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The Way

Review by: Lord Nelson

To my mind, the TV Series Xena: Warrior Princess was and always has been the story of the salvation of a single woman's immortal soul. It is the story of Xena of Amphipolis working to find peace in her heart. RJ Stewart's superb script for the way is the beginning of the culmanation of all of Xena's hard work on herself, the effect she's had on other people, and of course the effect one person, Gabrielle, has had on her. Although this episode is brutal at times, by its end I was flooded again with a feeling of exultation, wonder and pride. I felt these feelings because, at last, the end of the suffering of a character I care very, very, deeply about, Xena, is in sight. There will be much work for Xena ahead, and tremendous vigilence will be necessary on her part to keep her on her path, but if I could, I would hug Xena as hard as I can and tell her joyfully, "You did it, girl!"

A long time ago, RJ Stewart gave an interview in Starlog Magazine I believe. In that interview, he said that Xenastaff was going to send Xena to a 12 step group to help her recover from her problems. They have done EXACTLY that. Now, I'm not going into a dissertation about Alcoholic's Anonymous. It is my belief that finding faith in a power greater than oneself is VITAL for anyone whose life has spun out of control. To gain control over one's life, it is necessary to surrender control to the spirit of the universe competely, wholly, and without reservation. THIS is what The Way is about. It is about attaining the grand UNIVERSAL spirituality that lay behind EVERY known living religion. For the first time in her life, reluctantly, confusedly, Xena of Amphipolis showed incredible courage and capitulated in the wrong war she's been fighting her entire adult life, the war in herself---the war against the great spirit that makes up ALL of reality. By surrendering, paradoxically, for ALL of what goes on in the human heart is in some way a paradox, Xena has won her war. Bless her for that! "Her courage will change the world," the opening credit narration says. It has. The world that changed is HER world. By accepting Krishna into her heart to gain the power to destroy Indirjit and save Eli and Gabrielle, Xena in reality saved herself. By saving herself, Xena will save everybody and everything else.

The entire series up until now has been about Xena preparing herself for this very moment. She didn't know it until "The Way". As Hanuman told her, Xena hasn't respected, trusted, or even liked the Gods. Xena has always believed that she didn't NEED the gods. The only times we've seen Xena pray is in moments of utter desolation or desperation. This was a drastic mistake, for Xena to hate and distrust the spirit is to hate and distrust HERSELF. All the gods she's encountered until India, especially Ares, have been harping on Xena to follow THEIR way. The limitations of those gods are the shackles of self hatred that kept Xena in terrible pain and suffering for so long. For the first time in her life, a god, who is nothing but a believeable manifestation of ALL of reality, told her to follow HER OWN way. He told her to trust her own heart, accept it, LOVE it, even the part of her that Gabrielle noted in Paradise Found said Xena loved most, fighting. Krishna told Xena to LET her fire burn IN THE RIGHT CAUSE! and the karma that Naijima showed her will come to pass. Is it any wonder therefore that the Greek pantheon has been relegated to the ash heap of spiritual history? In the Xenaverse, the Greek gods symbolized self loathing and limitation, Krishna symbolized self love and unlimited power. Here I think it's appropriate to quote the eleventh step of AA: 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God AS WE UNDERSTOOD HIM/HER, praying for knowledge of his or her will for us AND THE POWER TO CARRY IT OUT.

So many commentators have lately missed the point. The process of spiritual growth is profound and DEEPLY personal and it informs all great myths. Xena: Warrior Princess has always been the story of a myth for the 90's This is the wonderful, emotional, spiritual CORE of the story. No television series has EVER done this before. This is why I love Xena so much, and why I owe Xenastaff such gratitude for putting such a story on screen.

