How do you bring back your two main characters after killing them off in a
season finale and not pull a Bobby Ewing? "By sending them to heaven and
hell of course," answers the production team of Xena. For those of you who missed it, "Fallen Angel," Xena’s season 5 premiere,
will be shown again the week of November 29th. Boasting the most special
effects shots (over 270) of any television hour in history, "Fallen Angel"
soars to new heights in depicting an afterlife for the show’s two heroines, Xena and Gabrielle.
At the end of season 4, the two gals were crucified by Caesar and shots of
their spirits leaving their bodies left no doubt that Xena’s visions of
their death had come to pass. In the afterlife, Xena and Gabrielle wait in a
CGI paradise that looks suspiciously similar to Sedona, Arizona (hmmm, do the
producers know something we don’t or are they on the payroll of the Sedona
Convention Bureau?). Anyhow, the shots are gorgeous of thousands of angels
arriving to greet the heroines and take them deeper into Paradise.
Unfortunately, we aren’t treated to such a panoramic, travelogue view of
Hell. But who needs Hell when we can have the next best thing?
Callisto,
Xena’s long-time nemesis and demon travel guide from Hell, snatches Gabrielle from the angels and takes her on a personal tour.
Callisto, when she was
alive, became a horrific killer after the evil Xena murdered her family.
She serves as Xena’s guilty conscience during several episodes over the
show’s four year run. A perennial favorite, Hudson Leick, who plays
Callisto, is an amazing actress who has developed one of the most intriguing
villains in sci-fi/fantasy history.
When Xena ascends to Paradise with the archangels, she finds an afterlife
similar to the one she left on Earth: hellions plotting to take over Paradise and a constant battle between good and evil. Xena meets the
archangel Michael (played by the handsome and intense Charles Mansure) who
challenges her to literally walk through fire, so she can get her archangel’s wings and save Gabrielle from the demons.
Gabrielle, in the meantime, discovers that all she needs to do to become a
demon is eat the fruit of hell. (Ahh, I guess it’s easier to be a demon than
an angel.) Some of the funniest scenes include Callisto encouraging Gabrielle to eat. When she doesn’t comply, she is force fed and morphs into
a demon who finally gives Callisto some of her long overdue comeuppance. ‘I
think you liked it when Xena killed your family, it gave you an excuse for
being a b****.’
I hesitate to share what happens plot wise from here, but let’s just say
that Gabrielle and Xena each get their turn at being a demon and angel. The
whole question of Callisto’s possible redemption is finally answered after
four years in a very satisfying way.
Gabrielle is saved from Hell and becomes quite the radiant archangel. For
anyone who hasn’t watched the show in a while, they will be shocked to see
this simple teenage peasant girl become an electrifying mature icon for the
Greater Good. In "Fallen Angel," she has traded her bilious green sports bra
for some dazzling emerald green wings which she tries out in a dazzling
special effects air battle with the demons.
The cinematography in this episode is feature film quality. Again, this is
typical for many Xena episodes, but it is particularly spectacular in this
season opener. The cinematographers have abandoned television flat lighting
for an expressive camera that squeezes out every nuance. A haunting icy
blue world is portrayed when Joxer, Amarice and Eli remove Xena and Gabrielle’s bodies from the cross. The grief of the three friends is as
chilling as the camera work.
Of course, our two heroines are brought back to life (alas there has to be a
season 5), but who and how its done makes it one of the most satisfying
episodes ever.
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"Fallen
Angel Soars!"
