The Path Not Taken...an episode that I really like but find it almost unbearably sad to watch. Still...it has it's moments!
The first scene has parallels to the beginning of Old Ares Had a Farm...both feature one of the girls commenting about "these places having the best food" followed by a fight scene, albeit of a different nature. It's good to see Argo get in on the act...she seems to enjoy a good tussle as much as Xena does. The background voices on this one are among the best! Someone shouts "Hey Big Girl" to Xena when she enters the tavern. I'd almost bet that's one of the guys who ends up at the business end of her fist or foot. Xena is so cool and off-handed as she deters any possible suiters for her or Gabs in this scene. I love her reaction after she blows fire. And then that not-so-ladylike position she takes when she sits down...that's my girl! Gee, is Gabrielle's mind in the gutter? "Not that kind of hire, Gabrielle." Hee hee! But why was Xena so mean to Agranon at first...why did she turn him down? Was she wanting to see him beg? She nearly did! He was too mild-mannered for my tastes. For some reason, I really like it when Gabs takes the pendant from Xena and Xena grabs it back with a "Give me that!" It's like Xena is still trying to maintain her tough girl pose. Notice the way Gabrielle doesn't mind a bit when it's taken from her...she just continues to send there contentedly. All Xena has to whisper in Argo's ear is a few sweet nothings, and with a wave of her hand, we don't see Argo for the rest of the episode. Now that's training! Who comes up with the idea for the stupid hats the actors are forced to wear on this show? The king that Mzentius meets with at the beginning has a giant mushroom on his head! Makes me wish for the football helmet the soldier had on in The Deliverer! When Xena first walks in the tavern in Traikas (sp?), note that several people put out a hand to touch her. But when Big Mouth tries to put an arm around her, she gives him a look of death. There are more great voiceovers in this scene. Someone actually calls out "That's our Xena!" Between Marcus and Xena, the Warrior Princess does a much more convincing job pretending that she despises someone. Marcus just couldn't keep a smile off his face as he tells Xena her mama wore army boots. Gabrielle is such a romantic! "That is just too beautiful!" she tells Agranon after hearing his account of his falling for Jahna. I was thinking it was just too...something else! Xena's eyebrows are absolutely in overdrive during this entire episode! I spend more time watching them than anything else. Her scene where she bargains with Mzentius is eyebrow acting at its finest! Check it out and you'll see what I mean! I would have loved to have heard some of the stories that Xena and Marcus refer too...it sounds like they have an interesting history. When Mzentius orders his guards to train their weapons on Xena, check out the guy standing directly behind him. If he fires his crossbow, he's going to take out the back of his boss's head...How I would have loved to see that! The music that plays over the scene where Marcus shows Xena the hot springs is the same as the music that plays over the love scene between Xena and Hercules in Unchained Heart. It always brings images of grubby fingernails and dirty legs to me...somehow the hot springs seems most appropriate! During this scene, Xena looks through some lattice work beside the hot springs and sees the princess. If it's so easy for her to see outside, wouldn't it be just as easy for someone to see inside? Love the way Xena says "fortune" with that charming Kiwi accent! I also loved her line to Jahnna..."You're going to cut your throat and jump,...that's overdoing it a bit don't you think?" It reminds me of the scene from Titanic where Jack first confronts Rose who is contemplating suicide. When Xena enters the weapons warehouse, there are all kinds of torches lit. Are they lit all the time? Why didn't she hear Marcus when he approached her? This is the same woman who can hear a bee sneeze from a distance of ten paces. The best word to describe Xena in her scenes with Mzentius is haughty. It's about as aloof as I've ever seen her. Gabrielle's homage to Cool Hand Luke..."What we have here is a failure to communicate." Hee hee. I'll say! Now I realize I'm a bit Lucy-obsessed, but the look in her eyes when she has to break off the clench with Marcus and leave him gets me everytime! Her eyes are full of nothing but regret! The robe Xena dons when Mzentius encounters her (and her eyebrows) in the grotto looks awfully familiar. Is it she same robe she wore in the dreamscape in Dreamworker? All she has to do is show some thigh and Mzentius changes his tune immediately. And Xena actually refers to him as "handsome"! With a straight face even! Do you think Xena realizes Gabrielle is the "companion" referred to when she learns of Agranon's capture? I love the irony in Xena's world...Marcus gets into a bar room brawl because someone said something NICE about his girlfriend! I enjoy the ending fight scene in this one. It's Lucy doing most of the work, and she does a pretty handy job with the gurards. But when Marcus sacrifices himself, all the fun is over. Xena looks positively wilted when he dies...it's just too sad! She wears a cool cloak to his funeral though...and Gabrielle is very good in helping her with the grieving. It's a touching scene, and Xena's "My friend" makes it more so. She doesn't have many friends. And that's that! I know I had quite a few notes for this one...but it is one of the first episodes I ever had on tape and I watched the heck out of it, so I have a lot of thoughts on it. I hope you enjoyed it, and maybe it will inspire you to check it out when you have some time! And here are Gary's thoughts on A Path Not Taken: This was a pretty tame episode,but interesting nevertheless. The plot is as follows: A prince and princess are alone in the woods talking about their upcoming marriage.They are attacked by a band of kidnappers who beat the prince and steal the girl for the evil warlord,Mezentius. He knows that a war will ensue if he can make the girl's father think the groom's dad stole her,so Mezentius will make a lot of dinars selling arms to the armies which will ultimately fight. Xena is asked by the prince to save the girl,and wants to pay her. She responds that she does not work for money,but will do it anyway. Gabby's role in this is limited...she has to keep the prince out of the way,so she tells him stories. Meanwhile Xena pretends that she is her old evil self and negotiates a deal with the warlord. She goes into a bar, and meets some old thugs and her old friend Marcus. He pretends to act like he hates Xena but it is an act.He is working for the warlord and cannot believe that Xena,who reportedly turned good,is really going to be bad again.He takes her to Mezentius' place and Xena is surrounded by bad guys with crossbows. M. thinks she is not for real,but Marcus vouches for her. Xena convinces him that if he does not kill the girl and/or does not rape her,she will be worth a whole lot more. He agrees and finds Xena in the tub room,and hints that he "wants a little". Xena makes an excuse and promises him "later". Xena is going to smuggle the girl out in a wicker basket that supposedly has weapons in it. Marcus surprises her and threatens to expose her. Meanwhile M. and his boys attack. Xena does her usual warrior-thing and nails the bad guys. The girl goes up to a higher point in the room and M. wants to shoot her with an arrow. Marcus jumps in the way at the last second....Xena could have prevented M. from firing,but Marcus did it because he wanted to do something good for once,sort of to redeem himself.Xena kills M. with the Chakram.Marcus dies and Xena sings at his funeral pyre. She laments of the loss of her friend. This episode only had Gabby get captured and she would have been executed with the prince had Xena not stopped the war before it got started.We do not see Gabby rescued...we just assume it. Nothing much was in the way of character development in this ep.,but I liked Xena's devious nature and the way she handled the warlord on his own turf. Xena's lack of real friends(except Gabby) made Marcus' death more real for her since they had a "history" of sorts.Xena is vulnerable...she really does care for some people,and she is not the monster we see her portrayed as in subsequent back-stories as in The Debt and The Valkyrie saga.