Looking Death In The Eye

First air date was April 24, 2000.

The story starts out in a tavern where a man offers a scroll for sale. He says it is the last known
scroll of the Bard of Poteidaia. A man at the bar turns around and it is Joxer, who is now old. He
says he knew her and Xena. He looks at the scroll and it's Gabrielle's handwriting. He buys the
scroll for 65 dinars and goes home where we hear, but don't see, Meg complaining about money
spent - HER nest egg. He says it's Gabrielle's last scroll. She asks when is he going to accept the
fact that they are gone?

Then he goes out to the barn and is joined by his two kids, a girl and a boy. He asks if they want
to hear the tale of a beautiful warrior princess. Then he begins to read to them.

"Her, uh -- her celebrations at Thebes, in Egypt, were cut short because Xena, the mighty Warrior
Princess fought both night and day for the life of her newborn child. As she continued to sing the
rage of her Olympian foes, their ceaseless battles finally drove her to the Fates in search of
answers."

The Fates tells Xena it is the time of the twilight. Xena wants a precise date, but they say it
will occur in time. But Xena must die, for only in the essence of death will Eve fulfill her
prophecy. The sooner she dies, the faster Eve will bring about the fall of the gods. Gabrielle
comes in, and tells Xena she doesn't want to hear any of this, that they make their own Fate. But
Xena says she still believes that, and so do the Fates and it's the only way - she has to die.

Xena, Gabrielle, and Eve skulk their way through the woods. Two green energy orbs from the sky
blast through the trees. Xena throws her Chakram and knocks an invisible Hades to the ground,
making him lose his Helmet of Invisibility. Athena and her warriors arrive. Athena tells Xena to
hand over the baby. Xena throws her Chakram and Gabrielle fights the warriors. Xena gets cut on the
upper arm and Gabrielle gets a cut on her face. Gabrielle yells for Xena to throw Eve to her, but
Xena doesn't, and Athena makes a remark about Xena not trusting Gabrielle. Eve is strapped to
Xena's back. Gabrielle throws the Helmet of Invisibility in the air, Xena hits it with her Chakram,
and sparks fall all over the two gods. Xena and Gabrielle take Eve and make their escape.

Old Joxer continues to read: "After narrowly escaping with our lives, we took shelter for the night
in the company of Octavius, the new leader of the Roman army and a new ally -- unknown to the
gods."

Xena treats Gabrielle's wounds with medicine she says is poison when swallowed. She treats her own
wound as well. Gabrielle asks Xena about Athena's comment about not trusting Eve with her. Xena
explains that it doesn't matter whose arms are around the child, her life is in constant danger.

The gods hold a meeting. Ares show up and presents Celesta -- Death. Athena asks why she hasn't
just taken Xena. Celesta says she will always be needed, and the Athena surmise that Death/Celesta
is immune to the prophecy. Celesta says it is forbidden for a mortal to be taken before her
rightful time.

Xena finds Hephaestus in his cave and she fights him, but he beats her up pretty badly. She throws
her Chakram against his chest but it only backs him up a few steps and he attacks again. He throws
her against a column that collapses. She is bleeding from a cut on the right arm and from her
mouth. Celesta appears. Hephaestus asks Xena how it feels to be in the presence of Death herself.
Xena asks, "What took you so long?"

Hephaestus goes to deliver the killing blow, but Gabrielle stops his arm with Xena' whip. Xena
grabs some chains of Hephaestus, and wraps them around Celesta while Gabrielle fights Haphaestus.
Xena stops him from killing Gabrielle, and together they kick him backwards until he falls into a
deep lava pit. Both Gabrielle and Xena are limping a little. Gabrielle takes Celesta away. Xena
limps behind, and picks up Celesta's candle. Outside the cave, Octavius hands Eve to Gabrielle.
Celesta, Eve, and Gabrielle are all loaded into a wagon.

Athena reminds Ares that he fought at Xena's side in Amphipolis. They talk about Eli, that Ares
killed him, and how his death has only fueled the people against the gods. Hephaestus and Hades
arrive and tell them that Xena has captured Celesta.

