ALTERNATIVE TITLE:
"Private Dancer"
All right, bringing it back to Gabrielle! You know, one of my favorite scenes ever is Gabrielle crawling atop Gurkhan to
kill him. Seriously, I think about it all the time, ever since the first time I watched it. Up to this point, we’ve never seen anything so serious as Xena playing dirty and sexing-up a royal in front of Gabrielle, then debilitating him so
Gabrielle can slaughter him. I treasure everything about it, it’s so fucked
up.
This episode is another Michael Hurst joint. I admit shock at how good his episodes are.
Number of times someone actually says, "Who's Gurkhan?": 0
This episode is another Michael Hurst joint. I admit shock at how good his episodes are.
A FEW FODDER-Y NOTES:
- I know this is out of place, but I’m really enjoying Xena’s back-armor these days. I’ve never really paid attention to it 'til recently.
- When Eve explains to Gabrielle that they drugged her because they love her, it occurred to me that Eve is now technically older than Gabrielle.
- I can't believe Sarah kicked Xena in the face.
- Virgil describes his product awesomely.
- Interesting: it’s implied that a conversation took place between the concubines and Gabrielle about Xena being her friend.
- I didn’t suspect the first wife was Sarah. I kinda started to at first, for a split second, but was quickly like "nah" and never thought about it again.
EXTRA LOVED:
- The poignant beginning.
- Xena turns around in place at Lila's mention of having a daughter.
- I can't state enough how much I loved everything that happened in Lila's house, the mood, the lighting, how quiet everyone was. It was exquisite.
- How fucked up Eve is.
- Gabrielle resting after puking.
- Xena hanging upside down.
- Xena watching her vision of Gabrielle exit into the wall.
- Xena smoking the hookah.
- The concubine orchestra getting down to Xena’s dance.
- Gabrielle smashing Gurkhan’s face into the bed.
- The way Gabrielle looks at Xena at the end.
SPOILERS: My reviews are full of them! I'll try to note when I'm about to spoil the series by posting [SERIES SPOILER] before said item and [END SPOILER] after. Please don't read the review, unless you've seen the episode under discussion or don't care if I spoil it.
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EXPANDING UPON THE SUBTEXT:
1) Xena seems "moved" by Gabrielle's dance. The look on Xena's face can be described as carnal. Could be that she’s just worried about Gabrielle, but I don’t think that’s it. I think she’s stunned and has never seen this side of Gabrielle before.
2) Gabrielle appears as a mirage while Xena's bludgeoned in the dungeon. During a moment when Xena lies worn-out and disoriented on the floor, Gabrielle strokes Xena's face and smiles down at her. You always hear about this happening when people are close to death. They see the ones closest to their hearts. This reminded me very much of similar scenes in Braveheart (1995) and Gladiator (2000), which both came out before this episode. But unlike William Wallace and Maximus Decimus Meridius, Xena did not give-in to death. She somehow calculated the right words to say to Gurkhan while enjoying the sight before her.
3) As Xena hangs upside down, close to death, Gabrielle materializes again. Gurkhan interrogates Xena about why she's there, and as Xena struggles to tell the correct lies, Gabrielle dances seductively in front of her. This shocked the shit out of me when I first saw it in 2009, because the answer to glean is that Xena is there for Gabrielle. Gabrielle reminds Xena of the fake reason when she says, "Sarah," but the fact remains that, at that dark moment, Xena is soothed and comforted by a vision of Gabrielle trying to turn her on.
4) When a shaky-legged Xena is brought back to the concubine lounge, Gabrielle holds her and looks at her like she now has disturbing, serious proof that Xena would give her life for her, just as Gabrielle did for Xena in the past. Maybe she also even realizes how Xena felt that time she gave-up her life to save Xena from Hope. Not to be an asshole or anything, but…I love my best friend so much, but I don’t know if I’d give my life for her like that.EXTRA QUOTES:
1) G: "You have a daughter? Xena, I have a niece. Where is she?...Lila, where are Mother and Father?" – Love this part of the conversation, especially when Gabrielle asks, "Where is she?" This simple question has so much weight. Gabrielle actually asks "where is she" with prominence twice in this episode. I love here how she asks, takes a moment, then switches course by asking about their parents.
2) G: “Why were you in Mogador?" Eve: "I was selling slave girls." [Eve walks off.] G to X: "Calm way your daughter talks about her past." X: "She knows what I know: there's nothing you can do to change the past." – I love the way Xena talks about herself and Eve here, like they’re two fucked-up peas in a pod. It’s so deep and I totally understand her.
