Livia

This episode starts out with a ferocious battle and a fierce female warrior.

Eve is all grown up now.

Livia will be Octavius's successor.

There is a thaw in the ice cave.

The sun WOULD shine directly on Xena.

Xena coulda cut Gabs in two when she was breaking the bard free of her ice coffin!

Gabs: Xena, where are we?
Xena: The baby…where's Eve?

They're at the foot of Mt. Aetna.

Xena knows it's caused by Ares. Does she sense it, or did she just figure it out?

Ares hasn't been seen in these parts since the legendary Xena died about twenty-five years ago.

Xena is in shock as she asks about a Roman big shot named Octavius.

The old lady calls Eve "the emperor's bitch, excuse my language."

Joxer and Meg have started the first Hard Rock Café.

The Chakram and the Sai.

The artwork is very primitive.

Meg gets in a great line. "Shorty, you kinda look like her. Only Gabrielle wasn't so butch."

Meg and her gastrointestinal problems are not funny.

Gabs telling Xena to lay off the starches isn't either.

Did Joxer create the restaurant to honor them or just to make some dinars?

Gabs sure perks up when she heard Eli is still around.

Xena just walks off as Gabs tries to find out more about Eli.

There are both old and new chakrams at the restaurant.

And Gabs' scrolls.

Seeing Xena and Gabs so young would have to freak Joxer out!

Meg gives one of those thick exasperated sounds when Joxer drops his tray.

Xena gives a half-grin like she's not sure what to do.

Joxer looked for them for years till Ol' Argo died.

Xena: Argo, there'll never be another like her.

Joxer never let anyone ride Argo the second.

Xena shows she's the one who belongs on her back.

"Let's see what you can do."

Gabs clears her and Joxer out of the way as Xena jumps the fence.

Did Joxer intend to give the horse to Xena?

Somehow, Joxer managed to keep Xena's saddle.

Virgil…yummy!

Xena looks kinda in shock again. "You have a son…that's great."

I thought we learned in Keys to the Kingdom that Meg couldn't have kids.

Meg and Joxer make beautiful children.

Xena tells Gabs in Rome, "the crowd's got 'him' spooked." Argo the II is a girl.

When Xena first spots Octavius, I would swear that's Gregory Peck standing behind her.

What a shocker for Xena…her daughter is the Champion of Rome.

It wasn't Octavius's fault.

He says, "She's the greatest warrior Rome has ever known…and she's going to be my wife."

Xena goes for his throat immediately.

Is it because she's mad about the marriage thing, or because SHE'S the greatest warrior Rome has ever known?

Octavius has a good point about taking care of Eve.

And he DOES love her.

Still, that has to be tough to deal with.

Xena is just looking out the window later that night. She's been crying.

She tells Gabs: It's not going to be easy. She has my darkness inside of her. She has Callisto's spirit. Those are tough odds to beat.

Gabs replies with, "Xena, she can change. Like mother, like daughter."

Gabs is quite reassuring.

Joxer's got a pretty bad cough.

Xena tells Gabs "Wish me luck…" but she's out of there before Gabs has time.

When the soldiers try to collect, Gabs just stands there with her hands on her hips.

Joxer's response? A very funny "Blow it out your ass, Tiger."

Xena isn't gone more than 30 seconds before Gabrielle is in trouble.

Joxer is pretty sad during this fight.

Finally, one of the soldiers holds a knife to his throat.

Livia and Ares are having a spirited swordfight.

Ares: Whew! You are worse than a wasp!

Ares: Give up?
Livia: I'll give you something.

They start some intense kissing, just as Xena enters the courtyard.

Xena just stares, getting more and more pissed off.

Ares responds immediately when he hears the chakram being thrown.

Then he stares, openmouthed.

Xena draws her sword, and he just walks through it.

He pulls real close, as if to kiss her.

"Kiss this," Xena hisses, and then she head butts him hard.

