The Quest & More Xena

Since my back was on the mend I didn't do much today. I started by watching a new ABC reality series called The Quest. I had heard of The Quest from my buddy Brett who tried to get me to go with him an a audition. I didn't go but my buddy Brett did (was didn't make it). If you don't know what The Quest is here is a brief description: The Quest is a new reality adventure that takes 12 lucky contestants on the journey of a lifetime when they enter the world of "Everealm." For The Quest, the Executive Producer of the blockbuster movie franchise The Lord of the Rings has joined forces with the creators and producers of The Amazing Race to conjure a land of magic and malevolence, where mythical creatures lurk in the woods, agents of darkness stir in the shadows, and mystical beings infiltrate the keep. For 12 lucky souls, a fantastic world will come alive in a unique competition series where players will engage in epic challenges. Fantasy meets reality when one player emerges as a real-life hero.

The first episode had a lot of set up and just one challenge towards the end but I have to say that I love the look, the style, and production values of this series. It sucked me in right away. I was into the story and characters. I really can't wait for the second "regular" episode and see how it plays out. I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea but I'd watch this just for the fantasy aspect alone. I'm not into that many reality shows but I'll definitely be watching more of The Quest.

Thomas came over mid day and we spent the rest of the day watching more Xena. Today we watched the final two episodes of Season One and the first three episodes of Season Two.

First up we watched S1 Ep23 "Death Mask" Xena finally confronts Cortese, the warlord who burned her village and turned her into a warrior.

We delve into Xena's past with the introduction of her older brother and the man who sent Xena down her path of destruction. I wasn't a fan of her brother, seemed a bit to whiny for me. But at least Xena can close that chapter of her life with the death of Cortese.

Then we watched S1 Ep24 "Is There a Doctor in the House?" When Xena and Gabrielle take a wounded and pregnant Ephiny to a healing temple in the middle of a civil war, Xena must take over as healer when the priests would rather pray than act.

I felt this was an usual finale but I really enjoyed the episode. It's all set in this "hospital" and Xena showing these "doctors" how to practice real medicine. Gabrielle dies but of course I knew she wasn't going to actually die. But we do get to see how much Xena truly loves her and what she is willing to do to save her.

We then moved on to Season 2 with Ep1 "Orphan of War" Xena and Gabrielle travel to the centaur lands to help them against Dagnine, a man who once fought at Xena's side when she was evil. Dagnine wants the powerful Ixion stone, who was hidden by Borias, Xena's former and now deceased lover. Xena meets there a young boy called Solan who lives with the centaurs, and she tells Gabrielle he's actually her son.

More secrets about Xena are revealed. She has a son, who doesn't know she is his mother. I was hoping that she would tell him at the end but she didn't. I did hear from Thomas this is an ongoing storyline so that made me happy.

Next up is S2 Ep2 "Remember Nothing" When Xena protects the temple of the Fates, they grant her wish that she had never followed the sword, but only if she never draws blood in anger. As she sees her loved ones tormented by warlords she eliminated in her original life, her temptation to fight for right increases. Will she be able to resist ... and should she?

This was one of those "What if" stories. Xena helps out the fates, and accidentally kills a young boy, The Fates grant her one wish and change one event in her life, she never picked up the sword against Cortese. Everything changes around her. Her younger brother is back, who original died in the initial fighting. But her mother is dead in this timeline. Also Gabrielle is a slave and these evil men she killed in her timeline live and are killing thousands. Xena is selfish for a time but realizes that she has no choice and has to correct everything and revert back to the original timeline.

And our final episode of the night S2 Ep3 "The Giant Killer" Retelling of the David and Goliath story in which Goliath is a friend of Xena's who has fallen into evil ways from grief after losing his family.

I actually enjoyed this episode. It actually took me to half way through this episode to realize that the kids name was David and the Giant was Goliath and this was the retelling of the famous battle from the Bible. It was a bitter sweet ending as Goliath was a friend of Xena and actually saved her life and by doing so sacrificed his wife and child. He is obviously killed at the end but realizes that he will be reunited with his family.