Gabrielle sings to Eve while Xena talks to Celesta. Xena reminds Celesta that when the candle burns
down, Death will die then she and Eve will live forever. Celesta reminds Xena of all the suffering
souls who need to die, and says that Xena's actions aren't in her character. Xena has more
compassion, more morals, than to want to live forever. Celesta and Xena discuss who decides when it
is someone's rightful time to die. Xena mentions Solan, and how his life was taken from him. She
also mentions Marcus and Lyceus. Gabrielle tells Xena to stop, Celesta is immortal and she will
never know loss, or understand the pain of losing someone.

Celesta says losing Hades, her only brother, the only one who understands her, would be
unthinkable. She cries and Xena wipes away her tears. Xena asks Celesta what Hades will think, when
his sister is dead. Will he care? Xena says she can't lose what is left of her family and she won't
lose another child. Gabrielle tells Xena that even if she can't die, the gods will inflict pain and
suffering on everyone they care about.

Gabrielle goes into a tavern looking for Joxer. Athena's warriors come in and they grab him. Athena
hits Gabrielle. Hades starts to kill her, but Athena says she's no use to them dead.

And they can't kill the child until Celesta is freed. Athena chokes Joxer, and Gabrielle tells
Athena that Xena is headed for the ocean. Two of Athena's warriors take Gabrielle and another one
punches Joxer out.

Celesta suffers with the flame burning low. Athena appears. Her warriors have Gabrielle. Gabrielle
apologizes to Xena. Athena says even if Eve lives forever, she may never know death, but she'll
never know peace. Xena nods, and Gabrielle is released. Xena unchains Celesta, who picks up her
candle and it grows tall again.

Ares appears in the driver's seat of the wagon and asks Athena for a head start. Other gods begin
to show up. Gabrielle gets in the back of the wagon. Ares hands Xena the reins. They ride away.
Athena says when they clear the forest, kill them.

Joxer is walk through the woods and just now realizes they are heading toward the ocean and starts
running.

Xena and Ares talk in the front of the wagon while Gabrielle is writing on her scroll. Ares says he
can help. He says he can make it all go away. Xena says Ares always wants what he can't have. He
says okay, and disappears. In front of Xena, Hades stands ready. She tells Gabrielle, "we're on."
Orbs from Hades are thrown at them. The scroll falls from the wagon.

Old Joxer says that is the end of the scroll but not the story. He says he was there.

Young Joxer watches from the woods, at a distance, as Athena's warriors send arrows at Xena and
Gabrielle; they duck. Xena keeps driving the wagon. She sees a cliff then steers them parallel
along the edge of it. The duck away from more arrows. Gabrielle throws her sais and takes out two
of Athena's warriors. The wagon stops as Xena throws her Chakram and takes out Athena's warriors.
The wagon burns, the horses are loose from the wagon and they run off. Gabrielle lays back, as if
overcome from smoke, Xena calls for her, and reaches for Gabrielle. At the same time, Athena sends
a flame from her sword, Hephaestus throws his hammer, and Hades throws an energy orb. The wagon is
hit and goes over the cliff.

Gabrielle and Xena are lying on the sand. Xena slowly stands up. She sees Gabrielle, then heads for
the wagon's wreckage, calling for Eve. The fire burns everything. Xena backs away as she sees the
dead Eve burning up. Joxer still watches.

Athena says the prophecy has been shattered. Xena goes to Gabrielle and cries over her body. The
gods watch as Xena takes her sword and starts to kill herself with it. Ares appears and grabs the
sword away.

Xena tells Ares it is over, and he can't stop her. She takes out a bottle and swallows poison. She
tells Ares to go join his family. He watches helplessly as Xena dies.

The gods vanish, satisfied. As Joxer runs down to the beach there are two blue flashes of light as
Ares disappears and reappears. He sees Ares pick up Xena and disappear one last time.

Octavius rides up. He tells Joxer that Xena and Gabrielle aren't dead. Octavius has Eve.

Old Joxer tells the children that Xena and Gabrielle took the tears of Celesta, swallowing the
"essence" of death, as stated by the Fates, which made them dead for a while. Xena had never
planned to kill Celesta, she just wanted her tears. The gods assumed Xena would never leave her
child elsewhere. Gabrielle drank the tears while they were in the wagon, and then Xena grabbed
Gabrielle at the last moment and jumped over the cliff carrying her. The effect of the tears would
soon wear off. But they didn't count on Ares taking the bodies of Xena and Gabrielle before
Octavius could arrive with Eve.

