Well, our duo definitely made it to India.
This one isn't too bad, but it certainly isn't among my favorite episodes What's up with the bad voiceovers of Xena and Gabrielle at the beginning? Xena says, "Don't get me wrong, the gods know I've done stranger things, but yoga's just not me." Uh…she's done stranger things? Care to elaborate, Xena? And Eli makes his first appearance in this one. He's a street magician. When Eli asks for a skeptic, Gabs pushes Xena forward. She puts on a bit of a show as she goes up on stage. TPTB are faithful to Indian lore. It's common for the rope climber to take food from someone at an upper story. I learned this on the History Channel. Even Xena seems amazed. Why were Xena's bangs bad in If the Shoe Fits and this one, but not in Paradise Found? Gabs and Xena seem to know when Eli's act is over, and something's gone wrong. How? Xena wraps Mya up in the whip, then unwraps her like a top. But then Mya had a jinn thing going. So Xena goes to the helicopter kick. "Abba, help me!" That's Eli. Mya has a speeded up conniption fit. I bet it looked just as silly in regular time. I still haven't quite figured out how the people came to the conclusion that Gabs was a Devi. Xena's been kinda quiet during all this, and now she just focuses on getting Eli out of there. Chris Manheim wrote both this episode and Paradise Found. Eli asks Xena if Gabs is a Devi, and Xena quips, "not the last time I looked." Then he asks how Gabs healed Mya. "I don't know," Xena husks. Her voice is hoarse. Xena's eyelids are sooo heavy…is she being hypnotized? I thought it was like against the law to show someone being hypnotized on TV. Gabrielle got leid by the Indian people! Heh heh. So is Xena unhypnotizable? Is that a word? Eli has some sort of healing power. In response to Gabs' backrub, Xena groans, "Oh yeah, that's great. Maybe you are a Devi after all." Xena's smiling during it, but it fades. You gotta feel sorry for Gabs. Once again, she's up against something she doesn't deserve. Xena's very smart. "Sometimes you can't tell a good spirit from a bad one." That is SO true. Xena looks a little alarmed by Gabs' power to control life and death. Don't blame her. Xena sure meditates a lot in India. Why is she staring out the open window? Love Gabs "Who are you and what have you done with Xena?" To which Xena responds "Ha ha." Does Gabs really believe those people would have forgotten about her? She's eating up their cheers! Xena throws her dagger and pins Eli to the temple wall. Eli certainly isn't very brave. But Xena seems to like him from the beginning. "Where did the bodyguards go?" I think it's supposed to be easy to see, but I usually have to rewind to see their disappearance. Eli gets freaked out by Gabs! Those dogs look mean! But they aren't very bright! This one reminds me of Raiders of the Lost Ark with the chase scene through the city. Xena looks sick when Eli begs Gabs to save him. How did Gabs know she didn't heal him? The temple was evil incarnate? Eli says about Tataka, "She's a real gem…she's a real pearl." Who would say that in real life? Gabs is not right when she's all decked out. That's obvious! She sounds so haughty and not like herself at all. Then later, the voice of Gabrielle will slip out. Xena would NOT drop the Holy Water. Maybe it WAS a test…cause Gabs sure tried the water out and it's obvious Xena has her doubts. Or is it just a trick to get Tataka/Gabs to trust her? Xena doesn't like it when Gabs tears up. "No, no, don't cry. Don't cry now. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." When Xena is fighting Ravi, the floor moves under them. Xena winces in sympathy when Eli is thrown off the platform. He scrambles right back though. Love Eli's "What?" when Xena tells him that he's the Devi. Just saying Tataka's name invites the demon out to play. I know she was supposed to be Tataka, but I think Renee overacted during this one. Tataka's nose really bothers me too. The quill is from a barred-rock Cochin…I know this cause I used to raise them! Xean silently jumps up to the balcony. "An exorcism? Really, Xena, now don't you think that's the pot calling the kettle-" That had to hurt! "You want me out? You're going to have to kill this sweet young body to do it." Then…"This firm young body? Fat chance!" She gives Xena a big lick up the side of her face. Tataka kicks her ass for a while! Xena looks up annoyed when Tataka knocks her on her back on the bed of nails. That lick was caustic! She gives another helicopter kick. That's three in two episodes. The pinch works on Tataka. Tataka has pierced ears. Did Gabs feel as stupid as Mya when she was having the coniption fit? Eli's look of amazement at the exorcisim is great. Xena's crying as she cradles Gabs and kisses her forehead. Where did the elephant come from? Did they ship one into New Zealand? Gabs is searching for God. Eli shakes hands with Gabs. He starts to shake with Xena, but they end up hugging. Then he walks away into a fake backdrop. This is the second of the four episode India arc. It's all downhill from here!
