The Haunting of Amphipolis
Michael and Raphael are watching Xena and Gabs and Eve on God TV.
They have a mission for Xena, but she doesn’t know what it is, or that she even has a mission.
Mike says she’s the only mortal who could complete the task.
The three are each riding their horses into Amphipolis.
Xena’s humming the theme for Amphipolis…makes me think of Cyrene.
She tells Eve about her times as a baby.
And Gabs adds about how brave Cyrene was.
Eve can’t wait to meet Grandma.
Xena: You’re gonna love Amphipolis. It’s so full of…life
Her voice trails off as they look around a ghost town.
Uh, Xena, look again.
Xena says her mother would never leave Amphipolis.
The inn sure looks bad though.
Even and Gabs are cold.
Xena tells them she’s going upstairs.
Upstairs looks even more scary.
Xena sees someone being dragged off.
Downstairs, Eve is hearing things as well as she light candles.
And then she sees her grandma being dragged off.
Eve tells Xena that her grandma is dead.
It’s so weird hearing Xena call Cyrene “mother” after all the “moms” in Amphipolis Under Siege.
Xena believes Eve. She felt mom too.
Eve declares, “There are other souls here. It’s a gateway, or a spiritual crossroads…or…”
Xena: It’s haunted.
Xena goes off to find out why Cyrene isn’t at peace.
Gabs’ hair is awfully shaggy.
She offers to go with Xena to the mausoleum.
When Xena opens the door to go outside, the sun is shining outside! Definitely a blooper!
It should be dark and storming.
There are devil signs all over Cyrene’s grave.
And bones, charred black.
Xena’s disgusted as she cleans it all off.
Xena promises to find Cyrene, and make it right.
Tears are pouring down her cheeks.
Eve and Gabs seem to be bonding.
Get used to seeing this a lot in this review…POOR GABRIELLE!
She takes a bite out of an apple half, only to discover maggots!
With each lightning strike, they multiply.
“In the name of Eli and all the powers of heaven, I command this evil presences to be cast out!”
Get used to hearing that, because Eve uses it a lot!
POOR GABRIELLE!
When she’s trying to rinse her mouth, a maggot crawls out of the skin of the back of her hand.
Then another…and another.
Gabs is almost completely silent during all this.
But you can tell she’s scared to death, and has big tears rolling down her cheeks.
Eventually, all she has for hands is mangled bloody bones.
Meanwhile, Xena’s still talking to Cyrene.
She is approached by the Mystic from Dreamworker.
He calls Cyrene’s place a “tavern”.
Xena learns that Cyrene went mad.
She was called a witch.
She was burned at the stake.
She was kind to the old guy though
POOR GABRIELLE! She sees a devil’s head on the floor.
Eve’s outside kneeling.
Xena’s trying to get in the locked inn’s door.
Gabs gets down to the floor to try and listen. BAD move!
She gets grabbed and dragged in to the floor.
She’s struggling in green muck, with scary demons.
Xena puts a fist through the floor.
She’s lucky she grabbed a hold of Gabs and not a demon!
Gabs comes out screaming “It burns!”
Xena pulls Gabs shirt off under the shower.
And takes care of washing the skin she has just bared.
She and Eve wash Gabs down.
Where did that shower come from, anyway?
Gabs’ eyelashes are SO long, and her eyes are SO big in this scene.
Eve says if Cyrene is unabsolved, then she’s with Mephistopheles.
Gabs wants to know why he’s going after Xena.
Eve says it’s her.
Gabs has pierced ears. Hee hee.
The things told Gabs they seek the blood of the messenger. So why would she ask why he was going after Xena?
Xena and Eve know it’s Eve’s battle.
Xena sees herself in her old battle armor.
And somehow, she looks MUCH younger.
Lyceus’s eyelids are moving as he lays there.
EX: I did all I could.
Cyrene still tears into her. And then she slaps her.
EX then glares at our Xena.
Our Xena whispers, “Mother, I’m just so sorry…about everything.”
POOR GABRIELLE!
Eve is in a room where the floor starts bleeding.
Gabs’ hands start bleeding.
Then her feet.
Then she starts convulsing.
POOR GABRIELLE!
She’s laying on the ground, face down.
When she lifts her head, she’s a demon with yellow eyes.
She licks the blood off her fingers.
Her laugh sounds like a garbled tape recorder
Why do I ruin the magic? You can see Renee has on beige underwear when she jumps on Xena.
And then, when she wrestles with Xena, her stunt double is naked, but it’s not Renee.
Xena’s sure good at dressing Gabs. Hee hee.
Mephisto/Gabs licks Xena’s hand.
Xena draws it back right away.
Mephisto/Gabs is cruel. “Your mother cried out for you, Xena. Even at the end.”
And Xena has to watch it happen.
Gods, that’s gotta hurt!
Cyrene should have aged in this episode!
Gabs as the Demon has some great spit hanging from her lip.
Xena has one hand on Gabs’ chest and one on her thigh.
Renee looks slightly embarrassed when Gabs comes back.
Eve is outside scaring Mephistopheles and Xena’s inside trying to convince Gabs to leave, and POUF!
She and Gabs become attached, Stretch Armstrong style.
I really hate this!
It looked really, really dumb the first time I saw it, and even dumber the hundredth time.
And if Gabs was cleansed as Eve claimed, how could she be put under Mephisto’s spell again?
