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ChakramGoddess

Awesome episode. Great job, Aurora, LK and Sais.

I definitely wasn't expecting to see Najara again. Bringing her back was a great idea. I liked how you explained her OOC behavior in The Convert by saying the Djinn drove her mad, and I was glad she turned out to be a good guy in the end. Her dying to save Gabrielle was very appropriate and touching. The Gabrielle/Haimon scenes were very touching as well. The ending was so bittersweet--I hope they get to see each other again. Xena and Ares played a relatively small role in this ep, but I enjoyed the "screentime" they did have. The banter between them was great and added a touch of humor to an ep that was otherwise quite depressing. I loved Ares comparing his horse to Xena, saying he liked them both because they weren't easy to handle.


Elfrieda

That was great!

I loved seeing Najara again, and Haimon's return, and Xena & Ares' moments together. I was hoping Najara didn't end up being evil or crazy again, but I figured you guys knew what you were doing. Darion is growing up, but he's seen a lot of violence in his short lifetime, so he's gotten a little rough around the edges, no? I hope he can be happy again soon.

Fantastic job!

The promo and and images were awesome, too!


KarmieVarya

YEAH!!! Thank you SO much Aurora and everyone that worked on this! The episode was wonderful! So many possibilities for this season, can't wait!

LOVE the photo manips Aurora, great job! Favorite part was the banter when they were merchants, and the fact that Ares played the hero along with Xena, that was great to see!


danajala

Very, very good episode! Thank you, Aurora, Lady Kate and Sais

I must say that I was really surprised by the way you've presented Najara. I thought she'll try to do everything to have Gabrielle by her side again. It was an interesting change. I liked the way Xena's reacted when she saw Najara:

XENA:
Don't tell me she's changed. Again.

GABRIELLE (a little sheepishly):
Well...

XENA (rolls her eyes in disgust):
Oh--no, no--

I can really see it, it's so true about Xena. I wish there could have been more parts with Xena and Ares, but I don't think that this episode was empty in any way because of that there weren't. Very good scenes with Gabrielle and Haimon. I wish it could have ended better for them.

Thank you again for very good episode!


NattyN1855

Well... I feel so strange... Haimon - ok, the one I will not miss about. Out of sight, out of mind, as the saying goes. I really liked him before, even when he left Gabrielle - after all, he didn't know she was pregnant. But now, to leave his own son... Ok, ok, all it was "for greater good", it is what he want to think. But really he acted as coward. (imo)
And the biggest disappointment of... this year, at least. Najara. She lost her Djinn. And she had gone into this goody-two-shoes thing. It is sad. Najara, with her Djinn, with her grass - all that was fun. Maybe, one of the funniest parts of 1-6 seasons.

Everything foresaid refers to heroes, Xenaverse at all.
Writers, it was great! Thank you very much for impressive job!


Ana Tinoco

Wow the episode it's great! image Congratulations Aurora, LK and Sais
Poor Gab I hope Haimon can stay with her and baby Samuel soon or later because she deserves to be happy image And absolutely love that Ares is with them all the time of course :P
Can't wait to read the next ones :P Pity it's the last season because it's the best shipper fanfic i have read.
The great amount of work you guys have is worthy, you're faithful to the character's personality and the episodes could really have happened.
Thank you for your work


CasualFan

Glad to see SS10 up and running again, with an absorbing episode to boot!

That was an intriguing portrait of Najara you drew - I liked the ambiguity of the character, and the refusal to either exonerate or condemn her. We have to see her through her own (probably self-serving) account and second-hand stories which present diametrically opposed views. Even her death is a contradiction - she tries to win Gab back to her side, then sacrifices her life to save Gab's. At the end, we discover that Malia is still alive, but we still never quite get a handle on her. It's a far more involving portrait than the raving loonie we were left with at the end of The Convert.

Maybe it's just me, but I think that Haimon has "Kill me, now!" written all over him - he's doomed to second place in Gab's affections, he's seeing Daimon become more coarsened to violence and resentful of him, and the Romans are hot on his tail. That doesn't add up to a good insurance risk.

Good artwork, Aurora - I particularly liked the aging job on Najara. Welcome back, everyone - I hope you can get the season finished in time for the 15th anniversary convention next February!


Adela Rose

AWSOME episode!!!

HAMMY'S GONE AGAIN????? ARGGGGGGGGGG NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

These people....*shakes head*

Ok. Seriously. They need to start settling down now. A new baby and all....and COME ON, when is Xena going to get preggers??? A girl, so Gabby and Xena can be inlaws


sarinou

So, the episode...Well, what can I say really except that it was great and that I completely loved it You guys never cease to amaze me. Where do you get all your ideas from?
I loved seeing more of Haimon. Was about time he finally met his son!!! I trully hope things will work for them...
And Najara! Hah! I knew it was her! It had to be! I trully felt for her in the end and it never seemed out of character or awkward in any way.
Btw, the graphics Aurora!!! Especially the first one with the old(er) Najara...just WOW! Wonderful! And glad we got to see Gabs struggling with her feelings...Haimon, Najara, she DID have a lot to think about in this episode. And yet again, you guys portraied her so well that I could totally imagine the whole thing!
All in all : a marvellous episode!!! Now I can't wait to see what's coming next


Elaine

I thought it was another strong story. I liked the ambiguity of Najara. After all her actions in the TV series were fairly ambiguious, was she insane or evil? Liked Xena's consistent reaction to her, although it always makes me laugh when Xena doesn't give her a second chance after the chances she has been given.
Haimon was good addition and I truly hope we see him soon. Nice interaction between him and Ares. Darion was strong in this episode too; was it deliberate that he never calls Gabrielle anything? Will he call her "mum" one day?
Pictures nicely chosen as always.
My one beef was how Gabrielle was portrayed. I know that Gabrielle was unsure about what path she was on etc, but in one scene it was s6 Gabrielle, then it was pacifist Gab, then s1 Gab then s3 Gab. Probably me being over senstive to it.


xenares

I liked it a lot but to be honest I 'd love to see more "just xena/ares" scenes. Will poor Gabrielle stay alone now that Haimon has decided to leave?


toxic64

I have mixed feelings about this ep and I'll start with the Najara storyline. I'm very happy to see her back and I like the way her nutty phase was explained (the dijinn are mentioned in mythology as evil spirits/genies, so it makes perfect sense they would do a number on Najara for taking up Eli's way and abandoing theirs). I liked the subtle differences b/w Gabrielle, Xena, and Najara's actions in this ep compared to the other eps. I also liked the Malia part of the plot, but it was so obviously clear what was going on that it took away some of its punch and IMO, the story would've worked better if Malia had stayed away and we were left wandering what really down, although the way it was done was very XWP and fit in with theme of second chances. Another part I didn't like was why Najara was so gung ho about Gab not fighting in act 4, why she seemed to be accepting in act 1? And Najara may be a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them. With her experience as a warrior, she know better than to run out in the middle of a fight if she didn't have to. She would've waited until later to speak about it (Too bad this couldn't have been a 2 parter; I think there's plenty of story here for it). The Gab/Haimon storyline was handled well. I don't see why Xena couldn't have taken out the Romans. There were only 5; it would've only taken several minutes for her with Ares' help, maybe even less. And then the other Romans could've still come to Najara's place to get him. I also liked the little touches here and there about abandonment. Overall, 7/10.