I sort of half-experienced this ep vicariously the first time around, so when I finally got to sit and watch the tape most of the surprises had been ruined. It was still great, though.
begin silly exposition
See, I knew I would be getting home from Boston either right at 4 (Xena
time) or a little bit after, so I gave my Xenite friend the key to my apartment
and told him where the X:WP tape is and how to turn on the VCR, and sure
enough when I got home there he was, watching and taping for me.
Unfortunately I'd already missed the first 20 minutes, and I spent the
next 40 responding to a nice message on my machine from Travelocity telling
me they'd totally screwed up the airline reservations I'd tried to make
through them the day before - I would've given any amount of money for
a debt to Ares and a chakram at that moment. (Don't use Travelocity!!!)
Anyway, so while I was sitting on hold with Travelocity "customer service"
for 20 minutes I could hear the TV, and my friend sitting there making
various snide and other comments. Various life considerations meant
that I had to wait until after SNL to finally see it, though - argh!
end silly exposition
My one big complaint about the ep was (and this really surprises me) the soundtrack. Was LoDuca intentionally going for a cheezy 70's horror movie feel? What was UP with that? The only scene in which the music felt appropriate was when Dinsdale was attacking the house (which cheezy horror flick was that ripping off - I'm sure it had to have been an homage to something?).
I'll join in the kudos for Renee O'Connor's acting in this ep. It's amazing to me that this is the same actress who consistently made me cringe throughout most of the episodes of the first two seasons. She was quite convincing as Hope, and the bit at the very end where Gabrielle was embracing Dinsdale, with clearly the biggest case of the heebies in the history of ancient Greece, was truly chilling.
I'm intrigued by the lack of self-confidence Gabrielle displayed in the very last scene - from what I've heard they are going to be expanding upon that this season, and I'm looking forward to it. It's about time Gabrielle had some demons of her own to exorcise.
Will we ever find out just what happened to her in between the fall into the lava pit and when she woke up in the hospice she mentioned? Will Xena tell her about the vision of the future she got from Alti? I'm sure those questions will remain unanswered, but one can always hope.
I was amazed to see that Joxer actually showed some progress in this ep: it was touching how he had obviously been visiting the place of Gabrielle's "death" on a regular basis, and he was much less of the brainless buffoon than he's been (well, the incident with the sheep counting notwithstanding :). He actually had a couple insightful comments, especially the one about Xena's vision actually being of Hope instead of Gabrielle. <<shudder>> And I forgave him his butting in the first reunion scene when I figured out it was Hope.
Someone (sorry, I don't recall who) postulated on Xena's ability to sense non-human entities. That comment was made in regard to Ares I think, but it provides some interesting insight into the moment when Xena first noticed "Gabrielle" in the market in Potadeia. Xena wasn't even looking in her direction - she just stopped, got that "my skin is crawling" look on her face and turned around, where she noticed "Gabrielle" standing there. I think that could explain the rather restrained reunion - I think Xena had an inkling from the very start that it wasn't really Gabrielle, even before "Gab" kissed Joxer hello. :)
The real reunion, though, was riveting. Everything I'd hoped all summer it would be. When Xena kissed Gabrielle's hands I just about melted all over the floor. Subtext? Nah, we don't need no stinkin' subtext.
Other things worth noting: