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Review for "Queen Maeve's Grave" (XWPVS 8.7)
by: David J. Duncan
"Queen Maeve's Grave" continues the XWPVS' coverage of the Xenaverse's latest Roman/Celtic conflict. As in "Small Sacrifices" (Episode 8.6), the plot and characters are well developed. The writer adds depth through the use of several languages. The plot splits the action between the events containing Xena and Gabrielle and those containing Ethne. As the scene shifts from Britannia to Hiberna, the reader prepares for another climatic battle between the two sides.
The Teaser picks up where "Small Sacrifices" left off. Xena and Gabrielle turn the tables on their Roman pursuers and reach the port town where they trade for food and start arranging passage to Hibernia. Meantime, Ethne and Paulinus have already left for Doublin ahead of them. To make things more interesting, the scene concludes with a woman sensing Ethne's approach and calling for assistance.
Act I moves the action to Hibernia. Xena and Gabrielle have secured a boat and make the sea crossing. As they go, they run into a terrible storm, eventually forcing their ship to run aground on the Hibernan coastline. Meantime, Paulinus and Ethne have landed in Doublin and begin their march inland. Even as these events happen, the writer adds still another dimension through the council's deliberations as well as Queen Maeve's reconnaissance in bird form. As this happens, the audience sees events through Maeve's eyes, comparing the heroes and the Romans. The act concludes with Xena and Gabrielle running into Enya's patrol and forging an alliance with that group. Throughout this section, Gabrielle's insight receives attention. First, she recognizes that the sea gull is more than it seems. Then she senses a similar presence while looking into Enya's eyes. In this way, the Bard's eye for hidden detail is demonstrated once again.
Act II sets the action for the rest of the story. While Paulinus' forces ravage the countryside, Ethne grows more powerful. (Her attitude changed during the sea crossing. While she was providing insight in "Small Sacrifices", she is clearly in charge in this story.) Meantime, Enya leads Xena and Gabrielle to her village where they meet Queen Maeve. There they learn Ethne's identity and why she was exiled from Hibernia. In exchange, Xena and Gabrielle provide information on Roman tactics for their new allies. In so doing, they prepare to meet their adversaries. (Potential YAXI here: when Xena says that Ethne reminds her of an old enemy from Greece, is she referring to Alti? If so, the Shamaness is from the Steppe not Greece. Still, the resemblance between Alti and Ethne is uncanny.)
Act III develops the tension. Ethne-in her wolf form-attacks Enya and Gabrielle directly, throwing down the spiritual gauntlet. They return to the village and let the others know. At this point, the story splits again between Ethne's and the warriors' respective preparations. Once again, Ethne dominates the scene in the Roman camp. In direct contrast, however, Enya's singing and talking to her counterparts unifies the defenders' forces, providing solidarity. The act draws to a close, leaving the audience feeling the tension between the sides.
The story reaches its climax in Act IV. Rapidly switching between groups of characters, the physical and spiritual battles receive attention from many perspectives. Enya and Gabrielle help each other in the battle. Gabrielle, in fact, kills several Romans to save her new friend during this affair. Xena protects Maeve's body and later helps the other defenders. Meantime Maeve and Ethne fight one another in their spiritual bull forms. Interestingly enough, even as Ethne gains the advantage, Paulinus' distraction takes it away from her. (The process harkens back to the spiritual duels from Seasons 4 and 5. And the stag-does that represent Paulinus?) Titus' javelin kills Maeve's spirit form and her in the process. In so doing, the writer shows the audience that although the battles occur on separate planes, they are intertwined and do affect each other, lending the story still more depth.
The final scene deserves a comment too. With Maeve's death, Hibernia still faces an uncertain future even with the Roman withdrawal. Having Gabrielle volunteer to record the Celts' culture in a scroll cements the bonds between the two warriors and their new allies. Enya's invitation added to this feeling. Certainly, the cultural overtones received great attention throughout this story. As with the earlier episodes in this season, the audience is granted deep insight into the culture-at times much more so than in the regular series.
"Queen Maeve's Grave" is yet another great episode. It is well written, the characters developed and the plot flows well. The multiple perspectives provide the reader with all sides of the story. As in earlier Xena episodes, the contrasting physical and spiritual battlefields add extra dimensions. (Even the beach scene reminds one of "Tsunami".) I hope Ethne reappears in future episodes as she has the potential to be a reoccurring adversary for Xena and Gabrielle. As noted above, the writer's depth of understanding for the cultures involved in this story should be applauded. My only constructive criticism concerns Act IV where the scenes move rapidly-almost too much so-for the reader to follow. Perhaps if some scenes were joined together, it could still offer the multiple angles of the battle and not be so disorienting?
The last comment aside, "Queen Maeve's Grave", is another excellent episode. Well done!
Review: Episode 8.7 - Queen Maeve's Grave
by: 41 Cyg
I'm giving this episode an 8.0 (1 to 10 scale). The story is well told and compelling. The Roman scenes were a little weak and I took off a couple of tenths for that, but the Irish scenes were particularly good and that added the tenths back. I also liked the interactions of Xena and Gabrielle, both with each other and with the townsfolk at the port. It felt very believable.
COMMENTS:
Teaser:
Paulinus mentions 80,000 Roman citizens slaughtered. Is it a coincidence that 80,000 Iceni were killed in the climactic battle (mentioned in act II, scene 23)? Also, there were probably not many Roman citizens in Britain at this time. The Britons were Roman subjects. Roman citizenship was an honor that had to be granted to those who were not born in the city or of a Roman family. Citizenship carried certain privileges, including a right to appeal a legal decision directly to the emperor. The Apostle Paul was of Antioch, whose citizens had been granted Roman citizenship and so was able to go directly to Rome to appeal the Judean governor's sentence of imprisonment at about this time. Other early Christians, not being citizens, could not do this.
Act I:
I liked Gabrielle's bargaining with the horse trader. I'll bet they both figured they'd come out ahead. When the Romans are at Doublin (scene 16), it sounds like there is only one legion there (`What is left of the Roman legion.….'), but a few lines further on there are legionary eagles, implying more than one, since each legion had only one eagle.
Act II:
Ch'in (China) is almost three times as far from Greece as Hibernia (Ireland), not `as far... as', as Xena says. Even without accurate maps, she would know the trip east would take a lot longer than the trip west.
Act III:
(Scene 7) The description of the stars Ethne sees on the eve of the battle is very accurate. If you go out on a clear evening in early November (A dark sky and a low northern horizon would help too,) you can see the bears (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor), Taurus and Orion in the positions described. I would expect nothing less of an ancient astrologer, but it is rare for a modern writer to get these details right.
Act IV:
I wonder if Ethne will return. She seems to be a good candidate to succeed Callisto and Alti.
One more general comment before I end. Karen has depicted Ireland very well (and so have the artists, for that matter). The words seem to contain the Irish spirit, both in the land and in the people. I liked the Gaelic passages, too, especially the invocation of the seeing scene. I don't understand Gaelic, but in reading the words, I could almost hear the lilt and beauty in their sound.
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