Xena Reviews: Season 4, Episode 21

The Ides of March – Director: Ken Girotti/Writer: R.J. Stewart

This one starts with Callisto in Hell, being tormented by the shades of Xena and Gabi. She’s told that the Lord of Hell wants to knock Xena off her redemptive path and is willing to let Callisto be his instrument. But Callisto isn’t allowed to hurt Xena physically, since the triumph has to be a spiritual one. And Callisto has another mission, something to do with Julius Caesar. Caesar is having dark dreams about Xena, but Callisto appears and tells him she can help him achieve his destiny and get rid of Xena too. Xena, Gabi, and Amarice are looking for Eli when they’re attacked by mercenaries. Xena and Amarice kick ass, but Gabi has to save Amarice by knocking an attacker into the water. Xena finds out Caesar has put a six-million-dinar bounty on her and decides she needs to kill him.

Gabi’s worried about Alti’s vision (of her and Xena being crucified) coming true, which is why Xena won’t let her come to Rome. Gabi’s not happy about Xena’s plan to kill Caesar, but Xena convinces her it’s the only way to get him off her case. Xena tells Amarice to stay with Gabi so she can maybe learn something. Caesar is inundated with false claims on the bounty and gets impatient, but Callisto tells him the bounty will draw Xena to Rome. She suggests Caesar take out a little insurance just in case. Gabi and Amarice find Eli healing someone and Amarice isn’t impressed with his non-violent ways. They’re captured by Romans led by Brutus, who says it’s just for insurance against Xena killing Caesar. Gabi offers to go alone, but Brutus has orders to take Eli and his followers too. Xena sneaks into Caesar’s office and sees him trying on a laurel wreath. She tries to kill him with her chakram, but Callisto catches it.

After a brief fight, Xena escapes but runs into Callisto outside. Callisto tells her about being condemned to hell and how her new Master has his eye on Caesar. Xena guesses that Caesar will declare himself Emperor on the Ides of March and Callisto confirms it, saying he plans to bribe Brutus into accepting it by offering him command of Gaul. Callisto mentions Gabi being captured, which freaks Xena out. At the prison at the foot of Mount Amaro, crosses are being built and Gabi has a pretty good idea who they’re for. The commander tells Brutus they’re planning to crucify some pirates, but Gabi doesn’t believe that (and Brutus looks doubtful too). Amarice tries to escape and Gabi saves her by reminding Brutus how she spared him in the Amazon village last episode. Xena catches Brutus while he’s taking a piss and tells him about Caesar’s plans. She also mentions hearing about assassins in Gaul, which I assume is a ploy since she knows Caesar will be offering Gaul to Brutus soon. Brutus tells Xena where Gabi is being held and confirms that it was snowing on Mount Amaro when he left, which makes Xena think Alti’s vision is probably going to come true after all.

Gabi and Eli meditate to reach a state of pure love, which doesn’t impress Amarice much. Outside, Callisto offers Xena the chance to save everyone if she’ll leave her Warrior path and become a peacenik like Gabi. Xena refuses and sneaks into the fort in a wagon full of corpses. Brutus talks to Caesar and finds out he lied about sparing Gabi. He gets more worried when Caesar mentions big plans for the Ides of March (the next day) and hints that he’ll soon be sending Brutus to Gaul. Amarice wonders if Xena will show up in time and Gabi, knowing Alti’s vision is coming true, assures her Xena will be there (although some part of Gabi probably hopes Xena doesn’t make it). Callisto makes Xena another offer—she’ll stop the vision from coming true if Xena leaves Caesar alone—and Xena refuses again, so Callisto alerts the guards. Xena gets Gabi and the others out, but has to fight a bunch of Romans (with some help from Amarice). Amarice gets Eli and his followers out, but Gabi lingers to wait for Xena, who’s still fighting the Romans. Callisto doesn’t want Xena to win, so she ignores orders and throws the chakram into Xena’s back. The chakram breaks and so does Xena’s spine, leaving her at the mercy of the soldiers. Before they can finish her off, Gabi grabs a spear and impales a soldier, then takes Xena’s sword and starts wasting Romans left and right. Callisto is fascinated, but Xena is horrified. So is Gabi when she realizes what she’s done, and she and Xena are captured.

