COMING HOME
Written by Melissa Good
Directed by Mark Beesley
Right off the bat, I have a confession to make. I missed the opening teaser and the first act of this episode, so I don't have a complete picture of what was going on. However, I didn't find it too difficult to fill in the missing pieces of this episode, so I feel justified in making some comments about it. (I also neglected to tape the episode, so I couldn't go back and see what transpired. It's been a rough month, okay?)
All in all, I don't think this episode was too bad. I also don't think it was anything particularly special, either. It was certainly reminiscent of earlier seasons - which isn't too surprising when you consider that fanfic scribe Missy Good penned this particular story. Still, it had a decidedly "been there, done that" kind of feel to it (and I'm not referring to the classic second season episode).
It played like a mixture of "The Furies" and "Hooves & Harlots" without the interesting conflict between the Amazons and the Centaurs. Not only that, but there were several Xenaverse clichés that made me sigh with barely restrained frustration. I'll get to the more offensive of those in just a minute.
The past couple of premieres have set the bar for season openers fairly high. Both "Adventures in the Sin Trade" and "Fallen Angel" are richly woven episodes where the emotional stakes are high. This episode, on the other hand, didn't feel particularly tense at all. It felt more like a midseason anchor. I didn't find the emotional stakes particularly high, despite the generally solid construction of the story. I'm not sure whether this is a result of Missy Good's writing, or the fact that last season's closer, "Motherhood", didn't leave us precariously balanced on the edge of our seats. From what I've heard of Missy's fanfiction, it is probably a combination of the two.
I think everybody involved turned in solid performances, especially Kevin Smith. The former God of War had a hard enough time dealing with becoming mortal, he sure as heck didn't need the Furies bouncing around his cranium. He played the role very well, and didn't stray into the realm of over-the-top scene chewing too much.
