Seeing Xena from a different perspective

Well, we finished it. The whole series from episode 1 to episode 134. Again. I haven't seen the final two episodes since they originally aired. I grieved for years. Funny, T & I didn't realized how much we missed this silly little TV show. How much it meant to us & how much laughter & strength we pulled from it. It's way more than a silly little TV show. It's a pretty amazing piece of work. The depth, the touching moments, the pain, the sadness, the fears, the awakenings & the friendship & love. It has given us so much to look forward to as well as a great way to escape the real world every night for the last couple months.

I have been dreading getting to those last two episodes. I was so completely distraught last time. I had traveled with these two characters & their friends for 6 years. I had met my soulmate because of this show. T & I learned things about ourselves & grew up together & grew together because of it. So on the 15th anniversary of the day we met, we watched the final two episodes. Actually, I think we watched the final 5 or 6. Two of which are among my favorite episodes ever. "When the Fates Collide" & "Many Happy Returns".

It was different. It all made sense this time. I wasn't so caught up worrying & anxious about what would happen. I knew what was coming. I always felt like Xena had been completely out of character in the last two episodes, but she was just the opposite. She was 100% herself. She did EXACTLY what Xena would have done. So did Gabrielle. The story is beautiful & tragic. Absolutely tragic. I cried hard again. This time though, it wasn't because I didn't feel like it was fair or that someone just didn't want the two characters to be together or any of the things I had seen before. no this time it was because there wasn't any other way out. It had to be this way. I'm still feeling pretty blue about it.

Now, this brought us to a bit of a conundrum as far as our script. Suddenly what we thought had happened & what had actually happened in the end were two totally different things. What we remembered & what we saw this time...not the same thing at all. Now our character motivations & character conflicts are all sorts of messed up. It also makes it harder to have as much passion to bring back a character once you realize they did indeed have a good ending. A just ending. Tragic or not.

Now, all that being said, we would still love to see these two characters reunited & have them walk off into the sunset. I still feel Xena never forgave herself & that's a big one for me. I feel Gabrielle also felt that Xena never forgave herself & I think her heart would always ache a bit at that. So back to the drawing board. Lesson learned. Do your research. Don't think you know something, make sure you know it. Still, I gotta admit, I am loving every minute of this. Battle On Xena.