Tears – visions

What is fascinating about the actual myth of Prometheus is the diabolical nature of the torture. The Greek Gods really know how to creatively punish those that incur their displeasure. From the elder Gods locked in stone for eternity in Titan to the giant eagle ripping out your liver daily without anesthesia, they were some sick bastards. Add their frequent meddling with mortals and life is not happy in Ancient Greece when Gods come calling from Mt. Olympus.
The first vision is the extra-large eagle swooping down towards Gabrielle with claws extended. She shoots the perfect arrow right into its heart and it crashes on the top of the mountain. It is quite vivid and would make for an amazing special effects shot. It was inspired, I do believe, by nature documentary of eagles hunting.
People like Xena don’t change easily and don’t get me started on the cliché of the villain turning friends against each other. Hercules and Iolaus would not come to blows, not with their history. No, Hercules and Xena had to meet as enemies. I do plead guilty to using sidekick bait but it is not like Xena was going to bake brownies and invite Hercules to her cave. Hercules is a demigod, with strength of ten men and constitution to match. Taking him down one on one is no trivial task. Xena uses a combination of drugs and blood loss to overcome the son of Zeus. Their second fight is where the other image comes in.
Particularly strong is the sight of bloody and heavily bandaged Hercules swinging a length of chain. I could see the despair in his eyes over what he has to do to save Iolaus and the grim determination to pay for his sins. This is a battle to the death, both of theirs, unless Xena blinks. To our relief, she does and the rest is history. This is the beginning of the end for dark Xena. Few months hence she will meet a young woman in Potidaea. Discuss in FORUMS.