08/13/98
If you loved ONE AGAINST AN ARMY (and how could you not?), you will enjoy this ep even more after reading these two beautifully written, insightfully sensual stories. "Of Two Minds" begins as our heroines lie beside each other recuperating from their run-in with the Persians. Each nearly exactly mirrors the other's thoughts, though she fears what she envisions is one-way. Both would like to believe they glimpsed a desire in the other that, though unspoken, now burns within themselves too fiercely to ignore much longer.
In the companion piece, "Stung," they are ready to move on, from the armory loft they rested in for three days, if not quite yet to voicing their hidden feelings. Their ride together on Argo is exquisite torture. Their bodies know the truth, but their minds still harbor doubt and confusion. They stop in a copse of trees. Desperate for some distraction, Xena sees a bee hive and rushes off to secure other honey, only to discover that it is as problematic as the sweet bard she left sitting behind in the grass. They endure some tense moments, reminiscent of what they experienced only a brief life-time ago in the armory, then set out again, this time for the comforts of an inn. Suffice it to say that their room has thin walls. Walls that... talk. Walls that seem insistent upon convincing the two friends to open the door that would change their relationship forever.
It's not necessary to have seen OAAA to understand these stories. But if you have it on tape, you will want to review a couple of scenes in particular. First, in slow motion. Then with the sound turned up. Afterwards you will smile, smugly certain that -- thanks to "Of Two Minds" and "Stung" -- you may be privy to what was really going on beneath the surface.
IseQween@aol.com
If you have questions or comments you can e-mail me at: prosper4@hotmail.com
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(c)August 1998