5-22 Motherhood

(aka "Twilight of the Gods")

First aired on May 15, 2000.

The final story of Season Five starts with Eve stumbling through the desert in rags. Xena and
Gabrielle are on a sand dune looking down at her after catching up to her. Gabrielle says she
doesn't think she wants help her because she killed Joxer. But after Xena says she was lucky
because she found Gabrielle, Gabrielle changes her mind.

On Mt. Olympus, the gods are angry at Ares for not telling them Eve was alive. (In attendance are
Ares, Athena, Hades, Artemis, Discord, Deimos Aphrodite, and Hephaestus.) Athena calls the Furies.
Ares says he already tried using them to get rid of Xena but Athena says her plan is more subtle.
Aphrodite whispers to Athena if she can leave Gabrielle out of it. Athena tells her not to watch.

Back in the desert Xena throws her Chakram at Eve, but just before it hits her, it splits and
deflects two spears thrown at her. A bunch of men on foot and horseback ride down on Eve. Xena and
Gabrielle run down to protect her. They fight while Eve remains kneeling in the sand. Suddenly Eve
is lassoed, and the Eve-Drag is on. Xena throws her Chakram to cut the rope, but Eve catches (death
wish). Xena mounts up and catches the guy and knocks him off the horse and Eve is saved.

After the fight, Xena gives Eve water while the Furies whisper to Gabrielle that Eve will break
Xena's heart and the were be no peace until she's dead. Fury Alecto says she killed Joxer, and who
will her next victim be?

An old woman comes up and, after telling them Xena is known as the defender of the faith (of Eli),
offers them shelter in her home. Gabrielle is telling the followers that Eli was just a man who
taught that everything can be saved by love. Eve tells them about the horrible things she's done -
wiped out villages that wouldn't pay her tribute, and drank the blood of men she killed.

Xena asks about the initiation Eli used on sinners. The old woman says there is a man they call the
Baptist. They find him in a river baptizing a man. He sees Eve and beckons her to him. While he is
baptizing her, and shaft of fire comes down from the heavens to Xena, It has Michael, the
Archangel's face. Xena says he's ready. Alecto whispers to Gabrielle that Xena is setting herself
up to get hurt again.

Suddenly, Poseidon rises out of the ocean. They start to run way, but many of the gods
appear on the other side. Fireballs are thrown. Xena deflects one of them and Poseidon evaporates
and dies. In a rage, Discord attacks Xena and Xena decapitates her.

Hephaestus throws his axe at Xena, but she ends up killing him with it. Mt Olympus
shakes, Ares looks worried. Athena realizes Xena can kill gods. She is pissed at the other gods for
not letting the Furies work her plan. Ares says Xena needs a distraction, and volunteers.

Xena explains to Gabrielle that while Eve was being baptized, Archangel Michael came to
her and told her Eve would prepare the way for the rule of the god of love and she was her
protector. And as long as Eve lives, she can kill gods. Eve is confused. She said one burden was
lifted and was replaced by one just as frightening. Xena tells her she needs to face someone she
wronged.

They arrive at Joxer and Meg's tavern. Virgil is writing on a scroll. He sees them ride
up, but when he sees Eve, he tries to kill her but Xena won't let him. Eve says if her death would
bring back Joxer, she'd gladly die. He says he never saw Joxer do or say a mean thing to anyone and
Eve killed him. He tells Gabrielle that Meg was mad with grief and took his brothers and sisters to
Athens. He leaves to join them.

Inside the tavern, Eve has Gabrielle's scrolls. She goes to another room to read them. It
is storming and Xena looks out a window and sees Ares. She tells Gabrielle to watch the back and
runs out to confront him.

Young Joxer's ghost appears to Gabrielle. He says she shouldn't have let Eve kill him.
Gabrielle says he didn't let her. Hope appears and says Xena's making a mistake trying to save Eve,
just like Gabrielle made one when she didn't kill Hope when she had the chance. Hope says Eve must
die to stop the cycle of violence.

Xena has her sword at Ares' neck. He says she won't kill him because he loves her. Xena
is suspicious.

Gabrielle is standing behind Eve while Hope urges her over and over to kill her.
Gabrielle slowly takes out one of her sais and raises it over her head with both hands. Xena
realizes Ares is a decoy and runs back into the tavern just in time to see Gabrielle stab Eve. In a
panic, she throws her Chakram and hits Gabrielle in the back of her head with it. She catches the
bloody Chakram, then realizes what she did. Xena runs to Eve to check on her, then sees to
Gabrielle. Xena realizes the Furies were behind it.

