Xena: Warrior Princess: 6x06: The Abyss Reaction
Added 2022-12-31 23:38:55 +0000 UTC
Comments
In other words Liam. “Act, don’t react.”
Girl4Music
2023-11-27 21:58:13 +0000 UTCThat fight scene with the cannibals at the start was something else! I just love that this whole thing is actually Renee and not a stunt double. She did most of her own stunts. Including the flip-kick in 'The Abyss'. And without any wirework whatsoever. It's astonishing to me that any actor would go this damn hard for a physical role that they would change their whole physique to do it. Especially a woman! And they deserve so much respect for it. Action roles are usually left to a stuntee and Renee did have a stunt double. She just wasn't used even half as much as Zoe Bell was for Xena.
Girl4Music
2023-11-27 21:37:04 +0000 UTC[Excerpt from my Xena and Gabrielle: Character study thesis] In the episode from Season 6, titled ‘The Abyss’, Gabrielle gets wounded and is on the verge of dying from pneumonia. She confesses to Xena that her dying wish was to be buried with Xena’s family; Cyrene and Lyceus. This confession threw Xena off-guard, as that is probably the most tragically romantic thing you could ever say to someone. Furthermore, she explains why she’d rather be buried with Xena’s family than her own. She’s basically saying, “I’m dying, but I still want to be with you. You are more important to me than anyone else in my life”, and that’s pretty freaking intense. I do not blame Xena for the tears rolling down her cheek. It’s a beautiful statement, and yet so upsetting at the same time. She has taken Gabrielle away from her family, even if she didn’t mean to, and she’s chastising herself mentally for it, as we see a little later in the scene where she says she’s lead her on a path she was never meant to walk. To Gabrielle, she couldn’t be more wrong. Gabrielle has always considered Xena her “home”. She’s stated several times that with and to Xena is where she belongs. Xena is her path. So it’s not surprising that she would have a wish like this. It’s a testament to show how much Gabrielle is invested in Xena’s life. From the very start when she met her and chose to travel with her on the road, to the very end, when she stated that Xena was her whole life and that she refused to lose her. It’s sad, but beautiful and romantic at the same time. Tragic romance. It’s kind of like ‘Romeo and Juliet’, only she never took her own life at the reality of Xena being dead and staying that way. At least, I hope she didn’t, because that would be truly tragic. The overall point is that no matter what, Gabrielle would always choose Xena. It’s paramount to her to always be with Xena. Even in death. You don’t make a statement like the one she did in this episode unless you are 100%, unequivocally, unconditionally in love with the person. “To me it was main text. And even if it was subtext, it was very clear that we were together. They are so in love with each other, they love each other so dearly; there’s no way you can say that’s not true. Anyone can see that from watching the show. I always wanted people to look at it as unconditional love, especially people from the conservative side who didn’t want to see anything like that. Just watch the show, and see what you want to see. I still think that today that would be the best way to put the series on.” - Renee O’Connor
Girl4Music
2023-11-27 21:35:37 +0000 UTC“I don’t know where the Hope discussion came from actually. They wanted to address in some way how Gabrielle felt about her own daughter after all the episodes we’d done with Xena’s daughter. I think that’s why they brought up Hope again. We wanted to show Xena learning how much this hurt Gabrielle. It came about because of the fan comments, I believe. Their questions about not having Hope mentioned at all throughout the Eve storyline… It was a beautiful scene, wasn’t it? We were quite cold and that just breaks you down to be completely present in the scene. Under those circumstances, you either fight against the physical difficulties and you can’t concentrate because your body’s shaking or you are completely thrown into it and believe every moment quite easily. I think that was one of those moments where it was quite comforting for Lucy and I to be next to each other… It was so sweet, very sweet actually. What I loved about that scene is that it shows the love between the characters.” - Renee O’Connor
Girl4Music
2023-11-27 21:34:36 +0000 UTCWell, we all know that Gabrielle’s a whole ass meal.