Gabi and Xena talk and make peace, saying their goodbyes before being taken out to be crucified. Brutus tells the Roman Senate about Caesar’s plans and they agree he has to be stopped. Xena and Gabi are taken out to be crucified, and Callisto (who only Xena and Gabi can see) gloats about her Master getting part of what he wanted … Caesar as Emperor. But Xena’s plan to create doubts in Brutus has worked, so we get a back-and-forth cut between Caesar being stabbed to death in Rome and Xena and Gabi being nailed to the crosses. Caesar dies and so do Xena and Gabi, but their spirits rise out of their bodies, looking very angelic. (Apparently that scene was added later because the ending with their bodies on the crosses was thought to be too intense.)

This is a great episode (#13 on my all-time list) that brings an end to the long conflict between Xena and Caesar. The cross-cutting scene with Xena and Gabi being crucified while Caesar is stabbed illustrates just how closely Caesar’s destiny is tied to Xena’s (something we’ll revisit in Season 6). The conflict between Xena and Callisto isn’t resolved yet, but it will be next season. We also get the payoff for Alti’s vision, which has been hanging over their heads since the second episode. All the pains Xena took to avoid it were pointless, so I guess it really was their destiny. And we see that neither of them really minds dying, as long as they’re doing it together.

As I said, Xena’s destiny is linked to Caesar’s, but it’s far more closely linked to Gabi’s. Xena refuses to abandon her Warrior Way, even to save herself and Gabi, because she knows she can’t stop being who she was meant to be. Xena being a warrior and helping people is something Satan doesn’t want, but Xena resists the temptation to live happily ever after with Gabi (who Callisto refers to as her “partner”) and frustrates his plans further by setting Brutus up to kill Caesar. Gabi’s connection to Brutus is shown here too, with Gabi getting a reprieve for Amarice by mentioning how she spared Brutus’s life. But Brutus’s trust in Caesar ends up being misplaced, while Gabi tells Xena she has no regrets about their life together, even though it ended in death.

Of course, the best thing about this episode is Gabi’s berserker frenzy when she wastes a bunch of Romans. As I mentioned in The Way, I think Gabi never really left the Way of Love (although she calls it the Way of Friendship), she was just never on Eli’s particular Way of Love. Gabi’s Way of Love can include fighting, especially for someone she loves, like Xena. After all, Gabi was acting out of love when she killed those guys, so I’d say she stayed true to her own path, even though Xena blames herself for making Gabi stray from her Way. It’s interesting that Eli and Amarice missed Gabi’s display of martial prowess; Eli would’ve been disappointed, but Amarice would’ve been impressed.

Noticeable Things:

• Apparently Heaven/Hell, Elysium/Tartarus, and even karmic reincarnation all exist simultaneously in Xena’s world.
• Xena tells Gabi she wishes she’d read her scrolls; she will finally read them next season, although it takes her a while to get around to it.
• When she was stabbing the Roman soldier on the ground, Renee actually cut her hand trying to make sure she didn’t accidentally stab the stuntman.

Favourite Quotes:

• “And I remember a time when mercy was shown to you!” Gabi reminding Brutus that she spared his life when the Amazons wanted him dead.
• “’Cause whatever Gabrielle wants, Gabrielle gets.” Xena admitting that Gabi has her wrapped around her finger.
• “Xena, you brought out the best in me. Before I met you, no one saw me for who I was; I felt invisible, but you saw all the things that I could be. You saved me, Xena.” Gabi’s reply when Xena apologizes for all the times she didn’t treat her right.