Gabrielle vs Varia
Posted by BlackHammerJeff@reddit | xena | View on Reddit | 33 comments
I always have to fast forward through Gabrielle and Varia. I can’t take watching Gabrielle get beat like that!
Posted by BlackHammerJeff@reddit | xena | View on Reddit | 33 comments
I always have to fast forward through Gabrielle and Varia. I can’t take watching Gabrielle get beat like that!
round_killing_thing@reddit
I get it. I don't mind the violence of that scene so much as seeing Gabrielle being beat by someone who I believe is the inferior fighter in this match.
What I love about this scene is that Xena lets Gabrielle do her thing without interfering, even if it means Gabrielle gets hurt. Xena trusts Gabrielle and respects her decision to do this even if she disagrees with it.
In my opinion, Gabrielle would have wiped the floor with Varia if she had set her mind to it. But she (subconciously or conciously) wanted to avoid beating Varia to a pulp (There would have been no other way to win this fight because Varia was not going to back down until she was physically unable to fight), and Gabrielle was still trying to reason with her as they were fighting. I don't care that Varia was trained by Ares. So what? Xena was Ares' protégé for years, and Xena taught Gabrielle (almost) everything she knew at that point.
Unfortunately, it's still in character for Gabrielle to loose this fight, because she barely ever goes into full beast mode, and she usually only does so when Xena's life is at stake and there are no other options.
Overall_Sandwich_671@reddit
Xena should have pretended to be in trouble, then Gabrielle would have swatted Varia like a fly.
IseQween@reddit
I agree. It's harder to "defeat" when playing by different rules -- one combatant intent on or okay with killing or maiming, the other simply trying to temporarily incapacitate. I saw at least two points when Gabs could've won on Varia's terms, just as Xena could've finished off Najara during their first duel.
EasyEntrepreneur666@reddit
It's sad that Gabrielle seemed to perform poorly in unarmed combat despite Renee was actually doing boxing back then.
ChippieChamp@reddit
I don’t think Gabrielle was performing poorly in hand to hand combat, she was trying to talks some sense into Varia not beating the crap out of her.
But of course Varia didn’t listen and Gabrielle let’s, her guard down of cause Varia beaten azz down and it took Xena.
To put sense into her to finally understand, what Varia doing eas out of guilt not killing Livia. When she does the chance and her sister pay of it.
EasyEntrepreneur666@reddit
It was a challenge, not sense-talking. And Gabrielle was also beaten up by Tara despite her being just an edgy teen.
ChippieChamp@reddit
Yes, true. But Gabrielle isn’t a person, beating the crap of someone to a pulp.
The reason Gabrielle only beating the craps of Tara, because she refused to back down and would be she dead.
If Xena didn’t step in and stop it, while Gabrielle didn’t want to fights Tara in the first place.
But she leave her no choice as Tara attack Gabrielle, as Gabrielle retort to attack back hoping Tara would back off.
But of Tara didn’t and nearly got herself killed, if Xena didn’t step in and stop it as Tara could’ve been. Badly hurt or likely be dead.
EasyEntrepreneur666@reddit
In unarmed fight Tara beat up Gabrielle. Sure, she started off with a cheap shot but it was still Xena trainee vs a teen. I don't see Gabrielle deliberately letting herself getting beaten up.
carz4us@reddit
Agreed. I didn’t like how that was written for Gabby. Seemed very out of character.
ChippieChamp@reddit
I too, didn’t like Gabrielle been beat up like that.
ChippieChamp@reddit
Ok, sure. If you put it that way.
ShondaVanda@reddit
yeah but there's a big difference between Gabrielle and Renee, like Renee could beat up Lucy and half the stunt guys, she's solid muscle and was for majority of the show, Lucy wasn't solid muscle until season 5 when she bounced back from having a baby with that banging muscle bod.
Gabrielle is not a hand to hand fighter, she also doesn't practice or have the same level of experience and training that Xena and Varia do. So the end result imo is that Gabrielle was always going to lose, she'd have been better to have chosen Xena as her champion again.
RedwoodFox71@reddit
True, Gabrielle didn’t have hand to hand combat in the beginning. Until the latest seasons after season 4, in season 5 Gabrielle had a little bit of a hand-to-hand at time.
Maybe not with her fist all time, she fist fights with her sias.
EasyEntrepreneur666@reddit
It's so ironic because Lucy hated fights but she constantly had to do it. Meanwhile Renee loved it yet they gave her an entire peaceful arc.
ShondaVanda@reddit
Exactly, I love Renee talking about the peaceful arc like she's climbing the walls so they had to give her nets and random stuff so she could be doing some action.
But Renee is crazy, like she said she took home staffs from the show and they live by her bed incase an intruder ever breaks in. I fully believe anyone breaking into Renee's house is leaving with broken bones and brain damage.
EasyEntrepreneur666@reddit
Lol. Good luck robbing someone who was into boxing and years of staff fighting. She looks like some innocent, cute girl but there's a can of whoopass underneath.
BlackHammerJeff@reddit (OP)
Gabrielle did very good in that fight honestly. Varia was just way too angry and strong at that point. Gabrielle came a long way from the sweet girl she once was.
