Xena Reviews: Season 6, Episode 5

Legacy – Director: Chris Martin-Jones/Writer: Melissa Good

This one starts with Xena and Gabi travelling through the North African desert. After getting caught in a sandstorm, they find a ruined temple and have a bath. Their spa day is interrupted by the sounds of battle nearby and they find a handful of desert nomads being attacked by a bunch of mounted riders. Xena and Gabi help fight off the attackers, but the leader of the people they saved (Kahina) isn’t too grateful, telling them they shouldn’t get involved in tribal business. Kahina doesn’t believe her rescuers are the real Xena and Gabi until Xena demonstrates her use of the chakram … which makes Kahina and the others bow down in worship.

Back at Kahina’s camp, Xena and Gabi are treated like legendary heroes returned, which they kind of are since the tribesmen are familiar with Gabi’s scrolls. After offering them food (and a couple of men for recreational sex, which they decline because of “Amazon chastity oaths” ), Kahina asks Xena and Gabi to help them fight the Romans, who threaten to overrun the whole region. Xena agrees and Kahina introduces them to Tazere, the head of a rival tribe. Tazere agrees to let Xena and Gabi help after his son Korah gushes about their battle prowess. Korah is rather taken with Gabi’s fighting style and asks her to teach him to use the sais. The next morning, Xena and Gabi head out to the nearest Roman outpost, where Xena pretends to be a rich Roman lady (with Gabi as her slave) looking to invest her husband’s money. They find out the Romans’ troop strength, but get caught in another sandstorm on the way back to the nomads. When Gabi sees a menacing shape loom up behind Xena with a dagger, she reacts instinctively, stabbing him … but it turns out to be Korah holding a message scroll.

Gabi’s ready to confess and take her punishment (which is death), but Xena sends her back to Kahina’s camp and takes Korah’s body back to Tazere. When Tazere asks who killed his son, Xena mentions seeing plenty of tracks in the desert, letting him think the Romans were responsible. When Gabi finds out about Xena’s trickery, she’s upset but Xena says she shouldn’t have to die for a mistake. The nomads capture a Roman soldier and are ready to torture and execute him for Korah’s death, but Xena points out he might not be guilty. The nomads figure he’s Roman, so if he isn’t the killer, one of his fellows is. Gabi breaks down and admits she’s the one who killed Korah.

Gabi is taken to Tazere’s camp and chained up beside Korah’s body. Kahina tells Xena the nomads won’t follow her against the Romans now because she lied to them. Gabi thinks about the course her life has taken, from innocent farm girl to the Battling Bard of Poteidaia, and remembers Xena talking about the light she used to see in her. Gabi figures that light has pretty much been extinguished and maybe her death is the best way to pay for taking Korah’s life. The next day, Xena rides to see the Roman governor, letting him know exactly where the nomads are camped. Meanwhile, the nomads bury Gabi up to her neck in sand so they can play a deadly game of polo.

Xena warns the nomads the Romans are coming and digs Gabi up from the sand. Xena and Gabi offer to help fight the Romans and the nomads realize they don’t have much choice but to accept. (Although Kahina wonders how the Romans knew where they were, hinting that Gabi may have left some of Xena’s more questionable deeds out of her scrolls.) The nomads know a sandstorm is coming, so they use that to ambush the Romans. Xena and Gabi help defeat the Romans and Gabi saves Tazere’s life (using her staff, not her sais) during the fight. Later, Gabi mentions the Greater Good, but Xena says Gabi goes beyond the Greater Good for her. Tazare thanks Gabi for saving his life and says they’re even, but neither of them really believes it.

This is a pretty good episode (#91 on my all-time list, but it could move up a bit) that highlights how far Gabi has come since she first met Xena, and how much she’s changed. Gabi is initially disconcerted at being thought of as a warrior more than a bard, but says she’s fine with it. I think she’s probably changed her mind by the end of the episode. At Kahina’s camp, Gabi asks Xena how to know if you should kill or not during a fight (since Gabi had a chance to kill someone in the desert fight and didn’t do it) and Xena tells her to trust her instincts. But Gabi’s instinct turns out to be wrong when she accidentally kills Korah. (In Gabi’s defense, the scroll Korah is holding actually does look like a dagger in the first shot, and Xena points out that sneaking up on a warrior in a sandstorm was a stupid thing to do.)

It’s interesting to see how far Xena is willing to go to save Gabi, not only lying but letting the Romans (who she still hates) know where to find the nomad camps. Xena says Gabi transcends the Greater Good for her, which is nice but I wish Xena had let Gabi use that same argument in the series finale. Of course, Xena knows exactly how Gabi feels, telling her that she once thought she had nothing left to live for and just wanted her pain to end … until she met Gabi, who points out that they’ve come full circle. There’s an interesting parallel between Xena guiding Gabi’s change into a warrior and Korah wanting Gabi to mentor him, especially since Korah seemed quite impressed with Gabi’s skills as a bard too.

Noticeable Things:

• I’m assuming Xena and Gabi returned to North Africa after last episode, taking Sarah home to Lila before coming back. I can’t believe they’d just send Sarah home with Eve and Virgil after all she’d been through.
• According the the Roman governor, Xena doesn’t have a very high reputation in the empire anymore. The Romans seem to think she was no one special after being crucified by Caesar, but that’s probably just propaganda spread around to keep her legend from getting too big. The common people certainly seem to hold her in high esteem.
• Kahina is played by Alison Bruce, who we’ve seen a couple times before as different characters.
• When Gabi is thinking about her life, we get flashbacks to various episodes illustrating her life’s journey: Sins of the Past, Dreamworker, Greater Good, Is There a Doctor in the House?, Return of Callisto, Deliverer, The Way, Callisto, Ides of March, Seeds of Faith, Amphipolis Under Siege, and Who’s Gurkhan?

Favourite Quotes:

• “Deserts don’t have to be dry, windy, and desolate, Xena … it’s optional.” Gabi complaining about the local weather.
• “Sand up my wazoo gets me a little edgy.” Gabi explaining her bad mood.
• “Do we ever know where we’re going?” Gabi asking a very philosophical question.