3) Eve: "She doesn't have what it takes to kill in cold blood. Do you think I inherited that talent from you, Mother?" X: "You certainly had a gift." Eve: "Yeah I did. So, what are you going to do?" X: "Cure her seasickness." – God damn, this conversation is twisted, but of course this is what they talk about. They're like two lions hanging out together. And the way Xena tells Eve she's going to cure Gabrielle's seasickness is so tender. We know what she means when she says it. She's going to restrain Gabrielle and do her dirty work for her, even though Gabrielle will hate her for it. I love it so much.
4) X: "Make it look good." Virgil: "All right, all right." Auctioneer: "What do you want?" Virgil: "Forward, wench!" X: "Not that good." – Hahahaha!
5) Milda: "In my village the choices were marry a sober poor man or a drunk poor man. It was a toss-up, really, the sober men would be less likely to beat you but the drunk men would be less likely to keep you pregnant all the time." – Jesus Christ
6) Auctioneer: "And now for our premier selection, a woman of such fire and beauty that a man.. well, I mean, you'd have to be crazy not to wanna take her home. From Thrace, the blue-eyed goddess, magnificent to the eyes as she undoubtedly will be to the touch.” – This is how Xena is described by someone who has no idea who she is.
7) X: “Very clever” – On board with the way Xena says this, and nice turn in the story.
8) G: "I gotta hand it to Xena. That brew she gave me made me sleep like a baby…Where is she?” – And here's the second time Gabrielle consequentially asks, "Where is she?"
9) G: "You sold Xena to Gurkhan, didn't you?" Eve: "We did it because we love you." Virgil: "Well, I didn't. I mean, well, I mean, I do love you. What I'm trying to say is that I didn't know about the potion until you were already out." – I love that Xena knew Gabrielle would be pissed about being drugged and did it anyway, because she loves her. I heart the shit out of this.
10) Yo: "Gurkhan will punish us if we break the rules." Milda: "Will he spank us?" Yo: "You'll be beaten, manacled, thrown in a dark dungeon, and left to die." Milda: "OK, th-that's all I need to know. Thanks." – This made me LOL.
11) Virgil: “In my stables, I have rare beauties from every part of the world, just waiting to be plucked. Take this one: an Amazon warrior queen from Greece, strong, savage, independent, and untouched by the hands of man. The untold pleasures that await the one who can tame a creature like this stagger the imagination.” – And this is the way you describe Gabrielle if you don't know who she is. Interesting line, "untouched by the hands of man," might put it in subtext.
12) Gurkhan: "Are you here simply because you were taken as a slave?" X/Sophia: "I want to be here." Gurkhan: "Really? And why is that?" [Vision-Gabrielle: "Sarah."] X/Sophia: "I want to give myself to the great Gurkhan." Gurkhan: "Are you sure? No other agenda?" X/Sophia: "Yes, one." Gurkan: "I'm listening." X/Sophia: "I want to be number-one wife." – G appears as a vision throughout this entire conversation. I almost love this as much as the S&M dance in the previous episode. Gabrielle dances seductively, and Xena forces out: “I want to be here.” Gurkhan asks, “Why is that.” When Gabrielle says to Xena, “Sarah,” we all know that’s not really why Xena'’s there. There are two hard-line dialogues happening in Xena’s world: one between Xena and Gurkhan, and one between Xena and Gabrielle. Gurkhan asks Xena why she’s there – all of it is for Gabrielle. Everything she does is for Gabrielle.
13) Lana: "How is she?" X: "Peachy." – This line is my least favorite of this episode. We're to believe Xena was beaten to within an inch of her life. How bad could it have been if Xena is making a joke. "Never better," might have been acceptable, but "Peachy?"
14) X: "Gabrielle, you can do it. You can kill Gurkhan." – God, I relish the way Xena says this, adore the slice of shadow across her face, the water casting a thousand shadows on the wall.
15) Sarah: "Wives of Gurkhan, on your faces." – HELL YEAH.
16) G: "Sarah, I'm Gabrielle. This is Xena." Sarah: "Gabrielle and Xena? Well, that's not possible." G: "Your mother, Lila, my sister, she told us everything that happened. We've come to take you home." – I very much enjoy any encounter where people are forced to deal with the fact that Xena and Gabrielle aren’t dead like they thought.
17) X: "We should go." Sarah: "Oh, that's impossible. Gurkhan's security has made this palace invincible." X: "There's a loophole in the system." – Appreciate this line.
18) G: "Your mother will be so happy to see you." Sarah: "How could she ever love me again, after what I've become?" Eve: "You don't know mothers very well, do you?" Sarah: "You don't understand. I've done terrible things. How can I ever be forgiven? G: "Are *you* ever in the right company." – Backhanded compliment alert! Wee-yoo-wee-yoo-wee-yoo!
This is Gabrielle in the dungeon with Xena.
Totes listened to this song this day, and it perfectly captures this episode in tone. Thank you.
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