Interesting note about that scene, too - is this the first time Xena has ever thanked someone for helping her? Granted, it followed the obligatory "I can take care of myself", but I thought the little shrug she gave and the look on her face as she followed that up with "Thanks, though" was quite touching.
There were some things about this episode that I felt were a bit overdone, like the length of the scene of the villagers torching the village and Gabrielle's reaction to Flanagus' death. But all in all, this ep is definitely way up there. I knew it would be, though - Steven Sears hasn't let me down yet. :)
As was hinted at in A Family Affair, Gabrielle seems to be in the same place Xena was at the beginning of Sins Of The Past - Xena has even acknowledged that Gabrielle is asking herself the same questions. (Witness the funeral pyre scene.)
Regarding whether Gabrielle missed on purpose when she threw the spear at the man skewering Flanagus, I thought it was pretty clear that she missed because of lack of skill. I took her comment later on to mean that she was actually wishing she had had the skill to nail the soldier before he could kill Flanagus, and the fact of that wish was contributing to the pain she was feeling. I was amazed that she actually picked up the spear and tried to throw it - a year ago, that never would have even crossed her mind.
I really wonder if we're going to see Gabrielle pick up a sword sometime soon. I mean, now we've seen her attempt to use a lethal weapon in combat, and we've even seen her lead an army into battle (!). This time she wasn't back behind the lines working in the hospital. Prior to the events transpiring in When In Rome, all this would have been unthinkable for her.
Speaking of spears, did anyone else notice that in the opening fight scene in the village, as Gabrielle was whacking various Romans with her staff she knocked the spear that had been thrown at her out of the way, and just kept right on fighting? It wasn't too long ago that Xena would have been the one to knock the spear out of harm's way for her. This marks a very significant (albeit subtle) change in Gabrielle: without question she is capable of taking care of herself now, and doesn't need Xena to save her all the time. Later on I realized that that moment was also a subtle foreshadowing of what would happen later on in the ep, as Gabrielle was forced to take command and lead the charge.
If you think back to the scene on the ship at the end of When In Rome and then look at this ep, this progression makes sense. On the ship Xena wondered aloud how many more times Gabrielle was going to follow her into battle, and Gabrielle stated that she's there because she wants to be, and has accepted the consequences of their life together. This ep shows that loud and clear. For better or for worse, Gabrielle is taking on more and more of the characteristics of a warrior. In WIR Gabrielle agonized over the decision to lead one man to his death. In this ep she made a token protest to Xena when the subject was first broached, but then when the moment came she led the charge without any apparent hesitation, thus leading many men to their deaths. In both instances the consequences to her psyche were great (when she agreed with Xena that "it was a good day fighting", it certainly did sound like she was saying it more to make herself believe it than anything else). That, at least, hasn't changed. I hope it never does.
One thing about the final scene is bugging, me though - it seems that Xena got off way too easy in this ep. She was singlehandedly responsible for the destruction of an entire village (which doesn't appear to have had any purpose, since neither Caesar nor Pompey said anything about it, therefore leading me to believe they didn't even notice); the death of Flanagus; and the utter destruction of three entire armies. Flanagus' wife (did she even have a name?) actually thanked Xena at the funeral pyre - I'm sorry, but if that had been me I would have been damning her to Tartarus for dragging my husband into the middle of her harebrained plot and getting him killed!
And maybe I'm too skittish after the events of last season, but I was really surprised that Gabrielle didn't say anything to lay some of the blame for the way she was feeling right back at the warrior princess' feet. If Xena hadn't expected Gabrielle to lead the army (which I found rather jarring, especially considering the conversation they'd had in WIR), she wouldn't have been such a wreck. Xena's words to Gabrielle were in themselves meant to be soothing, I'm sure, but the way she said them didn't come across as comforting at all. She basically told Gabrielle, "I know what you're feeling and it sucks, but there's really nothing I can do." Did I miss something to help explain why Gabrielle appeared to take that on face value? Or is she just through with seeing Xena as the sole cause of all those big changes she said she's seeing in her?
I think we are definitely seeing the development of Gabrielle The Warrior here. I don't think it's going to be a permanent thing, though, since we have yet to see the "spiritual journey" Gabrielle is rumored to be going on this season, to which I think all of this is leading. It would be ridiculous to assume that Gabrielle could live the life she's chosen with Xena and not have to face these consequences. I'm glad TPTB are showing her growth in this area and the repercussions of it.
Random notes: