Xena: Warrior Princess 6x15 "To Helicon and Back" Reaction
Added 2023-03-05 23:52:38 +0000 UTC
Comments
‘To Helicon and Back’ is a really good episode but I kinda wish it was a two-parter because it’s so jammed full of stuff. Things keep happening right after another with nothing in between and there’s just the feeling that a lot of stuff got cut out, there’s a lot of stuff that’s obviously missing. It’s really good but it’s really rushed and I wish it was a two-parter. The break could be when Varia comes out of Bellerophon’s castle because it’s about halfway through and it’s also a very suspenseful moment. I think they should have gotten rid of ‘Path Of Vengeance’ and just did ‘To Helicon And Back’ part 1 and 2 because it’s quite important for Gabrielle’s evolution side of the show. Eve’s story wasn’t really all that important. I think addressing the reason why the Amazon’s stopped following Artemis is far more important than “Eve’s redemption” moment.
Girl4Music
2023-11-30 11:57:23 +0000 UTCStriking differences - Gabrielle’s development into moral ambiguity. I want to talk about the contradiction surrounding Gabrielle’s character in the episodes ‘To Helicon And Back’, ‘Last Of The Centaurs’ and ‘A Friend In Need’ with the choice to stop fighting and the expendable and disposable lives and the not giving up on the greater good arguments she has with Xena in ‘The Price’, ‘Past Imperfect’ and ‘One Against An Army’. To go from “There is a choice. To stop fighting’, “So okay. in order to save me you’re willing to risk these men - their lives mean nothing to you?” and “We both know that I’m right. This is right!” to then turn around and go against all that by doing the very same as Xena did or expect Xena to do the very same as she once did. It’s like what happened to make her change her beliefs and morals so drastically and is it in character? On her journey in evolving from a farm girl into a warrior Gabrielle experiences: War. Apocalypse. Trauma. Loss. Grief. Pain. Struggle. Violence. Hate. Anger. Depression. Vengeance and Evil… So the question to be asked is whether her character in the later episodes of Season 6 are in character for her. Whether it made sense for her to do a complete 180. Did she just lose her blood innocence when she killed needlessly or did she lose her entire character? Well, I don’t know about you guys, but if it didn’t make logical sense for her to develop this way, I wouldn’t care about her development as much as I do. Yeah, to me it made sense. It made sense because it was inevitable that it would happen in the first place. If she had never experienced all of the former negatives I’ve just mentioned then it wouldn’t. But she does so it’s only appropriate that it would negatively impact her personality, identity and nature. It’s only natural that she would end up more like Xena. But the reason why it’s so jarring I think for her to end up like this is because Xena does a 180 alongside her too. Xena becomes more like Gabrielle - walking the opposite path from her once again but this time from the other extreme end of the spectrum as she now becomes the moral compass for Gabrielle just as Gabrielle used to be the moral compass for her. And it’s brilliantly written how they did this but it’s immensely heartbreaking at the same time because when Gabrielle wished to be just like Xena, I don’t think she meant to become the violent villain version. And so the contradiction in Gabrielle’s character in Season 5 and 6 is only made all the more apparent because Xena is contradictory in her character in these seasons too. Only it’s not as striking to watch because Xena was introduced to us as a morally ambiguous character to begin with and Gabrielle wasn’t. Gabrielle was introduced as a pure character.
Girl4Music
2023-11-30 11:56:06 +0000 UTC'To Helicon And Back' should have been a two-parter. They crammed so much into 40 mins and didn't really sit with the trauma and pain enough. Yes, the fight sequences were realistic and true to the times. But the emotional lashes because of it weren't. And it's partly down to not enough time. Not that it was a bad episode. Far from it. It's just I would have liked to have said "episodes" instead. But it wasn't to be 😔 Do you know what really dug at me about Helicon though. Not so much Gabrielle's zest for violence in the effort to save her sisters. It was Xena's reaction to all of what was going on with her - mentally and emotionally. Again, it's because I see Gabrielle through Xena's eyes. I bet she never thought the tables would turn and she would have to end up pulling Gabrielle away from the violence because she was too far gone to stop herself. I mean she doesn't even recognize where Xena is, let alone her surroundings. There's a severed connection there with them and it's so painful to watch. When they so easily and automatically gravitate towards one another without a second thought. Just allowing their soulmate connection to work wonders on them. But no... all Gabrielle saw in that moment - and in that episode ...was red. And Xena can't do anything about it. She's helpless. So she gives up. "Have it your way, Gabrielle". I always say that when Gabrielle fully walked into the darkness, she was still able to remain her core self. She could not be moved... But it still influenced her personality and changed her emotionally. In these moments - and in these final episodes - she was Xena. And not just any Xena. Lost Xena. Broken Xena. A Xena that didn't know herself and could not differentiate between what was right and what was wrong. She wanted to be Xena. She got her wish. And it cost her very dearly. When I think about this woman's character development and evolution (which is very often), I tear up a bit. I know many hate AFIN because of how horrible Xena's endgame was. But you can't tell me Gabrielle's endgame was bad. Literally the only time she ever went all out as a warrior was when Xena wasn't around, incapacitated or dead. Often her "all out" was all in the effort to save Xena's life... But nevertheless... She was never entirely the Battling Bard until she was left to go at it alone. Is it upsetting? Of course. But that's just the realism of that character and that storyline. Sometimes upset brings growth. And there's no other fictional character I know of that grew so much. There are main themes to the show. Namely Redemption. Vengeance, Love, Forgiveness and Balance. And a certain theme is assigned to a certain character. Gabrielle's theme was Evolution. That's what she represents. I really wish we could have seen her post-AFIN. Not just how she coped without Xena because we know she would have. But also just to know where her story led on from there. Did she return to the Amazons to reign full time as Queen, no longer needing a Regeant to take her place while she was gone? Did she visit Lila and Sarah and stay with them? Or did she die in Egypt leaving the final scroll: the story of AFIN there? There were so many ways her story could have carried on. There were so many wonderful adventures we could have had with her now she was the Warrior. Fulfilling her karma.
Girl4Music
2023-11-30 11:55:01 +0000 UTCOne of the best episodes of the series IMO. The direction alone is so distinct and memorable! Not to mention how the story goes back to the show's strength in showing the emotional tragedies and moral ambiguities of war, even when fighting on the "good" side, and what the story means for Gabrielle's character.
Judson
2023-03-06 04:03:30 +0000 UTC