At the end of the teaser, in another wonderful campfire scene, Xena admits. "A few days ago I saw my future. You saw it too. I'm destined to be reborn as some kind of saint." G: "That's wonderful isnt' it?" "Yes, but if I've already earned that karma, can I still mess it up? Maybe I was shown my future life for a reason. Maybe I'm supposed to change the life I'm leading here and now. But either way, a warrior cannot ask these questions in the heat of battle. When a kill is there, you have to take it. If I can't do that, I can't be a warrior anymore." Then Xena looks away, her expression full of devastation. The moment Lucy finished delivering these lines I yelled ironically at the screen, "RJ, ask the TOUGH questions willya??!!"

This line goes back all the way through the series. In the teaser of Sins of the Past, Xena was burying her equipment. She was a suicide for sure. Then she saw a little girl offer her life for those of her kinsman. The journey truly began there. The process of Xena's growth began to accelerate through the rift in third season and was at very high speed during "Adventures of the Sin Trade." There, she admitted that "Gabrielle had given me MY OWN LIGHT!" From that moment, Xena's salvation was inevitable because she'd found the central question in her life. Her confusion led her to accept some pretty awful beatings for her trouble. She lost the "Good chewin' tooth" to Najara. The bigot nearly clobbered her in Daughter of Pomira, Alti nearly nailed her in BOTH Sin Trade and Between The Lines. Not since the teaser of Sins of the Past was Xena's self hatred so close to the surface and so dangerous to everybody. Never was Xena so dependent on Gabrielle. She even called Gabrielle "Her Way." Clearly the greatest crisis of faith in Xena's life had arrived. Xena asks the monkey man Hanniman "How do you know what's the right way for you?"

What of Gabrielle? She said in The Way, that she's always been on a spiritual quest. I agree with her. Gabrielle was always mindful, aware and enjoyed life. Xena wasn't living, she was surviving. She used Gabrielle as a pattern to base her new personality upon. Xena also taught Gabrielle how to survive in a dangerous world. Gabrielle was always emotionally healthier than Xena, but unlike Xena's perception of her as a plaster saint, Gabrielle's not. She's as much the representation of humanity as Krishna is the representation of reality. In this, Gabrielle's been a hard but loving, taskmaster. X: "Have you ever heard of dams? You know, beavers?" G: "There you go again. You always shoot me down when I'm doing my philosophical thing!" It is in Gabrielle's heart and mind to be spiritual. Xena just doesn't get it, and this frustrates Gabrielle. Their life together has been a cycle of Gabrielle trying a lifestyle, and Xena discounting it. Gabrielle wanted to be a warrior. Xena did what she could to stop her. Gabrielle wanted to immerse her self in the faiths of Najara (wrongly) (Khraftstar) wrongly and Aiden. (rightly at least in terms of Yoga) Xena either physically prevents her, ignores her, or discounts her. Gabrielle in Locked Down and Tied Up said: "Some say that an unexamined life isn't worth living." X: "They haven't lived my life." Gabrielle LIVES in change. She loves change. She thrives on it even. Gabrielle's heart is always open. Xena doesn't like change. She fears change, yet she MUST change to live. This is why Xena allows Gabrielle to be so sharp with her. Xena needs to learn this and she knows it.

Now Eli tells Gabrielle that 'THE TRUTH' is life and that life must be preserved at all costs. Violence cannot be endulged in. The true warrior must not FIGHT for a cause, but she must be willing to DIE for that cause. Not only this, the true warrior must not allow ANYONE to die fighting in her defense. Gabrielle knows sacrifice. It is what she's done repeatedly as far back as Sins of the Past, yet she loves action and danger as well as peace and beauty. Unlike Xena she hasn't had the opportunity for a god to tell her what her way is, she hasn't asked one. She makes the decision to take Eli's example and become totally nonviolent. She knows full well that this way is difficult, dangerous, and may lead to her death. She's afraid, but she's going to try. I'm certain she will NOT allow Xena to keep trying to save her. If Xena fights while Gabrielle is there, she must fight for anybody BUT Gabrielle from now on. When the screenplay is over, Gabrielle makes one of the most courageous decisions of her life. She throws away her staff. She intends to die to save the life of others. This is not a moment of proselytizing. Gabrielle is not going to preach. She is going to lead by offering her life so that others may see.

