Daughter of Pomira

Something bothered me throughout this episode, and I think I finally put my finger on it: Xena, the queen of action, spends most of the episode reacting. She reacts to Gabrielle, to Pilee, to the parents, usually obviously despite her better judgement. She spends very little of the episode acting on her own thoughts or instincts. That's a step way off the usual for Xena. Is she maybe feeling some Hope guilt, trying to accommodate Gabrielle's wish to help this kid?

Why was Xena wearing her current armor in the flashback battle? I _liked_ the flashback battle, don't get me wrong, but why didn't she have the old warlord duds on?

We have a bit of XenaHistory re-writing. According to The Price, Xena never fought the Horde. She was trapped at the top of a canyon while a good chunk of her army was slaughtered, and by the time she made it down, the Horde and most of her men's flesh were gone. According to this episode, Xena got some serious up close and personal time with the Horde before telling her army to retreat.

Xena sure makes herself at home, doesn't she? She marches right in to Rahl and Adiah's house. But they don't really seem that surprised to see her, either, so maybe this is old hat between them.

"Xena, I want to go with the Horde. They're better actors." The kid probably left because she could out-act her parents put together.

This episode is a real visit with the classic Gabrielle. She's Xena's constant reminder of her change. She doesn't hesitate to throw herself into a cause, leading with her heart and her idealism without a moment's self-doubt. She acts as the emotional barometer of the episode, translating what Pilee is feeling for everyone, usually better than Pilee does herself. In the end, Gabrielle gets down on herself for starting the whole escapade, but she would have had to have been psychic to know what Pilee's situation was with the Horde.

That whip DOES come in handy this episode. It's used for tree-climbing, Milo-snagging, and axe-grabbing. Busy episode for the whip.

Great emotion behind the line "Underground, terrific," as well as the unconvincing "No, piece of cake." It's not until the tunnel chase scene (high-speed crawling!) that we get an idea why, as Xena growls "I hate small spaces." But she also confesses to hating getting kicked across a battlefield, so maybe Xena's just feeling surly this episode more than actually suffering from a Viet Cong tunnel repulsion.

How'd Milo get back to town? Last we knew, Xena and Gabrielle left him in the woods with a kicked face, then suddenly he was inside the closed city gates.

Watch as Pilee first bangs against the city gate: when it's a long shot from a distance, the bar across the doors is warped and barely fits in the slots. When the shot is close, though, the bar is snug in its holders.

I'm glad they made the Horde leader smart enough to know exactly what was happening. Instead of making a frenzied charge on the town, he stood outside as if saying "OK, you know why I'm here and I know why I'm here. Give me your daughter or I burn the place to flinders. Nothing personal."

Listen to everybody, especially Milo, be very careful not to drop the "d" in "Horde." Watch that diction!

What did Xena see as she walked among the Horde? I would have been interested to get a glimpse at how the families interacted, and if Xena got to see a more human side of the Horde.

Impressive war paint and mini-dredlocks, there, Xena!

The villagers swing their mugs in the tavern as if they're about to break into a few rounds of "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall."

Were we ever supposed to think like Milo - that Xena was planning to kill the Horde? It may have built up more tension in the episode if we did, but I never thought that for a second, even when Xena played to Milo and the townspeople. Gabrielle didn't seem fooled, either.

Milo was armed to the teeth for that final battle! I counted two axes, a dagger, and a sword.

Watch Milo during the last shot of him grabbing the dagger on the ground; his sword is very briefly back in its scabbard.

The look of surprise and sorrow on Xena's face made the final dagger plunge dramatic, but why was it there? She wouldn't be surprised or sorry for the blade to hit Milo.

I love the final lines of this episode!

"I did all that? And they call you the hero? Huh."
"You wanna switch? Fine. You kick butt, I'll take notes."

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