Ruminations on a Sixth Season
Hello once again! There are just a few short days until the sixth season premiere of Xena: Warrior Princess! To say that anticipation is running high would be a bit of an understatement. Rumors have been filtering in from the convention circuit this past summer, and it looks like this season - most likely the last - will be very interesting.
I am going to take this opportunity to mouth off about what I've heard, and what I think about it all. There are certainly some intriguing ideas at work, it remains to be seen whether they will actually succeed or not.
The first major issue that will be explored is the conclusion to the storyline the fans have dubbed the "Christianity Arc". This storyline has probably been one of the more divisive issues in the fanbase. There are many fans who feel that the introduction of this theme is a betrayal of the show's roots in Greek myth. Some have claimed that Tapert is attempting to push a Judeo-Christian morality down the throats of the viewers. The protests get even more vehement when the issue of subtext (and the death thereof) is raised.
Of course, there are those fans (like myself) who can get beyond the specific images borrowed from one the world's major religions. I've addressed this issue at length elsewhere, so I won't go into it any further right now.
It was generally felt that the division of Good and Evil introduced at the end of season four (with The Ides of March) suggested the presence of the biblical God and Satan. According to the rumors of the opening storyline, this idea may have to be rethought.
From what I've heard, the opening storyline revolves around the fall of Lucifer - yes, that's right. It looks that according to Xenaverse mythology, Satan doesn't exist yet because Lucifer hasn't fallen. Thus, the "dark lord" referred to in The Ides of March isn't the biblical Prince of Darkness after all.
This makes me extremely happy, because it supports my assertion that the Christian imagery in The Ides of March, Fallen Angel and other episodes was simply borrowed to allow viewers easier access to the cosmic struggle between Good and Evil they were attempting to depict. It would appear that one battle has ended, only for another round to begin.
If I were writing the story at this point, I would set it up like this: with the Olympians gone, humanity has the opportunity to enter a new golden age - in a sense they can return to the Garden of Eden (to borrow another biblical symbol). However, before this idealized future can be achieved, the bearer of the message - that is to say, Xena, Gabrielle, and Eve - does something to destroy the potential for humanity's golden age.
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