DantesDesire

Brilliant as usual. Loved it! Tense and exciting till the last word

NattyN1855

At all, great episode. Fantastic! We've watched really the greatest battle. Zeus himself has taken a part. And you can call me crazy like Gab but I feel sorry for Artemis too. Though of course thank the gods (three specific gods and one ex) that this 'Eve's future' is canceled.
And of course, it was the battle without Hercules. Again. He missed the first Final Battle happily (I mean, with Athena, MH), and he missed that. And we call him 'hero'? Tell you what.
Oh, and Evander. Agggrh! Eve is imprinted on Virgil! (another Twilight, hah? ) She and Evander, you could say, almost sister and brother. OK, stepbrother/stepsister, whatever.
/btw, it dawned on me just now. Names that Ares and Xena settled on for their babies: Evander - Eve. You know, parents often do it, give similar names to their children , like Brandon/Brenda, Alex/Alexa etc. And they were not together at that time, though. Speak volumes, right?

secular atrophy

I am cackling madly.

Epic battles! Plot twists! Angst! I'm all jittery now, waiting for the next episode.

Gabfan

OK- firstly know I am a subber-I make appologies about this writing my review. Aurora, LK etc know I am a subber and know I have different foci from shippers. Secondly I'll parachute in quickly and parachute out again and hope you are all well!

Very well written episode. the story flowed nicely and was full of tender moments and action. The pics were nicely chosen too. Thought gabrielle's actions were thoughtful with regard to her concerns about being a mother, although not sure why suddenly Darion would be concerned after all they have been through-felt a bit of a plot convience, sorry. Was really surprised she left the battle, thought she might head back and was surprised that she didn't-a touch weak I thought. I did think there would be a showdown between Gab and Artemis and Xena would save Gabrielle this time, but not to be-guess you saving that hurt/comfort stuff at the end for Ares, eh??
Nice tender scene between Xena and Gab when Gab tells her of her decision and I knew that Xena would be comforted by Ares, but thought that scene was a bit insensitive and rapid.
Nice little cliffhanger at the end and I liked Athena's role in the fic (in fact all the Gods). Always thought Athena was a misused God in the series.
negatives: sorry I don't like Virgil and Eve together and Why did Eve tell her story in front of Darion?? Surely she knew it would freak him out!

All in all though a good ep-now that's Artemis out of the way it's Haimon time!!!

Ana Tinoco

This episode is awesome, just like the whole season has been good job! Hail1 Can’t wait to know what’s gonna happen next but at the same time I don’t want the shipper seasons to end! :/

Yes, Gabrielle is facing a tough situation atm. I don’t think she’s gonna give up on her kids coz with another chance of being a mother she wanna make it right/work this time (nor would Xena if she decided to have another child especially now that Artemis is gone).

CasualFan

Sorry about the long delay for this review – I’m afraid that I’m getting lazier and lazier in my declining years. Figured I’d better get this out before the next ep appears, anyway . . .

We’re getting close to the end of the series, as I can tell from all of the plotlines that get tied up in this ep. The Xena/Gab/Ares struggle against Artemis, Virgil’s and Eve’s story, Evander, the continuation of the New Twilight – everything comes to a head in a swiftly evolving, complex storyline that holds together quite well. (BTW - I didn't use spoilers in this post as I figured most people have read it and the next ep is almost due to come out - let me know if I should spoilerize this).

The clash between Elijans and Artemisians is painted in shades of grey – Eli’s followers have been guilty of some disturbances of their own, and Rhodopis, Artemis’s most devoted servant is no blind, dumb lackey. Artemis herself, OTOH has become steadily more Callisto-like as she grabs for more and more power at everyone’s expense. It’s fitting that Leto, Artemis’s mother appears to her in a scene very like the one Callisto has with her mother in Intimate Stranger, although Artemis is too far gone for it to have much effect. I also appreciated the fact that in the end, it took gods to defeat a god – X:WP tended to lean far too heavily on ridiculous plot devices or contrivances to allow mortals to defeat divinities, and I was very happy when the Dagger of Helios got shattered. Now, if they could only track down the Ribs of Cronos and the rest of that hind’s blood . . .

Clever move by Evander to enlist the support of the Elijans by assuming the vacant title of Messenger – and who knows if it really was entirely his idea? He’s a real wild card – his powers aren’t quite god-level, but he can accomplish things that no god is capable of. It’s not surprising that Eve is willing to trust Evander; he’s committed to taking action, and Eve knows that action must be taken to avert the future she foresaw. Virgil is pretty much along for the ride – I forgot he was there most of the time.

Good discussion on Gab’s role in the earlier posts – this is a watershed moment for her. Just as Xena changed when Eve was born, Gab is now responsible for other lives besides her own, and she knows that continuing at Xena’s side may no longer be possible. It was a bit of a shock to hear her agreeing immediately with Xena about leaving the area, but even without Eve’s premonitions I could see Gab coming to the same decision.

Not too much to carp about – the one scene I could have really done without was the human sacrifice. True, making it a young man rather than woman was a logical turn-around for the Goddess of the Hunt, but I didn’t like having human sacrifice introduced in Eternal Bonds and I still don’t like it now. It feels very hokey and Indiana Jones-ish in an ep that on the whole was thoughtful and “adult.”

I admit that I’m not a “shipping” sort of fan, so I always appreciate eps like this one with action-filled, politically-involved plots that have only the requisite amount of “mush” – a good story is a good story, regardless of the characters’ romantic inclinations. Another fine job, Aurora and Co., and I’m ready to find out what happens to Haimon!

ErisPhobos

Thanks for yet another wonderful episode Aurora! i can't wait for the next epi to air =). Keep up the good work and never let The Shipper Seasons die.