Xena Reviews: Season 5, Episode 9

Seeds of Faith – Director: Garth Maxwell/Writers: George Strayton, Tom O’Neil

This one starts with a guy named Petracles preaching to a group of people about not worshipping the Greek gods anymore, instead leading their own lives without fear. Some of the crowd are skeptical and things get heated. Xena and Gabi show up and Xena tries to calm things down, but when Gabi sees a guy reaching into his tunic, she pounds him and that starts a big brawl. (Turns out he was reaching for a handkerchief.) After things calm down, Ares shows up to intimidate the people and Xena realizes he’s afraid of the Twilight of the Gods, a prophecy of the Fates that says the gods will lose their power when people stop worshipping them. As Callisto appears in angelic form to watch, Ares tells Xena to back off if she values her life … and that of her child.

As they escort Petracles and his followers to see their leader, Xena gives Gabi shit for starting the fight (and yes, Gabi points out the irony of that). They find out Petracles’ leader is Eli, who’s getting everyone to burn their weapons and follow the Way of Peace. Xena warns Eli the old gods won’t give up without a fight and some of his followers may get killed, but Eli says he isn’t asking them to do anything he’s not willing to do himself. Gabi talks to Eli about her leaving his Way of Love, but he admits he has doubts of his own and says he could never be disappointed in her. Ares shows up to threaten Eli, but Eli doesn’t seem too bothered. Xena goes out to scout Ares’ army and Callisto tells her to let Eli face Ares alone. Xena doesn’t really trust Callisto (which is strange, since she’s the one who redeemed her in Hell), but gets distracted when the army’s scouts find her.

Xena pounds the scouts and learns where the main attack is coming from. Eli has his Garden of Gethsemane moment, where he prays for strength and Callisto appears to reassure him. He admits to being afraid and Callisto says that’s precisely why he’s the right person to inspire the people. Xena warns Eli about Ares’ army, but he refuses to leave. Xena tells Gabi to protect Eli while she goes to stop the army at the bridge into town. While Xena does her Horatius at the Bridge impression, Ares shows up to intimidate the villagers and threaten Eli again. Eli knows what his fate is and faces Ares without fear. When Gabi tries to defend him, he makes her promise not to interfere with his destiny. Ares kills Eli (and actually looks kinda sorry afterwards) and vanishes, leaving a devastated Gabi with Eli’s dead body.

Xena returns after cutting the bridge to find Eli dead. When she finds out Gabi didn’t try to fight Ares, she gets pissed off and Gabi freaks, saying she just did what Eli asked. Xena points out that people like Eli need people like her to defend them, but Gabi wonders if that means Ares was right all along. Gabi goes out to work off her anger and Ares appears, offering her true power to change the world if she’ll join him … and she seems to be seriously considering it. Xena lights Eli’s funeral pyre and when Callisto shows up, Xena gives her shit for pushing Eli into martyring himself. Callisto says she just wants to help and Xena asks her to help find the Dagger of Helios, so she can kill Ares if she has to. Gabi talks to Eli’s ashes, explaining that her association with Ares is just so she can learn from him, hopefully without having to give up her soul in exchange. Callisto takes Xena to the Dagger of Helios (which doesn’t look like the one we saw before) and tries again to talk her out of using it. Xena says that if you want peace, you sometimes have to fight for it.

Ares shows up to cow Eli’s followers and when he tries to get violent, Gabi stands up to him. He kicks her ass, but Xena stops him from killing her and prepares to waste him with the Dagger of Helios. She sees Eli’s face in the blade and remembers his preaching, realizing that killing Ares will make him a martyr like his killing of Eli did. Ares almost kills her until she points out he’d just be martyring her to Eli’s cause, so he destroys the Dagger and takes off. Xena and Gabi make up and Eli and Callisto appear to thank them. (From the crowd’s reaction, they can definitely see Eli, which probably cements his legend and explains why his later followers are so zealous.) Callisto and Xena make peace and Callisto admits she’s the one who immaculately impregnated Xena. Apparently, Callisto’s soul is going to be reborn into Xena’s baby, which Xena doesn’t seem too bothered about, considering their history.

This is a pretty good episode (#60 on my all-time list) which leads into the Twilight of the Gods storyline, which will run through the rest of the season. In the big picture, this episode is about mortals having Free Will, choosing their own destinies instead of having them dictated by the gods (though you could argue that Christianity is just as prescriptive in its own way). On a smaller scale, it’s about faith and the courage it takes to believe in something—or someone—when your instincts tell you not to. Xena doesn’t really buy into Eli’s non-violent philosophy, but Gabi does … in her heart, at least; her head tells her that Xena’s right about sometimes having to fight for your beliefs. There’s an intercut of Xena fighting on the bridge (and apparently enjoying it) and Eli preaching peace and love in the village. Callisto says everyone is born with the potential for good or evil and which side we nurture determines who we are. Xena’s been trying to find that balance her whole life, so maybe the seed of faith in the title isn’t just the beginning of Eli’s new religion … it could also refer to Xena’s faith that she may someday redeem herself for her past.

Gabi’s faith seems to be shaken here, since she ends up allying with Ares (temporarily). Ares goes after her at her lowest ebb and gives her a taste of power, tempting her to put it to good use. (Some fans think the look on Gabi’s face when she feels Ares’ power is almost orgasmic, and it’s kinda hard to argue with that.) Apparently, there was supposed to be some footage of her training with him, but it was cut for time, which explains Gabi’s soliloquy to Eli’s ashes. She was trying to balance between learning from Ares (so she could use that knowledge for the greater good) and actually converting to his philosophy. Gabi is genuinely bothered at the thought of the future being shaped by warriors, even though she’s in love with a Warrior. But I think the difference is in why they fight; Ares fights for the sake of it, where Xena has learned (since meeting Gabi) to fight for what’s right. I think Xena knows the future won’t be shaped by warriors, since she’s basically admitted that in The Price and Between the Lines. It’s kind of ironic that Xena’s upset at Gabi for being too violent (when she starts a needless fight at the beginning of the show), but later gets mad at Gabi for not being violent enough when Ares killed Eli. I guess that balance is hard to find for everyone.

Noticeable Things:

• Gabi mistaking a handkerchief for a weapon won’t be the last time she overreacts, but the next one will have more tragic consequences.
• I’m not sure where this is meant to take place. It seems to be in a desert and the clothes and architecture look Middle Eastern or North African, but that seems a little out of the way for Ares to be worrying about worshippers.
• There’s a definite Temple of Doom vibe to Xena’s bridge fight, with her opponents dressed a bit like the Thuggees in that movie. She tosses several of them off the bridge before cutting the ropes, also reminiscent of the movie.
• When Ares asks who the father of Xena’s baby is, she says it’s Gabi, which really surprises Ares. The shit-eating grin on Gabi’s face is priceless.

Favourite Quotes:

• “Am I getting too old for this?” Xena’s question to herself as the soldiers attack. Her immediate answer is “Nah.”
• “So Ares is right? The whole future is shaped by warriors.” Gabi hoping Xena doesn’t share Ares’ philosophy.
• “You can’t give me what you don’t have.” Gabi’s reply when Ares said he could’ve given her the world.