scifi_rewatch | Xena: Warrior Princess Episode 3.11: “Maternal Instincts”

Welcome back to “the Rift.” Bigtime drama for our two girls. I’m embarrassed to say that it took until I watched the commentary to realize the obvious—this is the midpoint of the season. Hope’s birth (and some other iffy developments) happened near the beginning, inter-dispersed with some goofy, non-storyline stuff, and now we’ve reached the lowest point. The back half of the season is all about how Xena and Gabrielle deal with all of this, but no more spoilers! *innocent, musical whistling*

I’m also back to feeling a sort of “rift” with some of the fandom. I remember referencing this back in the first episodes featuring Hope. Who is to blame for what happened here? More importantly, did Hope’s journey have to turn out this way? I suppose I’m feeling a little aggravated—in the last episode, we went to great, if goofy lengths, to have Gabrielle question her one dimensional concept of goodness. But isn’t Xena’s concept of evil similarly one dimensional and bullheaded? I feel like if Gabrielle is challenged on her beliefs, then Xena should, too—particularly because Xena’s beliefs are much more fatalistic. Is that the ultimate message of this show, or is it redemption? Suffice to say…I think I’m coming down with a strong opinion about the Hope conundrum. It’s not the way that the story ultimately goes, but it could have gone that way. Man, I kind of wish I were a teen again, where I was drooling over the drama, but not really grappling with it. :P

Great episode, by and by. The acting carried the show, and we got to see some awesome old (and new) faces.

Summary is here, courtesy of whoosh.org.

The synopsis: treaty time for the centaurs! Great opportunity for Xena (and Gabrielle) to visit with her son, Solan. Ephiny is there as well (hi, Danielle Cormack!)—nice continuity since her son is a centaur (and growing fast, considering he was only birthed during the season one finale. :P I assume his non-human genes have something to do with it, hee.) Meanwhile, a little girl, seemingly innocently, releases Callisto from her fiery prison. Turns out not to be so innocent—it’s Hope, looking for help in ushering in Dahak’s kingdom. Torturing Xena, Gabrielle and a bunch of children seems like a good enough way to go about it, and it also feeds into Callisto’s revenge. Hope slowly reveals herself to Gabrielle, playing deftly on her heart strings, and with Callisto as the presumed threat, Gabby sends Hope to hide from danger with Solan. Wrong move. Hope kills Solan, the rift between Xena and Gabriele reaches breaching point; Xena goes off to deal with Callisto and Gabrielle goes off to deal with Hope. :/ They don’t come back together at the end of the episode.

I’ll start easy—with Xena and Solan. I probably enjoyed this relationship a bit more when I was younger, and I liked the idea of Xena having a son somewhere. I still love the Borias backstory, too, though that doesn’t figure here. Lucy brings good stuff to her role as the awkwardly hopeful, jocular mother who wants to be part of her son’s life but doesn’t feel that it’s her place. And I vaguely remember, from last season, that the two of them were starting to get along, but man, Solan, to want to pack up and leave with her after your adoptive father dies? Of course everyone does deal with grief differently. Xena more or less packed up and left after her brother died, too (with a whole lot more vengeance and pillaging going on as well.) Anywho. I’m glad that the actor, David Taylor, could come back for the role. Alas, Kaleipus needed a new actor, but that sort of thing happens with such a fleeting, guest appearance. I’ve always liked recurring guest roles; makes the lives of our main characters feel more thorough to come back to people from their pasts. And I’ll always have a soft spot for Solan. :/ Poor, sweet Solan, who on his own, I suppose, is mostly a plot device, but he brought out a loving and vulnerable side in Xena’s character, even when she was evil. Something quite easy (and dramatically appropriate) for Callisto to exploit.

Oh, Hudson Leick, thank you for continuing to grace the show with your presence! In the commentary, Hudson lauded the talent of Amy Morrison, who played young Hope, and she was great, I’ll get to her in a little while, but GUH, Hudson! You bring something so raw to Callisto. I mean, the show doesn’t deal with this drama overly often—Callisto’s past suffering, Xena’s son, and the Hope thing is relatively new—but just hearing her talk and it’s all so real and immediate. I believe with every fiber of my being that Callisto lives, constantly, in the pain of what happened to her (and no wonder we can’t see her very often, because having to go through that, episode after episode, would be exhausting.) But Callisto actually, finally metes out her revenge here, with the death of Solan. (Man, I love the way that she smiles when Xena screams. The circle of pain is complete.) And I get why she’d want to do it herself, but surely she realized, too, that having Hope do it would be even more painful. It would tear up not only Xena’s relationship with her son, but also her relationship with Gabrielle. Anywho. Callisto actually makes some character progression here, of a sort. Once she finally dishes out her revenge, she has nothing else to strive for. She’s…empty. Xena says it best when she proclaims that Callisto let her pain kill her off years ago. And it’s as good of motivation as ever to at least start our warrior princess down the path of healing. (Those scenes with Xena and Solan’s body…so harrowing, so necessary.) She’s not there yet—I mean, how could she be, in the very episode where her son died—but she’s not going to let this destroy her.

