Return of the Valkyrie – Director: John Fawcett/Writer: Emily Skopov
This one starts one year after last episode ended. A contingent of Norsemen arrives to rescue Gabi from the ring of fire, despite Beowulf’s warnings that only Gabi’s soulmate can pass the fire safely. (And it looks like Beowulf tried it himself, since one of his hands is burnt.) The leader (Eric) won’t listen, even when the monster Grynhilde starts
slaughtering his men. Eric tries to cross the flames and is incinerated, so Beowulf calls a retreat, telling his friend Wiglaf that they need to get help from Hrothgar, a powerful king. They sail to Denmark and arrive just in time for Hrothgar’s wedding to a woman named Walthea. But Beowulf gets a shock when Walthea turns out to be Xena.
Xena’s memory is still gone, but during the wedding ceremony she has 
flashes of forging the Ring and fighting Grynhilde. Hrothgar is eager to start the honeymoon, but Xena (who’s much less enthusiastic) reminds him they have to wait until the moon is high to consummate their union. Xena (or “Walthea”) is apparently a very modern-thinking woman, with all sorts of plans to better the lives of her new subjects. It sounds like Hrothgar was indulging her to get her to marry him, but now that it’s happened, he tells her to shut up and behave like a proper wife and Xena realizes her marriage isn’t going to be all that great. Meanwhile, the Valkyries are collecting the bodies of Eric and his men and Waltraub (who still has that snotty look on her face) complains about how stupid they are to throw their lives away for Gabi. In Denmark, Hrothgar is
ready to bang Xena right there at the reception, but Beowulf interrupts them. Xena doesn’t recognize him, but Hrothgar’s sister (Hildegyth, who almost seems like she wants to marry Hrothgar herself) overhears him talking to Wiglaf and asks about Xena. Later, Beowulf visits Xena in her room and tries to tell her about Gabi, but Xena thinks he’s crazy. They’re caught together (thanks to Hildegyth) and Odin’s raven sees that Xena is still alive.
Hrothgar condemns them to death, but Beowulf pounds the guards on the 
way to the dungeons (with a little help from Xena, whose fighting instincts kick in even though she considers herself a woman of peace). They sail south to rescue Gabi and retrieve the Ring. Beowulf’s crew are awed by Xena, but she still can’t recall anything of her former life (even though she did have a vision of Gabi after the fight in Hrothgar’s castle). Xena insists she’s a woman of peace, but Beowulf tells her she can do more good with a sword than as a well-meaning queen. In
Valhalla, Odin learns from his raven that Xena is alive and tells Waltraub. Beowulf’s ship stops for provisions and Wiglaf gets into a fight with another guy just for the hell of it. Xena is appalled, but Beowulf tells her she was the one who inspired the battle lust in the Norsemen (and Odin himself) when she was a Valkyrie. That bothers Xena even more, but they’re interrupted when the Valkyries show up.
Waltraub attacks Xena, trying to kill her, but Xena’s instincts kick in again. 
She fights defensively until Odin shows up to talk to her. When he sees her memory is still gone, he orders the Valkyries to leave Xena alone and they head back to Valhalla. Odin tells Waltraub that Xena’s no threat as long as her memory is gone, as she has no reason to come after them (and doesn’t even remember she can kill gods). Odin says it’ll be better if they let Xena retrieve the Ring before going after
her. Waltraub realizes that Odin wants the Ring, which pisses her off since he’d led her to believe he was in love with her, but Odin says he’s forsaken love and wants the Ring’s power for himself. He orders Waltraub to make sure Grynhilde doesn’t interfere with Xena getting the Ring, but Waltraub vows to kill Xena instead. On the ship, Xena has another 
vision of Gabi and Beowulf returns her chakram. They disembark and find the ring of fire, where Brunnhilde’s spirit assures Xena she can pass through the flames unharmed. But the Valkyries attack and Wiglaf is stabbed. Xena tosses Waltraub into the flames, where she’s burnt to a crisp. Beowulf urges Xena to rescue Gabi, but he’s stabbed through the shoulder by Grynhilde.
Xena jumps through the flames and wakes Gabi with a kiss (which somehow
puts both of them back into their old outfits). The Ring absorbs Brunnhilde’s fire and Xena ends up fighting Grynhilde inside her lair. Instead of killing her, Xena apologizes and asks Grynhilde to forgive her and regain her humanity. A fireball erupts from the cave and Xena walks out with the Ring, which has turned back into a nugget of Rheingold, followed by a fully human Grynhilde. After thanking 
Beowulf and Brunnhilde’s spirit, Xena, Gabi, and Grynhilde head up to Valhalla. Odin is surprised to see Grynhilde human again and Xena pressures him into taking her back as head Valkyrie, saying she’ll bring honour back to the Norsemen. Xena and Gabi go to return the Rheingold to the Rhinemaidens, who wonder what magic made her so noble. Xena says it wasn’t magic and gives Gabi a look of love that speaks volumes.
This is a very good episode, although I don’t like it quite as much as last episode (which is why it’s #43 on my all-time list) since Gabi is absent
through most of it. But seeing Xena slowly regain her sense of self as she’s drawn toward Gabi by their soul connection is pretty cool. Emily Skopov said the point of this episode is that Xena and Gabi’s love is so strong that it actually overcomes the magic of the Ring that caused Xena’s memory loss. That’s why she keeps having visions of Gabi, because their connection is stronger than anything, even 
magic. That also explains why Xena was so reluctant to bang Hrothgar; part of her was still remembering how much she loved Gabi. It sounds like the main reason she agreed to marry him was because he rescued her from the sea (and told her she was named Walthea), using her gratitude to gain her affection. He must’ve also played along with her progressive ideas to get her to go through with the marriage, but soon showed his true colours. You can see Xena’s revulsion at the thought of banging Hrothgar, especially when Beowulf comes into her
chamber later and she assumes it’s her new husband coming to “claim” his bride. It’s actually one of the cringiest scenes in the whole series because you can tell Xena really doesn’t want to bang him, but she’s resigned to it. Probably the way a lot of brides felt in the days when marriages were arranged as business deals instead of love matches. It makes Xena’s genuine love for Gabi stand out even more.
As I mentioned last episode, it’s a bit strange that losing Gabi (the thing Xena values most) would turn her into a pacifist. You’d think it would make her a bloodthirsty warrior, like she was before Gabi helped her find balance within herself. But Brunnhilde said Xena had lost her sense of self, lost the person she’d become since meeting Gabi. So maybe it wasn’t her warrior side that she
lost, it was her way of balancing the warrior with the good person inside—balancing the Light and the Dark—that she lost, since that’s something she only learned after spending time with Gabi. We see the ultimate result of Gabi’s influence, when Xena chooses to give Grynhilde a chance at redemption instead of just killing her … a choice Gabi gives Xena every day with her unconditional love.
Noticeable Things:
- When Odin shows up by the seashore, the all Norsemen kneel, except
Beowulf (who also pulls Wiglaf to his feet). - They really lean into the Sleeping Beauty thing here, with Gabi in a princess gown surrounded by thorns, being awakened by a kiss from her true love.
- After Grynhilde turns human again, Beowulf and Wiglaf’s wounds seem to heal instantly.
- Gabi’s hair grew during the year she spent asleep. I assume it’s a wig,
but it sure makes Renee look younger. - When Xena kisses Gabi, we get flashbacks to Sins of the Past, Between the Lines, and The Abyss.
Favourite Quotes:
- “Softness and weakness are two different things.” Xena’s reply when Waltraub accuses her of being soft.
- “I am the truth of who you are. Our souls are united, Xena.” Vision-Gabi reminding Xena who she really is.