The Ring Part 2
Okay, back to the episode...at this time, Odin and his Valkyris show up again. Xena tells him
to step aside, or he'd join the other Olympians. Now I KNOW there is no TV in Valhala,
because Odin starts tossing fireballs. Didn't he see Motherhood? Xena backs into a tree that
moves...uh...excuse me, Xena...that's Grinhilda behind you! There's lots more fierce sword
play. Lots more! Xena's got all kinds of foes to face. An angry creature, numerous Valkyris,
and one very angry Norse god! She distracts Odin by doing the ol' chakram toss, and the
camera follows its ricocheting movements quite a bit. Odin is constantly having to duck. You
know, it srtikes me that if Xena could control the altitude of that chakram while it's in flight,
she'd be able to kick even more tail! Like she can't kick enough as it is.
The Xena wannabe Valkarys stabs Beowulf. He collapses as Xena shouts his name in slo
motion. She gets backed against a real tree, this time, and all the enemies are closing in on her.
Odin taunts her, and Xena gives him the finger...well, you know, she holds the ring up and
gets ready to put it on her finger. Uh oh... Odin tells her there's no way the ring will work for
her, she can't forsake her love for Gabrielle. Xena gives that bloodied faced, confident,
gives-me-goosebumps snarl, "The ring works for everyone at first...ask her," indicating
Grendel. Odin continues to taunt her. "What do you hold dearest in your heart, Xena? Are you
ready to lose it?"
"I'm out of options," she growls. And she puts on the ring. The thunder crashes and Xena has
that "Gabs just bit me again" look on her face. Then there's a wicked light cast on her face.
Must be commercial time again!
I hope I'm doing this episode justice!
Xena stands up, looking very powerful and confident. Her personality is more magnetic than
ever as her sword and chakram fly to her hands. Odin shoots a fireball at her, but she deflects
it into Grendel and then in a matter of seconds, takes out some of the Valkyris. A few,
including the Xena wannabe escape. Right into the path of Gabs and Brun.
Brun is now leading, by the way. Gabs is telling her she can't win. She wants to talk about it.
But they've got a fight on their hands. They stop the Valkyris, and get ready for more of my
leg kicks!
G (hearing off screen noises):Xena...
B (almost pouting): They're going to kill her before I get the chance to prove my
love for you!
G (grabbing Brun angrily): What are you fighting for? You wanna win my love?
You're going to shed blood for what? For me? (Shakes her head) You call that
love?.................You're sick...
Love that "You're sick" line! Reminds me of Xena telling Ares he sickens her!
Gabs walks away, with Brun watching. She doesn't look so confident now.
Cut back to Xena, and you guessed it...more fighting. The Xena wannabe Valkyris is back for
more, but she's no match for a ring inspired Warrior Goddess. With a single punch, she sends
Grendel flying toward Olympus. Then she hears Gabrielle's warcry. From the look in her eye,
something's going wrong upstairs. She does one of those incredible billion in a row somersaults
offscreen in the direction of Gabber's voice. Odin says let her go, right now the ring is killing
what she values the most.
Brun finds Xena and tells her Odin will bring on all his forces to get the ring. Xena looks down
at her finger. Brun says "You haven't forsaken your love. Take it off." Xena's response...
"I don't know what your talking about."
Yep, Xena's lost her sense of self, her memory. Xena asks "I don't know how I got here.
What's my name...what's my name?" Brunhilda doesn't answer, but asks (of course!), "What
about Gabrielle?" "I don't know her," Xena replies. Brun tells her to give the ring to her. "Why
does everybody want my ring?" Xena asks, hugging it to her. I suddenly got a picture in my
head of a tiny Daffy Duck with a giant pearl..."It's mine, it's mine, it's mine! All mine!" But
Brun says "Give me the ring and everybody will leave you alone." Xena doesn't know any
different. She drops her sword and gives Brunhilda the ring. Brun takes off to find Gabs, and
Xena picks up her chakram. She's holding it in her hand, checking it out with first a caveman
look (I'm not kidding...when you see the episode, you'll laugh!), then a bemused smile, and
blood starts running down her hand. Yow! That thing's sharp! Xena drops it next to her sword.
Well, Brunhilda found her hook. She goes to Gabs and gives her the ring. She tells her Xena
lost what she values most. Gabrielle...memories of her and the woman she helped her to
become. Gabs is in denial but Brun keeps talking. "The ring is too powerful to fall into
undeserving hands. And so are you." Brun says she has to protect her by turning into an
eternal flame for Gabs. Only a true soulmate can pass through it, and she will be protected.
