Commentary on the Xena Series' Finale - WARNING: SPOILERS!
Like many others, I was disappointed with the outcome of the series and felt more than a bit cheated by the ridiculous plot. The whole thing just seemed to be cobbled together and full of so many plot holes it's a wonder Xena and Gabrielle didn't fall through them! These are the things that sprung to mind as I was watching. Remember though that this is my opinion which you are welcome to agree or disagree with.

RE: CHIN MARK 3
The first notable error was to try yet another rehash of the Chin episodes. This didn't work in Season 5 and so a Season 6 rehash was a recipe for disaster. After all Xena and Gabrielle have been through together, we now find that, once again, Xena has a terrible secret that she has failed to mention to Gabrielle. I half expected poor Gabby to say, "so Xena, is there anything else you haven't told me about?". It just didn't ring true for me that this had actually happened in Xena's past; instead it just seemed the producers had said, "hey, let's send Xena to Japan and we'll think of a way of explaining it later".

RE: LUCY LAWLESS
Sorry people but I did think Lucy was overacting terribly in these episodes. As evil Xena she failed to convince me this was the same person who murdered Cyane, stole the Rheingold, tried to trick Iolaus into killing Hercules and destroyed Lao Ma's hope for peace in Chin. However, to be fair to Lucy, I can quite understand how she may have felt a bit fed up with the role after six years of playing the same character. Perhaps the challenge just wasn't there anymore.

I did enjoy the scene where Xena showed Gabrielle how to do the pinch though. Interestingly, I found this the most moving scene in the whole of the two-parter.

RE: XENA'S SUICIDE
As many other fans have stated, I also found Xena's death to be completely pointless. Her noble sacrifice to save the souls she had condemned lost any meaning as soon as we learned she intended for Gabrielle to bring her back to life. In other words, Xena intended to trick fate in order to get what she wanted (not for the first time, I might add). Unfortunately for Xena this backfired on her when she learned she would have to stay dead, otherwise the souls would be damned forever. No, I didn't understand this rationale either.

RE: GABRIELLE
Although it was, in a way, fitting that Gabrielle decided to continue to fight for good in the wake of Xena's death, I was disappointed she did not rejoin the Amazons as I expected she would. However, what was more surprising was that she would just disappear off to Egypt. The natural reaction for most people who've just lost someone dear to them is to want to be with their family. Given that Gabrielle has a sister and a niece, I would have thought she would have decided to go home for a while to make up for lost time with her sibling.

RE: XENA'S GHOST
Having Xena's ghost keep turning up for a chat with Gabrielle did spoil the fact she is supposed to be dead! How can Gabrielle (and indeed, us fans) mourn Xena when she insists on appearing as a ghost right up to the end of the show?

RE: LOOSE ENDS
How annoying there were so many loose ends at the end of the show. What was Ares' reaction to Xena's death? Where did Xena's spirit end up? Was Xena reunited with her family and, indeed, with her lost love Marcus? Did Gabrielle intend to keep Xena's ashes with her or would she take them back to Amphipolis? I suspect the only way we'll get any answers to these questions is via fan fiction!

So, you may be asking whether there was anything I actually liked about the episode! Well, to be honest, I haven't been that satisfied with the way the series was going since the end of Season 4. Most of Season 5 and 6 seemed to be rehashes of earlier episodes, without the same heart and soul that went into the original episodes. My dissatisfaction stemmed from the introduction of Christianity into the mix, followed by the killing off of most of the Greek gods. Gabrielle became a killing machine, seemingly unconcerned with her sudden change of philosophy whilst Xena also developed double standards and that horrible whisper (for a comparison, listen to Xena's voice in the earlier eps and you'll see what I mean). Xena suddenly became an instrument of Eli's god, without questioning why she was pregnant without her consent whilst Callisto was sickeningly redeemed and Joxer (and most of the regular supportive cast) was given the chop. Although I continued to watch, I nearly gave up partway through Season 5 but decided to stick with it to the bitter end. Therefore, much of what I have written above is not a sudden dislike of the series but a gradual, growing dissatisfaction with the direction in which the series was going.

Having said all that, Seasons 5 and 6 have had their moments (e.g. Chakram; Them Bones, Them Bones; Amphipolis Under Siege; Looking Death In The Eye; Coming Home; Who's Gurkhan; Legacy and Soul Possession). What a shame there haven't been more of them.

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