Welcome to my geography and timeline review for Season 6. As usual, this is my attempt to bring some continuity to this season’s episodes, trying to figure out where they took place and in the best possible order to make the whole thing flow better. As I’ve said before, none of this minutiae really matters all that much (and my reasoning could be completely off), but I’m a continuity nerd, so I have to at least try. This season has some pretty clear geographical references (with one or two exceptions), so it’s fairly easy to figure out where Xena and Gabi are in most episodes. As I said last year, if you’re not as enamoured of this sort of thing as I am, feel free to skip this post. My final Xena post (a quick overview of the series and a revised episode ranking) will be up next Wednesday.
I’m sticking to the same format as for geography posts in previous seasons (here are Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5), taking the episodes in the order they aired. I won’t link to individual episodes, since they’re easy to access through my Tag Cloud under “Xena Season 6”. At the end of the post, I’ll talk about a slightly revised viewing order that might make things flow better, but it’s just my opinion and others might have a
more logical one. There really aren’t any major changes in episode order needed for this season, as the overall story arc is pretty linear. There is one episode that could (or maybe should) be moved, which I’ll discuss when I come to it. If you disagree with my conclusions, let me know in the Comments. As usual, I believe Xena and Gabi are having plenty of unrecorded adventures (and training sessions, and personal time) in between episodes, so they technically have time to travel wherever they want, if we assume the travelling is mostly done off-screen and between episodes. (And there’s a lot of travel in this season.) You can click on the maps for a larger view (CTRL click to open them in a new window or tab) and thanks again to getdrawings.com for my Greece outline map, and to d-maps.com for the other maps.
1. Coming Home: This obviously takes place in or around the Amazon
village, which is most likely somewhere east of Amphipolis. It kinda seems like this episode follows straight on from the Season 5 finale; I assume Xena, Gabi, and Eve were heading for Amphipolis when they got Ares’ message and they bypassed Amphipolis to meet him, since they owed him for saving them in the fight on Mount Olympus.
2. The Haunting of Amphipolis: This takes place in Amphipolis, although
it’s looking a bit more rugged than we’re used to.
3. Heart of Darkness: This also has to take place in Amphipolis, since the portal to Hell is located there. The village is looking a bit better, and I assume things go back to normal once the evil is banished.
4. Who’s Gurkhan?: This one starts in Poteidaia and quickly moves to Mogador, which was a real city (currently known as Essaouira in Morocco), way west along the North African coast, so far that it’s even outside Roman territory. Xena and the others would have a long voyage there and back; even though the next episode seems to follow right after this, I’m assuming
Gabi and Xena would escort Sarah home to Lila, not just send her on her way with Eve and Virgil.
5. Legacy: This also takes place in North Africa, but in (or near) Roman territory this time. Assuming Xena and Gabi escorted the others back to Poteidaia, they could’ve returned to the African shore for a vacation. I figure they probably went straight south from Greece, ending up in a place where the Romans had a foothold but not complete control, like Cyrenaica (west of Egypt).
6. The Abyss: There are no clues as to where this takes place, so it technically could be anywhere. Presumably, it’s someplace wild and
uncivilized, a long way from the cities of Greece. The fact that the cannibals yell “kaltaka” suggests they could be related to the Horde, so maybe this takes place near Horde territory, somewhere northwest of Greece, which was considered wild and barbaric back then. Xena and Gabi could’ve arranged to meet Virgil and Hotep when they dropped Virgil off after Legacy. This can’t take place before Legacy because Gabi is feeling guilty here about killing Korah.
7. The Rheingold: This takes place in northern Europe, but exactly where is never specified. Gabi reaches her destination on horseback, so it must be in mainland Europe, close to the north coast. The Beowulf and Siegfried
legends were set in northern Europe, so that fits. I figure most of the action takes place southeast of Denmark, in northern Germany or Poland, although the Rhinemaiden connection suggests a location further west. But maybe Xena travelled to the Rhine to steal their gold before returning east.
8. The Ring: This also takes place in northern Europe, same as last episode. There’s no clue where Valhalla might be, but there are plenty of mountains that could fit. Same with the Eastwind bogs, with could easily fit in northern Poland somewhere.
9. Return of the Valkyrie: A year passes between this episode and the
previous one, but it seems to take place in the same general location. In real-life mythology, Hrothgar’s stronghold (Heorot) was in Denmark, around where Copenhagen is now (which fits with this episode). That would explain the sea voyages to and from Hrothgar’s stronghold, as they’d be quicker than going around by land.
10. Old Ares Had a Farm: In my geography post for Season 3, I speculated that Fins, Femmes, and Gems might take place at the big lake known as
Boebeis, in Magnesia. I also speculated that it might be near the farm of Xena’s grandparents that we see in this episode. There are several places mentioned here (Laocoon Valley, Harada Pass, Poltrous Caves), but I couldn’t find any real-life references to any of them (except Laocoon, which refers to people not places). But Boebeis Lake does have quite a few rivers running into it, so one of them could be in the Laocoon Valley. Likewise, Harada Pass and Poltrous Caves could be located in the mountainous regions surrounding the lake.
11. Dangerous Prey: This takes place in Amazon territory, with Morloch’s stronghold presumably located in the forest somewhere close, probably to
the north.
12. The God You Know: This takes place in Rome, where Eve has been preaching.
13. You Are There: This seems to take place mostly in the north, in the same location as the Ring trilogy above. But the camera crew seem to be able to pop in wherever they like: the farm where Ares is hiding, Heaven and Hell, and wherever Eve was preaching, which I assume is in Greece somewhere (or maybe still near Rome). Xena shows up at the farm too, but maybe she hitched a ride with Nigel and his crew. The episode definitely ends in the north, right outside Valhalla.