Livia draws her sword.

She wants to know why Ares had to kiss Xena to ID her.

Livia's being all aggressive, and for some reason, Xena splits.

Probably because she was about to explode.

I don't like Livia's hair…it looks gray underneath.

Gabs' first run in with Livia is in jail.

Octavius quips, "I see the years haven't robbed you of your…stealth."
Xena: No, just my child.

Xena says there's going to be a bacchanalia that night.

Octavius says Livia left orders to stop her, but Xena says not to worry about that.

The music is from the bacchanalia in Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

Octavius is sitting there with a girl on either side of him.

Eve has the gothic look going.

Xena has her hair all up in thick braids.

And a black veil covering the bottom half of her face.

She looks better than usual showing all that forehead.

And there's no way to hide those eyes!

Octavius spots her easy enough.

Xena walks right past people holding their cups out. She's gonna get fired! Hee hee.

Ares is reclining halfway on his side.

He holds up his cup. "Hit me."

"Don't tempt me," Xena purrs back.

Ares has great biceps.

Ares: I thought you were dead.
Xena: It was a nasty rumor.
Ares: No, no, see, I mourned you. For years I mourned you.
Xena: Yes, you looked positively grief stricken when I saw you today at the arena.

Ares makes it pretty clear that he prefers Xena to Livia.

He starts kissing her hard, and she responds heartily.

Meanwhile, Livia is learning that she'll be dropped like a nasty habit.

And at the same time, Octavius dumps her.

Xena is really putting her shoulder into the kiss.

So what happened after the kiss was over? The next thing you know, Xena's running out into the night.

She senses Ares this time, for sure.

He's impressed…"Still picking up on me after all these years?"

Ares figures it out. "Livia…or should I say Eve."

Xena whirls to face him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

But it's quite obvious that she does.

Ares realized she was trying to see Eve.

Xena just snarls "Keep out of my way."

Ares swears he didn't know before he began seducing Eve.

Xena retorts, "And that's supposed to make it okay?"

Then, "It doesn't get more personal that when you corrupt my daughter the way you did me."

Hmmm…what exactly does that mean?

Ares says no one else means the same to him as Xena.

He makes her the same offer, including a child.

He stroked Xena's face with the back of his hand…and she lets him.

Xena asks, "You'd condemn to death the woman you claim to love?"
Ares' response is a staggering, "No, but I'd condemn her daughter."

Where does Virgil keep his scroll?

Virgil writes epic poems.

You'd think Joxer would encourage his son to write, with the way he loved Gabrielle.

Methinks Gabrielle thinks Virgil is too good to be true…handsome…gentle…and a bard to boot.

Gabs isn't going to ruin Joxer's tales, which is really sweet.

She tells Virgil they're "inspiring".

It brings tears to her eyes.

Livia is throwing a temper tantrum, plain and simple.

Xena enters the room.

She chakrams one knife away. Then she catches the one that Livia throws.

Of course, it's right by her ear.

Xena says she didn't come to fight…she came to talk.

Eve doesn't want to talk about Ares.

Neither does Xena, she wants to talk about Livia.

Livia says Xena doesn't know the first thing about her.

Xena begs to differ. "But I do. I know your first laugh…your first tears…I know your first breath…I'm your mother. You're my daughter…your name is Eve."

All Livia can respond with is, "Well Ares was right about one thing…you're incredible."

I don't think Xena has ever stopped to consider that Eve might not believe her.

"You are not my mother. Rome is my mother!"

Wow, that's really gotta hurt Xena!

Livia wants to fight Xena tomorrow.

Livia has the haughty stance down pat.

Does Xena know the others are in jail?

Did she care?

Does Gabs and the others know that Xena is the champ now?

Xena is the "champion of the followers of Eli."

They give Xena a low cut maroon dress with silver armor.

And a shield.

Xena: We don't have to do this.
Livia: I know.

