While watching this one for the billionth time, I noticed a couple of things...the first isn't that big a deal...just the fact that the green dress Ares puts Xena in before she falls back on the bed is a different gown than the one he dresses her in earlier in the episode. The second thing I noticed though was pretty funny. During the scene where Ares tells Xena to summon forth her super mortal strength, when Xena yells "Nooo!" you can see Lucy has fillings on at least two of her upper right teeth. :o) Apparently, one of Xena's many skills is dentistry!
I can vividly recall the first time I watched The Reckoning...it was an instant hit with me and still ranks in my top fifteen all-time favorite episodes. But enough about that...on to some of the details. At the beginning of the episode, Xena is wearing her scabbard on her back. This is the first time we see this. Xena started the fight with Ares with her usual confident slice and dice attitude, but quickly changed tactics as she realized her opponent was formidable. Nice touches by Lucy. And I love the duel of the evil laughs....Xena and Ares' laughs both rank high with me! After Ares disappears a second time, Xena looks for him for a few seconds, then turns to her healing. If Ares had really wanted her dead, he would have had a prime opportunity to reappear and strike. The village people were WAY too quick to jump to conclusions. One of them said they heard the swords clanging and got their as soon as they could. Xena fought with Ares for a long time...and that's the quickest they could get there? I really hate to bring this up, but feel I must. Everytime Xena does a flip onto Argo, and the camera insists on giving us a shot of her crotch hitting the saddle, I always have a fleeting thought of what would happen if she missed and landed about six inches further toward the front of the saddle. There...it's said...now on to other things. Gabrielle picks up her clothes before getting on Argo, but her shoes are no where to be seen. She's carrying them in the next scene however. Nice effect as the village people walk through the unseen Ares! Xena's being all mysterious and not telling Gabs of her suspicions has GOT to drive the bard crazy! Xena obviously trusts Gabrielle 100% by now...why won't she tell her what she suspects? Gabrielle's line, "I understand that you may be feeling a little negative right now," gets me every time! Xena says she "used to wonder what Ares looked like." To me, that means she's never seen him before. If he trained her to be his warrior princess, how did he accomplish that without showing himself to her? I've always been curious about this, and any theories would be welcome. The attraction between Ares and Xena that continues to this day is already quite evident in this early episode. Xena reacts to his touch, then realizes he's affecting her and snaps herself out of it. We see Xena remove her shift, below camera, and we see Ares slide the dress around her shoulders...but how does it get fastened in the front? Gabrielle's courage when she puts the rope around her neck is a sign of brave acts to come. And I love the very subtle head shake Xena gives to Ares. No one else would ever notice it. I thought Gabbers was very clever when she came up with footprint theory, and I thought it was very mean of Ares to erase the proof. All of Gabs' defense made sense to me...but the people were just bent on finding someone guilty, as Gabs pointed out. The unbearably smelly farmer that was beating Xena half to death was a real...well...jerk. I wanted to tear into him myself! Okay...another moment of weakness...everytime I hear Ares tell Xena "I burn inside you"...I get a mental image that's not so nice. When he urges Xena to use her supermortal strength, I get chills everytime. We get a first glimpse of the real strength Xena posesses when riled enough. She could have been a baseball player with that swing of hers! There is no doubt that it is horrible when she strikes Gabrielle. However, Xena regrets it immediately....showing it was an impulsive out-of-control act. I don't know who's look of horror is more painful to watch, Xena or Gabrielle's. This is the first episode in which we hear Argo's name, and Gabs is the one to say it. I've asked this before and I'll ask it again...when Argo pulls the bars out, how is Xena gonna squeeze through that itty bitty window? The whole jail scene is very touching, in my opinion. Gabrielle showed a lot of maturity in the way she handled the situation. Why does the name Aereolas sound like a body part to me? I'm rather obsessed this episode, aren't I? Xena's solution to the situation was pretty clever, I thought. The pupil outsmarted the master for once! I'm not exactly sure WHERE Gabrielle hits Xena, but I'll assume it's in the arm. And that's The Reckoning in a nutshell! I had fun with that one! And as for what Gary has to say... This is one of my favorites from the First Season. Essentially,it goes like this: Xena and Gabby are travelling,and Xena hears a disturbance in the distance.As usual,in the earlier episodes,Xena tells Gabby to "stay here" while Xena investigates. Gabby goes to a brook to wash up a little. Xena comes upon a hooded figure who killed three farmers and who wounds a fourth. Xena fights the figure,who,after a good swordfight,disappears. Xena then tries to save the wounded man,and uses her sword as a compress,under which is a cloth to stop the bleeding. The villagers come to the scene because they heard the swords clashing. Due to circumstantial evidence,they assume Xena is the killer...she has blood on her hands and they chase her. She rides away to pick up Gabby. Meanwhile,the villagers plan a pretty neat trap for the girls. They herd them up some really bad terrain,into a narrow canyon. Guys in trees lasso Xena and the rest surround Gabby. Xena could have fought her way out,but there was Gabby who could have gotten killed,so she gives up. She is clubbed down. There is a courtroom scene where Gabby shines by her logical defense of Xena. If there was nobody but Xena at the scene,then where did the sounds of more than one sword come from? The villagers do not care....Xena merely allows herself to be prosecuted without really defending herself. Ares makes his numerous appearances,and will free Xena if she joins him in world conquest,in which "the good" will evolve. Xena will be given a big army to accomplish this. She says no. Ares says that Xena "used to" wonder what he looked like...he said he trained her,but she never had seen him. I guess the training was by mail. Anyway,she is chained up in a cell,and Gabby tries to comfort her. Xena does not want to escape because she may kill again. Ares keeps at his attempt to get Xena to join him. The farmers beat Xena while she is chained,and she finally had enough. She breaks the chains and kicks down the cell door. She then pounds the farmers.Gabby comes in at that time saying in a slow-motion voice(which worked well on film) saying "Xeeee--nnna". Xena then punches Gabby,who looks really hurt and startled. Xena realizes what she did,and was immediately sorry. Gabby runs off. Later,she ties a rope to the cell bars at the window,and wants to pull them out so Xena can escape. Xena refuses. The method of execution is being dragged behind a wagon until she is dead. Gabby ties a rope around her own neck and tells the farmers that one more killing will not matter. Ares still tries to get Xena to comply. Xena makes a deal with him:if she joins,can she have ANYBODY to be in the army? Ares says sure,even dead heroes...he can bring them back to life. She calls for the three farmers Ares killed...a great trick she played on him. The farmers come out of a building,and there are no longer charges of murder against Xena. Ares,even tho beaten at his own game,applauds Xena's craftiness,and leaves. I believe that Gabby showed her inventiveness and friendship in this episode. She,even tho pounded by Xena,assumed Xena was in a "warrior-haze",I guess,and forgives her. Xena felt bad about it and was glad and surprised Gabby still tried to save her. Xena showed that she was on her way to be redeemed by refusing to take the easy way out by killing the farmers and escaping with Gabby. The revelations of each girl's character was when RenPics did it the best. They did not CHANGE their characters...they SHOWED us.