ChippieChamp@reddit
Exactly, I think Gabrielle could have beaten Varia. But that what she doing, Gabrielle was trying to talks some sense into Varia.
But of course Gabrielle gotten her but kick, because she was busy talks sense into Varia.
ChippieChamp@reddit
Exactly, I think Gabrielle could have beaten Varia. But that not what she doing, Gabrielle was trying to talks some sense into Varia.
But of course Gabrielle gotten her but kick, because she was busy talks sense into Varia.
Pop_Stensbold@reddit
What annoys me the most is that Gabrielle takes that beating for Eve essentially. I think Varia has a complete right to want to seek vengeance against a woman who killed her young sister. But in a typical example of Xena hypocrisy Varia is just supposed to forgive her and let her off the hook because she's Xena's daughter.
RedwoodFox71@reddit
While it didn’t annoy me that, Gabriel took a beating from Varia to save Eve. As agreed that, Xena can be a hypocrite of saving Eve.
Because it’s her daughter and she can bare to another child and yes, Varia how to write to have revenge on evil a lot of wrong doing she have done like killing her sister.
But I think that, Varia was doing this for the wrong reason. Why Xena finally got through to her, about wanted revenge as Varia wasn’t doing this. For the death of her sister by Livia.
It was fact that, she failed to kill Livia. When she had the chance and it cost her life.
As it was more of her guilt not Livia back then, then wanted to get revenge for killing her sister and the rest of her group.
While Solan was different to child to Xena and when he died, things got heated and Xena did try to kill Gabrielle.
Because Gabrielle demon child murder her child, as I guess she wanted someone to pay for her son death.
So, yes. Xena is a major hypocrite, when it comes to child Eve. Did a lot of bad things to others yet, she wants them to forgive the thing she have done and move on.
While Xena couldn’t do the same for Hope, as she never really gave her the chance to see. If she could grow up to be good.
SakuraTacos@reddit
Xena is a lot of things and a big ol’ hypocrite is one of them lol She’s a big fan of double standards when it comes to her loved ones “Sometimes we must pay for our sins no matter how mu-… not Eve!” “Sometimes we must make the ultimate sacrifice for the ones we l- Gabrielle, no!”
RedwoodFox71@reddit
True, Gabrielle didn’t have hand to hand combat in the beginning. Until the latest seasons after season 4, in season 5 Gabrielle had a little bit of a hand-to-hand come back a little.
Maybe not with her fist all the time, when she fights with her sias.
godsibi@reddit
I can take Gabrielle being beaten... Just not from freaking Varia of all people... Especially in season 6, a handful of episodes before she becomes Xena's successor.
FirefighterThink1556@reddit
I LOVE that scene mainly because there are no stunt doubles and it’s cool as hell. But it is really hard to see Gabrielle get pummelled, it’s a very effective scene. Xena’s reaction is wonderful.
NoReach1699@reddit
I'm a Gabrielle superfan and I love this fight. Actually, I love all the times in this show where my fave character gets really messed up. It's her journey that makes her my fave. And that includes all the pain, failures and character flaws.
NoReach1699@reddit
I don't skip it. They both so badass. Varia and Gabs. Very powerful, very muscular. It's a beautiful fight. Gabs holds her own for a while but Varia is a more experienced fighter. This fight and Xena vs Varia later in the episode are among the best fights in the series.
BryBryceratops@reddit
I believe Renee directed this episode too right? It’s so painful to watch but so emotionally evocative.
round_killing_thing@reddit
Renée directed "Dangerous Prey", and she was barely in the epsiode as Gabrielle (which was on purpose since she wanted to focus on directing). The fight between Gabrielle and Varia happened in "Path of Vengeance". These are both Amazon episodes featuring Varia, so it can be confusing.
Evilbuffy14@reddit
It's just plain frustrating to watch, for me. Varia is the absolute worst Amazon leader ever. Gabrielle should have beaten her. I totally understand Xena not stepping in. But that little upstart should've lost.
Wise_Airport5655@reddit
Personally, I believe that Gabrielle was beaten by Varia, just because of the script.
Gabrielle is much more experienced in combat than Varia.
While Varia acted like a spoiled child, Gabi had already learned how to fight years before.
I can't accept that Gabrielle lost to Varia. It makes me angry, because Varia is a spoiled child who has never accepted "no" in life.
I believe it was all because of the script, that they wanted to have Xena fight Varia from the beginning.
ShondaVanda@reddit
Varia was trained by amazons, Xena and Ares.
Gabrielle pretty much rebuffed being trained by Xena for most of the show, and was only trained by Amazons in the way of the staff.
There's no way she's more experienced than Varia who's been training pretty much her entire young adult life.
ChippieChamp@reddit
It so terrible that, Gabrielle gets badly beaten by Varia. But I think she could take Varia down, but that isn’t Gabrielle as she wants Varia to understand.
What she doing and fighting for, she was been use and manipulated. Of course Varia did not listen and it take, Xena to make her understand and what she doing isn’t for her group.