Livia gets a horse to ride.

Xena: I will never give up on you, Eve.
Eve (petulantly)…I'm Livia!

She Gabdrags Xena for a while.

Xena loves her despite it all.

"Life fro us all!" Gabrielle calls out from prison.

Octavius finally gives them the thumbs up.

Eve won't take Xena's help.

Gabs was right by the odor or the prison, but was one of the last ones out.

"I'll make you with I'd never been born," Eve vows to Xena.

"No, Eve," Xena replies.

But then Xena loses track of her in the crowd.

She tells Gabs they need to go after Eve because she knows she's going to do something terrible.

She's very right.

LIVIA:

Here are Gary’s thoughts:

 

In the opening, we see a woman warrior with the Romans, sacking a village. She does Xena-like jumps and flips and is a great fighter. There is Callisto-like music in the background. The reason for the co-incidences is that it is Eve, now known as Livia, Rome’s greatest fighter. Ares appears, and we notice that despite Livia killing a lot of people and having blood on herself, there is no blood on her sword. Ares promises her that she will be Rome’s Imperial successor; they kiss.

 

Since we last saw Xena and Gabby, they have been in an ice-cave in suspended animation. An avalanche causes the sun to filter in and start melting the ice coffin Xena is in. She stirs and punches her way out of the lid. This is an odd return from the “dead” since she doesn’t appear as stiff as she did in Destiny/Quest. She takes her sword and cuts Gabby out of her coffin, and Gabby appears to just be waking up as usual. Xena now wonders about Eve, since she thinks it is just the next day. In reality, it has been 25 years since they were put there by Ares. Xena’s thrown Chakram at the ceiling of the cave offers them a way out. How do they climb out, since it is almost vertical?

 

In a village at the foot of Mount Etna, the girls see an old woman who says “Xena and Gabrielle” died 25 years ago.  Xena instantly suspects Ares being behind their disappearance. The woman tells of Octavius, Rome’s emperor, and of Livia, the Emperor’s bitch. Xena does not know it is Eve. Xena now wants to go to Rome to see Octavius and find out what happened to Eve.

 

Back at a tavern, we see Gabby and Xena enter the place that is decorated with Chakram and sais memorabilia. There is a picture of Gabby and Xena and even a Xena doll, plus scrolls. Joxer is an old  man now and he has married Meg and has at least five kids. This is pretty good for Meg, who in KEY, kidnapped a baby because she couldn’t have any kids of her own.

 

Meg runs the place and has turned fat and not-so-pretty. Joxer serves “bard-burgers” and when the girls see him, he can’t believe it. He hugs them both as they tell him about what happened. Meg sees them and says they look like the old Xena and Gabby, but Gabby didn’t look “so butch” back then, in a reference to Gabby’s short hair. There should have been a better reunion with Meg, since she was in other episodes.

 

Joxer says he looked for them for years but gave up when old Argo died. He has Argo’s daughter, which looks just like the original, but won’t let anyone ride her. Xena saddles the horse and immediately is able to ride her and make it jump over a fence.

 

Virgil, Joxer’s oldest son, enters. Joxer always calls him ‘boy” as Tarzan always did to his son. He makes the introductions. Joxer says Octavius took Eve to Rome, and Xena allows Joxer and Virgil go with her and Gabby to find Eve.

 

In Rome, they watch a victory march, which Gabby calls ‘degrading.” Octavius is now known as Augustus Caesar. Xena manages to sneak right behind him with no problem and calls his name. He is startled when Xena asks about Eve. He

says Livia IS Eve, the Champion of Rome. Xena sees the conquering heroine and calls her a monster. Well, this is the pot calling the kettle black.

 

Livia gives the spoils of battle to Caesar. He explains to Xena that he sent Eve away as a child in another province. She had tutors and military training.  He never betrayed who she really was. He loves her and wants to marry her.