Ares carries Xena through the snow to a cave on an icy mountain top. An ice coffin, with
Gabrielle's body in it is next to an empty one. Ares puts Xena in the coffin. He tells her, "You're
with her now. I handled you -- all wrong. I know that. She knew what you needed - unconditional
and unselfish love, and I couldn't give that to you. But I appreciated you in ways she never
could -- your rage, your violence, your beauty. When you sacrificed yourself for others, you were
hers, but when you kicked ass, you were mine. I love you, Xena." He kisses her on the lips then
seals up the ice coffin. He puts her sword and Chakram as a headstone between the two coffins. He
walks out into the snow, seals the cave and disappears.

...........

Folks, we have yet ANOTHER winner! (This season appears to be going out on high note with only
three more eps to go.)

A lot to like here.

I guess X&G couldn't stay in Egypt forever, especially since Eve was with Cyrene.

I see the Fates still have their fancy shmancy "loom".

Xena used her Chakram more this time. When she hit Hephaestus with it, it backed him up some. I
suspect she wasn't really trying to kill him, but was only stalling until Celeste arrived, and
Gabrielle.

It was nice to see each god had his/her own weapon - Hades' green energy orbs, Athena's Flame
sword, and Hephaestus' hammer.

Clever little trick of Xena's - making the gods think everyone was dead. But I only saw Xena get
two tear drops from Celeste. How was there enough for both Gabrielle and Xena to drink?

Ares sure enjoyed seeing Athena and Celeste arguing. Ever the troublemaker! (A different Celeste
than in 'Death in Chains'.)

Again, these Olympian gods seem kind of incompetent sometimes - Hades threw two orbs at the wagon
and missed both times. Both Xena AND Gabrielle were able to fight Athena and Hephaestus with a
modicum of success, without being killed outright! I guess Aphrodite has something in common with
Celeste - both Death and Love will always be. I guess that's why Aphrodite hasn't been seen or
heard from in this fray. And, like Ares, she wouldn't want to be a part of killing X&G, or Eve.

*Funny line from Xena when Athena appeared -- "We were just going on a joyride to celebrate being
immortal."

*But a very damning line from her to Celeste -- "Rightful time?! Who decides when it's the
rightful time? You are at the beck and call of every warlord and murderer."

And the repartee between Athena and Celeste -

*Celeste: "As long as my flame continues to burn, death will remain a part of life for eternity,
Athena."

Athena: "Meaning you might somehow be immune to the prophecy. If I didn't know better, I'd say
Death's getting a little cocky."

Very touching farewell speech to Xena by Ares.

After Old Joxer finished reading the scroll and was telling "the rest of the story", every time we
saw him, he was putting the scroll down as if he had been reading from it.

Gabrielle was writing their final chapter in a bouncing wagon, while being pursued by the
gods? Shouldn't she have been the rear lookout?

Good thing Ares appeared when he did. Xena might have actually had to stab herself.

Noticed that Joxer and Meg's house and barn had wooden shingles instead of being
thatched. Does that mean they had dinar$?

Joxer was pretty old to have such young kids (the boy should be Virgil. According to
Wikipedia, he and Meg had two boys and a girl - "They have three children: two boys and a girl, who
he dotes on. His eldest boy is Virgil.").

So - with Hades' Helmet of Invisibility destroyed, doesn't that mean he now has no
powers?

I thought that Hephaestus was supposed to be ugly and crippled.

..........

Like I said, a very good episode, despite a few flaws and blunders. And easy 9 out of 10.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

5-19 Looking Death / Eye.. 9

5-18 Antony and Cleo ... 9.5

5-17 Kindred Spirits .... 7

5-16 Lifeblood ....... 7

5-15 Married / Fishsticks .. 6

5-14 Amph Under Siege . 9

5-13 Eternal Bonds ... 8.5

5-12 God Fearing Child . 9

5-11 Punch Lines .... 8

5-10 Lyre, Lyre, Hearts . 8

5-09 Seeds Of Faith .. 9

5-08 Little Problems .. 6

5-07 Back In The Bottle . 6

5-06 Purity ...... 7.5

5-05 Them Bones .... 8.5

5-04 Animal Attraction . 6.5

5-03 Succession ....... 7

5-02 Chakram ..... 8.5

5-01 Fallen Angel ..... 8.5

Average ........... 7.5