From: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org (chakram-refugees-digest) To: chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V3 #84 Reply-To: chakram-refugees@smoe.org Sender: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk chakram-refugees-digest Wednesday, March 26 2003 Volume 03 : Number 084 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [chakram-refugees] Lucy on ET ["Cheryl Ande" ] [chakram-refugees] << The God You Know>> ["Cheryl Ande" Subject: [chakram-refugees] Lucy on ET Just saw the advert for ET and they will have something on Lucy tonight. Looks like the footage from the New Zealand Oscar party. CherylA ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 20:51:11 -0500 From: "Cheryl Ande" Subject: [chakram-refugees] << The God You Know>> The God You Know This is exceedingly odd episode. I enjoyed it very much: good performances by Lucy and Alexis Arquette, snappy dialog, Gabrielle acts like Gabrielle should; Eve is annoying but at least has a personality. Still if you look at the episode objectively it makes very little sense. The story opens with Xena and Gabrielle wandering through a field where there are a number of slaughtered people. Gabrielle, despite wandering through many such fields, is once again surprised at the brutality. It is perhaps a nice touch that neither Xena nor Gabrielle ever becomes accustomed to brutality. Suddenly Michael appears to announce that the perpetrator of this slaughter is Caligula. Xena is very hostile to Michael since he tried to pitch her into hell but she listens as he asks her if he knows who Caligula is. Yes says Xena he is a lunatic, sex maniac, and thinks he's a god - a typical Roman emperor. Michael corrects Xena, Caligula doesn't think he is a god he is a god. Now we come to the first puzzling aspect of this episode. Michael basically says that he needs a god slayer. He also says Eve is on her way to Rome to confront Caligula. There is an implied threat here. He seems to be blackmailing Xena into killing the emperor. Why should he resort to blackmail? Has Xena ever been reluctant to take on half mad Roman emperors? What is also puzzling is Michael's remark that Eve obeys a "higher authority" than him, when Xena accuses him of putting her daughter in danger. It is not so much the line as the delivery. Michael seems to both smirk about it but also he seemed a bit resentful. Michael needs Xena to kill Caligula who is a threat to Michael's god and he uses Eve as leverage. Xena can't refuge but Michael is now seen as a threat by Xena. Michael also has changed - he is now using Xena and Eve as mere tools to accomplish his ends. They apparently no longer matter to him except as means to an end. In Rome Caligula is showing off his immortality. He forces a young Roman, who bears a striking resemblance to Kanue Reeves, stab him. When the sword passes harmlessly through him the awed young man worships at the emperor's feet. Caligula moves on to a holy man but this time emperor is surprised that this man will not worship him. The man respectfully will not abandon his god. As the emperor orders the man's arrest, Eve interrupts. She challenges Caligula. He is told this woman is Eve of the Eligians but he says it's too bad he never knew Livia, the Bitch of Rome. Eve says now he is the "bitch for Rome". As Eve is about to be taken arrive a speeding chariot speeds into the square. A mysterious figure in a gold helmet flips from the chariot and lands in front of Caligula. Caligula is impressed - he loves a surprise. Xena however is no mood for small talk and is about to strike Caligula down when Ares suddenly tackles her. Ares tells a surprised Xena that if she kills Caligula she will kill Aphrodite. Sure enough Aphrodite suddenly appears but something is really wrong - she is pale and strung out. When Caligula kisses her she loses what strength she has and passes out. Well we just found how Caligula got his immortality. Meanwhile Gabrielle has rescued a reluctant Eve. Gabrielle has a new outfit too - skimpy to say the least but she has hat (a prop ROC seemed to have a lot of fun with). It is now time for the fast talking Gabrielle to spin a yarn. In the square Caligula is ordering arrests, Ares and Eve are to be arrested. When the emperor is informed that Eve is missing he is not happy and he orders a search. As he turns his attention to Xena, Gabrielle pops up between them. Giving a warning glance to Xena she announces that she is Cinda of Thessely and she represents Saba the Charioteer who is here to challenge Caligula to a race. Caligula eyes up Xena is just thrilled "he loves tall girls" and with pat to Xena's behind he leads them off to the imperial palace. In the palace the girls are bathing, of course. Xena