Vanishing Act

Review by Lord Nelson

Vanishing Act is a warm hearted, charming episode that is a wonderful
showcase for the skills of Lucy Lawless and Bruce Campbell.  The script
raises a touch of nostalgia in me because it follows the format most
followed in the first season with a light, sweet blend of comedy, drama and
action.  It also takes the time for good character development for
Autolycus and for Xena too.  What the script explores is the deepening
platonic friendship between Xena and Autolycus, their mutual professional
esteem, their egos, and their different methods of solving problems.  This
makes for fine entertainment and allows good scope for Lucy and Bruce to
unleash their full talents---even to ham it up a little.  The script is by
a newcomer, Terrance Winter and it is a fine first effort.  The director is
the former second unit pro Andrew Merrifield, and he brings some
unexpected, but restrained innovations to the look of the episode.  I had
thought Mr. Merrifield had left Xena permanently.  I am very pleased to see
him back.  

Plot's simple.  The huge golden statue of Pax is stolen right under the
nose of a village mayor the day after a celebration of it's acceptance.
Autolycus is there and Xena finds him out.  He denies that he stole the
statue and want's Xena to help him get it back.  His motivation?  He wants
to restore his professional reputation.  Autolycus LOVES this theft and
calls it the greatest ever.  It steals his self imposed title of the King
of Thieves from him and his immense ego demands it back.  Xena is at first
reluctant to assist, but Autolycus deftly uses Xena's debt to him (he let
her live in his body in The Quest and saved her life) to pursuade Xena to
assist.  Xena agrees, but Autolycus imposes yet another condition.  The
statue must be deftly STOLEN back, not taken by strongarm means as Xena
prefers.  Reluctantly, Xena allows Autolycus to lead.  

This is the crux of the emotional relationship between Xena and Autolycus
in this episode.  Xena is a reforming control freak.  In the past, she
would have NEVER allowed ANYONE else to lead such a mission, yet here she
trusts in Autolycus' skills and integrity to follow him, and she does it
very well.  However, some suspense it drawn in the script because the
person Autolycus discovers stole the statue was Tarsis of Cyros the same
man that killed his brother, the very act that set Autolycus in his life of
larceny.  Autolycus is clearly enraged by this discovery and when Xena
finds out about Tarsis, Xena cannot be sure that Autolycus isn't capable of
killing this man and her own issues over the subject of revenge get in the
way of her trust of Autolycus.

The machinations of the plot allows scope for the performers to have fun.
There are plenty of good lines in script too.  Renee plays Gabrielle
playing a fence sent in first to delay the sale of the statue.  She does't
like Goo.  Xena plays the greatest shiksa merchant of the Known World, Ezra
when the diversion is about to fail.  Part of the disguise Xena wears is a
HUGE UGLY false mole on her cheek.  It is SO huge and ugly that Gabrielle
tries to take it off.  (Gabrielle is so protective of her.  It's so sweet!)
 Autolycus plays a one eyed hunchback called Bently (yes BENT-LY)
Eventually this situation leads to a riotous bidding war for the statue
between Xena and Gabrielle, comptetative with each other per usual.  

Xena's choice of voice, a parody of EVERY Jewish American Princess from
Long (really hard G) Island is a scream.  The voice Autolycus chooses is an
impression of RONALD REAGAN.  That was very worth a snicker from me. 

Ultimately, Autolycus has a confrontation out of cover with Tarsis in which
Xena does intervene for fear of  Autolycus killing Tarsis.  However, Auto
doesn't kill Tarsis.  This situation allows for Xena and Autolycus to look
deeply into Auto's own feelings about himself.  Auto is ashamed of himself
and considers himself a shallow, evil, opportunist.  This is a propsition
that Xena strongly disagrees with and ultimately she is able to show that
to Autolycus by citing his brother's memory when he had Tarsis at sword
point.  

Xena shows growth too.  Although tempted by circumstance, and her own
nature, she let's Autolycus have his own way, even to the point of NOT
breaking him out of bindings held by 200 locks.  "He'd never forgive me if
I deny him the joy of getting out of there himself."  When did Xena EVER
fear about another person's opinion of her other than Gabrielle or Hercules?  

The final fight is very exciting and the ep comes to a sweet conclusion.
Auto gets his rep back, and a good shot of validation from Xena and
Gabrielle.  It also turns out Gabrielle has a new skill!  Set decoration!! 

A note must be made of Andrew Merrifield's direction.  While not as kinetic
or wild as TJ Scott or as elegant and sweeping as Oley Sassone, Merrifield
uses long circular pans and wild camera angles to great effect to add
action to what could have been a very static, stagy story.  He shows us a
technical innovation, the Gabwhacker Cam.  How did he do dat?  We have had
the Chakram cam, what's next?  The knuckle sandwich cam?

All in all, Vanishing Act is a most enjoyable ep, but not in the top third
of the series.  It is however, certainly in the top half.  It does what
Xena does best, it entertains.

LordNelson