Xena Reviews: Season 6, Episode 11

Dangerous Prey – Director: Renee O’Connor/Writer: Joel Metzger

This one starts with the Amazon Queen (Marga) being stalked through the forest by a killer named Morloch. He catches her in a trap, but refuses to kill her immediately, saying he wants her to take a message to the other Amazons. Xena and Gabi arrive at the Amazon village in answer to a summons from Marga and learn that someone’s been hunting and killing Amazons for sport lately. Marga went to search for the killer and now she’s missing too. Xena offers to look for her, but Varia (who still doesn’t trust outsiders) says she’ll handle it on her own. Xena follows Varia into the forest and finds a half-dead Marga near the village. Marga gives Xena her Amazon bracelet, asking her to train Varia to take her place. Marga dies just as Varia shows up and Xena finds a message carved in her flesh, warning them that Morloch isn’t finished with the Amazons yet.

Varia is so pissed off about Marga’s death, she goes out to look for Morloch herself and gets caught in another trap. Morloch’s men (led by his lieutenant, Raksar) find her, but Xena shows up before they can do anything. Xena pounds them, impressing the hell out of Raksar, who goes to tell Morloch he might finally have an opponent worthy of him. Xena takes one of the men captive, but he kills himself rather than be interrogated. Xena tries to get Varia to calm down and think before acting, but Varia’s not inclined to listen, considering Xena’s checkered history with the Amazons. Xena attaches a chain to Varia’s neck to keep her in line. Raksar tells Morloch (who’s training to fight blindfolded) about Xena—who he assumes is an Amazon—but Morloch is skeptical that anyone could truly challenge him. Xena and Varia take shelter from a storm in an old temple and Varia attacks Xena. They fight and Xena gets the upper hand, but Varia doesn’t know when to quit. She ends up falling into an old well shaft and refuses Xena’s help getting out.

Xena uses the chain to save Varia, who finally admits she might be able to learn something from the more experienced warrior. Xena tells Varia about Marga’s request and points out that Varia has to learn when to walk away from a fight, which Varia says she’s willing to do. They capture one of Morloch’s men, who’s carrying a barrel of pretty potent alcohol. They string him up in a tree as bait, hiding nearby to watch. Xena realizes Morloch isn’t with his men and figures out he’s nearby, watching her and Varia. Xena switches clothes with Varia to fake Morloch out, but he guesses her plan and invites her to chase him into a cave. They taunt each other and toss their respective chakrams around (Morloch has a chakram-type weapon shaped kinda like a triskelion), but neither one can gain the upper hand. Varia defies Xena’s orders by entering the cave and is promptly captured by Morloch.

Xena saves Varia and dumps the alcohol through the cave, lighting it up and causing a firestorm. She knows that won’t be enough to kill Morloch and decides to hunt him instead of letting him hunt them. They find Morloch’s camp, but Varia is wounded in the leg by a crossbow trap. Morloch has his men light the forest on fire (and Raskar realizes what a prick Morloch is when he lets his own men get burned in the fire). Xena uses a tree to catapult Varia over the flames, but Morloch (somehow!) anticipates that and catches her in a net fired from a catapult.

Morloch has Varia tied on top of a platform made of logs to act as bait. When Xena shows up, Morloch attacks, admitting that she may almost be a worthy opponent. They fight on and around the platform and Morloch starts busting it up to use the logs as weapons. Xena has to stabilize the platform so Varia doesn’t fall to her death, which gives Morloch a chance to vault to the top of the platform and threaten to kill her. Xena wedges a log into a gap to steady the platform and gets to the top to free Varia. After Varia jumps down, Morloch attacks Xena, who realizes the best way to beat him is to deny him the pleasure of the fight. She turns her back on him and leaps off the platform, but Morloch’s not ready to let the best opponent he’s ever met get away so easily. He jumps down towards Xena, who kicks a log up into his path, impaling him. Back at the village, Gabi gives Marga’s bracelet to Varia, conferring leadership of the Amazons onto her. Varia thanks Xena for helping her see what’s really important.

This really isn’t one of my favourites (which is why it’s down at #122 on my all-time list) because I’m just not that fond of Varia. As I mentioned back in Coming Home, I have nothing against Tsianina Joelson (a fellow Canadian and a really good actor and natural athlete), I just find Varia annoying. She’s supposed to be learning from Xena so she can be a good successor to Marga, but as we’ll see in future episodes, she doesn’t seem to take Xena’s lessons to heart. Varia is a little like Ephiny when she first met Xena and Gabi, not trusting them because they’re not part of the tribe. But Ephiny learned to adjust her thinking and accept them, something Varia never quite manages. Part of it is probably her anger towards Xena for massacring the Northern Amazons so long ago, and maybe some of it has to do with Eve’s depredations as Livia. Those things could also be what’s motivating Xena not to give up on Varia, since she feels guilty and knows Varia’s anger is (partially) justified.

I don’t like bad-mouthing this episode too much because it’s directed by Renee and I think she does a pretty good job. Her first directing effort was Deja Vu All Over Again, where she said she had trouble switching between director and actor. That’s probably why Gabi is absent through most of this one, only appearing briefly at the beginning and end. I’m hardly an expert on the technical aspects of TV production but I think Renee did a good job, mixing character moments with action scenes. We get some good fights, including the big platform fight (which Renee apparently storyboarded so she could work out each shot ahead of time), and that final crane shot of Marga’s funeral. According to one of the Coffee Talk interviews, the actor playing Morloch was a real asshole to Renee, insulting her and acting like a real diva. She didn’t want to be too confrontational because she knew the shoot was going to go long and was afraid he might stop trying before they were done. But apparently Lucy gave him shit when he was sulking in his trailer, acting like a martyr because he thought he was being treated unfairly or some such bullshit.

Noticeable Things:

• I thought Gabi was queen of this particular Amazon tribe, but I suppose they had to replace her when she went missing for 25 years and she probably just didn’t feel like taking the job back.
• Morloch introduces himself to Xena as “Prince Chesnick Bloodicar Morloch of Upper Scheherezadistan”, which is obviously a made-up place but could refer to somewhere in modern Iraq if it’s meant as a nod to the Arabian Nights. Xena immediately mocks him as “Prince Chesty Forelock of Upper Whateverstan”.

Favourite Quotes:

• “I’m gonna let that one go.” Xena after Varia punches her and mentions how she wiped out the Northern Amazons.
• “Amazons have tougher feet.” Xena explaining why Varia had to give up her boots to fake Morloch out in the cave.
• “Where’d you get that, shaving?” Xena pointing out that Morloch is bleeding too after he brags about wounding her.