Endgame – Director: Garth Maxwell/Writer: Steven L. Sears
This one starts with Ephiny leading some Amazons (including a new recruit named Amarice) against Roman soldiers who have already killed some of her Amazon sisters. Ephiny ends up facing the Roman commander Brutus and he kills her, leaving Amarice devastated. Xena and Gabi are fishing when Amarice finds them and tells them Ephiny is dead and the Amazons need Gabi to lead them.
They go to the Amazon village, where Chalapa tells them what happened to
Ephiny and Xena realizes Brutus was leading that contingent of Romans. But another Roman squad just attacked the village, taking a bunch of Amazons prisoner and Xena recognizes Pompey’s crest on a broken sword hilt. Xena knows Pompey took the Amazons because he needs money to continue his war against Caesar. His trail is cold, but she figures she can find Brutus and get Pompey’s 
whereabouts from him. She takes a group of Amazons (including Amarice, who’s thrilled to be part of it) and ambushes Brutus’s squad on the road. While the Amazons waste Brutus’s men, Xena wraps a whip around Brutus and drags him behind Argo. She takes him back to the village, telling Gabi that Amarice took off when Xena wouldn’t let her kill Brutus. Before Gabi can question Brutus, we see someone aiming an arrow at him from a nearby tree.
The unseen archer is Amarice and Xena deflects the arrow and knocks her
out of the tree. Gabi has Amarice tossed in a cell and asks Brutus about Pompey. He gets cocky, thinking his knowledge makes him valuable, but soon spills Pompey’s location when Xena puts the Pinch on him. The Amazons want her to let Brutus die in revenge for Ephiny, but Xena removes the Pinch for Gabi’s sake. Gabi 
lets Amarice out and Xena takes her along to ambush Pompey’s men. Amarice isn’t impressed by Gabi’s pacifism, but Xena says not all answers can be found at the end of a sword. Xena tells Amarice that she doesn’t always agree with Gabi’s methods, but she’s come to understand them. Xena confronts the Romans who are taking the Amazons to the coast to meet their buyer, but Amarice is captured and Xena is forced to throw down her sword.
The whole thing is a ruse and Xena leads the captured Amazons in an attack,
using weapons she buried under the dirt on the road. Carminus escapes to warn Pompey, who freaks out over Xena’s interference, ordering all his men to go after the Amazon village and take everyone prisoner. Gabi offers Brutus a peace treaty with the Amazons and he’s interested, saying Caesar wants to restore Rome to the peaceful ways it enjoyed under the Republic. Gabi and Xena aren’t so 
sure Caesar will go for the treaty, but the more immediate threat is Pompey. Xena uses captured Romans as human shields, planning to burn the attacking soldiers with pits full of oil. Gabi’s not happy about that but before they can argue too much, they find out some of Caesar’s men are approaching the village. They’re after Pompey, but are willing to roll right over the Amazons to get to him.
Brutus offers to surrender to Pompey, but Xena says it’s better if he goes back to Caesar. She lets him go and releases the other Romans, saying they
don’t kill people just for the sake of it. Brutus takes command of Caesar’s men, wheeling them around the Amazon village to attack Pompey from the side. Xena and the Amazons fight Pompey’s men, with Gabi directing things from behind the lines. Xena tells Amarice to watch over Gabi and she ends up saving Gabi’s life. Pompey is so focused on the Amazons (and Xena) that he ignores the 
threat of Brutus’s men. Xena rides through Pompey’s lines, wasting his personal guard and engaging him in single combat. When she’s about to kill him, he tries to convince her she needs him alive as a balance against Caesar’s power. But when he tries to stab her in the back, she kills him, saying it isn’t about balance anymore. Xena takes Pompey’s head to Brutus, reminding him to keep her name out of it when he presents the head to Caesar. Brutus is still sure Caesar will restore the glory of Rome, but Xena reminds him Caesar has a history of betraying his friends. Brutus delivers Pompey’s head and the Amazon peace treaty—
which Caesar burns without even reading. That makes Brutus wonder if Xena was right and he lies when Caesar asks if Xena was involved in the fight with Pompey. At the Amazon village, Gabi hands over rulership to Chalapa and she and Xena tell Amarice she can come with them when they leave. Ephiny’s body is burned on a pyre and Gabi and Xena mourn their friend.
This is a really good episode, currently #25 on my all-time list but it could 
definitely move up, since it gets better every time I see it. It’s cool to see Gabi leading the Amazons (who are warriors at heart) while remaining true to her new pacifist ideals. The Amazons accept Gabi’s leadership and even Xena defers to her at certain times, like when she lets Brutus live. There’s a certain similarity between Gabi and Brutus; they seem to understand and respect each other and both ultimately want peace. They also both have warlike friends, but while Gabi has had a definite influence on Xena, curbing
some of her more bloodthirsty tendencies, Brutus hasn’t had a corresponding effect on Caesar and by the end of the episode, Brutus is starting to have his doubts about Caesar’s motives. That’ll come to a head next episode. In contrast to Gabi’s rapport with Brutus, Xena has more of an affinity with Pompey (and Caesar), being able to guess what he’ll do and use that against him.
Another thing I really like about this episode is Amarice. At first, I found her 
kind of annoying, especially the way she’s always going on about how things are done “in my tribe” … I counted five times she said that. But she ended up growing on me and although we’ll see her in a few more episodes, I wish she’d been in a lot more. In future episodes, her backstory will change from what Steve Sears envisioned; she was originally supposed to have watched her mother die and felt guilty about not being able to save her, which is why she feels guilty about Ephiny’s death here. But I love Amarice’s sarcasm, her
kick-ass attitude, and the fact that she doesn’t immediately convert to Gabi’s point of view … after all, it took years for Gabi to influence Xena, so it makes sense Amarice wouldn’t be swayed in a few days. Jennifer Sky did a great write-up for the New York Times about how much she enjoyed playing Amarice; it’s definitely worth reading.
Noticeable Things:
- David Franklin is the third actor to play Brutus, but he’s also the best as far as I’m concerned and will play the part in all subsequent appearances.
- The fishing scene with Xena and Gabi is fun, with Gabi tossing a net over Xena and Xena threatening to toss Gabi in the lake.
- Xena’s pretty adamant about avenging Ephiny and keeping the Amazons from being wiped out. I wonder if she feels some guilt because of her own checkered history with them?
Favourite Quotes:
- “Xena? Wow, I-I thought you’d be … taller.” Amarice’s smart-ass way of introducing herself to Xena.
- “We really know different Caesars.” Gabi letting Brutus know that his faith in Caesar might be misplaced.
- “You don’t know me very well.” Gabi’s response when Amarice suggests she leave the front line and return to the village where it’s safer.