Xena: Warrior Princess 2x21 "The Lost Mariner" Reaction
Added 2021-12-10 00:24:04 +0000 UTC
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Hitch this incredible episode to that mess of an episode? No thanks. I say they should have cut ‘Ulysses’ entirely and just made this a two-parter arc. I feel it was a little rushed despite how well written it is. Making it a two-parter would have fixed that.
Girl4Music
2023-11-09 16:45:46 +0000 UTCCecrops: The fear of guilt/freeing our minds In the FAN EXPO Canada convention that Lucy and Renee were at a few month ago, they answered a question on what they thought the core theme and message of the show was. Now, Lucy’s not good at giving straight or serious answers to questions in conventions, but I think she did very well in explaining what the fundamental message to ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ is all about and what the character, Xena, felt inside. Renee said that she thought it was all about redemption. Lucy added to that by saying there’s an underlying message under the theme of redemption in the show. A greater message. The way she explained it reminded me of the episode ‘Lost Mariner’, when Xena was lecturing Cecrops on the weight of his conscience over condemning so many people to a cursed life on his ship. He spoke about how he was afraid to end the curse because he felt he didn’t deserve to live at all, as so many have lost their lives because of him. And because he was immortal, he feared every day of life. When you think about redemption…. what does it actually mean to you? Redemption from or for what? Being saved from your sins or for what you’ve done or said? In religion we think of redemption as repentance. Being saved by some Higher power. Asking for forgiveness from God or Jesus. Asking to be saved from Hell. What about feeling that redemption in yourself? The meaning to redemption for me is about freeing yourself from the mental slavery we put ourselves under when we know we’ve done wrong and feel we can’t ever make up for it. It has nothing do with salvation from any sovereign. Not for me, anyway. “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.” As Bob Marley put it in his famous Redemption Song. This song, from how I interpret it, is about freeing ourselves from the way we feel because of what we’ve done or said. Because of the sins of our past. Because of the pain and damage we’ve caused to others… to those we love and that love us. I believe you have to first allow others to forgive you before you can ever forgive yourself. You have to feel worthy of that second chance and of being forgiven. You have to be able to unchain yourself from all the wrong you’ve done and the only way you can do that is by giving back. Making it right again. Correcting the damage you’ve caused in hopes of taking away the pain. For others and … for yourself… otherwise… you’re never going to forgive yourself. Redemption definetly has more to do with self-worth and self-love, as Lucy said. And I would also say self-awareness too… because if you’ve recognized where you’ve done wrong and you can see what you’ve become and you’re able to turn around from that… you’re on your way. But it’s extremely difficult because you always have in the back of your mind the thought that you don’t have the right to victimize yourself when you take on the world’s sufferings for them… but that you also don’t want to see yourself as any kind of hero either. You are mentally bound to that mindset of deservedness. So, it’s about freeing yourself from it. I don’t know if Xena ever did forgive herself. I’d like to believe she did. But I can understand why she may not have. She received her ultimate redemption for all the evil she had done in AFIN, yes. But did she feel that in herself? Did she free her mind from her mental slavery? I don’t know because she decided to stay dead! Throughout the whole show she was seeking a redemption that she never allowed herself at any point. I can only hope that somewhere down the line in their adventures together that Gabrielle got through to her and helped her reconcile with her darkness and exorcise her demons. Otherwise that woman was suicidal her entire life. The only person she ever listened to was Gabrielle because she was the only one who could make her bring down her walls and just for the moment, be the person she was without thinking about how she had hurt so many people in her past. Without worrying about how she was going to atone for it… and constantly wondering if she ever could. Not riddled with thoughts and feelings of extreme guilt and contempt. For me it’s particularly important that she did learn to forgive herself because I am still in the process of allowing others to forgive me. I’ve got a long way to go before I can ever free my own mind and forgive myself from all I’ve done and said. I always ask myself whether I deserve redemption or not. But I don’t mean being saved from anything or anyone. I mean being able to allow myself to be forgiven, and especially by myself because if I don’t feel I’m worthy of forgiveness, how can I ever expect others to forgive me? That’s what it comes down to for me. Freeing myself from the chains I’ve shackled myself to all these years because I really do feel like I cannot atone for it all. I just don’t believe I can ever forgive myself before I have been forgiven by others. But the problem is allowing myself to be forgiven. I’m in the exact same state Xena was in mentally. Despite all the good I have done already or all that I can and will do… I just don’t feel I am worthy of such forgiveness. I don’t think I ever will be. I think Lucy is right. Redemption has a lot more underlying meaning than just feeling regretful. I mean what if regret and guilt is all you can ever feel? There’s no point in receiving a redemption that you don’t feel you deserve at all. How do you even get out of that destructive mind cycle? It never stops or ends. It’s a constant. And I certainly don’t have a Gabrielle to help me through it and to make me feel worthy and loved. Something Gabrielle said that really resonated with me in the episode, ‘Forgiven’, was that it’s easier to believe in yourself when someone else has believed in you first. I don’t have anyone to believe in me. I always have to believe in myself. Maybe that’s the answer to my problem. “Till love redeems you.”
