Xena Reviews: Season 6, Episode 14

Path of Vengeance – Director: Chris Martin-Jones/Writer: Joel Metzger

This one starts with a meeting of Amazon queens from various regions discussing amalgamating their scattered tribes. Varia (leader of the Greek Amazons) leads a foray against some Roman troops who have encroached on Amazon land. The Romans were sent as an escort for Eve, who’s come to bring a message of peace from the new Emperor. The Amazons slaughter the Romans and take Eve captive, but one soldier gets away and heads to the nearest town to let the rest of the soldiers know what happened. He runs into Xena and Gabi and when Xena hears about Eve’s capture, she knows her daughter is in danger of being executed.

Varia directs the Amazons to kill the Romans who surrendered, which doesn’t sit well with some of them (especially Cyane, the leader of the Northern Amazons, who’s played by the same actress who played Eris last season). Xena and Gabi run into Cyane (she’s thrilled to meet a legendary queen like Gabi), who brings them to the Amazon council. Since Gabi is an Amazon queen, she has the right to speak at the council and allows Xena to come with her. Varia tells the council how Eve (as Livia) raided her village years ago, killing and capturing many Amazons. Varia had the chance to kill Livia but hesitated (because she’d never killed before) and Livia ended up killing Varia’s sister. Eve admits she did kill Amazons and sell others into slavery, so the council pronounces a death sentence on her.

Xena is given an hour to come up with a defense for Eve and realizes Varia has allied herself with Ares. Xena tries to warn Varia about trusting Ares, but she won’t listen. Xena makes Eve admit that Ares is the one who talked her into going after the Amazons years ago, even suggesting that she sell the captives to Gurkhan. Gabi joins the debate over Eve’s fate, but Xena is getting anxious (and fed up with all the Amazon procedural bullshit). Eve’s story about Ares bothers Varia and she confronts him. He admits he did talk Eve into going after the Amazons, but deflects Varia’s anger by pointing out that Gurkhan would never buy Amazons as slaves (since they were too rebellious), so Eve dumped the captives overboard from the slave ship. The Amazon council votes on Eve’s fate and Xena walks in just in time to hear Gabi vote guilty.

Xena’s pissed off and won’t listen when Gabi says the vote was just her way of remaining on the council to talk them into a lighter sentence. Xena talks to Ares, who tells her a parable about a scorpion and a swan. It’s the usual one (although normally it’s a frog instead of a swan): the scorpion wants a ride over the river and the swan takes him, figuring the scorpion won’t risk drowning by stinging him. But the scorpion does sting the swan to death because it’s in his nature … that’s what scorpions do. Ares tells Xena that fomenting war is in his nature and a war between the Amazons and Romans will replace the worshippers he lost while he was mortal. Varia condemns Eve to death, but Gabi challenges her for the Amazon queenship. Gabi does her best, but Varia kicks the shit out of her and Eve is taken to be executed (by being thrown into a pool of acid).

Gabi gives Xena her blessing to save Eve however she can and Xena confronts Varia. They fight over the acid pit and Xena does better than Gabi, but lets Varia get the upper hand. Xena points out that Varia’s guilt over her sister is what’s really driving her; if she’d had the guts to kill Livia six years ago, her sister would still be alive. Xena tells Varia she’ll have to kill her to get to Eve and Varia realizes that Xena is protecting her daughter just like Varia’s sister tried to protect her. She throws her sword aside and Xena frees Eve, warning the Amazons about trusting Ares. After another council meeting, Varia pronounces Livia dead, but says Eve can go free to keep spreading her message of peace and forgiveness. Varia thanks Xena for helping her see the light. Eve decides she wants to go preach Eli’s word in Chin, so she says a tearful goodbye to Xena and Gabi.

I’m not really a huge fan of this episode (which is why it’s #93 on my all-time list), although it’s definitely well done. I just don’t like Varia all that much, even though Tsianina Joelson plays her really well. I just find her annoying; she’s supposed to be the future of the Amazons and Marga believed she’d make a great queen, but she can’t let go of her anger, she won’t listen to reason, and she allows herself (and the Amazons) to fall under Ares’ influence. I guess I can’t blame Varia too much for being manipulated by Ares, since he did the same to Eve and Xena at different times. Like he said, it’s what he does. It is pretty cool to see the various Amazon tribes (including some we’ve never seen before) coming together to swell their ranks and try to get back some of their old glory. Unfortunately, after next episode, the Amazons will be even worse off than they were before.

It’s also nice to see Gabi acting like a queen here, trying to use words instead of violence to sway them to her point of view. She’s obviously trying to keep them from turning bloodthirsty and losing their way, kinda like what happened in Lifeblood. Baby Eve was made an Amazon (and received Gabi’s Right of Caste) in that episode, but there’s no mention of that here. I suppose Eve lost her Amazon rights when she was Livia, but you’d think Gabi would’ve at least mentioned it. It’s also great to see Gabi ready to back up her peaceful words with some old-fashioned ass-kicking, although I thought she should’ve done better in the fight against Varia. I know she had to lose for the plot, and that Varia was trained by Ares, but Gabi was trained by Xena (and by Ares too, briefly), so she should’ve done better in the fight. I guess the main thing about the fight is that Gabi was willing to risk her life to save Eve.

Noticeable Things:

• In the fight against Xena, Varia uses the backwards flip move that helped her recognize Eve as Livia in Coming Home.
• This is Eve’s last appearance. Apparently, she was supposed to come back at some point, but it never worked out. The goodbye scene is kinda sweet, but it gets a little weird as Eve walks away; Xena tells her to stay out of trouble, but the way she says it is kinda weird. She puts her hand over her face like she’s overcome with emotion, but it almost looks like Renee is trying not to laugh at Xena’s last line, so maybe Lucy was hiding her own laughter? Lucy (and the creators) later said if they’d known this was Eve’s last appearance, they would’ve done the goodbye scene differently.

Favourite Quotes:

• “It’s what I do.” Ares telling Xena that he’s just acting according to his true nature.
• “Ares, the scorpion drowned.” Xena reminding Ares of the consequences of following one’s nature too closely.