Amphipolis Under Siege – Director: Mark Beesley/Writer: Chris Black
On a road near Amphipolis, some border guards try to hold up a woman (Ilainus) dressed in silver armour. She turns out to be the leader of a cohort of silver-clad women, who prepare to waste all the guards. Xena shows up (back in her classic leather outfit after many episodes of maternity wear) to pound the silver warriors (the women over at Xena: Warrior Podcast refer to them as the “Silver Bitches”, but I probably
shouldn’t do that), giving Ilainus a cut across the cheek. The women take off and the guards wonder who would attack on the road to Amphipolis. Ares shows up and Xena figures he’s behind the attack, but he says it’s actually his sister, Athena, who’s still worried about Xena’s daughter Eve bringing about the destruction of the gods. We see Athena heal Ilainus’s cut (and I’m pretty sure Ilainus is more than just her protegée) and Athena says she’ll kill Eve herself.
Xena and Gabi reach Amphipolis and introduce Eve to her grandmother, 
Cyrene (who’s instantly charmed by her). Athena’s forces surround Amphipolis and she plans her attack. Ares tries to give her advice, but she figures the villagers will hand Eve over willingly, since they’ve always been her loyal worshippers. (She also knows about Ares’ offer to help Xena and Eve if Xena has a child with him.) The villagers have heard rumours about Eli’s new message and are willing to shelter Xena and Eve, since they find the idea of free will rather enticing, instead of tying their well-being to the worship of the Olympian
gods. Athena appears and threatens them, but Cyrene leads the people in a song of defiance, saying she’s not willing to lose another grandchild. Later, Gabi leads an attack, but Athena realizes it’s a diversion and sends Ilaina with some troops into the tunnels under Amphipolis. Xena is trying to lead some fighters through the tunnels to come up behind Athena’s army and catch them between her men and Gabi’s, but Ilaina has brought Greek Fire to incinerate Xena and her men.
Xena’s forces retreat and Xena blocks the tunnels behind them, which 
redirects the fireball up towards the battlefield. The explosion takes out a lot of Athena’s troops and the rest pull back (although Xena’s lucky it didn’t damage her own forces, or worse … the ground explodes right in front of Gabi). Later, Gabi tells Xena they can sneak her and Eve out of town, but Xena says that’s not an option since Athena would just threaten to wipe out Amphipolis until Xena gives in. Ilainus leads her archers in an attack on the town and Xena has to save a kid. (There’s always some kid wandering around in the middle of every battle …
maybe they’re all related.) Athena comes to see Xena later, who proposes a one-on-one fight, with no magic or trickery. Athena turns her down and mentions that she’s poisoned the town’s water supply. Xena talks to Cyrene, who tries to encourage her. Xena goes to Ares’ temple and offers to give him what he wants—her as his woman and the leader of his armies—if he’ll help save Eve from Athena.
Since Xena is suddenly offering Ares everything he’s ever wanted, he gets 
suspicious (assuming she’s playing him again) and takes off. Some of the villagers are scared of fighting a goddess, but Gabi gives a great motivational speech, shaming them into sticking to their promise to shield Eve. Gabi asks Ares not to take Xena up on her offer because it would destroy the good part of her. Gabi’s concern makes Ares think Xena’s offer must be genuine, which makes him happy. Ares tries to talk Athena into leaving, saying that the prophecy of the Twilight of the Gods might be self-fulfilling: Eve is obviously no threat to them, but if they keep attacking Xena, they might end up dead after all. But
Athena is too stubborn (or too scared) to walk away. Ares heads back to his temple, which is set up for seduction: rose petals, wine, and Xena naked under a fur. She makes him swear to help save Eve from Athena and they start making out. It looks like they’re ready to bang when an explosion blows a hole in the wall and Cyrene shows up with Eve to tell them Gabi is attacking Athena’s forces.
