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Don't you know how much I wanna let you do this? But if there is a reason for our travels together, it's because I had to learn from you, enough to know the final, the good, the right thing to do. — Xena
Xena asks a samurai, Morimoto, to kill her in battle, as she must be dead to fight Yodoshi. Gabrielle learns of a way to revive her after the battle, but unbeknownst to her, Xena must stay dead to keep the 40,000 souls safe from Yodoshi's spirit. The journey comes to an epic, unforgettable conclusion in the series finale of Xena: Warrior Princess.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
Guest Stars[]
- Michelle Ang as Akemi
- Mac Jeffery Ong as Kenji
- Adrian Brown as Yodoshi
- Yvonne Tan as Ayako
- Shiori Terada as Miyuki
- Venant Wong as Morimoto
- Gary Young as Saburo
- Travor Sai-Louie as Kao
Co-Starring[]
- Ric Chan as Master Swordsman
- Gregor Mclennan as Captain
- Kazuhiro Muroyama as Harukata
Summary[]
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Xena buries her armor, like she did in the very first episode.
Xena buries her old breastplate. She listens and hears the sounds of horses and soldiers walking. Gabrielle listens as well from afar. She tells Kenji it is too quiet. She remembers Xena's voice saying I love you. She yells for Xena and starts running. A wagon rolls along until it strikes a rock, causing the jars inside to clink together. Xena listens carefully, then hurls her Chakram. The chakram hits the wagon, knocking the jars loose and spilling oil across the ground. It ricochets off and strikes a soldier carrying a torch, which falls into the oil. Soldiers shout warnings as the oil ignites. Xena catches the chakram just before the oil explodes in a massive fireball, vaporizing the soldiers near the wagon. She quickly ducks, shielding herself from the powerful aftershock. She marches onto the battlefield and begins slashing her way through the army of Samurai warriors.
Xena in the middle of her greatest battle yet...
But then archers raise their bows and start firing at Xena. Xena manages to catch two arrows, but is hit with the third arrow in her right shoulder. Xena suddenly falls to her knees and breaks off most of the shaft, as blood begins running down her stomach from her other shoulder wound, as she tosses the broken shaft away. Xena battles, giving nobody a chance to cause further injury to her as she kills them the second they step in reach of her. Blood runs from Xena’s mouth as she cries out for Gabrielle. Flashbacks show moments from past adventures: Xena reflects in a voice-over that if she had only thirty seconds to live, she'd want to spend them looking into Gabrielle’s eyes. Scenes from "One Against an Army," "Chakram," and "The Ides of March" are shown highlighting her deep bond with Gabrielle. In the present, Xena battles fiercely, taking down anyone who stands against her, driven by her love and memories of Gabrielle.
Xena is killed in battle
While Gabrielle and Kenji are fighting an attack from the rear, Xena comes face to face with Yodoshi's general Morimoto, a formidable warrior she must fight while dispatching an onslaught of other Samurai. Xena looks into the eyes of Morimoto. Xena's face is covered in blood, but her eyes are still defiant. She sees Morimoto, but makes no move to fight him. He swings his sword and there is a horrible splash of blood.
Act One[]
Xena's chakram is found with blood on it.
Gabrielle runs through the battlefield screaming Xena's name. She finds the chakram, sitting in a river of blood.
Xena emerges from battle in the spirit world, where she and Akemi embrace in an emotional reunion. Akemi tells Xena she is so happy to see her that no poetry can express her feelings. Xena tells Akemi she's been in the underworld before: this feels very different. Akemi says it is an illusion, projected by Yodoshi. Akemi explains that like herself, Xena is now under Yodoshi's control and must obey his will in order to escape from being consumed and enslaved forever, unless Yodoshi is destroyed. Determined to annihilate the malevolent ghost warrior, Xena insists that Akemi teach her everything she needs to know to go up against him.