informs Gabrielle that she going to visit Ares in prison. Gabrielle is to find out what is going on with Aphrodite. Gabrielle reminds Xena that she is the guest of honor at the banquet. At the prison Xena finds a worried Ares. Ares now delivers the bad news. Aphrodite has gone mad. Without the god of war the goddess of love has become unbalanced. Caligula has taken advantage of this is somehow sucking Aphrodite's vitality and immortality from her. If no one stops him he will drain Aphrodite but unfortunately the two are connected. If Caligula dies so will Aphrodite and Ares desperately doesn't want his sister to die. It is interesting how mortality has changed Ares - he is now in danger of becoming a very noble man. At the banquet, Gabrielle talks to Aphrodite but it is difficult. Aphrodite doesn't know who Gabrielle is - she is hardly lucid. Gabrielle will not give up on her friend. As the goddess lurches out of the banquet room, Gabrielle follows. Aphrodite is staggering through the hall. In the hall Gabrielle is trying to get through to her friend when Aphrodite suddenly kisses Gabrielle. Gabrielle is stunned but Aphrodite actions are less about passion and more about instinct. The goddess of love reacts to the world in an amorous way - when she met Ares in the Roman street she erotically caressed him much to her brother's extreme discomfort. Gabrielle takes the kiss for what it was - the actions of woman in serious trouble. As Gabrielle tries to find out Aphrodite's true feelings for Caligula, the emperor interrupts them. He has Aphrodite taken back to the party. He is suspicious of Gabrielle but he very angry about "Saba". Where is she? She has insulted the emperor and the god by not attending the banquet. Gabrielle does some quick thinking. She grabs Caligula (which would have gotten her killed in the real world) and says it would be a shame to miss her performance. Caligula, who is always up for a good show, is intrigued. So Gabrielle does her dance (Rob paid for a choreographer and by golly he was going to use her). What ever you may think of dance it would be one the Romans would have enjoyed. They liked acrobats and Gabby certainly did her acrobatic best. She throws balls of fire around, swings on ropes, and does flips, dances on shields and wonders how long she can keep this up. Finally at the climax of the dance Xena shows up. Caligula is still pouting that Saba is late but Xena says she is at his command. Caligula genially warns her that her can have some pretty strange commands. He is willing to forgive Saba's tardiness and will accept her challenge to a race. Saba will have to first prove her worthiness. Ares is brought in (he's lost his shirt again) and Saba is told to kill him. Xena is a quick thinker too. She says that she would love to do it but she and her manager once had an act that emperor would just love. As Caligula looks a bit puzzled but then Gabrielle begins to snuggle up to Ares. The penny drops for Caligula and he settles back for a sex show. Xena gets ready but at the last moment asks Caligula if he would "like a piece of this." Ares is not happy about this turn of events but he need not fear. Caligula though very tempted thinks it is perhaps wise to sit this one out. Xena goes to Caligula and gives him a smoldering kiss and a bit on the lip. This has a profound affect on Gabrielle and Ares who are mesmerized by their girl's actions. Xena now begins a bit of foreplay with Ares but she warns him it won't last long - hell is about to break loose. Just about then Caligula notices his lip is bleeding and all hell does brake loose. Caligula in rage and fear orders every one out. He slaps Aphrodite when tries to talk to him. He has Xena put in chains and then orders a guard to stab him. The guard does but now nothing happens. Caligula demands to know how Saba, a mortal, could make a god bleed. Xena now spins her tale. She is not a mortal woman but the Celtic goddess of sex. Since the Olympians are now dead she is looking to expand her domain. She heard of Caligula and she came to check him out. Caligula is interested but what are her powers. She can pierce the veil of immortality. This makes Caligula uneasy but Xena offers him alliance. Aphrodite is weak, a used up "dishrag", two healthy gods using each other is much more appealing. Caligula still seems unsure. Xena sneers at him - soon he will be known as the good of used-up freaks. Caligula angrily pushes her away but Xena flips in the air and cuts her chains. Caligula is now frightened of Xena and is apparently ashamed of his fear. Xena however has proven her point and leaves the emperor with an imperious wave of her hand. Gabrielle is now with Aphrodite. Aphrodite is examining a small cut on her