Xena decides to put an end to things before the whole village is wiped out, 
despite Ares confirming that he would’ve kept his part of the bargain. Gabi and her forces are surrounded, but before Ilainus can kill her, Xena shows up on the battlefield with Eve wrapped in a blanket. Ignoring Gabi’s protests, Xena sets Eve down and tells Athena to kill her quickly and end this whole mess. Before Athena can strike, Ares pops in and stops her. They start fighting and Xena goes after Ilainus, as Gabi leads a surprise attack against Athena’s forces. Athena kicks the shit out of Ares, but Xena kills Ilainus, which causes their forces to rout. Athena takes Ilainus’s body away, warning Ares that the gods will be the
next to die. Ares figures Xena owes him, but it turns out Eve was never in any real danger; the bundle Xena brought out for Athena to “kill” was just a wooden doll. Cyrene brings out the real Eve and is amazed to learn that the whole thing—Xena’s offer to Ares, Gabi’s consternation, the supposed sacrifice of Eve—was all a ruse to get rid of Athena without Xena being beholden to Ares. But Xena admits she did feel a little something when she was making out with Ares, which worries Gabi a bit.
This is a really good episode (#15 on my all-time list) that really kicks the 
whole Twilight of the Gods thing into full gear. We get our first look at Athena, who obviously believes that Eve will bring the death of the gods and is too stubborn (or scared, or proud) to see that Ares is right. It’s their own fears that are pushing the gods to extinction, not Eve, not even people turning their devotion towards Eli. Xena gives Athena the chance to get out without further bloodshed (and will make similar offers in the future), but Athena refuses to budge and that, more than anything, is what will doom
her in the end. It’s interesting to see Ares as the voice of reason and him siding with Xena is cool (even though Athena kicks his ass). He really does love Xena (or the Dark part of her, at least) and there’s a certain amount of attraction on her part too, although I think it’s mostly physical. She definitely doesn’t have the same feelings for Ares that she does for Gabi.
Speaking of Gabi, she really shines in this episode. Not only is she leading 
the attacks (a far cry from her reluctance to be a battle leader last season), but she’s also an integral part of Xena’s fake-out on Ares and Athena. Gabi really kicks ass in the fight scenes, using multiple weapons (a spear, a sword, and even a war hammer) and commanding the loyalty and trust of the people of Amphipolis. And I love the motivational speech she gives, something Renee’s always good at. In fact, I personally like this speech better than the one in To Helicon and
Back; I think this one sounds more heartfelt, more emotional. And it looks like Cyrene has finally figured out that Xena and Gabi are more than just friends … the way she says “What am I gonna do with you two?” after finding out about their ruse sounds like she’s addressing them as a couple. Maybe they finally let her know after she was so clueless in Lyre Lyre.
Noticeable Things:
- At the beginning of the episode, the border guards seem more like bandits than guards. Their leader hints that they might not charge Ilainus if she bangs them, and they don’t seem to care whether she’s willing or not. Kinda ironic that Xena ends up saving them, since those are the kind of guys she’s usually fighting.
- When Cyrene finds Xena and Ares making out, she says she’d prefer Apollo or Hermes as a son-in-law, which Ares finds insulting.
- Apparently, Athena has Roman legions, Cleopatra’s Royal Guard, and knights from Britannia in her army, besides her own troops. I’m surprised Cleopatra would send warriors to wipe out Amphipolis … Xena did save her life.
Favourite Quotes:
- “Don’t forget weaving.” Xena’s response when Ares points out that she’s fighting the Goddess of Wisdom and Warfare.
- “Ah, you’re thinking with your codpiece again, brother.” Athena pointing out that Ares’ motives for helping Xena might be somewhat selfish.
- “We’re not fighting for Xena. We’re fighting for ourselves. For our right to be treated like human beings, not game pieces. If any one of you is willing to give up their own child, then speak up! ’Cause I will not have you fighting next to me!” The final part of Gabi’s speech, which convinces the people of Amphipolis they’re on the right side.
- “You saved my dollie.” Xena letting Ares know he’s been had … and not in the way he would’ve liked.