Girl4Music
2023-11-27 21:31:05 +0000 UTCYeah we were pretty much on the same page :-)
Tony Tenser
2023-01-01 15:58:55 +0000 UTCExactly. That's what I was getting at, only you said it better. LOL
Raven Dark
2023-01-01 15:51:02 +0000 UTCI think absolutely no humanising of the cannibals at all is what made them so threatening in this episode and helped the intensity of it. The fact they simply could not be reasoned with because they were so primal was what made them truly frightening.
Tony Tenser
2023-01-01 15:49:24 +0000 UTCLiam: I'm not gonna say that's hard to digest... Liam, what am I gonna do with you? LOL Liam: Looks like meat's back on the menu, boys! LIAM!!! *giggles* Jeez! Okay, seriously, I love that you were able to find the humor even here, in such an otherwise dark place. By and large, I do usually prefer when villains aren't one dimensional, because when they are, often the storyline falls flat or doesn't have as much impact, but I think it was a smart decision here not to try to humanize the cannibals. There was no effort to make them relatable or real world, and in this case, it worked really well. I think because everything else was so good that it wasn't necessary to give more to them. This is such a good episode, and this one, along with the last two, are why I love this season so much. Season 6 of Xena is for me what season 5 is to Buffy. It feels incredibly strong and powerful, and just resonates with me more than any of the others. Super excited for more.
Raven Dark
2023-01-01 11:39:56 +0000 UTCOMG, yikes. This is THAT episode. Oosh. I always manage to forget this episode until I start watching it. The first time I saw it, I felt physically ill, and then couldn't rewatch it for a long, long time. I've seen it many times since, and it doesn't get me as much now. It's become one of my favorites, but my god, it's dark as all get out. Off to watch the reaction now.
Raven Dark
2023-01-01 10:41:56 +0000 UTCValiant effort trying to recapture the essence of two of the series' all-time greatest episodes in The Price and One Against An Army. It doesn't quite reach the heights of those legends, mostly due to the fact that the conflict this episode was mostly external (the cannibals) while those episodes were built on the internal ideological conflict between Xena and Gabrielle even though they were on the same side. Nonetheless, this is a good episode and I appreciated that they took three whole episodes to give Gabrielle a character growth driven mini-arc. It is clear from these opening episodes that the show has gone back to its backbone of the Xena/Gabrielle relationship as well as given Gabrielle back her depth. IMO, some of these elements were lost amidst the big Eve storyline of season 5.
Judson
2023-01-01 07:54:25 +0000 UTCHappy New Year, Liam and all! :-) Starting the year checking out your reaction to another of my favourite Season 6 episodes was fun. I love the intensity and atmosphere of this one. Great cinematography (Love the "Apocalypse Now"-ish shots of Xena in the woods at night) and some great action. And some genuinely emotional Xena/Gabrielle scenes in the cave. The mention of Hope is interesting and when Xena responds "I understand everything" I think she truly finally does about the anguish Gabrielle went through back in Season 3 trying to initially protect her from Xena. And Gabrielle wanting to lie with Xena in death says it all about the love and bond they have at this point. Xena's plan makes sense too as Gabrielle would have died from exposure if left much longer and she had to take the gamble she would be taken back to warmth and shelter at the cannibal camp while she infiltrated without having to carry her along wounded and delirious, giving her much more mobility and chance to set up her traps. There's a genuine and terrifying sense of menace thanks to the design and stature of the cannibals and Renee has gone on record saying that the scene where she was bound and being prepared to be cooked was the most uncomfortable she ever had to play in the series. Also nice to see Virgil and playing it a lot straighter again as i never liked when they tried to make him more "jokey" in Gurkhan. Really didn't fit his character in my opinion. Also Rubio is a lot of fun and some much needed lightness in a dark episode. Resolution to Gabrielle's guilt storyline is nice to see too. She has had to deal with a lot in the last three episodes for sure! Her character development in the series really is something special and I've long regarded her as one of the best female characters in televsion history for her progression.
Tony Tenser
2023-01-01 02:36:41 +0000 UTC