head. She is contemplating her mortality - she will die. Gabrielle assures her that is only a small wound. Aphrodite, no matter how out of it she seems, has a grasp on the bigger picture. Some day there will be a bigger wound and then death. In Caligula's chamber the mad little god is haunted by the voice of the mother he murder. She taunts him with his weakness and his cowardice. Caligula knows the voices are in his head but he is terrified and calls out for help. Suddenly behind his throne appears Michael and Caligula fearfully confronts this new demon. In the catacombs of Rome, Eve prays with Eli's followers. Suddenly there are fingers at her temples. Eve says at last. Michael is there - he is comforting and sympathetic. Eve says she is ready for her mission. A kindly Michael sends her off to her death. In the throne room a fretful Caligula waits. Eve is brought before her. She preaches that Caligula must give up blood and violence. Eve is earnest and Caligula finds it annoying. He is about to kill her when Xena interrupts. Eve turns to confront her mother. She is about to have a teen-age hissy fit when mom cold cocks her. With Eve out cold, Xena asks what exactly Caligula is up to. Caligula innocently answers that he is doing what the demon with wings told him to do - kill Eli's messenger. Xena is not happy (angel feathers are about to fly) but first she must convince Caligula not to kill Eve just yet. In a demented tango Xena convinces the madman that Eve's death should be a spectacle to show his power. Caligula is thrilled down to his gold inlayed sandals. Tomorrow Eve will die, and Saba will be declared his new consort. He has only one thing left to do. In Aphrodite's chambers, Gabrielle is caring for the goddess. Suddenly Michael appears; he draws his sword on the two women with murder in eye. An irate Xena appears - Michael has tried to get her daughter killed and is threatening her girlfriends - she beats him to a pulp. She finally knocks him into the pool in the middle of the room and puts the pinch on him. As Michael struggle (I love the wings frantically beating in the water) she wants the whole story. She knows he has put Eve in danger to force her hand but why to try to kill Gabrielle and Aphrodite. Mike says he wasn't trying to kill Gabby just Aphrodite. Caligula can't become a god if Aphrodite is dead. Xena has had enough and she is now willing to let Michael die. He has proven to an untrustworthy and murderous ally; willing to sacrifice everyone to protect his turf. Gabrielle, despite the fact she apparently enjoyed watching Xena beat the stuffing out of the angel, is now trying frantically to save him. He pleads with Xena to take the pinch off. Xena is stubborn but a pillar of light strikes her. She falls back and Michael is released. With a maniacal laugh he disappears. Xena tells a fearful Gabrielle that she has lost her power to kill gods. Now a digression. What the heck happened? Michael sets Eve up to be killed by Caligula so that Xena is forced to kill him to save Eve or avenge her. That seems to be pretty cavalier manner to treat you number one prophet. It also doesn't make sense. Xena's power to kill gods is tied directly to Eve - remember in Motherhood Eve dies Xena looses the power to kill gods. So if Xena is late and Caligula kills Eve, Xena is powerless. Then Michael suddenly decides to take matters into his own hands and kill Aphrodite. When did he find out she was tied to Caligula? We don't know - he didn't have clue in the beginning of the episode, he said as much, but now he knows. So now he decides to murder a defenseless woman - not very angelic. Then Xena comes along stops him and in order to save the murderous angel, Eli or some power strips Xena of her god-killing power. Michael is beside himself with joy, but why? Yeah he's safe but Caligula is still a dangerous god and now the one person who was supposed to kill him can't. Michael doesn't take the opportunity to kill Aphrodite he just goes away. And while we are asking questions - why didn't he just kill Caligula when he had the chance? Why use Eve at all? Back to our story. Caligula now enters Aphrodite's chambers and kisses Aphrodite sucking the last of her power from her. Xena kicks him away from her friend but Caligula mistakes this for jealously and forgives her. After all he is now a full god and he is just overjoyed. Tomorrow they will race and kill Eve - things just don't get better than this. As Caligula leaves, Xena and Gabrielle rush to aid Aphrodite. Aphrodite awakens to find Gabrielle crouch over her. Aphrodite is concerned about Gabrielle's inappropriate proximity. Gabrielle is surprised but her friend says Gabby can be such a ditz. A slightly insulted but happy bard knows the old