never wounded the monster. She wanted to make Hope think so
because Hope would lead her to it.
Why is it that Xena and Joxer don't wonder if Gabby is alive, in the same
way Hope is? Xena knows from a vision, and there is that "something" she saw. I would have thought they would have sought Gabby out first.
Xena sends Joxer alone in the woods to count sheep, to keep him out of the
way. Why send a fool like him into danger? Why do the villagers leave their
herds out when the monster is loose?
Joxer falls asleep counting the sheep.
In the monster-cave, Hope talks in a soothing voice to her boy. He tries to
hug her, but he is covered with spikes. He does gash her right leg as she
checks him for wounds. She realizes that Xena knows the truth, that Xena is
using her to get to Junior, and says "good."
She leaves the cave, stiff-armed. Joxer awakens and sees Hope. He draws his
sword. Xena sees her, too and runs, sword in hand for the kill.
When we were treated to the woods-scene, we see Joxer running to Hope and
Xena comes at her from the front. This was a Silence of the Lambs type
scene, where two scenes go on at the same time, where Joxer attacks Hope and
Xena attacks Gabby. We only know this, because, being a former fan club
member, I read it in Liz Friedman's interview. Clever, she thinks, but the
joke only works when we are let in on it. The show never told us it was two
scenes, and if you watch carefully, Hope has the monster's scratch on her leg
in some scenes, walking, and none in other scenes...it is hard to see, but
the one without the wound is Gabby.
This was too clever, and I feel it didn't work. We see Joxer slam into a
tree, with the accompanying telekinesis noise by Hope. He fainted and passed
out counting sheep, so why shouldn't we believe this was ONLY ONE SCENE?
Besides, the girls usually step over him when he is knocked out. As far as
the viewer is concerned, this was one continuous scene...nothing else told
us differently. There could have been an airborne shot of the two scenes,
and THAT would have made us see, but NO.
The next scene: The reunion with Xena and Gabby. It was touching, with a lot
of hugging, kissing, and crying...nothing likes the reunion in the market
place. Why didn't Xena act this way before?
Xena: "What happened?"...Really, we'd ALL like to know. We waited months for
this episode, and didn't see Gabby in either Sin Trades.
Gabby: I don't remember much. I remember falling, the rocks, and the fire. Hope
was screaming when she died. I blacked out. I woke up in a hospice and tried
to get messages to you. I was there a long time.
WHAT hospice? It had to be nearby, since she showed no signs of dust or
travel-wear. We saw her walking thru the woods unharmed, no scars, no broken
bones, her clothes and hair are as nice as usual...not even a limp from the
fall.
How did she get out? A tunnel? How could she survive without water? Xena
needed water for the short time she went into the pit. Liz Friedman says
Gabby "could have" crawled out of a side-tunnel. Even Liz admits RenPics had
no explanation.
Who was supposed to deliver a message to Xena?
Who took care of Gabby? Also, if Xena thought that there was a chance of
Gabby surviving, she would have gotten ropes and water and gone down the
shaft prepared for a rescue...anyone would have, to save such a close
friend.
Gabby knows that Hope is alive. She also isn't so sure that she herself
really survived. Why that line? Are we supposed to think she is a spirit? It
was a throwaway line.
Joxer wakes up tied above the ground from a tree limb. Hope says he is
Junior's supper, and goes back to the farm.
Xena and Gabby go to the farm then, too. Xena says Hope will not kill anyone
because Xena is there. Gabby says she DOES NOT know that.
Inside, Xena, without Gabby, who is hiding in the barn, is accused by a
bruised Hope. Mom and Dad kick Xena out, telling her never to return. Hope,
with her mind-powers, holds swords at the family's backs, forcing Xena to go.
Hope says Joxer is out in the woods alone, and Xena runs to save him. The
Chakram cuts the rope, and Xena tells him to run and warn people.
The monster sees her and chases her.
Meanwhile, Gabby sees her mother crying. She then sneaks in the house and
sees Lilla, convincing her that Hope is the imposter. A rag doll was the
memory-device for proof.
Lilla leaves to get the parents, but we never see anyone there again. Hope
magically appears in the room, and via mind-power(with the noise) closes the
door. Gabby is stunned. Gabby says "Why are you alive? I saw the fire...NO ONE survives that." Hope: “No one but ME." She says Dahak's flame saved her by stopping her fall.
Gabby says she did love Hope, but had to stop her for the world's good. Hope
holds the rag doll in a human manner. Gabby leaps out the window and heads
for the barn. Hope says, "Bye-bye, MOMMY." Just like in Maternal Instincts.
Big fight scene.: Xena gets the monster to drive both spikes into the walls,
pinning himself. She then uses the Chakram to finish him off. Why didn't she
use it in the woods when she had a good shot? It misses him because he
pulled out a board. Now it charges Xena and pushes her sword away. He holds
her up as Xena says, "Bite me!". Suddenly, Gabby appears, posing as Hope, saying let's do it together. The monster lets Xena go and tries to hug Gabby. It backs off at first, sensing that something is different.
Xena sticks the sword in its back and it snarls as Hope walks in. It then
spikes her thru the left shoulder, near her heart. She, while they both are
dying, looks at Gabby, and then we hear the telekinesis sound as she stares.
I thought that her spirit was then transferred to Gabby. Why else the magical sound?
Outside, Xena sits with Gabby who asks is it really ever over? Things keep
wearing a different face, but it is the same thing.
Xena says Gabby is her way...Gabby says how? She is lost herself. Xena says
they will look for the answers together. There is a nice hug scene at the end with some nice music. Renee was a standout in both roles in this episode.
We never find out how survived the fall, or if she died, who brought her
back to life. This was the turn for the worst in the show for me.
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