I suppose the same must be said for Gabrielle. She almost reaches the point of despair, when she considers killing herself. And I think that’s only appropriate, given all that’s happened, and how it has rocked her to her core. I have to credit whoosh.org for recognizing that this is the final step in Gabrielle’s loss of innocence—now she must choose to murder her own daughter, rather than have her live to kill again. The producers mentioned this explicitly in the DVD commentary—of all the dark material in this episode, Gabrielle’s decision was the one they grappled with the most. Would she go so far as to murder her own child? Amy Friedman mentioned the archetypal nature of this story arc—lots of myths deal with parents having to kill children (and vice versa.) Damn, Renee rocked it. We haven’t heard about Hope in episodes, of course, but it makes sense that with the re-appearance of Solan, and of Ephiny and Xenon, she’d be feeling the inklings for her own child. Her chat with Ephiny proves a great way to bring that to the forefront, given that they are established friends and sisters of the Amazonian sort. Then, Hope slowly reels Gabby in…I’ll get to that in the next paragraph. Chekov’s wooden sheep is an obvious connection, of course, but probably my favorite part involves how desperately Gabby wants to believe that Hope was innocent of Solan’s murder…until she mentions him by name. After all is said and done, Gabby’s adrift and guilt-ridden. I love that the episode ends at the funeral of the two children—the wiki has vindicated me in that belief. :P Sure, I suppose it would make more sense to burn the villain, Hope, separately, and whatever happened to Kaleipus? Maybe centaurs have different funeral rites. Anywho. This visceral testament to the deaths of their two children serves as the searing rift between our two leads. (Seems appropriate to mention that neither of them die on camera, of course.) And damn…considering that neither Solan nor Hope are that well developed, it’s still a gut-wrenching scene. Great dialogue and great acting between Lucy and Renee. I struggle with the broader implications of what they’re saying, but the pain is real.

So here’s my conundrum. Hope might be the child of an evil god, and maybe I’m just supposed to leave it at that. Xena certainly does. But it’s just too damn simplistic. Is Xena supposed to be the only evil person to be redeemed? And if we are demanding that Gabrielle see the world in shades of grey, then why shouldn’t the warrior princess? Callisto should be our prime example of what happens to a person who refuses to see nuance in the world—all that exists for her is her pain and revenge; after that, emptiness. So I’m coming down hard on the path that if Hope hadn’t been abandoned, maybe she could have seen a better way. I mean, small wonder that someone who was sent down the river in a basket would have some anger issues. :P Obviously, by this point in the story, Hope is just evil. But this didn’t have to be an absolute certainty, if Gabrielle, and especially Xena, had handled things with more compassion back in Brittania. This is a tough line to walk this episode. There’s no denying that Hope killed Solan, and that Gabby played a part in this because she lied to Xena about her daughter being dead. But I can’t let Xena off the hook, either. She only ever treated Hope with contempt, and that boomeranged back to her.

Final odds and ends, to finish this thing on a lighter note. :P Man, Hudson was right; Amy Morrison can act. :P I should check IMBD to see if she starred in any of those child horror roles, hee. But it’s more than her just cackling and making plans in her secret lair; she also brings just the right amount of “innocent” manipulation to her scenes with Renee. I didn’t find them to be schlocky at all, personally. The scenes with her and Hudson were a bit of hilarity, with the power struggles and literal hair pulling. :P But I also wondered if Hope had a more vulnerable side, after all, when she pleaded for Callisto to stay with her. Whoosh.org pointed this out—she should have exhausted herself after Solan’s death, same as she did with the death of Kaleipus. Anywho. In other news, the wiki says that this episode leads directly into the “Hercules” two-parter, “Armageddon, Now,” but eh, not sure I’ll watch it. Definitely more intriguing than most episodes on that show, hee. Thanks to whoosh.org for this one—Ephiny’s pommel has an intriguing symbol on it, most likely Venus (aka Aphrodite), and the symbol for woman. Also, Callisto’s eyes are no longer bright white, like they were in “A Necessary Evil,” when she first became a god. Seems like a good choice, both aesthetically and probably for Hudson’s physical comfort. :P

Disclaimer Xena and Gabrielle's relationship was harmed during the production of this motion picture.

