As for myself, there have been two main thoughts that have occupied my brain during the past week. First, the storyteller in my head has a distinctive feeling that it ended "right". Yell, scream, and carry on all you want. In my opinion, there was only one way Xena: Warrior Princess could end. Anything else would have left me feeling cheated.
The other thought is one of loss - not heart-rending, ashes-and-sackcloth loss, but loss nevertheless.
Still, I personally feel it was a happy ending. Bittersweet, perhaps, but still happy. After all, Xena finally achieved the redemption and forgiveness she had sought for so long. Gabrielle became the warrior hero she had always wanted to be. Both women experienced a love that spans the ages, a love that ignores the barriers of space and time, life and death.
You don't believe me? Watch the finale again. Xena is no longer a physical presence, but she is with Gabrielle in spirit. Their love continues to exist, despite the absence of one partner. We know that they will meet again in future lives, and their love for each other will remain. Look at the episodes reinforcing this idea - starting all the way back in season two with Remember Nothing.
In the dozens of e-mail messages and comments I have read since the series ended, I have noticed that there are some fans that feel Rob Tapert betrayed them. Not only that, there are those who feel that Tapert betrayed the very heart of the series itself. Their focus falls on a single line at the very tail end of the episode.
Just as Gabrielle is about to pour Xena's ashes into the Fountain of Strength, Xena stops her. She explains that in order to save the 40,000 souls she has just released from the clutches of the foul Lord Yodoshi, she must stay dead. "They need vengeance," she says.
But wait, hasn't the message of the series been that love and forgiveness, not vengeance and hatred, are the answers? Doesn't this final statement by Xena throw that whole thing out the window?
Perhaps. I won't deny that interpretation can be taken from the scene. Personally, I think it was sloppy writing that can be ignored. After all, there have been YAXIs galore in the one hundred and thirty-odd episodes of this series. Can't we turn a blind eye to a single line that just doesn't fit?
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