One of the women, with an ankle bracelet on, stamps her foot and Yodoshi appears, a whirlwind of darkness. The other women all bow. Yodoshi blows an evil wind at Xena, blowing her around. His arm turns into a lariat of fire. He grabs Xena, tosses her around. He tears the clothing from her, leaving her lying prone and naked upon the floor. He beats her back with his lash of fire. He pulls Xena up. She bows and tells Yodoshi she is at his service. Yodoshi laughs wickedly and leaves. Akemi tells Xena she is relieved that she showed Yodoshi respect. Xena says she is going to destroy Yodoshi. She tells Akemi not to follow her and Xena slips away.
As Gabrielle searches for Xena in the forest, she runs into the ghost killer Harukata, who tells her he's heard all about the battle at Higuchi. Meanwhile, Xena and Akemi are walking in the forest nearby and Akemi becomes fearful when she senses Harukata's approach. Xena, however, insists on talking to him. Fighting severe weakness as he draws closer, Xena vows to deliver Yodoshi to him.
Gabrielle receives her tattoo
When Gabrielle and Kenji arrive and see Xena kneeling in front of the ghost killer, it becomes clear to Gabrielle that Xena has gone to the other side.
Act Two[]
Though obviously distraught, Gabrielle is determined to bring Xena back and Xena reassures her that they've done it before. Gabrielle convinces Harukata to reveal exactly what she must do to return Xena to this realm. Harukata tells her that she has until the second sunset to complete the ritual high at Mt. Fuji. Morimoto is hot on her trail as Gabrielle scales the mountain to complete her mission.
Meanwhile, back at the teahouse, Xena executes her plan to trap Yodoshi using Kenji as bait. Just as Yodoshi is about to grab Kenji, Xena and Akemi attack him with everything they've got. In the ensuing struggle, Harukata appears and thrusts his katana into Yodoshi, but the mighty ghost warrior is unfazed. Yodoshi pulls out his sword, sends it flying through Harukata's stomach and resumes fighting with undiminished intensity.
Gabrielle arrives and joins the fray, but Kenji is wounded and the group is forced to flee with the mortally wounded Harukata. As he lies dying, Harukata deduces that Yodoshi must be drinking from the Fountain of Strength in order to be invulnerable to a ghost killer. He pleads with them to find the fountain, drink the water and kill Yodoshi.
Act Three[]
Gabrielle promises to bring Xena back.
Suspecting that Yodoshi has been traveling to Mt. Fuji disguised as a bird, Xena and Akemi watch as Yodoshi exits the teahouse and ascends into the body of a hawk. Xena and Akemi follow suit by ascending into the bodies of an owl and a heron, respectively, as well as take off for Mt. Fuji after promising Gabrielle that they'll meet her there.
Yodoshi breathes fire, striking Ayako and causing her to explode. Akemi’s robe catches fire, but Xena quickly kicks her into a water tub to save her. As Kenji rises to fight, Yodoshi swiftly decapitates him with a katana, his blood splattering across the walls. Yodoshi then freezes Akemi beneath the surface of the tub with a blast of cold air. Xena breaks free and battles Yodoshi, but he grabs her wrist, burning her, and throws her violently across the tea house. Harukata rises to fight but Yodoshi impales him, mocking him as the "Ghost Killer" before tossing his body aside.
Xena regroups and attacks, managing to disarm Yodoshi and sever his right arm. The severed arm turns into a flaming snake that lashes at her legs, but she leaps over it. Xena drives her sword into Yodoshi, who transforms into a column of fire and bursts out of the tea house ceiling. Inside, Xena rushes to the frozen Akemi, breaking the ice and pulling her free. They share a quiet moment of relief as they mourn the fallen Kenji and the dying Harukata, even as Yodoshi’s furious screams echo in the distance.
Gabrielle reflects on her life with Xena before promising to bring her back.
