Xena Reviews: Season 5, Episode 2

Chakram – Director: Doug Lefler/Writer: Chris Manheim

This one starts with Ares arguing with another War God named Kal. They’re talking about Xena and mention Ares stealing the Dark Chakram and giving it to her years ago. Later, Kal sends a monk named Caleb (supposedly the purest of his order) into a temple to retrieve another chakram—the Light Chakram. Unfortunately, Caleb isn’t pure enough and is burned to ashes. In a different ruined temple, Xena and Gabi are still recovering from being resurrected from the dead last episode. Xena seems a little out of it, but Gabi and the others really get worried when she doesn’t recognize the broken chakram Amarice gives her.

They head for a nearby town to get clothes and Xena’s still not quite right. When Gabi gets some sais for Xena, she refuses to take them, saying she has no interest in fighting. Since Xena has lost her warrior spirit, Gabi is forced to use the sais to fight when Kal’s men attack them. They get away and head back to the temple, where Eli realizes that Xena has lost the dark part of herself that made her a fighter. Kal’s men come after them and they head for a monastery to see Eli’s friend, Caleb. On the way, Joxer asks Eli for advice on how to tell Gabi he loves her, but Eli just tells him to speak from the heart. Gabi tells Xena how they met, but she still can’t remember any part of her past that has to do with fighting, or any negative emotions like hate and anger. Amarice gets pissed off, not liking the new pacifist Xena, but does agree to go hunting with her. Gabi tells Eli she’s no longer on his Path of Love and that she’ll do whatever it takes to keep Xena safe. Xena and Amarice are jumped by Kal and his men and when Amarice tries to fight, she gets in trouble.

Xena promises to go with Kal if he spares Amarice and he agrees (although he does smash her against a tree). Gabi finds Amarice hours later and starts tracking Xena and Kal. Xena has been taken to Kal’s temple, where Kal tells her he wants her to retrieve the Light Chakram (and mentions Caleb’s failure). Ares shows up and he and Kal start fighting. Upon seeing a chakram mosaic, Xena has flashbacks of herself using the chakram and takes off, running into Gabi and the others outside. They get to Caleb’s retreat and find it empty and Xena lets Eli know his friend is probably dead. Eli goes through Caleb’s scrolls to figure out what Ares and Kal are up to. Xena heads for a hot tub (of course) and Joxer asks her for advice on how to tell Gabi he loves her. Xena tells him to forget his expectations and just tell her, with no strings attached. Ares shows up and Xena doesn’t recognize him (I guess the part of her that knows him is the part she’s lost). Ares puts the moves on her and she kinda seems into it, which is weird since she’s obviously in love with Gabi.

Gabi breaks things up and Ares tries to drive a wedge between her and Xena before vanishing. Eli figures out that Ares and Kal want the Light Chakram because it has the power to kill gods and they need Xena’s newfound purity to get it. Xena’s reluctant to get her Dark side back, but Eli says the War Gods will keep trying until they get the Light Chakram, which would be a disaster for mankind. Xena wonders what she should do (even praying to Eli’s god for guidance) and Gabi tells her she needs the Dark side of herself to balance her Light, to allow her to be a Warrior and help people. They head to the temple, with Gabi and Amarice leading the assault. Xena makes it inside and gets the Light Chakram with no problems, but when she goes outside to use it on Ares and Kal, she can’t. She drops the chakram, saying she just can’t kill.

As Ares, Kal, and Kal’s minions attack, Xena and the others take refuge in the temple (with Amarice grabbing the Light Chakram from where Xena dropped it). They barricade the doors and Joxer chooses this moment to tell Gabi he’s in love with her; I guess he wanted to catch her between deaths. Now that the Light Chakram has been removed from the altar, anyone can use it, including Ares and Kal. But Eli reads a scroll that says the Light Chakram will lose the power to kill gods if it’s joined with the Dark Chakram. As Kal and company bust through the doors, Xena places the Light Chakram on the altar, along with the two pieces of the Dark Chakram (which Amarice was still carrying). The Dark Chakram is made whole again, but Kal comes after Xena before she can decide what to do. Ares tries to push Eli out of the way, but gets a strange look when he touches him … almost like he’s scared. (Kevin Smith played that reaction perfectly.) Gabi tries to stop Kal and gets her ass kicked. Before Kal can kill Gabi, Xena grabs the Light Chakram from the altar and kills Kal with it. She’s freaked out and Ares tries to talk her into giving him the Light Chakram, but Xena chooses to fuse the two chakrams together. That makes her whole again and she uses the new chakram (with can split into two halves) to get rid of Kal’s men. Now that the chakrams are fused, the Light Chakram is no longer a prize (or a threat), so Ares takes off. Later, they say goodbye to Eli, who’s staying to study Caleb’s scrolls. Things are awkward between Joxer and Gabi but he reiterates that he just wanted her to know his feelings and that there are no expectations attached. We’ll see how long that lasts. Xena thanks Gabi for helping her get back to normal, pointing out that when she asked Eli’s god for a sign, that’s when Gabi showed up to talk to her.