Favorite Quotes:
*Xena is our first regretful mother*
Gabrielle: Remember how it looked the last time we were here?

Xena: Hmm.

Gabrielle: What a difference a year makes, huh?

Xena: One year, two months, and twelve days-- but who’s counting?

*on the nose exposition*
Gabrielle: We should be thanking you. This treaty-- it could be the start of reuniting the Centaur nation.

Kaleipus: That’s why the delegates brought their children-- so they can appreciate the legacy we’re leaving them-- a legacy of peace-- and hope.

*Gabrielle comes clean—mostly—to Ephiny about Hope*
Gabrielle: I can’t believe it’s only been a couple of months. It feels like a lifetime since Xena and I were in Brittania.

Ephiny: Word was Xena helped Boadicea defeat Caesar.

Gabrielle: That’s true. While we were there-- I, uh-- I got into a—a very bad situation.

Ephiny: What do you mean? What happened?

Gabrielle: I had a child. And, sh-- she died. I named her Hope. That’s what she was. She was my hope that, um—despite everything that had happened-- this child was-- was worth it all.

Ephiny: You can’t blame yourself for her death. Only the Fates know why sleep steals a child’s life. I’m so sorry.

*Chekhov’s wooden sheep reference*
Gabrielle: This wolf-- it’s by Senticles, isn’t it?

Ephiny: Uh-huh?

Gabrielle: Yeah-- Xena gave me a wooden lamb last Winter Solstice. I gave it to Hope.

*Callisto and Hope have laid their trap for Xena well…*
Xena: Callisto-- I sensed it earlier, but how could she escape? This message she told you to give me-- what is it?

Hope: She told me to tell you that-- she knows your little secret and-- she’s gonna take it to the grave. That’s all. Now, can I go?

Gabrielle: Wait.

Xena: Callisto knows about Solan.

Gabrielle: But, how?

Xena: Whoever freed her must’ve told her. But who that is or how they know—

*Callisto is an aggressive hair-brusher, and Hope responds with demigod action*
Callisto: Tell me again how Xena looked when you told her that I’d take her precious little secret to the grave.

Hope: Like she’d been stabbed through the heart with her own sword.

Callisto: And that’s exactly how she’ll feel too, when Solan dies--stabbed, stabbed through the heart.

Hope: Ow-- that hurts.

Callisto: Here’s to the soul of such exquisite pain.

Hope: Don’t!

Callisto: Oh, I wish I could’ve seen it.

Hope: Stop! *psychically throws Callisto back*

Callisto: Hmm.

Hope: You’ll get your chance. Why do you think I freed you?

Callisto: To make her suffer.

Hope: To make her stop. My father’s kingdom is at hand-- the age of darkness, when Dahak will snuff out the people Xena loves, till he’s crushed her very soul-- and as she goes-- so goes the world.

*Xena and Solan have a parent/child moment—obstensibly about Kaleipus*
Solan: What’s with him, anyway?

Xena: He’s worried about you.

Solan: Why? I can take care of myself.

Xena: He is your father. Maybe not by blood-- but he couldn’t love you any more if he were. And when you are a parent—and your child is in danger, that is the scariest feeling in all the world.

Solan: You’re saying he’s scared.

Xena: I’m saying he loves you. And though you might not understand the reason, you have to trust that someone who loves you that much is only trying to do what’s best for you-- right?

Solan: I guess so.

Xena: So, do me a favor-- cut him some slack, all right? Deal?

Solan: Deal. But you owe me.

Xena: Big time.

*Chekhov’s wooden sheep reappearance*
Gabrielle: Where did you get this?

Hope: I didn’t steal it. It’s mine. It’s always been mine. The people who found me said so.

Gabrielle: Found you?

Hope: They said it was in the basket with me. All’s I remember is-- lots of water-- me crying for my mom. But she never came.

Ephiny: Gabrielle! Gabrielle! Xena says to hurry; they’re ready to go. Is there something wrong?

Gabrielle: No. No, I’ll be right there. Look, um-- there’s something that I have to do, here. So I want you to do a favor for me, OK? I want you to wait in my hut till I get back. And this way, I-- I’ll know you’re safe.

Hope: Don’t see why you care.

Gabrielle: You will. Do you promise?

