I watched "Between the Lines" this summer when I was quite sick and exhausted and ready to sleep. It was 2:30 AM (yes, I was sick and stayed up late anyway), and I watched the first couple of minutes. Then I wound up keeping awake to see the rest. I tend to ignore my physical well-being.
I liked this episode far more than the two previous India Arc eps. The story intrigued me, and I think that if I had never seen Xena before, I could see and enjoy this episode. That's not to say that it didn't have its odd/sensationalistic parts--like the magic mehendi! That was hysterical! That's Xena! :)
It was refreshing to see a story about reincarnation in which future selves did not resemble past ones or have similar abilities. To say that when Xena and Gabrielle travelled to their future lives, they took forms very different from their current ones is an understatement. Xena didn't magically attain warrior status in her form as an old woman, which distinguished the ep from becoming "Xena Quantum Leaps."
I like the dimension the episode gives to Xena and Gabrielle's relationship. Their encountering one another has more of a feeling of destiny, or something like that. From what I've read, they talk more about that in "The Way," so I'll have to wait and see.
The beginning was fun. I don't know how historically accurate the men's picking up Naima to throw her in the fire was (see what I have to say on sati to find out what that was all about), but it was fun to see Xena go to the rescue. And her sending Xena to the future like that was totally unexpected. That's a very confusing opening sequence to watch if you're ill and it's 2:30 in the morning!
It was my first time seeing Alti, and she was an interesting enemy toward the end because of those powers of hers. It's so much better to see Xena go up against someone so overwhelming rather than someone she can beat easily. But of course, the darshan came to the rescue--along with the mehendi she'd given powers to (again, I find that HYSTERICAL!). I also saw that crucifiction scene for the first time. I really hope that it doesn't wind up being a cop-out--that it really is the way that Xena and Gabrielle wind up dying. That will make it much more powerful.
I also liked that they changed outfits. It's rather ridiculous that they wear the same things all the time. So cartoonish. And I usually don't dwell on hair, but I must say that I really don't like Gabrielle's new haircut. But I like Xena's bangs pulled back. (I remember when I was little, I hated the bangs of my Rainbow Bright doll and kept trying to pull them back, which made them stand permenantly halfway in the air...okay, that's random...)
All in all, it was fun. And I actually followed through with my idea to make this site...
the subversive pomegranate
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Xena: Warrior Princess is © MCA/Universal and whoever else legally owns it. This page is © 1999 shilpa.