 

At night, Xena thinks as Gabby tries to console her. Xena says Livia has her dark side and Callisto’s spirit (and she wonders why she is a monster?). Gabby says she has “us” and she can change the way Xena did. The next day, Virgil points out a shop that he owns in Rome. Joxer coughs a lot because he is old now.

 

Virgil writes in a scroll. Gabby says he has a way with words, but he writes long poems.

 

The Romans are collecting money for a new temple for their gods. Joxer tells them no way and a fight ensues. Gabby tries to calm things down, but the Romans hate Eli’s followers.  Virgil is good with a sword and Gabby uses her sais, but when a Roman holds a dagger to Joxer’s throat, they stop fighting.

 

Meanwhile, Livia and Ares spar in a swordfight in the empty arena. They are attracted to each other and it looks as if she will be the next Xena. She fights well against the God of War, and she kisses him after they fight.  Xena watches this from the walls and is ticked off that Ares is corrupting her daughter. Xena throws the Chakram, surprising Ares by hitting his head. He winces in pain. How can a god feel pain? Livia volunteers to kill Xena, not knowing who she is. Ares says that if Xena is alive, then Eve is alive, too. Xena leaves in disgust.

 

Joxer, Virgil, and Gabby are in jail. Virgil knows Gabby is not mad at Joxer for starting the fight. Joxer has exaggerated his war-stories to his son, but Gabby does not let on she knows.  Livia enters the cell and says she will fight Virgil in the arena. If he wins, they all live…if he loses, they all die.

 

Xena sneaks in on Octavius again. Where is his Imperial Guard? She holds her sword on him and says she won’t kill him “today.” She wants to save Eve with his help. Xena calls him a fool since Livia loves Ares, who seduced her with the promise of power. Xena plans to show Octavius that Eve does not love him, but loves the power of Rome. She will give a signal to Ares and wants Octavius to have Eve ready to hear what Xena says to Ares.

 

The party: The music is from Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Livia looks beautiful and Octavius calls her to him away from the crowd. Xena is disguised as a serving wench, and sees Ares. She calls him aside too. Ares says he mourned Xena . He says Livia is not Xena and he is using her. He says he will drop her like a nasty habit and Xena and he kiss for a long time. Octavius and Livia see this and Octavius dumps Livia, now knowing the truth. He will not marry her, so she will not be the Empress.

 

Ares knows Xena cheated Death, and Xena says he corrupted her and her kid. Ares makes the same old offer to have a child with Xena. He will protect Livia, too.

 

In prison, Virgil writes. He is a bard, Gabby says, and is impressed. Virgil thinks Joxer is a real hero. Joxer tells him the truth finally, admitting Xena and Gabby really did it all. Gabby says Joxer was an inspiration to them.

 

Eve, in a fit of rage, smashes pottery and trashes her room. Xena enters, and her Chakram hits Livia’s sword. Livia tosses a dagger, which Xena catches. Xena tells Livia  about her being Xena’s daughter. She tells of her past. Livia warns Xena of danger, and that ROME is her mother. She wants to fight Xena in the arena.

 

The next day, Livia rides out on her horse and Xena is on foot with  her sword and a shield. The crowd loves Livia. Xena wears a new battle outfit, which looked pretty good. The women do a lot of slashing and kicking, and Xena says she will never

give up on Eve, despite Livia’s obvious hatred of Xena. Livia throws a net over Xena and drags her around the arena until Xena cuts her way out with the Chakram. She then does a leap onto the horse, right behind Livia. This is the second time Xena was dragged in the arena. When in Rome was the first.

 

Now both women are on foot and fight well. Xena puts the Pinch on Livia and explains that she loves her. Livia wants to die in battle. Xena releases the Pinch as Octavius is merciful and lets the prisoners go.

 

Livia says she will make Xena wish that Livia had never been born. She runs off. Xena wants to go after her to save her from herself and the gods.

 

End of Part One.

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