Longhorn's Critique~MI~TBS~XCELLENT

Xena: Warrior Princess - This show has become many things to many
people. It is a sign of great art that emotions are evoked on some
level when we watch X:WP. Love it, hate it, laugh at it, cry with it,
yell at it, throw socks at it...well you get my drift. You can't watch
this show without experiencing some emotion. Which brings me to The
Bitter Suite (and the "rift" storyline in general):

First of all, I must gloat a little. Back when speculation was in full
swing as to who was going to get "offed" and bring the rift to head, I
stated that my dollar was on Solan and that the scenario was going to be
played as a "my son was killed by your daughter" storyline. And now I
do my Snoopy dance around my office because I was right! Nah, nah, nah.

With the gloating part done with, I can move ahead with my analytical
and well-thought out critique of Bitter Suite. I LOVED IT! 2 THUMBS
UP! ****RATING! A TOUR-DE-FORCE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!!! And there you
go. Thanks for reading.

OK, just kidding. It is not as simple as that. It is true, however,
that my over-riding impression of this episode was this was simply the
best example of what a 1 hour television show can be and should be. I
watched this episode 5 times this weekend, and every time I watched it,
I got really mad, I cried several times throughout, and I felt a real
sense of relief by the time it was over. Let me take it piece by piece
and see if your impressions were the same as mine.

THE STORYLINE:
One of the frustrating things for me this season were the unaddressed
issues that were raised and never dealt with in The Deliverer,
Gabrielle's Hope, and the Debt I &II. Major life-changing events
occurred in these episodes that should have changed the way our
characters dealt with each other and the world around them. Xena's
abandonment of Gabrielle up to the point of the appearance of Dahok,
Gabrielle's loss of her blood innocence, her impregnation by a Dahok,
the pursuit by her best friend to kill her child, the loss of the child,
her lie to Xena - all issues that were not dealt with. The murder of
Ming Tien by Xena, her lie to Gabrielle about the death, how Gabrielle
got to Chin before Xena (ok, I know that is just one of those things we
are supposed to accept, like the ability to travel from Greece to
Britannia in a day or two, but dammit, it still bugs me!), and
Gabrielle's betrayal of Xena to Ming Tien - issues that were not dealt
with.

The unevenness of the airing of the episodes really messed with me too.
All of the above happens and what do we get - KOA, WPT, Quill - where
everything is hunky-dory, everyone laughs and has a good time, and NONE
OF THE ABOVE IS MENTIONED! ARRGGG! That is the level of frustration I
was at when we FINALLY got to Maternal Instincts.

All of the above aside, the idea of creating a rift between our two
ladies was something I was willing to go along with, if for no other
reason than to see how it was accomplished and how it was resolved.
Once I was convinced that the death of Xena's son was going to be the
catalyst for the actual rift, and all of the other previously mentioned
episodes were just relegated to background noise, I really started to
think that there was no way that any of this was going to hold together
as a coherent story with a plausible reconciliation (and we knew they
were going to have to reconcile the two, because that relationship has
become the foundation of Xena's ongoing story).

MATERNAL INSTINCT:

All I'm going to say about this, is that the word rift does not cover
what has occurred between our ladies by the time we reach the end of
this episode. Try "Grand Canyon of divisions," "the Mother of
fissures," or, well, you get the gist. This ain't no baby rift that a
few "I'm sorrys" are going to take care of. When the ladies walk away
from each other in the end, my heart is crying out to the writers to FIX
THIS NOW!! Better yet, take it all back, and let's go back to mushy
campfire scenes, and minor squabbling about what kind of fish to eat.
Plu - eeeeze.

THE BITTER SUITE:

First of all, I must say I love musicals. I love what can be said in
song; throughout our history, humans have used music/song to tell
stories, to express love, and to express pain. So I was not as
skeptical as some as to the validity and ability of the musical format
to accomplish the reconciliation as well as to deal with the raw
emotions that MI left us with.

The Production

My words will be inadequate to say what I want to say about the quality
of the production of this episode. From the sets, which reminded me of
the Wizard of OZ in its surrealism, to the costumes which clearly
defined the images of Xena and Gabrielle - it was very clear that this
was not to be a half-assed production.

The direction by Oley Sassone - well what can you say about Oley - he is
god and all other mortals should bow down before his genius. He has
consistently delivered the best of X:WP, from The Price to The Debt.

The Music

I am not quite as gushy about this aspect as I have been up to this
point. I thought most of the songs worked and worked well. The lyrics,
while hard to understand in some instances, were quite brilliant in
conveying all that they were called upon to convey - pain, suffering,
love (Whoosh has them for our reading pleasure). My problem was with
the way some of the songs by Lucy bordered on being a Disney number -
too much noise and not enough substance. They bordered on it, but
overall I think they worked and I can live with it. The duets with
Renee (and I know she didn't sing, but she still had that emotion
working for her which sells the song) were incredible. These songs
delivered all of the anger and fury, and the sadness and heartbreak
quite effectively. If you listen to those songs and don't shed a tear,
well... you're a... a Vulcan. Yeah, you're a Vulcan. So there.