Xena actually shouts, “Pull!”
Xena grabbed the knife flying at Gabs, and cuts her hand.
But the cut seems to disappear.
Why did Mephisto say it wasn’t Eve’s life he demanded, just a few drops of her blood? Wouldn’t he rather have her dead? Or did he think Xena wouldn’t give a hoot about cutting her for just a few drops of blood?
Xena’s gonna put the pinch on herself. Gabs just covers her own face.
It seems like Gabs has come such a long way. Just yesterday, she was doing the countdown for that pinched guy in Vanishing Act.
“You can do it,” Xena says. “I believe in you. Bring me back, Gabrielle.”
And like she’s hypnotized, Gabs just nods.
Xena kills herself with the pinch.
Cyrene is wandering around Hell screaming about killing Orestes.
Her husband’s name was Atrius.
Was this just a dumb mistake, or to show Cyrene’s mourning was unjustified?
Xena looks like she’s going to throw up.
And then Mephistopheles appears behind her.
Cyrene reminds me of Lizzie Borden.
Mephisto is VERY scary looking.
Xena gets a good crack in. “I’m just a little distracted by your good looks.”
Eve says she’ll try to find water, and Gabs touches her face. What’s up with that?
Mephisto is as dumb as his cousin Bacchus. “You can’t hurt me in the Spirit World.”
Whoever kills him, will reign in Hell.
Xena says “Release my mother,” but with her bloody nose, it sounds like “Release my bother.”
Blood is just streaming out of her nose.
Eve’s having to face the people she has killed ruthlessly. Reminds me of Xena in Dreamworker and Callisto in Intimate Strangers.
Eve killed women too.
Livia steps out of the mirror, and the dead people gasp.
Eve runs through Livia and becomes…Livia.
No telling what Gas did with all those nerve jabs she gave Xena. Xena will wake up twitching and numb in all the wrong places!
The over Gabs shoulder and over Xena’s shoulder after she wakes up are quite different. In one, Xena is half laying down on Gabs…in the other, they are just hugging.
Eve wants to know how they’re gonna stop Mephisto.
“By giving him exactly what he wants,” Mom answers. “Trust me.”
Gabs starts to argue, and Xena’s comeback is, “My mother’s soul is trapped, my daughter is half-dead, and the portal to hell has opened up in my back yard.”
I was always kind of surprised when Xena told Gabs the truth about becoming the ruler in Hell.
I love Xena’s, “We make our own destiny in this family.”
Gabs eyes look brown in the ending scenes.
Eve is a smart girl. “I’ll deliver Mephistopheles into the only hands capable of beating him. Will you help me?” she asks Gabs.
Gabs doesn’t hesitate.
Eve has guts…but then again, so does Xena.
Xena says, “You two get outta here…this is my fight now.”
And here is Mephisto.
Gabs and Eve start to leave, but turn back and watch.
Mephisto has a Bane from Batman thing going when his veins pump full.
He roars, “I am at last made flesh!”
“Enjoy it while it lasts”, Xena snaps.
He tries to prod her. “You’re holding back, Xena. Is something bothering you?”
“Other than your stench?” she quips.
“What!??!” he hollers back, all offended apparently.
Mephisto has on a rather obvious skullcap.
Finally, Xena does him in.
And there’s just a moment, before Gabs reaches her, that you can tell all is not right upstairs with her.
In the background, you can hear Cyrene talking to Eve. “You’ve got your mother’s eyes…tall like her too.”
I’ll go along with the tall part, but Eve’s eyes are not like Xena’s.
I love Xena’s teary eyed look as she watches her mom and daughter.
She ends the episode with the wise and ominous, “I’ve got a feeling it’s not over yet.”
Check out Gary's take on this one...
Okay...here we go: Xena,Gab,and Eve arrive at Amphipolis to see Cyrene after
a 25 year abscence.The tavern is still there but is haunted.A lot of weird
things happen: Eve and Xena see Cyrene in the tavern,but it is her spirit.
Xena learns from a guy that Cyrene was burned at the stake for
witchcraft,and that Mephistopholes,a demon king who rules hell,did it.
Gabby eats food with worms in it,her hands are losing the flesh,and the
bones are left,she is dragged beneath the floor in a pool with demons who
say she is not the messenger,and Xena and Gab have their arms and a leg
joined as if glued together. Eve is able to do a chant to Eli and heaven to
break these spells.
I can believe all of this,including when Gab is in the shower,naked,with
Xena and Eve watching.
I can believe Gab has blood on her from nowhere.
I can believe that she is on the ceiling,naked,and has yellow eyes and a
scaly face.
I can believe she jumps down on top of Xena and fights her,naked.
BUT,there is no WAY I am going to believe that Xena was able to grab two
pieces of rags from the floor and make a bikini for Gab while rolling on the
floor fighting. Also she was able to tie Gab's hands behind her.
We saw an actual shot of a bard bare butt,and in freeze-frame,there was a
right-side totally exposed bard boob,complete with lightning highlights.
Was Xena too ashamed to see Gab naked while fighting her,but it was okay to
see her in the shower?
Who knows? Who writes this stuff,anyway?
At the end,Xena gets Meph. to fight her on earth...she wins,of course,and is
slated to rule hell later.Cyrene is allowed to leave hell.
End of this first of a two-parter.
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