Hope: I promise.

Gabrielle: Bye.

Hope: *after Gabby leaves* Bye-bye-- Mommy.

*Callisto and Xena finally run into each other*
Xena: How’d you do it, Callisto? Who helped you? That lava pit should have held you forever.

Callisto: Well, that’s for me to know and you to find out. But I didn’t come here to talk about me. I came to meet your precious little son-- Solan, isn’t it? Flesh of your flesh-- bone of your bone-- blood of your blood. Can’t wait to see all that.

Xena: Hurt my son and I swear by any god you name, I’ll--

Callisto: You’ll do what? You’re gonna make my life a living hell? Old hat, dear. You did that years ago, when you, uh—barbecued my family. But now it’s my turn to host the cook-out! And where is the guest of honor?! Solan. Solan, Dear. Come meet your Auntie Callisto.

*Xena and Gabrielle come across a dying Kaleipus*
Gabrielle: I don’t understand! Even Callisto can’t be in two places at once.

Xena: She’s not working alone. She as good as said so.

Gabrielle: What?

Xena: Someone is helping her. I just don’t know who? *sees centaur lying on the ground* Kaleipus.

Gabrielle: Oh!

Xena: Kaleipus. Kaleipus, what happened? Where is Solan? Where’s Solan?

Kaleipus: Safe-- went for help.

Xena: Who did this?

Kaleipus: *weakly* The-- the child.

Xena: What? I can’t hear you?

Kaleipus: *even more weakly* Oh-- oh-- raise him.

*looks like Xena might get that second chance to be a mother…*
Xena: I’m so sorry. Kaleipus was one of the finest people I ever knew.

Solan: Like my father-- and my mom. But, why does everyone I love die? Is it me?

Xena: No. No, of course not.

Solan: Then why are they dead? Everyone who ever loved me?

Xena: They’re not. You still have m-- many, many friends. And they’ve all said how much they love you and want you to come and live with them.

Solan: But I don’t want to. I want to live with you.

Xena: What?

Solan: I won’t be any trouble-- I promise. I’ll catch my own food-- and keep up. And I’m hardly ever sick.

Xena: Solan, I don’t think--

Solan: Please. My uncle always said, if anything happened to him, you’d be there for me.

Xena: And he was right. But all your ties are here. Don’t you wanna be with someone that you know-- someone that you care about?

Solan: Yes-- you. You said we were friends-- and real friends are like family, right?

Xena: Like family.

Solan: Then take me with you-- please? Don’t leave me.

Xena: When all this is over, you be packed and ready to go. We’ve got a lot to talk about. We might as well do it on the road.

*Hope is both vulnerable—and incredibly cruel*
Callisto: Hope. Hope. Are you here?

Hope: Hmm.

Callisto: Hope-- what’s happened?

Hope: Uh, that half-assed old man. He caught me coming for Solan.

Callisto: So you had to kill him-- and look what it’s done to you-- meek as a little kitten. Which means, Solan-- is mine.

Hope: No. You have to get me out of here. Leave me now—and join the rest of your puny gods when Dahak destroys them. Lose everything I promised-- everything Dahak brings.

Callisto: Well-- what is a little more time? And when you’re well--we’ll obliterate them all.

Hope: No-- better to crush their dreams-- destroy their future. We’ll kill what they love most-- their children.

*Hope’s final tugs at her mother’s heart strings gets her close to Solan…*
Hope: I tried to get away, but she-- !

Gabrielle: Who? Who, Callisto?

Hope: I have this power-- to move things. I don’t know why. She says it’s-- ‘cause I’m evil.

Gabrielle: That is a lie. You are not evil. Never believe that.

Hope: My mother thought so. She tried to drown me in a basket. She wanted me dead.

Gabrielle: She wasn’t trying to drown you. She was trying to save your life.

Hope: You weren’t there! You don’t know!

Gabrielle: I do. The basket is all there was. I-- I had to put you in it or, I had to watch you be killed. Now, I had no choice. I loved you.

Hope: You? You loved me?

Gabrielle: I-- I prayed that the gods would protect you-- and they did. They brought you home.

Hope: We have to go. I’m sorry, Mommy, it was me. I helped Callisto get out. And now she’s coming for the kids. We have to go! Come on, hurry!

Gabrielle: No, wait, wait, wait-- wait. Xena has to know this.

Hope: No, Xena hates me!

Gabrielle: She doesn’t hate you. She just doesn’t understand. Now, she will see what I’ve known all along-- that you can fight your dark side-- just like her.