Dite is back. Her opinion of Caligula is now a resounding yuk and she seems to have her senses back. There is now only one small problem she is now a mortal. Xena visits Ares and Eve in prison. She breaks all the bad news: Caligula is a full god, Aphrodite is sane but mortal, and she has lost the power to kill gods. Ares is pessimistic. Eve is still miffed at mom for trampling over her decision to allow a lunatic to butcher her. Xena says she is still her mom and will stop people from carving her daughter up like a Christmas turkey whenever she deems it necessary. Eve says Xena can't protect from evil forever. Well says Xena... The next scene we see Xena on horseback dragging Eve through the streets of Rome. No it's not tough love on Xena's part just part of the plan. At the steps of Rome Eve is tied to a post. Caligula gives the prophet of peace a sniff and announces that there will be a race between him and Saba, his new consort. Whoever wins will kill Eve the Whore of Rome (Eve's titles just get worse and worse). The race is on. Caligula fires errant fireballs, whips his horses and an annoyed Xena, but he loses in the end. A victorious Xena races to the steps where Eve and Gabrielle await her. Caligula pronounces her the winner but Gabrielle makes her announcement. Saba is actually Xena, Warrior Princess. Caligula is puzzled - yes he heard of Xena.the god slayer! A horrible realization over comes him. The same realization comes to the crowd watching the race. Xena has come to kill Caligula. The emperor is terrified and the crowd is elated. They chant Xena's name and children throw rotten fruit at the cowering godling. Xena knows she can no longer kill gods so she must convince Caligula to kill himself. With real pity for this fool who wanted to be a god she convinces him that the only way he can live forever is to make the ultimate sacrifice. He must sacrifice himself. Yes Caligula fearfully agrees it is the only way. He then runs himself through with Xena's sword and achieves an awful immortality. Later that day the Gabrielle asks Xena how she feels. "Dirty' says Xena. She caused the death of a man who certainly did evil things but was also very damaged. She was manipulated and used to do Michael's bidding and she isn't happy. Aphrodite also isn't happy she's mortal but is touched that Gabrielle did so much for her and considers her a friend. Eve asks her mother how she feels about losing her greatest gift - the power to kill gods. Xena is phlegmatic - it just makes life spicier besides, drawing Gabby and Eve to her, she still has her two greatest gifts. Behind the three women comes Ares and Aphrodite who are acting every bit the affectionate but rowdy siblings. This was an enjoyable episode. Alexis Arquette was very funny as the emperor Caligula. He delivered his one-liners with panache and was oddly sympathetic. If there is one criticism I have of him was that I didn't feel any menace from him - I just didn't see the monster in his performance. His Caligula seemed more goofy than dangerous. Lucy was also very good - she was seductive and outrageous when she needed to be. Charles Mesure does good work as the increasingly enigmatic Michael. His archangel has developed in a remarkable character - is he a hero, a zealot, or a villain? It is a frustrating character and it is very understandable when Xena explodes in rage at her feathered friend. ROC's Gabrielle seems to have gotten that twinkle in her eye back. She is a hoot as Cinda of Thessaly - manager of charioteers, dancer, and possible porn star. She is also a sympathetic friend to the troubled Aphrodite and cheering section to Xena as she pummels Michael. Kevin Smith is always good as the mortal Ares - sex object and loving brother. This episode is also just loaded with YAXIs and contradictions. Why does Michael put Eve in mortal danger if she is so important to Eli's cause? If Michael can kill Aphrodite why doesn't her simply kill Caligula? How did Caligula get the power to suck Aphrodite dry? Finally how does Caligula kill himself? We saw Callisto stab herself without effect in Necessary Evil. Caligula does the same thing but dies. Is it that he willed himself to death or is it the fact that his "worshippers" turned on him that causes him to be vulnerable. Lots of questions. Any answers out there? CherylA ========================================================= This has been a message to the chakram-refugees list. To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe chakram-refugees" in the message body. Contact meth@smoe.org with any questions or problems. ========================================================= ------------------------------ End of chakram-refugees-digest V3 #84 *************************************