Elsewhere, Gabrielle solemnly burns Xena’s body, whispering a vow not to let her die. Through flashbacks and voiceovers, Xena’s promises of eternal presence echo, reinforcing their unbreakable bond. Gabrielle tearfully seals Xena’s ashes into a jar.
Back inside, Harukata, in his final moments, reveals to Xena that Yodoshi draws power from the Fountain of Strength on Mount Fuji. To defeat him permanently, Xena must use the blessed sword and finish the mission, freeing all trapped souls. Harukata dies, and Xena vows to complete the task.
Xena's ashes tumble over cliff.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle rides determinedly toward Mount Fuji, but her horse is shot down by an arrow. Morimoto intercepts her, intent on stopping her from reviving Xena. They engage in a fierce fight, during which Gabrielle’s jar of ashes is knocked from her hand. In a desperate moment, she watches helplessly as the jar tumbles off a cliff, crying out in anguish.
Act Four[]
Yodoshi is getting stronger.
Yodoshi, with one arm, tries to get the Fountain flowing. The water gurgles. Xena runs up and hits him, knocking him away from the flow of water. Xena attempts to get beneath the water as it begins to flow down, but Yodoshi makes the water freeze as it falls and he knocks Xena backwards with a mighty blow that knocks the Warrior Princess senseless. Pieces of the frozen water lie all around. Akemi appears. She grabs the sword and tries to behead Yodoshi, but fails.
Gabrielle drinks from the Fountain of Strength
Gabrielle, on the cliff, realizes she hears Xena fighting with Yodoshi. She runs to Xena. Yodoshi eats a piece of ice from the waters of the Fountain and his arm grows back. He then takes a very long time to suck up Akemi, who tries to stab the sword into the ground and anchor herself, to no avail. Yodoshi swallows her soul. Gabrielle, at Xena's side, tries to figure out what is happening, but Xena is too weak to tell her much. Gabrielle runs over the water falling from the top of the mountain and stands beneath it. As she does so, Yodoshi tosses a ball of fire at her back: the fireball hits the dragon tattoo and the flames bounce back into Yodoshi, knocking him aside.
Gabrielle gives Xena the sword to defeat Yodoshi.
Gabrielle runs back to Xena and kisses her, several times, as well as droplets of the water from the Fountain of Strength go into the Warrior Princess. Xena reemerges, a strong, healthy ghost, dressed now in her Warrior Princess brown leather fighting outfit and breastplate. Xena tells Gabrielle she needs the sacred katana to finish Yodoshi off. Gabrielle gives her the sword. Gabrielle says she has to get Xena's ashes and rushes off.
Xena whirls around and turns into a cloud of fire. Yodoshi does the same. The two fires race across the woods and then run into each other. Xena emerges. Pieces of Yodoshi fall around her and then reform. They fight each other, swords clashing, as Gabrielle begins her climb down the cliff after Xena's ashes. The woods are on fire: the swords clang as Yodoshi and Xena fight. Yodoshi vanishes: Xena listens, hearing everything, ready for Yodoshi when he attacks again. They fight some more. Yodoshi tells Xena she is going to join those 40,000 souls she is worried about and then he is going after Gabrielle. Xena turns around and stabs Yodoshi just as Gabrielle gets Xena's ashes. Xena whirls around and beheads Yodoshi, releasing all the souls, which whirl around Xena.
Gabrielle reaches the slopes of Fuji with Morimoto in close pursuit, leading to an epic battle, Gabrielle tosses the chakram and hits the samurai in the head. Gabrielle catches Xena's weapon back, successfully throwing the chakram for the first time in battle and winning. Akeme appears to Xena, thanking her. She tells her that all are redeemed, including Xena.