On Mt Olympus, Athena asks Ares how Xena was able to stop Gabrielle. She says they now
will launch a full-scale attack.

In the tavern Athena tells Xena it's four against one but Xena isn't worried. They start
fighting. Fireballs are thrown. Xena turns over a table to hide behind. She throws her Chakram and
it ricochets over and over keeping the gods ducking away.

Aphrodite appears next to Gabrielle, dressed in black. Xena pulls a knife but she tells
her she just wants to help. She teleports Gabrielle to another room away from the fighting.

Hades gathers a large fireball to blast Eve but Xena spits wine over a torch and he burns up and
dies. Xena gets Eve into the room with Gabrielle and Aphrodite and tells Aphrodite to take care of
her. Aphrodite looks over at Eve.

A fireball explosion raises a large table and it lands on Deimos and he dies. Athena disappears.

Ares appears next to Eve, draws his sword and starts to kill her, but Xena throws her Chakram and
knocks the sword from his hand. Then the Chakram slices his leg and he disappears.

Xena drags Gabrielle out of the burning tavern by the arm while half-way carrying Eve.
Aphrodite appears and says things are so sad. Xena tells her to cure Gabrielle. She says gods can't
cure without Athena's blessing, which won't happen. Xena tells her to take them to Mt. Olympus, she
has a deal for Athena. Aphrodite does. Xena tells her to leave before things get ugly. Aphrodite
says goodbye to Gabrielle and Xena thanks her.

Ares confronts Xena, who is carrying Hephaestus' chains and a crossbow. He says they will
make Xena a god and heal Gabrielle if they can kill Eve because she has to die. He says that twice
when Xena could kill gods she never killed him. She shoots him in the leg with the crossbow and
wraps the chains around him.

They go into the Great Hall where Athena is waiting. Xena offer a deal but Artemis tries
to shoot Xena with arrows but she catches them and throws them back and kills her.

Xena and Athena fight with swords and without them. Xena stabs Athena but she says she
didn't feel a thing. Xena looks over at Eve and she is dead. Athena throws Xena across the room.
Ares slowly crawls over to Eve and Gabrielle and a glow comes from his hands to both of them.

Just before Athena's killing blow, Xena stabs her again and this time she is mortally
wounded. Ares shakes off the chains and tells Athena he gave up his immortality to save them
because he has a thing for Xena. Athena dies. There is an earthquake, everything shakes, Ares looks
worried, then it stops.

Xena says thank you to Ares then goes to Gabrielle and Eve.

Xena, Gabrielle, and Eve are away from Mt Olympus and Eve is playing with a spider. She
starts to apologize to Gabrielle about Joxer but she tells her he is at peace.

The story ends with Xena and Gabrielle watching Eve. Gabrielle says Xena got her daughter
back and Xena replies "No, we got OUR daughter back."

.........

Wow, what a way to end an episode, and an excellent end to Season Five!

Good fight scenes, good performances by everyone, and probably the most shocking scene ever, so
far - Xena throwing her Chakram and hitting Gabrielle in the back of the head with it. When Xena
caught the bloody Chakram, it had bits of skull (or brains?) on it. And I guess it must have given
Gabrielle amnesia, because she never mentioned it and Xena never apologized for it!

Neat trick of the Chakram splitting and knocking away two spears.

We saw Discord decapitated! Something I didn't expect. It didn't seem take much of a fireball to
evaporate Poseidon. I didn't see exactly who threw it, but I figure it must have been from Hades. I
don't think Deimos' would have the power, since he's only a minor god.

It was nice to see Aphrodite not wanting Gabrielle to get hurt.

Virgil said Meg took his brothers and sister(S?) back to Athens.

Very good line from Ares when Xena shot him with the crossbow: "You shot me! I'm the god of war!
Nobody shoots the god of war!"

Athena, Paris Jefferson, was really gorgeous. Amazing blue eyes.

Odd look on Aphrodite's face when Xena told her to take care of Eve.

Kind of cool - both Ares and Aphrodite stayed dry while Xena, Gabrielle and Eve were soaked to the
skin while out in the rain.

Two questions - Eve died and Xena lost the power to kill gods. Shouldn't that have ended it even
though she was brought back?

And two - How are the Amazons going to feel when they learn Xena killed Artemis?

.......

The video commentary was with Lucy, Rene