Hope: But I’m scared. If Callisto finds out I told, she’ll kill me! She will!

Gabrielle: She will not find out. I will take you to the safest place there is, until we can go. OK?

Hope: The safest place? You promise?

Gabrielle: I cross my heart. Don’t be afraid-- OK? Now, come with me. Let’s go.

*pre-death knells*
Solan: Almost ready.

Hope: Solan?

Solan: That’s right.

Hope: *smiles* Safest place there is.

*even without knowing the child is Hope, Xena is mistrustful—only gets worse from there*
Ephiny: The children? She’s targeting the children?

Gabrielle: She’s coming from the south.

Ephiny: I’ll round up the kids-- get ‘em to the caverns. *leaves*

Xena: What makes you think you can trust this child?

Gabrielle: What makes you think that we can’t? Xena, she gave us Callisto’s plan.

Xena: Exactly. Callisto wouldn’t tell her anything she didn’t want us to hear. The child’s probably a pawn or worse!

Gabrielle: That is not true. Xena, you were always so quick to blame her, weren’t you? Well, she is not evil! She’s not!

Xena: Hope? The child is Hope?

Gabrielle: I’m sorry. I never meant to lie. Xena-- I couldn’t kill her. She’s my daughter. You’re a mother-- you know this! I had to save her.

Xena: Maybe it’s not too late. She’s young. Poison’ll kill her if her powers aren’t mature.

Gabrielle: “Poison? Xena, she is my child!”

Xena: She is not a child! She is a body-- a vessel—an instrument for evil. That is all!

Gabrielle: You are wrong! Xena, Hope is the victim here! That is why I sent her to Kaleipus’ hut, so she would be safe from Callisto.

Xena: *horror* You sent her to Kaleipus’ hut?

*Gabrielle slowly realizes the truth about Hope*
Hope: Mommy?

Gabrielle: What are you doing here? I thought I told you to wait in Kaleipus’ hut?

Hope: I know-- but it was awful. I couldn’t stay there! I was scared!

Gabrielle: Why? What did you do?

Hope: I ran. As soon I got there and saw that boy dead-- I ran and hid.

Gabrielle: Hope-- are you saying that he was already dead when you entered the hut?

Hope: I thought Callisto did it-- so I got scared and ran away.

Gabrielle: Oh, of course. It had to be Callisto. You said that she’s after the children, right?

Hope: She is. So, please-- can we go now? I don’t wanna die like Solan.

Gabrielle: How did you know his name was Solan?

Hope: You, you said so-- remember? Now, please, can we go?

Gabrielle: *realization dawning* Yes. Yes, we’ll go.

*Callisto has the best villain monologues ever*
Callisto: Hurts, doesn’t it? Losing your family-- rips out your heart, your guts-- your feelings. All that’s left is the pain, right? Welcome to the club.

*the rules of the game have changed with this battle between Xena and Callisto*
Callisto: Why drag this out?! Can’t you see I bring you the gift of oblivion?! Come out, come out, wherever you are? I promise it won’t hurt-- much. Dead end.

Xena: You got that right. It all ends here with me.

Callisto: You don’t seem to get it, do you? You’ve won. All these years I’ve spent-- living to destroy you? Thinking that—only if I could give you the same pain that you gave me-- I’d be rid of it-- and life would go on. And then I do-- and nothing changes. I don’t feel better-- just empty. So you let me go, Xena. You can’t win this battle. And you’ve already won the war.

Xena: Oh, it’s not that simple. I won’t let it be.

Callisto: I’m warning you Xena-- you’re nothing to me, now.

Xena: You’re breakin’ my heart.

Callisto: “Walk away.”

Xena: Go to Tartarus. *fights Callisto; Callisto releases lightning fingers that sends boulders crashing down*

Xena: *to Ephiny and the kids* Get down!

Ephiny: Run! *she and the kids escape outside*

Callisto: You’ll trap us both! That’s your plan-- to trap me here while my pain keeps growing and growing and you die and yours ends?

Xena: You’re wrong, Callisto. You let your pain kill you years ago. I’m gonna live with mine.

*the rift is at an impasse*
Gabrielle: If-- if I had just done what you said-- when you told me to do it, then they would still be alive-- Kaleipus and Solan.

Xena: No. Don’t you even speak his name.

Gabrielle: Xena.

Xena: No. No, you lied to me. I trusted you, and you lied to me. And now Solan is dead. My son is dead-- because of you.

Gabrielle: I love you, Xena. *they walk away in different directions*