This is without a doubt one of my favorite episodes from fourth season, for a myriad of reasons.
That was one big cut Xena had on her leg! However, it didn't look real…usually the makeup people do a better job. Gabrielle is insistent that Xena smiled during the fight in which she earned the cut. But Xena insists, "I winced…he was big." Gabs continues to push the smiling issue until Xena was irritated. She tells Gabs, "You've got hands like a sailor." Then she admits about the fight, "It was a thing of beauty, wasn't it?" Xena admits that she doesn't know if her fighting for good is a cover for something darker. And there comes the vision again…they're getting a lot of mileage out of this footage. Xena waits…oh…about five seconds, then takes off after Gabs. And within that five seconds, Gabs has already disappeared. So are we to believe that Gabs just fell into a hole? Xena's got a lot of guts to just jump in the hole after Gabbers! And then asks, "Yeah, what is it with you and holes, anyway?" The music from Illusia in The Bitter Suite is playing. No wonder the place reminds them of Illusia! Gar has Autolycus's "blinky" sound effect. Hey, was he the guy who called Autolycus Blinky? It's hard to believe Aiden is played by the same guy from A Fistful of Dinars. Xena is Miss Skeptical pretty well from the beginning. When Aiden shakes hands with Xena, he looks down at her hand like he senses something's amiss. Then he turns his charms pointedly to Gabrielle. Aiden talks a lot, but he doesn't say much. Warm bath?-Smack. Xena doesn't have much of a choice. "Gabrielle"…comes the growl. The bathtub looks heavenly. Xena says, "And Aiden is no Lao Ma". That's for sure! She really gets into Gabs massage with an open-mouthed smile. Xena tries to douse the floaty candles. "That's mighty big of you Xena." When Gabs says that, it reminds me of the same line in You Are There. "Lt. Gar, reporting as ordered with clothes…Sir?" Sir? Xena repeats it with a raised eyebrow. Speculate away! If you read scroll 23, you'll see I have my own theory. Renee is in awesome shape! She looks great in harem pants. What's up with Xena? Is she doing yoga? The stuff Aiden and Gabs are doing is poetic in motion. Xena seems to be all peaceful, and suddenly goes bonkers. She looks awesome fighting invisible enemies! Why does she keep missing the turtle? That helicopter kick is cool! Xena comes down looking like a caveman. How do the makeup people do that? She screeches out, "Shut up", and all of nature does! Aiden and Gabs make a striking couple. Xena gets tears in her eyes before Gabs does. The tears are dripping off Xena's face. Aiden knew she was there the whole time. That ying yang bed is gorgeous! Great touch! Both Xena and Gabs are staying away from the dark side of it. Gabs gown perfectly follows the curve of the white half of the bed. Xena is doing enthusiastic sit-ups. "Oh Zeus, you don't really like the guy. That's it, you like him! I should have known." Xena sounds more than a little jealous. In regards to Hope, Xena tells Gabs, "You did the only thing you could do. There wasn't a choice." My, how time changes things! And she can't get into Aiden's philosophy because, "Well, apparently my mind is just too active." But Gabs won't give up. "I wish you could see how right this feels for me…how free." So Xena gives in to another day. She says, "I guess it won't kill me." It nearly does! Xena is ecstatic to see the painful gash on her leg. How ironic! Which is still very fake, I might add. Then she gets pissed when it disappears again. Despite the darkness of that scene, or perhaps because of it, her eyes look so beautifully blue. Xena looks unbelievably dark in the bath this time. Nice shadowing! Did Gabs wonder why Xena didn't look at her once while she was in the bath? Xena hallucinates crunching Gabs' hand. Ouch! They put very dark lipstick on Xena. The pat on Gabs' hand should have been a clue to Gabs too. Gabs asks, "Are you sure you're okay?"
There are scenes mostly with Aiden and Gabby, Gabby and Xena, and the least
with Xena and Aiden.
The opening scene: It has to be written in chronological order, and scenes
and back-stories and Xena's visions are mixed.
There is a storm. The girls are soaking wet, and Gabby is wrapped in a fur
while her clothes dry. Xena's clothes seem dry, despite her hair being wet.
Xena has a wound on her left leg, and Gabby tries to help her sew it up, but
Xena pushes her away, saying Gabby's hands are rough as a sailor's.
Xena mentions Gabby's spiritual quest on their way to India. Gabby says the
mountains they are in is a sacred place according to some legend.