Gabrielle begins the ceremony to bring Xena back. Xena puts her hand on her arm and stops her. Gabrielle pleads with her, reminding Xena that the sun is setting — they are running out of time. But Xena refuses. She explains to Gabrielle that even though the souls are released, their deaths must be avenged. Akemi didn't want to tell her that, she says. Xena tells Gabrielle that she must stay dead. "If I bring you back to life, the souls will be lost forever," Gabrielle doesn't care. She argues that it isn’t right — that Xena’s life is worth everything to her — but Xena remains firm. Xena gently tells Gabrielle that everything they have gone through, all their journeys together, were to teach her how to choose what is good and right, even when it’s painful.
With great sadness, Xena tells Gabrielle that it must be, she tells Gabrielle she will always be with her. Heartbroken, Gabrielle sits down by the fountain, clutching the urn. Xena sits beside her, and Gabrielle, with tears in her voice, confesses her love and her fear of going on without her. Xena reassures her softly that she will always be with her. They sit beside the fountain, Gabrielle resting her head on Xena's shoulder, holding her ashes. They watch the sun set and as the last remnants of light begin to fade, Xena vanishes, leaving Gabrielle alone.
Tag[]
Gabrielle continues her adventures knowing Xena's spirit will be there
Gabrielle, on a boat, holds Xena's ashes. Xena the ghost appears and tells Gabrielle she will always be alive, in Gabrielle's heart. She asks Gabrielle what will happen now, Gabrielle says she will go to the land of the Pharaohs which is Egypt Restating what Xena said in Part I, "I hear they need a girl with a Chakram." Gabrielle, standing alone on the boat, with the chakram strapped to her waist, sets out to continue her adventures, knowing Xena will still be with her in spirit.
Disclaimer[]
- Xena was permanently harmed in the making of this motion picture, but kept her spirits up.
Background Information[]
Behind the Scenes[]
- R.J. Stewart's final episode as showrunner.
- Shooting Dates: March 28, 2001 - April 12, 2001 (12 day shoot).
- This episode was one of seventeen that fans selected to be featured on the Xena: Warrior Princess: 10th Anniversary Collection, as well as is subsequently considered one of the greatest episodes in Xena: Warrior Princess history.
- Joseph LoDuca was nominated for the 2002 Emmy Award for "Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)" for this episode.
- The actress who played Miyuki spoke almost no English, which made it difficult to let her know what they wanted from her moment to moment, but Lucy and Rob praise her highly in the commentary. They also mention that she had short, spikey blond hair under her geisha wig.
- They had three separate units filming at once, so Xena's beheaded body was doubled by Polly Baigent, who was no longer with the show. She was Lucy's original body double and had an acting role in episodes "The Play's the Thing" and "Send in the Clones".
- It was easier for Renee O'Connor to simulate intense nausea than usual (when Gabrielle saw Xena's decapitated body) because of her pregnancy.
- The ending was changed and reworked several times during preproduction:
- The writers considered ending the series with Gabrielle bringing Xena's ashes to her brother's crypt, but decided it would be better to end it on the boat, showing that the adventures would continue even after Xena's death.
- Another ending strongly considered was having Gabrielle die alongside Xena. When planning that scenario, they meant to have Varia with Xena and Gabrielle, so that they would have someone to which to pass the torch of heroism.
- Most outlines of the final had planned to include at least Ares and Eve, but in the end, neither were even mentioned, a sore spot for some fans.
- Part Two of the series finale was also the highest-rating episode of the sixth season in 2001, with a score of 9.6 out of 10 stars on the Neilsen's National Ratings system.
- This is the fourth episode to be directed by Rob Tapert: the other three being, "Destiny", "Paradise Found" and "A Friend in Need Part I".
Key Events[]
- This is the last episode of Xena: Warrior Princess.
- Xena buries her armor, like she did in the very first episode Sins of the Past.
- Gabrielle successfully throws the Chakram for the first time in this episode.
- This is the third time we see someone besides Xena successfully catch the Chakram. The first "two" are Callisto and her reincarnation Livia, in "Callisto" and "Eve" respectively.