Kevin Smith and Hudson Leick - Bravo(a)!! Kevin - I will melt into you
anytime (sorry Mr. longhorn)!! And for that matter, anytime Ms. Leick
wants sit on my lap and sing to me, well... let's just put it this way -
I won't be pushing her off.

Lucy Lawless - Well, hell, we already knew she could sing, but I still
give her a Brava!

Renee O'Connor - I think the voice didn't quite fit, but like I said
earlier, ROC's face sold the songs. Now that is true acting!!

Julie Moran - Why? Someone just tell me why!?

The Issues

YES! Almost everything was dealt with that I wanted to see be dealt
with. Finally, someone says it - because of Xena and her little revenge
kick against Caesar, Gabrielle was put in the position of losing her
blood innocence and giving birth to Dahok's child. Thank you Callisto!
How ironic that Gabrielle and Callisto find some common ground after
everything that has happened. What a brilliant move on the part of the
writers to see the commonality between the two.

Gabrielle finally spoke some thoughts that I have been saying all along.
Why does Xena always try to bully, order, and pretty much force
Gabrielle to go along with her decisions? And when Gabrielle tries to
assert her own way of thinking, Xena reacts as if Gabrielle is being
insubordinate. HELLO! Xena! Gabrielle is not one of your soldiers!
I think it is interesting to see the two modes of behavior that Xena
exhibits towards Gabrielle - the " I must protect her at any cost" mode
and the "just do what your told because I know best" mode.

Xena's loss of her son is painful. I sympathize with her. I do not
agree with her blame of Gabrielle for her son's death. That she would
attempt to kill Gabrielle is even more appalling. I know Ares goaded
her on, but I think it was easier for her to target and lash out at
Gabrielle, because Gabrielle was the mirror to Xena's actions. Remove
the mirror, and Xena does not have to face her own culpability in her
son's death (and his life without her up to that point). Warlord Xena
gave birth to a son. Warlord Xena cannot keep the child. Warlord Xena
gives the child away. Xena's past is the reason her son is targeted
(Callisto wants to give Xena the same pain Xena visited upon Callisto)
and yes, Hope used Callisto's desire to hurt Xena for her own greater
purposes (to bring the kingdom of Dahok into the world). But, Callisto
would not exist if not for Xena's actions. Hope would not exist if not
for Xena's actions. Does Xena finally hear what Gabrielle is saying --
Hope was her child, not just some faceless vessel of evil. I don't know,
this part was murky for me. But at least it is all voiced and Xena has
to face her part in the events that lead up to the death of her son.

And then there is nasty 'ol Ming Tien. Yes, folks, Xena killed him. I
knew that. Some of you argued differently. But now we all know. Xena
skewered his brain and that = death!

Xena asks for forgiveness of both Gabrielle and Solan. That needed to
happen. Now, let's move forward because this relationship can never be
the same. That is not a bad thing, because I think I'm going to like
the way the writers are going to handle this if the previews to next
week's episode are an indication of this.

And finally, (whew! I bet y'all thought I'd never shut-up)

My Nit-Picks and other tid-bits

Xena trying to kill Gabrielle - Why did no Amazons jump on their horses
and give chase? Why did those 2 Amazons just stand by as Xena rode by
with Gabrielle in tow? Couldn't they have at least attempted to stop
Xena?

Could a whole village of Amazons really not be able to stop Xena?

Loose threads - Xena is going to have to face the Amazons at some point
and say she is sorry or something. And what about poor Ephiny? Will
Xena and Gabrielle go back and let them know that they made up and
stuff.

Will Xena and Gabrielle talk about the brutality that Xena inflicted
upon Gabrielle when she tried to kill her? Will Xena add that to her
box of guilt? Will Gabrielle feel safe with Xena around now that she
knows that she is not immune to Xena's violent side?

And then there is Joxer. Let's hear it for Joxer!! He stood by his
woman, and was the most courageous I have ever seen him. He tried to
attack Xena (even though he must have known it was a lost cause) to save
Gabrielle. Will Gabrielle say thank you? Will Xena say she is sorry?
Which brings me to this - Ted Raimi is this side of Danny Kaye with
regard to his comedic talent. Let's give the man his due. Love or hate
his character, he plays the fool very well. I tip my horns to Ted.

And how did Gabrielle get to Chin before Xena?

Well, I think I am done here. My final applause goes to Rob Tapert and
crew for not being afraid to rock the boat. It was risky, but I think
they pulled it off. Bravo!!

Longhorn

~via shanty