Let's see what Gary says about Devi:
Xena and Gabby arrive in India at a village where there is a lot going on.
We see jugglers, a guy on a nail bed, and yoga being done. We do not see an
elephant until the final scene, which should have been there early, to set
the stage better.
Gabby says "India is so different" in three ways...it was a bit redundant.
She tells Xena that she does yoga every day....when were we ever told or
shown this? This is another inconsistency in the writing.
Enter Eli: I never liked this guy, and in Season 5, he was a real pain.
He is a magician, and for an illusion, he has the rope trick. He throws the
rope in the air and it stands up straight. Gabby pushes Xena at the guy to
check to see if the rope is for real. Xena cuts it with her sword, but it
still stays up. She is confused, and she actually is enjoying the trick.
Eli's assistant, Maya, then climbs the rope, stopping for a few grapes
handed to her by a girl. This was a good scene because it looked as if the
girl had seen the trick a lot of times before.
Eli has the woman disappear, and when he calls her back, she drops in pieces
to the ground. It really looks fake, because of the lightness of the pieces
and the fact that there was no gushing blood.
Eli opens the basket where he put the parts and Maya comes out with a wild
look in her eyes. Eli knows this is bad, and tells everyone it isn't a trick.
Maya grabs swords and whirls them around, scaring everyone.
Xena jumps on the stage and fights Maya, finally knocking her down. Maya
looked like a food processor with the cutting up of a thrown watermelon.
Gabby joins Xena as Maya thrashes around, and the evil spirit within leaves
Maya, circling around and seeming to go into Gabby. Nobody, even Xena, seems
to notice this. Maya is okay, and Gabby is cursed by the priest because if
Gabby sent the spirit away, she is suspected of being bad herself. Xena
scoffs at this. The people call Gabby a Devi...note....it is not THE Devi,
so there must be a lot of them. They heal people and Gabby doesn't believe
she drove the spirit out.
The crowd doesn't like Eli, so Xena takes him away. Meanwhile, Gabby is left
alone with a pawing crowd saying "she's s Devi!"
The temple: Eli wants to know how Gabby did it, and tries to hypnotize Xena,
but she pretends for a second, then tells him to stop trying. She is not
convinced Gabby did anything.
At the marketplace, A guy gets the sight back in his bad eye, and thanks
Gabby, calling her a Devi, and saying, "my sword for you, Devi." Two other
guys do the same thing. Gabby looks confused , but happy.
The priest suspects that Gabby is possessed.
Eli says as a child, he thought he could cure people. This is one subtle
hint that HE is the Devi.
Gabby rubs Xena's shoulders and says that "maybe I am" a Devi. She says
something happened to her..."I healed." She says all she ever dreamed about
is healing people. Wait: what about wanting to be a bard and a warrior?
Next morning: Xena tells Gabby that she wants to do some yoga. Gabby laughs
at that, saying "who are you and what have you done with Xena?" She thinks
her fame has gone, but sees the crowd down below calling her name. Gabby
looks great with her long hair and smile.
Temple: Xena arrives to see that the priest was hanged and that Eli is
there. He denies he did it, and there is no way the guy could have committed
suicide.
Marketplace; Gabby is surrounded by adoring people and her three protectors.
Then, Eli is chased by a pack of wild-looking dogs in a long chase that Xena
joins thru the alleyways. These mutts look as if they have pig snouts and
huge fangs. When Xena and Eli get to the square, Eli bumps into Gabby,
knocking pearls from her hand. Gabby: My pearls!