Gabby says over and over that Xena's recent fight with robbers was something
that Xena enjoyed..."you smiled." Xena denies this. Gabby says maybe it is
more about fighting than fighting for the good.
Gabby says why not reach in instead of out for meaning.
Xena has the Crucifixion flash-forward. Gabby asks her if they are in
control of their own destiny, as Xena always says.
There is a noise in the cave. Gabby gets a torch to check it out...Xena
tries to get up but her leg is stiff. Gabby is gone for five seconds when
Xena calls her in panic. Xena now grabs a torch and looks around, seeing a
deep pit or well. She throws her torch down, assuming Gabby is dead down
there, and jumps down the hole, screaming 'Gabrielle!"
Did she give up hope and want to die because she thought Gabby died?
The girls awaken in a beautiful garden, with birds, a turtle, and a
rabbit....the tortoise and the hare? There are blue stone statues there, too,
looking like humans. Gabby's hair is dry and beautiful, and Xena's wound is completely healed.
Xena: What is it with you and holes, huh? I thought that at last we'd get to know how Gabby got out of the lava pit...no. We never really will know.
There is happy music and flowers, and the girls say it reminds them of
Illusia without the kind of music that was there.
Gabby: Are we dead?
They find the gardener, a quirky old guy who tells them they are on the
estate of Aiden...that there is no "gate" he knows of. He says Aiden is
"everywhere" and to go to the house and ask Aiden why they are there.
Note: near the end of the show, the gardener tells Xena the truth about the
place...why didn't he do it at once?
The girls go to the house, and there is beautiful music. Xena says it is
nice "in that yucky, I'm in a paradise kind of way." They come to the hall of blue figures that look like people. The place is really nice, and Aiden appears, offering his hospitality. He says his place represents the ultimate inner peace.
Gabby likes him at once, and wants Xena to accept his offer of staying over
one night and for the food and drink and a hot bath. Xena reluctantly
agrees, since Aiden somehow fixed her leg wound.
Gabby is barefoot throughout this episode, and looks good that way.
Xena asks about the wound, and is told it is mind shifting matter, with
breathing and meditation. He offers to teach them, but Xena says no....she
has been breathing just fine her whole life. Gabby wants to, tho.
Bath: Gabby: This is bliss.
Lt. Gar enters to give the girls clothes....he sees the naked Xena and calls
her "sir." Gabby grins at this.
Aiden teaches Gabby the basics. Gabby is wearing harem pants and a neat
halter top and learns the inhale-exhale way; her hair is in a French braid
and looks great. Aiden seems to be really a good guy.
Aiden, about six and a half feet tall, looks good with the petite Gabby in
the exercises. He tells her that the poses can stir up bad thoughts as well
as good ones.
Meanwhile, Xena poses in the garden as Gabby and Aiden do theirs. There is
beautiful music, as in a dance. There are many complicated poses and it's a good thing Renee practiced these beforehand. The music and camera angles made it perfect.
Gabby hears about Hope in her mind, and knows she is releasing the pain and
bad feelings of the past. Aiden: Face what comes up and release it. That is how he got the power to make his estate. You must heal yourself to access your power. You can create
a perfect world by just thinking it. He produces a flower from pure thought, and Gabby marvels at it.
Aiden: This place draws the goodness from you...it brings out your core
self. the real you.
Garden: Xena practices her fighting moves, getting wilder each time.
She looks more haggard and screams for the birds to shut up...she has a
witchy voice.
Gabby and Aiden: Gabby cries in a pose, with her Hope memory as Xena watches
from a distance. Aiden sees Xena and looks a bit odd. Gabby says that she is
a monster for what she did to Hope.
Bedroom: There is a Yin-yang bed, with Gabby in white on the white side, and
the black-clad Xena doing situps on the floor while talking to Gabby.
Gabby says she wants to stay one more day...she feels clean again, as before
the Hope incident. Xena: You LIKE him! She appears jealous of Aiden now.
Gabby says not in that way...she is reaching for the stillness and wants to
release the pain. Xena again compares Aiden to Lao Ma...
Gabby says she has come to terms with herself as a mother...her failure with
Hope. She feels clear and light. There are truly beautiful lights and shadows on Xena's face as an object moves against the light. Gabby feels light and free. Xena agrees to one more day there.
The best scene for me is when Xena meditates on her own and makes the wound
appear...she now knows that they are under a spell. The music and light and
shadows could not have been done better.
Gabby poses as Aiden talks. He is glad she is releasing her pain and guilt.