At the beginning of the end, Xena is STILL afraid of change. Krishna told her that all she'd have to do was invoke his name and she'd have the strength to defeat Indrajit. Yet, she charges into the temple as herself and pays heavily. IN an awesome transformation sequence, Indrajit takes on his 6 armed form and cuts both of Xena's arms off! As Xena lays on the ground bleeding to death, she has finally hit the hardest bottom of her life. She is CERTAIN to die with no hope of getting out of it. Now she has a choice, she can die, or accept the god into her heart. She takes the god into her heart, and she undergoes a miraculous transformation. Krishna's sprit enters her body and Xena becomes the Indian Goddess of War KALI! A blue, 4 armed demon with all the power of BOTH Krishna and Xena, as well as all of Xena's tactical brilliance. In the most amazing fight sequence I've seen, FULL of sophisticated CGI effects, the 6 arm Demon and the 4 arm Warrior Princess do battle, in one of the most gritty, and violent fights I've ever seen on Xena. The stakes truly were the highest. Xena triumphs by slicing the demon's head off. Then all is over and all are healed.

"The Way" is a wonderfully action and effect filled episode. RJ's trenchant script handles the concept of universal spirituality deftly with both reverence and imagination leading to tremendous power. The director John Fawcett and Rob Field collaborated on the ep so effectively that its ending WAS inevitable, although it surprised the hell out of me. (One little gripe. I wish that the lighting during the final fight was a little brighter. I really wanted to see Xena-Kali in all her blue glory.)

Indrajit, played with supreme oiliness by Rajneel Singh was the most physically powerful enemy the ladies have met. His physical beauty, great costume, and that incredible handlebar moustash gave me the willies.

Tim Omondsen is a very sweet and soulful presence. Everybody's speculating that the Avatar Eli may be Jesus or perhaps Elijah. He is after all a foreigner. I don't care. What he is is the representation of Xena's and Gabrielle's goals in this lifetime---peace, serenity and healing. He is the great enlightened one. He represents what Xena and Gabrielle hope to achieve with their lives---true wisdom.

Rajiv Varma's Krishna really caught the sweetness and great power of the Leading Personality of the Godhead beautifully. He exemplified serenity, intimacy, and truth. No wonder Xena surrendered to him. Jake McKinnon was just adorable as Hanniman the Monkey warrior.

In terms of performance, Lucy and Renee remain at their very best. For the first time I saw a Xena who was soulful, questing, and willing to except the fact that she is a good person, even though she does an ugly job. Her acting at the end of the teaser, with Hannuman in the tree, and with Renee at the end, where she says to Gabrielle that it would be a good idea to follow Eli was just superb. I could tell that Xena was now ready to face whatever happens to her and Gabrielle with serenity and compassion. Renee shows with great subtlety and truth that Gabrielle has chosen the hardest and most dangerous path in life possible. Gabrielle is afraid, but she acknowledges that and nevertheless is determined to go on. If Gabrielle's way of love kills her, then she knows that her death wouldn't be in vain.

Although this episode didn't blow me away like Between the Lines did, nevertheless The Way packed a tremendous wallop on all levels. I don't think it was RJ's intent to make this story a climax. Between the Lines was the climax of one story. The Way, and Xena's surrender to a higher power, is the beginning of a brand new story, a story whose ending isn't known, but which will be full of chapters that will be brilliant, enlightening and challenging. It is the story of Xena and Gabrielle to practice the principles of their spiritual awakening in all their affairs. The more used to their new power they become, Xena and Gabrielle's powers will grow tremendously. I cannot WAIT to see what will happen next! My love of Xena and Gabrielle as characters, has grown. Xena's salvation is assured. The Way is one of the finest, most challenging Xena episodes ever and a very VERY fitting ending to the India Arc

Blessings to you all Xenastaff!!

 


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