From: owner-chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org (chakram-refugees-digest) To: chakram-refugees-digest@smoe.org Subject: chakram-refugees-digest V8 #39 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 Thursday, October 1 2009 Volume 08 : Number 039 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [chakram-refugees] Maternal Instincts [cr ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:16:22 +1200 From: cr Subject: [chakram-refugees] Maternal Instincts I always liked this episode (it had Callisto in it, for starters, which is always a good sign). But what an emotional roller-coaster ride it was. I can't think of another episode as moving as this. I don't normally care for emotional scenes, but the scene with Xena and Solan after the death of Kaleipus always gets to me - Xena is obviously longing to tell Solan she's his mother, but won't let herself - excellently played by Lucy. Visually, it was excellent. The scene where Callisto was ambushed in the village was beautifully shot, the contrast between Callisto's golden hair and Xena looking like Death incarnate, was really striking. And the final fight in the caves, with the camera following Xena and Callisto as they ran through the cave with rocks crashing down and pillars collapsing and the air full of flying dust and everything shuddering, was about the best and most dramatic such action scene that I've ever seen. The director was Mark Beesley, whose only previous Xena credit was A Necessary Evil, another very good Callisto ep but which wasn't in the same class as Maternal Instincts, dramatically or visually. And some beautiful lines, particularly Callisto's, as always. 'Come out, come out, wherever you are. I promise it won't hurt. Much.' There was a nice bit of inter-series continuity leading up to this - in the earlier Herc ep Prodigal Sister, where Ephiny and Xenan had a walk-on part, Ephiny said she was taking Xenan to the Centaur village so he could learn about that side of his ancestry. And there they were, in Maternal Instincts. (This was much better done than the non-continuity of the guest appearances by Iolaus, Xena and Gabrielle in the Quest / Judgement Day period). 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 V8 #39 *************************************