From: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org (chakram-refugees-digest) To: chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V3 #264 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 Sunday, September 7 2003 Volume 03 : Number 264 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [chakram-refugees] Blind Faith ["Cheryl Ande" ] [chakram-refugees] Re: Friend In Need Part A ["Cheryl Ande" Subject: [chakram-refugees] Blind Faith Blind Faith This is one of the more enjoyable of the second season episodes. It is lighthearted but has a serious mission behind it. Xena must not only save Gabrielle from a nefarious plot (again) but also save the soul of a wannabe warlord, Palemon. She also has to accomplish all this while being blind. Gosh does she have her plate full. There are a lot of good action sequences and a nice comedic subplot as Gabrielle is trained to be a queen by 1/5 of the fabulous five (Queer Eye reference). I love the fact that Gabrielle is just too gauche, muscular, and "husky" (i.e. butch) to be a real lady not to mention her really big hands (ROC does have big hands and feet, I know, I own her shoes - it always cracks me up when fan fic writers always talk about Gab's little hands). ROC does a great job of coping with tight dresses and constant criticism while maintaining an air of offended dignity. There is also a nice joke about Gabby's real fatal charms since every guy that loves her dies (this will eventually include Joxer and Xena, no wonder Virgil hightailed it out of Gabrielle's sight at the end of the Abyss). This episode also had one of the best guest stars of series, Jeremy Callaghan, as Palemon. He managed to make his apprentice thug both sympathetic and likeable. His thug tries so hard to be ruthless but beneath it you see his soft heart; not only when he hesitates to kill Xena when she is vulnerable but also when he learns there is a cure in Athens for her blindness - he immediately wants to take off and find the cure - not because he wants to fight Xena but because generally wants her well. He however doesn't make the mistake of making Palemon too much of a wuss. This guy can fight and you have the feeling that a few more months of pretending to be a ruthless killer he will eventually get his wish. One day he will kill and he will be lost. Xena knows this and is as determined to save him as much as she is determined to save Gabrielle. Xena does a bit of lecturing but mainly she shows him that real bravery comes from nobility and unselfishness. She gives him an example to live up to. He can be like his criminal cronies who will turn on him in a second or she can be like her a person who knows true loyalty and true friendship. Palemon is smart enough to know where his future lies and isn't ashamed to turn his life around although he may be startled by his new sidekick. Lucy gives a wonderful performance. Although blind she is the one who sees everything clearly - she knows the right path to redemption and teaches it to her sighted companion. She isn't above flouting her many skills to show Palemon that he isn't the superior warrior he thinks he is but she also lets him know she respects him and finally trusts him as a friend. She can see into the heart of her young companion and she sees what he can't - that he is a good person. There is a wonderful scene, which illustrates Palemon's final moment of self- revelation. Throughout the episode Palemon has boasted about killing a warlord named Krykus. Xena never says anything but finally while hiding in the palace Xena says she knows Palemon is a good man. Palemon with is face in shadows says he is a ruthless murder, he killed Krykus. Xena nonchalantly says no he didn't. Palemon emerges from the shadows into the light as Xena says she killed Krykus. At the moment Palemon can now step into the light - he no longer has to pretend; he can be himself and determine who will become. 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 19:56:33 -0400 From: "Cheryl Ande" Subject: [chakram-refugees] Re: Friend In Need Part A > Was it? All the cowboy westerns I saw as a kid were notable for the > complete absence of sex and the near-total absence of females. Quite > regardless of what the Wild West *may* have been like, most of these Westerns > were made in the 60's and 70's IIRC (when TV cowboy Westerns were in vogue). > I doubt whether the Lone Ranger ever exchanged more than a 'Good Morning, > Ma'am' to a woman on screen, certainly didn't get hot 'n' heavy with the > supporting cast. > And I don't think we ever saw, in the Westerns, any female villains > whatsoever. > > cr Yes TV cowboys were oddly celibate. Women were for the mosr part relegated to be the supportive types except for the few westerns starring Barbara Stanwyk - check out Forty Guns and Fury - there was one woman who could hold her own against any cowboy. ========================================================= 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: Sat, 6 Sep 2003 20:16:46 -0400 From: "Cheryl Ande" Subject: Fw: [chakram-refugees] Re: chakram-refugees-digest V3 #261 - ----- Original Message ----- From: "cr" To: "Cheryl Ande" ; Sent: Friday, September 05, 2003 11:31 PM Subject: Re: [chakram-refugees] Re: chakram-refugees-digest V3 #261 > On Saturday 06 September 2003 11:55, Cheryl Ande wrote: > > > Ife wrote: > > > > > (snip) > > > > I was surprised that Xena went through the charade of propping his body > > > up just to fool Gabs. I stil prefer the paralyzed scenario, but I agree > > > now that > > > Xena probably intended for Gabs to interpret the "didn't have to murder" > > > line as she did. > > > > I have always found the last scene from The Debt confusing but I have > > always interpreted not so much as Xena deceiving Gabrielle but as Xena not > > realizing what she had done. I think when Xena kills Ming she does so out > > of sheer disgust. There is no crime worse for Xena than the killing of > > family and to see Ming gloat about killing not only his mother but also a > > great woman was just to much for Xena. I think she just simply snapped. > > There is no other explanation for her talking to the dead Ming as if he > > were alive when Gabrielle comes back for her. Xena is nearly in a state of > > shock when Gabrielle leads her away. > > I can't see that *at all*. I think she just changed her mind about not > killing him. For me to kill him, or Gabby, say, we would probably have > 'snapped', but Xena is used to killing people, she's rather good at it. So > I really can't see that killing MIng (which is what she intended in the > first place) would put her under great mental stress. > > And I don't think she was in a state of shock, either. Maybe in a state of > mild euphoria at having escaped from a death sentence. And certainly in a > sentimental mood at having returned to her Lao Ma's book of wisdom. > > > I think it was a shock that La Mao returned the broach to Xena and the > > implication that came with it - that Xena had permission to kill Ming. La > > Mao was never a pacifist remember that she wanted Xena as a her Warrior > > Princess - to do her fighting for her. Xena now has conflicting emotions - > > she was on the path of murder then she turns from that and does what she > > believes La Mao wanted her to do make Ming small without murder and then > > suddenly everything turns again. > > But that was always implicit in Lao Ma's summons to Xena. Xena assumed from > the moment she got the message that Lao Ma wanted her to kill Ming. "Who > was the Green Dragon?" "The man I'm going to kill." There was certainly > nothing she discovered after that moment to make her change her mind about > that. Xena had no problem with the idea of killing Ming at all. Never > did. She decided on the spur of the moment I think, that since he'd > survived the wreckage of his throne room, she'd leave it at that. Ming got > lucky, if only he'd been smart enough to realise it. > > > La Mao wants Xena to kill Ming; she has > > become La Mao's weapon and like that broach she obeys Mao's will and does > > her bidding. By episodes end Xena is terribly confused - has she betrayed > > La Mao by killing or has she submitted to La Mao's will and killed for her. > > I don't even if Xena understands her motivations for killing Ming. Was it > > revenge, loathing, or simply obedience to La Mao? Xena at the moment > > Gabrielle returns I believe is she just very unsure of what has actually > > happened. > > > > CherylA > > I saw no confusion at all. A degree of surprise at Ming's revelation about > his murder of Lao Ma, yes. (Remember, up until then, I don't think Xena > was aware that Ming had executed Lao Ma, though she may have had her > suspicions). > > cr ========================================================= 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 #264 **************************************