Adventures In The Sin Trade I

Okay, so I'm happy.  TPTB managed to pull out a season premiere that actually managed to exceed my expectations, which had had 4 months to build up.  (Much better than Buffy's season premiere, but that's a discussion for another place. :)

I still have lots of questions, which I'm hoping will be answered next week, so for now I'll just comment on a few odds and sods.

• ROC's name was definitely absent from the opening credits.  I guess that's because she wasn't in the episode at all.  Not that there's any suspense that she's really not coming back (especially if you read the TV Guide promo for Sin Trade II, which I'd recommend avoiding :P), but my guess is that keeping someone out there guessing is one reason why it was left out.  (I do wish they'd do a new opening sequence, though!  Geez.  B5 and Buffy can do a new one ... why can't X:WP?  To update Gabrielle's costume if nothing else.)

• Did anyone else think that the only reason Xena took down the body of that Amazon from the tree and gave her a proper funeral was because she hasn't had a chance to do so for Gabrielle?  The pyre was obviously a catalyst for her finally to express her grief.  For that reason I think it fit better in that part of the plot than if she'd done it before she left Greece, as someone else here suggested.

• Gotta love the cinematography in this ep -- it had a very Debt-like feel.  I really don't like TJ Scott's directing style, though.  The camera is too close to the action, so you never really feel like you know exactly what's going on.  And I agree with whomever said that the editing in this ep wasn't up to par.  I hope the little snippets they showed of flashbacks will be elucidated more in part II. I also hope the plot moves a bit faster in part II..

• Alti: "Neither of you will name your child."  It took me until about an hour after the ep was over to parse that line, and when I did it gave me a chill.  Nice bit to drop in there.  Come to think of it, I guess Kaleipus was the one who named Solan - Xena didn't introduce the baby when she gave him over in Orphan of War, did she?

• In the last scene, when Xena was fighting Alti's men and also when she was going up against the Berserker, was anyone else sitting there screaming at the screen, "DRAW YOUR @&#!& SWORD!!!" Why on earth did it take so long for her to do that, especially when she was fighting the Berserker???  He got in a couple really good hits before she even reacted.  What was up with that?  She obviously wasn't afraid to skewer the enemy, but when she did it was with their own swords.  I'm confused. (And where was her chakram?  Questions, questions...)

• I'm also confused as to just how she killed the Berserker.  Even the second time around I couldn't see it.  Anyone care to enlighten me?  I'm obviously missing something.

• How many times did she put the pressure points on her legs after she relived getting her legs broken?  It looked like whatever she was doing wasn't lasting very long.  Nice touch, though.

• This last will only make sense to fellow Dan Simmons fans, but did the Berserker remind anyone else of the Shrike?  If it rode a horse, anyway.  Scary stuff, especially with that nasty serrated sword.  Ouch.

• Is this the first time the instrumentation featured electric guitar?  I could've done without the incessant wailing throughout the first 20 minutes, though.  Sometimes a little goes a long way.

• Take a look at the scene where Xena is dispatching the Amazons' enemies as they watch from the hill.  First unit: sunny day.  Second unit: cloudy day.  Ah, New Zealand: if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute. ;>  I couldn't help giggling about that as I was watching it.

Episode Rating:  7