Xena: Warrior Princess (TV Series) Destiny (1997) User Reviews

Salute to Xena - A 25th Anniversary Review

[skullface2020 · 9/10 · 30 April 2020]

Suffering a terrible injury while coming to the aid of innocents, Xena is near death and Gabrielle must take her to receive help. Xena recalls her past transformation into a warrior of death and conquest while she barely holds onto life.

SYNOPSIS

Xena and Gabrielle fight to defend some people who are under attack. While getting out of the way of an innocent child, Xena is struck by a large log and she's in bad shape. The bad guys flee, but now it's up to Gabrielle to take Xena to get help. She has Gabrielle take her on a long voyage to Nicklio, the healer, and Xena has vivid memories of her past while Gabrielle drags her injured body on this journey.

Xena was a young fighter heading up her own crew back in the day, about 10 years ago. She became a warrior in order to defend her home town of Amphipolis that was constantly being attacked by thugs. In this memorable moment she and her crew had captured a Roman, and they were ready to seek a ransom for him since he was obviously a young member of the ruling class. When Xena tells her aide-de-camp to seek 20,000 dinars in ransom, the Roman quickly speaks up. No, ask for ten times that sum! His name is Julius Caesar, and his confidence and poise quickly impress his captor Xena. In fact, while on her ship he acts as an interpreter between Xena and a slave stowaway girl named M'Lila. M'Lila shows Xena her super powerful pressure point move that Xena uses a lot in the years to come, and a friendly bond kind of develops between the two of them. Caesar explains to Xena why he's so confident. Basically, he knows that his destiny is to rule the Rome and the world, and therefore he knows that he won't be killed upon Xena's ship. Xena likes him and proposes they join forces; he defers giving her a straight answer. Caesar's men pay his ransom, and he is off.

Sometime later Xena's ship spots Caesar's, and Xena tells her men to let him board their vessel. M'Lila is now part of Xena's crew, and she mentions that she doesn't trust Caesar. Xena overrules M'Lila, but this was a mistake. Caesar never planned to work with Xena, and instead he captures her and her crew. He crucifies them on the beach as a message to all who would do harm toward Rome. Xena's legs are broken by Caesar's men. M'Lila rescues Xena in the night, and takes her to a healer. This was the first time Xena met Nicklio, and he helps heal her and they fight off an attack from Roman soldiers. However, M'Lila is killed and Xena swore that she would not become Xena, Destroyer of Nations. Now, ten years later, Xena is again seeking Nicklio's help. However, he can't save her, and of course Gabrielle is devastated. How can she go on with Xena being dead?

NOTES

Xena first became a warrior out of a sense of self-preservation as her people had been the victims of many warlords. Caesar's cruel betrayal was the last straw, and it made her a violent warlord for many years. Now, as she is a fighter for good, she again was facing death. Xena learned a lot from M'Lila, who also is now telling her to not give up.

Enter: Caesar, M'Lila, Nicklio

Evil Xena origins told. One of Xena's greatest influences is shown. One of Xena's worst enemies is introduced. Richly done episode.

[reb-warrior · 10/10 · 18 April 2021]

Xena returns to Cirra, Callisto's hometown that she destroyed. She tries to understand why it happened, and why she(Xena) became who she was. She runs into a religious cult whom she fights and is seriously injured when she saves a village girl. She asks Gabrielle to take her to Mt. Nestus. The village girl has a pendant that takes Xena back to the past in a flashback that tells the story of how she met Caesar, how a girl named M'lila was a heavy influence on her, and how she became an evil Warlord.

We see here the cycle of hate, and how violence begets violence. Caesar created Evil Xena so-to-speak. But then later, Xena creates Callisto so-to-speak, re: her visit to Cirra. Notice how Caesar seduces Xena, making her think he loves her, and gets her to trust him and fall in love with him, therefore she's willing to do whatever for him, and then he betrays her. In the Hercules episode 'Warrior Princess,' where the character of Xena made her first appearance, she does the same thing. She seduces men into thinking she loves them, getting them to trust and fall in love with her, and using them to do whatever, pretty much sending them to their deaths. Later, after she becomes "evil Xena," she attacks Cirra, and Callisto models herself after her despite hating her and becoming as Xena once was.

One of Xena's greatest influences as a warrior was a black woman. How freaking awesome is that! M'lila teaches Xena about pressure points. M'lila also sings a beautiful Gaelic song. The song is 'Fraoch A Ronaigh.' It's not on the soundtracks but you can find it on Spotify. Xena also sings, not Gaelic, but similar type of voice work. Xena's breastplate is based on M'lila's shirt design. Xena also wears armbands later in life similar to M'lila's armbands. Too bad we never got to see more and find out more about M'lila, but Xena paid her a big tribute. You sometimes hear stories about that in real life. Where someone influences someone else(who becomes famous) in a very profound way. We never really hear about that first person, and yet they are known about, but yet nothing is known about them.

The flashback is also where Xena probably learns some of her healing skills from Nicklio.

Seems M'lila may have been a very spiritual person: "she says it's not your time to die." Later: "You have a destiny, Xena. But you have to choose it." Then M'lila shows her Gabrielle: "Xena, above all, just remember your destiny. Remember it and fight. Just, fight to come back. This world needs you. I need you." M'lila somehow knew even before her death, that there is something more for Xena, that she has some kind of destiny thus the title. So for all of Caesar's bragging about destiny, it's really Xena's destiny that's more significant and how Xena must not give up and despair because of her past because she's the best champion against evildoers. Able to read them like a book and know exactly what they would do, because it's what she would have done back in her evil days. She's the one to stop them and help innocent people now.

The weakest part I would say was the religious cult at the beginning that Xena fought. Mainly because they looked like some sort of type of indigenous people yet done-up ridiculously, with crazy worshipping rituals.

The pacing, the music, the costumes, the imagery, and the story were so richly done in this episode using flashbacks to flesh out Xena's past. A must-see episode that begins the animosity between Xena and Caesar that plays out throughout the series. Also, it's an interesting look at the cycle of violence. 10/10.

Destiny

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 8 October 2020]

The episode starts off with an exciting fight involving Xena with some tribal people as she tries to rescue Gabriella. Xena gets seriously injured while trying to help a small girl get out of the way of a trap.

Xena is smashed into a tree. A surprise as I thought Xena could had easily jumped out of the way.

As Gabriella tries to get Xena healed. Xena remembers the events from 10 winters ago. A time of evil pirate Xena and her encounter with Julius Caesar who she holds for a ransom.

Xena also encountered a stowaway girl, M'Lila. She is from north africa but speaks Gaelic and who has special skills such as an acrobatic way of fighting.

Xena is impressed by Caesar who talks of his destiny to conquer the world and Xena wants to join forces with him. Only for him to later betray her and leave Xena and her supporters crucified. Her legs are smashed, M'Lila takes Xena to a healer to repair her legs.

The same healer that Gabrielle is now taking the injured Xena to again.

The flashbacks to the past is another nod to the development of a cruel Xena after she was betrayed by Caesar. It is a dog eat dog world and the scenes of a crucified Xena having her legs broken were rather strong. No wonder she was miffed.

M'Lila was an interesting character who in some ways shapes Xena's destiny. Given that she speaks Gaelic, Xena is a pirate. There is a montage with Xena sailing and a homage made to some Enya type of music. Orinoco Flow it certainly is not.

A young spotty Karl Urban plays Julius Caesar taking a trek to the seas rather than the stars.