Doh! Here comes the stuff from the previews in the last two minutes of screen time! Brun
does some soft chanting and turns into a flaming wall. Was this what Odin was trying to tell
Xena about last week? "See Gabrielle, you have changed me," the fire says, and it passes right
through Gabs who gets a costume change and a new barette for her hair. She'd been watching
the fire with a wide-eyed gaze, and Brun actually moves through her, instead of the reverse,
but then again, Gabbers didn't try to get away from her. What's up with that?
Beowulf gets up...guess he wasn't dead after all. He calls Xena's name, searching for her.
Xena is wandering through the forest. Gabrielle has laid herself out on a rock, her eyes closed
with a soft smile. Her hand relaxes open to reveal the ring laying on her palm. The music
swells to the strains of "Someday my Princess will Come". Naaah, I made that part up, but it
might as well have! Xena's stumbling through the forest still. She's lost it, obviously. "I can
hear you, laughing at me...Who am I? Who am I?" She's terrified. "Who am I? Who am
IIIIIII?????" She's screaming at the sky, on her knees, a sob in a voice, as it fades to Sam and
Rob's name. To be continued! ARRRRRGGGHHHH! I wanted to scream "Who are you?"
right back, but controlled myself. Naah, I made that part up too. I did scream!
I'd say subtext is out the door and maintext has made its presence known. I kept thinking that
Xena and Gabs have always said they loved each other, and I always felt, sure they loved each
other as two friends love each other. But now with Brunhilda vying to be Gabs' SOULMATE,
and winning her LOVE, it all becomes a singular thing. You can love lots of friends, but this is
obviously the kind of love that lovers share. The "I'm in love with you, you're the only one for
me" kind of love. Does that make sense? Gabrielle can't be in love with Xena and Brunhilda at
the same time.
And rightly so, Xena is very very upset by the situation. I feel sorry for her in this episode,
because she's spending so much time fighting off attackers, she doesn't have the time to really
talk to Gabrielle about the situation. They are together for about half the episode, but always
with Brunhilda and Beowulf in tow, and then when Brunhilda snatches her to the sky, all they
can do is scream each other's names. Xena has to be terrified while she's fighting Odin and his
pack of marauders. What is Brunhilda doing with Gabs and how is Gabs reacting? That makes
her amnesia even more difficult for me to handle. What do you think her first thoughts are
going to be when she gets her memory back and realizes Gabs has been alone with Brunhilda
all this time?
I didn't get the chance to talk about the previews for next week's episode in my earlier review.
To be honest, they're far less revealing than previews for The Ring. Xena is running around in
a long white dress, still trying to figure out who she is. And there's a shot of a Valkyris beating
up on her that is reminescent of "Chakram". But this is a different kind of memory loss. Xena
hasn't just lost her dark side...she's lost it ALL. And most interesting of all, there's not a single
shot of Gabrielle in the preview. Last time we see her in The Ring, she's laying down on the
rock, as seen in the previews. This ride isn't over by a long shot!
And as for Gary's thoughts on this one...
This was a confusing episode,with a lot of Xena's swordplay both with
Odin and his Valk-gang and against Grendel and her son. Also,there is
the double love-interest with Gab and Brun and Gab and Beowulf. How
these two can love Gab at first sight is unexplained.
Xena says to Brun that she isn't the warrior she once was...now she
loves life,love,and peace....I guess she means when she is not
slaughtering the Olympian gods and demons from hell,as well as Valkyies.
Was Beowulf killed? No....he recovers from being skewered by a
Valk....she really got him,and he gets up as if he wasn't even affected.
Again,and this is getting boring,we see a god,Odin,still with both
eyes(sagas said he has only one) tossing fireballs at Xena,just like the
Olympian gods.Any Little League pitcher could throw a ball faster.Xena
always avoids them,and when she deflects them by bouncing them off her
Chakram,a shield,or her sword,the fireballs hit the bad guys....they are
incredibly slow.You'd think they would have a better weapon than
that,seeing how they were gods.
A line that made no sense was by Gabby: She tries to convince
Beowulf,who in the legend,was the one to kill Grendel and his
mother,that Xena is "tough to kill."
How about when Xena got hit by the log in Destiny/Quest and died? Her
spirit was in Autolycus.
How about in Been There-Done That,when Xena,Gab,and Joxer die in a hail
of arrows,to be alive again the next morning?
How about when Xena gives herself the pinch to die so she can fight in
the spirit world,in Haunting Of Amph. and in Sin Trade 2?
How about WHEN SHE AND GAB WERE CRUCIFIED and died in Ides of March?
Tough to kill? Not really....Callisto could have killed her in CALLISTO
when Xena saves a little girl from Cal's dagger,allowing Cal to get the
drop on Xena....she could have sliced her throat.
Anyway,let's see what part 3 brings....all this running around in yet
another back-story is just becoming a jumble.
Any comments?
The Ring Part 1
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