with Professor of Fangeekonomics, Ms. Melissa Voelker
Reference Materials for today’s class:
Xena: Warrior Princess, Episode 1.18 – The Prodigal
In the beginning, before Xena and Gabrielle had discovered that they were soulmates and didn’t need anyone else in the world as much as they needed each other, they would both try to reach out to their other friends and family for guidance. Gabrielle especially needed to take time out of adventuring and spend it with the people she had grown up with and known in her past. She was learning and evolving, growing up and away from what she had known, and sometimes it was too much for her so she had to go home to set herself right again. Unfortunately for her (but luckily for all of us enjoying her escapades with the warrior princess) she discovered that the old saying is pretty much true, you never can go home again (well literally you can, sure, but FIGURATIVELY not so much.)
A summary of today’s reference material:
Xena and Gabrielle are out for a stroll through some mountain trails when dirty ruffians up to some new tricks ambush them. The ruffians threaten to skewer them with sharpened logs if they don’t “surrender” everything to them. Being Xena and not willing to give in to the demands of dirty idiots, fighting (of course) ensues. Gabrielle handles herself well at first, until the almost becoming impaled by the logs. After Xena manages to save both their lives the Amazon starts to question herself and her place in the world. She decides to go home to Potidaea for a while and talk things over with her sister.
After walking, and walking, and WALKING (for like 10 minutes) Gabrielle finally hitches a ride with a wagon driver she conveniently met back in the first episode so that she arrives in the vicinity of Potidaea before the end of the show. Along the last part of her journey she meets a disgruntled farmer on a burnt out farm who says the villainous Damon attacked him. Now Damon has gone after Potidaea, which gets Gabby’s legs to running so she can warn her people. When she arrives in the village it is eerily deserted (and looks nothing like the village she left after first deciding to follow after Xena). Eventually she finds the villagers in a tavern, and her warnings are too late, as they already know about Damon’s imminent attack. They have hired the warrior, Meleagor the Mighty, to defend them against the warlord. Gabby is reunited with her sister, Lila (but not any of the rest of her family, as they have mysteriously disappeared), who seems happy to see her.
When Meleagor turns up he is not exactly the savior the villagers were expecting. In fact he is drunk on his feet when he walks in, though he doesn’t last long on his feet before passing out. Gabrielle and Lila are left in charge of him, as Gabby has previous experience working with warriors, though she states very firmly that Xena would never act in such a disrespectful manner. Lila gets irritated with her sister when she talks about the warrior princess, and eventually the two are fighting. The situation worsens when two of Damon’s men show up to harass villagers and Meleagor is too wasted to do anything. Gabrielle and Lila come up with a clever ruse to scare them off, but they know the reprieve won’t last long. And they are right, as Damon’s men return to his encampment to tell him of Meleagor being in the village. He decides to capture the warrior for the 50,000 dinar price on his head.
Gabrielle, being ever the pushy kind of girl, tries to get to the bottom of Meleagor’s drinking problem. Quickly she realizes that he (in a very parallel kind of way) has also lost his nerve and is afraid to fight. But with Potidaea in trouble there is no time for Meleagor to wallow in his own cowardice. Gabrielle sobers him up and goes out into the woods with him to come up with some plans of defense. She and Lila quickly start arguing again, with Lila revealing how hurt she is that Gabrielle ran out on her to be with Xena. Gabby explains that she loves her sister, and Lila is the reason she had to come home. Just as they seem to be making headway in repairing their relationship, Damon’s men capture Meleagor and Gabrielle goes off to rescue him.
Damon offers Meleagor a job working as one of his ruffians, but the warrior refuses. Just as Damon is trying to decide whether or not to take his head, his men drag Gabrielle into the camp. She tries to use her Power of Gab to talk herself out of a bad situation, but Damon isn’t having it. He orders her death, but Meleagor saves her by asking for her as “incentive” to working for the warlord. Then he and Gabby fake some smoochy fun time in order to create a diversion and escape back to the village. They pat each other on the backs for being awesome, and then get the whole village together to create defenses against Damon’s upcoming attack. Gabrielle and her sister seem to get along better too, after talking out their feelings while keeping watch.
The next morning when Damon and his men arrive the village is ready – but Meleagor seems to have freaked and run with all of the village’s money. The villagers panic but Lila steps up and tries to convince them that Gabrielle can lead them. They are hesitant at first, but eventually the sisters rally them into action. When Damon’s men attack they find themselves ambushed by villagers and booby traps at every turn. Luckily the ruffians are idiots and fall easily to the traps.
For a moment it looks like the villagers have won the day, until Damon rides in and whips his troops back into shape (they are supposed to be deadly ruffians, after all.) Even their victory is short-lived, however, as Meleagor returns (he isn’t a giant chicken after all!) with a load of deadly spears that he is not afraid to use. He makes short work of Damon’s men, but the warlord himself turns out to be a tougher customer. He takes Gabrielle and Lila hostage, hoping to use them as a human shield, but they are too wily for him and manage to escape. Then fighting ensues between Damon and Meleagor, and luckily Meleagor wins. The village celebrates while Gabby sits by herself looking depressed. Eventually Lila talks to her and tells her that she belongs out in the world adventuring alongside Xena. Then, in a very sisterly manner, she pushes her out the door and away from Potidaea again. On the way back to her warrior princess friend, the same ruffians ambush Gabrielle as at the beginning of the episode. This time, however, she does not freeze up. She manages to escape being run over by their sharpened spear-cart-thingy, and then is ready to take them all on one-on-one. She doesn’t have to, however, when Xena shows up to watch her back.
Discussion from today’s reference material:
This is another important episode in the evolution of Gabrielle from simple (well not so much simple as maybe innocent) village girl into something more. It also removes her a bit from being just another bard, as she fights (relatively well) all on her own. It rehashes all of the stuff Xena has supposedly taught her over their travels together, and proves that she is definitely not the same girl who left Potidaea to seek a new life. The main problem with this episode is the way Gabrielle makes a big deal about needing to see her sister Lila, who is important to her. But after this episode that importance must shrink away because eventually we will never see Lila again. The sister angle may not have been needed for any future episodes, but it makes Gabrielle seem a little cold-hearted that she eventually just forgets her family altogether.
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About Melissa: By day a mild-mannered tv station receptionist, by night a fighter of crime and corruption in the dirty streets of Spokane, WA . . . or maybe not so much. More like a hyperactive, anal-retentive daytime receptionist and a melodramatic, hyperactive nighttime fangirl who only wishes she could be a fighter of crime and champion of justice (except that would lead to getting my super costume all dirty and I hate doing laundry.) Though my intent has always been to write bestselling novels and live a life of wealth and luxury, putting my talents for snarkiness and word doodling together while letting my geek flag fly suits me just fine – for now.
Related Stuff:
By day a mild-mannered tv station receptionist, by night a fighter of crime and corruption in the dirty streets of Spokane, WA . . . or maybe not so much. More like a hyperactive, anal-retentive daytime receptionist and a melodramatic, hyperactive nighttime fangirl who only wishes she could be a fighter of crime and champion of justice (except that would lead to getting my super costume all dirty and I hate doing laundry.) Though my intent has always been to write bestselling novels and live a life of wealth and luxury, putting my talents for snarkiness and word doodling together while letting my geek flag fly suits me just fine - for now. 