- This is the only episode of Xena not to feature the opening credits. Instead, the "Xena: Warrior Princess" logo is displayed during the first few minutes of the episode, followed by Lucy's and Renee's credits at the bottom of the screen.
- In "When Fates Collide" Alti says Xena's story will end with the playwright being unable to save her fallen angel. Once again, Alti's predictions came true, though not in quite as tragic a fashion as she had hoped.
- This episode, with the previous one, marks the single highest confirmed death count of any Xenaverse motion picture: Kao, Akemi, Akemi's family, Higuchi's 40,000 residents, Xena, Miyuki, Ayako, Kenji, Harukata, Morimoto, as well as Yodoshi. In theory, though, there are a number of episodes where larger armies and populations were killed.
Goofs[]
- In the scene in the Teahouse, Akemi seemed to be struggling for breath whilst under water: but she is already dead, meaning she cannot die again.
- In the scene where Xena and Gabrielle reunite at the teahouse, she isn't able to grab her chakram, meaning that she shouldn't be able to hug Gabrielle either.
- When Akemi is trying to stop Yodoshi in the Fountain, his exclamation of "my own daughter!" makes little sense, since it was Akemi who killed him in the first place.
- When Gabrielle kicks the urn containing Xena's ashes up from the bird's nest high into the air, just before she grabbed it in time, if being looked carefully, the viewers can easily see that it isn't Renee O'Connor's face but a stunt double's face.
Trivia[]
- This is the last Xenaverse motion picture. Lucy Lawless is the only actor to appear in both this episode and Hercules and the Amazon Women, although she played different characters.
Other[]
- Gabrielle was both the reason Xena chose to go on in the beginning and the thing Xena had to be willing to lose to get her ultimate redemption in the end.
- This is one of the very few episodes in which horses are killed on-screen.
- This episode is a very touchy subject for many fans. Some love it, but others hate it for a number of reasons:
- Xena is killed once again, but the reasons for her not being able to return are rather nebulous.
- Rather than atone for some specific event or action that the audience knew about, the writers had to invent yet another atrocity from Xena's past and thus needed a deus ex machina just to get the story started, never mind finish it.
- Eve, Xena's own daughter, is not mentioned. Ironically, Eve is supposed to be in the Far East spreading Eli's message anyway.
- Ares, in spite of his pivotal role in the series and his relationship with Xena, is not mentioned. This also produces a major plot inconsistency for the season 2 episode The Xena Scrolls.
- Aphrodite and JoxerJ, close friends of Xena and Gabrielle, were not mentioned but they do survive in modern day as Aphrodite got her godhood back and Joxer was reincarnated.
- Hercules, the one responsible for unchaining Xena's heart and setting her on the path to redemption and having been a good friend to her and Gabrielle, is not mentioned.
- Gabrielle giving Xena the "kiss of life" was seen as a cop-out, neither confirming nor denying the subtext (though Lucy Lawless herself took it as confirmation, stating that she was unsure if they were lovers until she saw that kiss played back).
- In spite of Xena being a Greek hero dealing primarily with monsters and characters from Greek mythology, her final adventure is not set in Greece.
Links and References[]
References[]
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| << Season Five | Season 6 | |||||||
| #01 | Coming Home | #09 | Return of the Valkyrie | #17 | Last of the Centaurs | |||
| #02 | The Haunting of Amphipolis | #10 | Old Ares Had a Farm | #18 | When Fates Collide | |||
| #03 | Heart of Darkness | #11 | Dangerous Prey | #19 | Many Happy Returns | |||
| #04 | Who's Gurkhan? | #12 | The God You Know | #20 | Soul Possession | |||
| #05 | Legacy | #13 | You Are There | #21 | A Friend in Need Part I | |||
| #06 | The Abyss | #14 | Path of Vengeance | #22 | A Friend in Need Part II | |||
| #07 | The Rheingold | #15 | To Helicon and Back | |||||
| #08 | The Ring | #16 | Send in the Clones | |||||