14. Path of Vengeance: This takes place in Amazon territory and leads right into the next episode.
15. To Helicon and Back: This starts in Amazon territory and moves to
Helicon, which Gabi says is a fortress on the coast. There’s a Mount Helicon, but it’s way down near Thebes, so I assume this fortress was just named after the mountain. I’m guessing Amazon territory doesn’t extend right to the coast, as they don’t seem to have any interest in seafaring, so Helicon is probably on the coast just south of their territory. It can’t be too far, as everyone seems to go there and back pretty quickly.
16. Send in the Clones: This takes place in the present (or future, from Xena and Gabi’s viewpoint) so it doesn’t need to fit into the regular episode order, as it could technically take place anytime.
17. Last of the Centaurs: This is obviously set in Centaur territory, but I’m
assuming it’s not the northern Centaur territory near the Amazons. More likely it’s set in the Pholoe Oak Forest, lands of the southern Centaurs. That would fit, since it’s where Xenon was raised (or so I speculated in my Season 2 Geography post). Maybe Xena and Gabi headed down there to let the Centaurs know what had just happened to the Amazons.
18. When Fates Collide: This takes place in and around Rome, but because of Caesar’s screwing with history it’s technically outside of continuity. So it could actually fit in anywhere and a lot of fans think this should tale place after the series finale, thus bringing Xena back so she and Gabi can have
their happy ending after all. That could work, although Caesar mentions Xena riding off into the sunset with her girlfriend, which doesn’t seem like something he’d say after Xena died in A Friend in Need. But since Xena died in Jappa, maybe her spirit didn’t end up in the Greek underworld (or maybe she never went to the underworld because she stayed with Gabi, as we saw in the finale), so Caesar might not know what happened. In that case, this could be moved back after the finale, and it would be a good way of restoring Xena to life.
19. Many Happy Returns: This starts on a coast and then moves to Thebes, which is in the middle of the countryside, away from either coast. But it’s not too far to either coast from Thebes, so there’s no reason the episode can’t start by the seashore. My guess is they start on the east coast, in or near Aulis. That’s
the city where many of the Greek ships set sail for Troy, and where Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia. So maybe the Zealot cult grew up from that, sacrificing virgins to appease their own proprietary god (Genaia’s name does sound rather close to Iphigenia). Going by Xena’s timeline, the Trojan War would’ve started about 40 years ago, plenty of time for a sacrificial cult to grow up in Aulis. The episode also ends on a coast, but this looks like the west coast, since the sun is setting over the sea. The west coast is actually a little closer to Thebes than the eastern shore, so Xena and Gabi probably had time to get there by sunset (or maybe Aphrodite just zapped them there).
20. Soul Possession: This takes place in flashback and in the future, so it doesn’t really matter when or where things happen. And as I said in my
review of this episode, the whole thing might be apocryphal anyway, since it’s based on Joxer’s writings instead of Gabi’s. In my Season 3 Geography post, I speculated that Sacrifice I and II could’ve taken place on the coast north of Corinth. That would fit with Xena hiding the scroll in a cave in the Ionian Sea, of which the Gulf of Corinth is an extension.
21. A Friend in Need: This could start anywhere in Greece, but mostly takes
place in Jappa (which is obviously Japan). Originally, Xena and Gabi were supposed to stop off and see Eve in Chin on their way to Jappa, but that ended up being cut. We could assume they actually did stop and see her, which would mean that Gabi’s mention of seeing some acrobats could’ve taken place at that stopover in Chin.
22. A Friend in Need Part II: This takes place in Jappa as well, following immediately after the previous episode. A lot of fans seem to think the final scene shows Gabi’s ship sailing into the sunrise, but that doesn’t really make sense; if she was heading toward the sunrise, she’d be going due east, straight into the Pacific Ocean, when she’s supposed to be returning home.
Also, the sun is low behind some land, which is basically impossible if Gabi’s going anywhere except west. I think the land we see is probably Greece and Gabi is heading home to put Xena’s ashes in the family crypt (and maybe see Lila and Sarah) before heading off to Egypt for more adventures. I think that’s appropriate, as it represents the sun setting on Gabi’s adventures with Xena (at least for now), and on her role as a sidekick and apprentice, now that she’s become a fully-fledged hero in her own right.
So that’s my take on the locations of the episodes and as for the timeline, I wouldn’t really change much. The episodes almost have to be viewed in the order they aired (other than stuff like Send in the Clones and Soul Possession, which could technically fit in anywhere). The main exception is When Fates Collide, which as I mentioned, could be pushed back to take place after the two-part finale. If we really wanted to experiment, we could
keep Many Happy Returns right after When Fates Collide, making it the series finale, with that great closing shot of Xena and Gabi flying off into the sunset together. So the order of the last few episodes (if we ignore Send in the Clones and Soul Possession) could go: To Helicon and Back; Last of the Centaurs; A Friend in Need I and II (seeing the Amazons and Centaurs wiped out could explain why Xena and Gabi are so philosophical and eager to leave Greece in the teaser for Friend in Need); When Fates Collide; and Many Happy Returns. Or Many Happy Returns could still take place before A Friend in Need … either way Xena and Gabi would get the happy ending they deserve. As always, if you disagree with my hypotheses or have some suggestions for a different viewing order (or locations for the episodes) let me know in the comments. And join me next Wednesday as I wrap up my Xena coverage with a quick overview of the series (and a revised ranking of my favourite episodes) and announce what show I’ll be reviewing next.