This is a pretty decent episode (#68 on my all-time list) that deals with Xena losing and regaining her Dark side. I know some fans were disappointed that there wasn’t more on the actual background and history of the chakram itself, but I think it’s mainly used here as a parallel to Xena herself. That makes sense, since Xena always seemed to have a mystical connection to her (Dark) chakram; I always assumed she could control it with her mind somehow, which would explain some of the more impossible things it does. Ares stole the Dark chakram years ago and gave it to Xena … did it help push her into Darkness? Or was she able to wield it because she was already Dark? I think she got involved with Ares after losing Borias and Solon; it makes sense Ares would go after her when she was at her lowest point. But it probably took her a while to get attuned to the chakram. (Next season in a flashback in The Rheingold, we see the chakram attached to Xena’s saddle, but she never uses it.) That also explains why nobody else can use it (except Callisto, who also had a lot of personal Darkness), and why Xena’s back and the chakram broke at the same time. So when Xena was evil, Ares gave her the Dark chakram, and when Callisto returned some of her Light, she lost that Darkness and became pure enough to get the Light Chakram. Now, just like the two chakrams, Xena is once again a blend of Dark and Light.

It’s been obvious for some time that Xena needs her Dark side in order to be whole, but this episode spells it out in no uncertain terms. Ironically, it’s Gabi who points that out, although I think Gabi has kind of known that for a while now. They’ve kinda reversed roles a bit (and that’ll be an ongoing theme for the season because of Lucy’s pregnancy), with Gabi willing to fight now. (There’s a scene outside the temple where she catches one guy’s sword with her sais and throws it into another guy’s chest, so she’s apparently no longer too squeamish about killing.) But despite (or maybe because of) their changing roles, Xena and Gabi obviously love each other more than ever. They accept each other for what they are (something Ares has never been able to do) and even though Xena resists getting her Dark side back, she eventually realizes it’s the right thing for her. It’s interesting that Xena’s instinct to protect Gabi is what makes her kill Kal, just as Gabi’s protective instincts made her waste all those Romans in Ides of March. Xena tells Ares she fused the chakrams because no one should have the power to kill gods, but she actually will gain that power by the end of the season.

And then there’s Joxer. He finally tells Gabi how he feels about her (at the most inopportune moment, naturally) and she has no idea how to react. Xena’s known about Joxer’s feelings since the end of Season 2, but it’s obvious she doesn’t see him as a threat to her relationship with Gabi (which is why she doesn’t mind giving him love advice). Xena knows how deep she and Gabi’s feelings for each other are and probably knows Gabi has no romantic feelings for Joxer whatsoever. Joxer is apparently clueless about Xena and Gabi’s relationship, which seems impossible considering the amount of time they spend together. But this is Joxer we’re talking about … or maybe it’s just willful blindness; when things are finally resolved between him and Gabi later this season, it kinda seems like he knew all along that he never really had a chance.

Noticeable Things:

• Kal is said to be the God of War for the region they’re in, which is presumably somewhere between Italy and Greece. I couldn’t find any War Gods by that name, but maybe he goes by multiple names, like Ares/Mars.
• Lucy’s pregnancy is already starting to show, which explains why she’s wearing a less revealing outfit than usual.
• Speaking of outfits, Gabi’s new Amazon-style leathers are a real eye-opener. And this episode marks the start of her using sais as weapons. Apparently, Renee was studying kickboxing and other martial arts at this time, and that’ll be reflected in the increased fighting Gabi does this season. There’s some question as to how Gabi got so good at fighting, but maybe it’s left over from her archangel training last episode? Amarice is certainly impressed by Gabi’s new ass-kicking abilities.

Favourite Quotes:

• “You had your moments.” Gabi’s reply when Xena pointed out that living with her when she was violent must’ve been a nightmare.
• “’Course you could just kiss the girl.” Xena’s belated advice to Joxer about how to let her know how he feels about her … and Xena’s speaking from experience.
• “Xena, you have this balance of lightness and darkness. Without both of those, the very best of you is defenseless.” Gabi telling Xena she needs her Dark side to do good and summing up the premise of the entire show in two sentences.