Girl4Music
2023-11-09 16:42:26 +0000 UTCLove that little smile on Gabrielle's face in 'Lost Mariner' when Xena finally makes it on to Cecrops' ship to rescue her. It's the smile of comfort. Gabrielle always felt safe in Xena's arms. That's why she hugs her immediately after something deeply traumatising for her. It's the way of her returning "home". Back to what makes her feel safe and comfortable. Which is always Xena. Capturing little moments like that which you know are genuinely the reaction of the actresses and not a direction is what shows you why no other two actresses can truly play these roles. That chemistry Xena and Gabrielle share is all Lucy and Renee and no one can touch it. Absolutely no one. I dare say not even them could now. At least not as well as they did originally. It was simply lightning captured in a bottle for a fleeting moment that you could never have again once it escaped. I think a key way of understanding the depth of love these characters have for each other is not so much in how they treat each other but how they think of one another. Meaning they don't think of one another as property or possession that could be owned but as a belonging. Gabrielle thinks of Xena as her "home". Xena thinks of Gabrielle as her "source". What do both these terms have in common? They mean that of which you fundamentally belong to and with. Where you're safest and securest and where you're happiest. And for Xena and Gabrielle, it didn't matter where they were or where they would go. They were where they belonged because they had each other. They were each other's home and source. And how they treated each other all revolved around that sense of belonging rather than owning. It was never a selfish love from either side in my opinion. And trying to understand the depth of this incredible relationship is difficult because there really is no comparison. There's nothing you can compare it to to be able to define it. To pin it down as something that can be comprehended. And I've said before that comprehending it is like trying to comprehend the Universe. Which is impossible. Poetry is about the closest you'll ever get to doing that because in poetry there is metaphors and analogies and reflections. Words you can use to describe the likeness of something. But it is never truly that something. So "home" and "source", and of course, "soulmates" are probably the most accurate of terms to use to comprehend the depth of a great unselfish love and relationship the likes of Xena and Gabrielle's love relationship.
Girl4Music
2023-11-09 16:35:37 +0000 UTCA double bill for the beloved writer in the fandom Steven L. Sears. And both episodes are absolutely fantastic! He knows how to write a compelling storyline with excellent character development to boot. And Tony Todd is absolutely exceptional as Cecrops. One of his best performances I would say and that’s saying something.
Girl4Music
2023-11-09 16:31:33 +0000 UTCYou are not the only person I have heard who feels that this episode and “Ulysses” should go together. ... Tony Todd really is so very good. And I prefer him as a good guy.
Koz
2021-12-10 23:02:34 +0000 UTCspeaking of Tony Todd you should watch candyman then! Also I met him in person at a convention once! Did a q&a with Charisma Carpenter. So many years ago, wish i remember what was talked about during it just that according to a picture i took of them i got to ask a question during that panel. 11 years ago that was!
Glorie Bluestein
2021-12-10 03:27:21 +0000 UTC
