So Xena finally told Gabrielle about her vision. About #@*%! time! I'm choosing to believe that the admission came on the heels of a long campfire discussion which started with Gabrielle asking Xena, "So what in Hades was up with you trying to abandon me with Najara?"
I was applauding Gabrielle's reaction to Xena trying to protect her from what may or may not be their fate. I don't think it's out of character for Gabrielle at all - it's in keeping with how her character has been growing and changing. She is a full-fledged partner with Xena now - when Xena tries to give her an order, if she doesn't agree with it she's not going to just meekly obey it.
I'm not sure if her refusal to believe that Xena's vision was real is denial, or just practicality: if you know what's going to happen, then you can be forearmed to avoid that outcome. Gabrielle saw this firsthand in One Against An Army. I had to laugh at the end of their first conversation about the vision. X: "Gods help me if I ever bring the subject up again." Guess we know who's starting to wear the pants around that campfire. ;)
I am puzzled by why Xena was so convinced the vision was about to come to fruition -- yeah, there's a snowy mountain nearby, but there are no Roman soldiers, and Gabrielle hasn't even cut her hair yet. (I'm really looking forward to seeing her reaction when Gabby does get the new 'do - my guess is she's going to positively freak out.)
I thought the Battle of Corinth was Evil Xena's greatest slaughter? (I just watched Blind Faith last night, and that's certainly the way Palaemon described it.) Or did she come back and nail Corinth again later? I was expecting to see Evil Xena at her absolute worst in these flashbacks, not what we got. (Granted, she wasn't all a ray of sunshine, but.) Still, the flashbacks explaining Borias' death and Solan's birth (not to mention how Kaleipus lost his eye - nice touch) were revealing and well done, and I thought they tied in with the frame story from the present pretty well. The whole Satrina thing was a bit cheezy, though. But since I'd just finished seeing the production team's true colors on Herc (For Those Of You Just Joining Us) before this ep, I guess I could let that slide. ;>
My one problem with this ep: why did they bother to re-shoot the scene where she gave up Solan to Kaleipus, anyway??? Lucy did a great job with it the first time, why the need to do it over? (At the end of this new scene I half expected to see Xena go into the bushes and throw up. That's what Lucy said she was thinking Xena was about to go do when she shot it in Orphan of War.) At least they could've kept her in the same costume as the first time around. What was up with that?!?
It was nice to see the same actors portraying Kaleipus and Dagnan again, though. At least they chose to keep some continuity there.
And what is this "quest" Gabrielle is on? I think it's been handled in a very haphazard and non-linear way so far. Gabrielle mentions being confused in what amounts to a throwaway line at the end of A Family Affair, then no mention of it for several episodes, then suddenly she's falling for Najara and both she and Xena are acting like they've been on some major quest for months. Huh??? When this season is over I have a feeling I'm going to have to number the episodes on my tapes in the order they're really supposed to be in. I haven't felt the need to do that before.
I also don't think this is the last we're going to see of The Vision. It was definitely portrayed as a false alarm. (I wonder if that's going to be one of the catalysts for sending them off to India? "Come on Gabrielle, let's get off the continent. I know a place where they're not into crucifixion...")
Episode Rating: 8