He says the longer she stays there, the better it gets. He tells Gabby about Xena's dark side, and Xena will get a change in her appearance, get nosebleeds, and become delusional. Gabby says she will help Xena so it won't happen.
Bath: Xena is soaking and Gabby enters the room. Gabby tries to get Xena to
try the poses, but Xena says no, and grabs Gabby's hand, crushing it. Gabby
screams, and then the scene is back to when Gabby came in. Xena imagined it
all. Gabby asks if Xena is okay, and Xena says yes.
There is a great shot of Gabby with a halo from the round window as she
leaves.
Xena almost puts the Pinch on Aiden as she asks him what is going on.
He tells her the truth...her dark half will appear more the longer she stays
there...she may hurt or kill Gabby later. In her mind, Xena sees a scene
where she punches Gabby . Aiden says death will stop the delusions, but real
life is a danger to Gabby. Xena cries and knows she will have to leave to
save Gabby. She says she will never hurt Gabby.
Bedroom: Xena is writing...a rare thing for us to see. Is this a goodbye
note? The nosebleeds start. Gabby enters and her back is hurting from the
poses. Xena will give her a massage to relieve the pain. Gabby lies down on
her stomach as Xena undoes the halter top and rubs her back, plus almost
everything else. During this, Xena's nose bleeds and she sees four scenes of
the Crucifixion, by now a monotonous thing, and in the final scene, it is
Xena holding the hammer nailing Gabby's feet to the cross.
Gabby is asleep, and Xena says "goodbye, Gabrielle" as she did in Crusader
when she left Gabby to yet another savior-to-be.
In the garden, Xena is more feral. She calls for Gar and calls him Piggy.
She sounds awful, and when she finds him, he finally tells Xena what is
really going on. The military medallion Xena saw meant that the statues were
real men, and Gar says nothing happened to them...they were just allowed to
go for the peace and stillness and died for it, turning to stone. He says
Aiden leeches out the goodness to make himself stronger. Without evil to
keep it inside, they died. Xena makes a quick plan with him that took about three seconds.
Aiden says Gabby is very powerful. Gabby is on her stomach with her hands
grabbing her legs. Xena arrives, buck-toothed, looking like a witch.
She had just killed a lot of birds and the rabbit with the Chakram.
Aiden sits atop Gabby's feet as Xena arrives. He says Gabby is under too
deeply and he will drain her completely. Xena throws the Chakram at him, but
he stops it with his mind.
I counted fourteen times that Aiden tossed Xena onto the rock floor and
against the walls...she does not die or appear hurt. Xena screams an
incoherent "Gabrielle!" into Gabby's ear, but Gabby does not notice.
Gabby is turning to stone as they fight near her. Aiden, a bit drained from
tossing Xena around, lands on Gabby's feet in a great scene. He gets more
power from her as she turns bluer with each second.
Gar comes in and Xena picks him up and is going to throw him onto her
upturned sword. Gabby finally snaps out of it and screams NO...she is now
okay and is her normal color.
Xena kicks the sword at Aiden and kills him, while dropping Gar. It was a
ruse to make Gabby stop Xena. Xena knew Gabby would not let Xena kill an
innocent man. As Aiden dies, the whole scene melts, and Gar and the girls are back in the
cave, if they were ever out of it. Gar now knows he can go home to his wife
and kids.
A naked Gabby hides behind a nervously-smiling Xena, as Gar talks and
leaves. Xena didn't mind having Gar see herself naked, but not Gabby.
Gabby says we embrace our demons to fight evil. Xena confirms that she used
Gar to get a rise out of Gabby and kill Aiden. Gabby says Xena's darkness saved them...they needed it. She asks if she really has hands like a sailor...Xena does not answer.
This episode had it all for me...economy of scenes and a simple plot....good
versus evil, with a fine cast. Unfortunately, this is the last of the truly
great eps for me.
This is my favorite episode for many reasons. First, it has an economy of
characters, beautiful and interesting scenes, and a truly simple plot. The
character of Aiden, played by Jeremy Roberts, who was in A Fistful of
Dinars, was brilliantly-played in his scenes with Gabby. He had fewer scenes
with Xena, and none with the man, Lt. Gar, who is the "gardener" at Aiden's
estate.
Xena complains that she is "prunin'" and wants out, but Gabby rubs her
shoulders to calm her down. Xena says Aiden is not like Lao Ma with the
inner peace thing. Gabby says she wants to learn the technique with Aiden.