This is the first time I ever saw Gabby wanting material things. Eli begs
Gabby to save him, and he floats in the air, lands and says he is cured. We
never know how this was done. The crowd doesn't seem too agitated by this,
either. Gabby still says she did nothing.
Eli gets the holy water, telling Xena it can drive away an evil spirit. He
says a priest or exorcist can use it...he is neither. Xena sees a mural of a
blonde woman wearing pearls. It is Tataka, the evil spirit, Eli says. It
looks just like Gabby. Xena is not getting the hint.
Wouldn't a blonde be rare in India, so that Gabby alone would be noticed by
the crowd?
Meanwhile, there is some neat music and Xena looks to see Gabby dressed in
fine clothes wearing a lot of pearls and a crown. Gabby looked really
beautiful that way. Tataka does deceptive good works at first, to set up the
people for later death.
Later, Gabby says the outfit and pearls are a bit much. He hair is
flat-braided close to her head...not very nice-looking. "I'm still me!"
Xena holds out the holy water, and Gabby is outraged that Xena doesn't trust
her. She grabs the water and sprinkles it on herself as Xena says that a
priest or exorcist has to do it. Gabby is consoled by Xena, who is almost
made to believe that Gabby is not possessed.
Temple: The bodyguard, Ravi, attacks Eli. Xena fights the guy and he is
tough. Eli sort of stands around after getting hit a few times. Xena tells
him to toss the water on Ravi. He does, and the guy's skin smokes,
disabling him.
NOTE: this cannot happen. As said, even if Eli is a Devi, he is not a priest
or exorcist, so nothing should have happened to Ravi. Xena says Eli is the
Devi. What spirit is in Ravi?
Xena later says Eli is hurt and needs healing. Gabby is called Tataka by
Xena and Gabby admit it. Later, Eli runs off and Xena stops him. How did
she catch up when he had such a head start, and how did she know which
direction to go? Xena wants Eli to save Gabby...she needs an exorcism. She will not kill her friend. Eli tells her that he needs an icon from Gabby. Xena takes a quill
from the Gab-bag. Gabby is in the square, wearing a lot of scary makeup. Her
gang is there and she wants Xena and Eli dead.
Big fight scene: This was well-done, and it showed how good Renee is at
kickboxing. She fights Xena after knocking the holy water from Xena's hand.
Gabby looks slinky in her yellow outfit, and she undulates like the snake
she sees.
Tataka: "You have to kill this great little body to do it". She rubs her
hands over her breasts as she looks at Xena.
She then grinds her feet in hot coals, and Xena, to protect her, tosses the
Chakram and knocks water on the fire. Next, the "firm strong body" of Gabby
fights with her feet and fists, really pounding Xena. She laps Xena's face
and leaves a big red mark that seemed to burn Xena.
Xena is knocked onto a bed of nails, face-down, as Tataka jumps down on her
over and over. When Xena tosses her off and gets up, she has no puncture
marks. There should have been some. Gabby is in her snaky pose, and Xena
knocks her down. Xena holds her sword on her and Gabby cries, pretending to
be okay, but it is a trick. Gabby attacks Eli, as Xena knocks her down and
puts the Pinch on her. Gabby/Tataka struggles as Eli does the exorcism.
Tataka is forced out and flies off, presumably to invade someone else. Eli
called on "Abba" to help him...I don't think he meant the old singing group.
Xena releases the Pinch and Gabby is again herself. She looks stunned as she
looks at Xena.
At the end, Eli is leaving. Xena is in her same outfit, but Gabby is wearing
a yellow outfit. Gabby says there must be a stronger power out there. How
does she know this? Eli does not think he is alone anymore and goes off.
This ep was okay except for the questions asked above. Ravi was a mistake to
use the water on, and the writing suffers even more as the series progresses.
This is the first of the India Arc episodes, and it was pretty much formula,
with Gabby being invaded by yet another evil spirit. We will see more of
this in future shows.