Why did I hate Ides Of March so much?
Well... I kept putting off answering this, because I didn't feel like writing about Ides any more. To tell you the truth, I don't even want to *think* about it. Plus, I have also been pretty busy. But I don't suppose I'll ever get completely un-busy, or a whole lot more enthusiastic about talking about Ides... so let me have a brief stab at indicating, sort of in point form, what I disliked about Ides:
1) Right off the bat the episode introduces "hell" and by implication "the devil". This seems to me a *really* bad idea for the Xenaverse.... worse even than Dahak - and I've already written extensively about why I hated Dahak, so hopefully I don't have to go over all that again. Introducing "the devil" tends to inherently "trump" all other ethical systems which have been mentioned on the show, and to reduce morality to a Manichean battle or game between personified abstract absolutes. I have always regarded seeing morality this way as a grave error of human history, and one of X:WP's main charms for me was precisely that it avoided this, and developed ethics within a pragmatic humanist framework. Introducing "hell" and "the devil" in this way seems to me to threaten to trash all the good work they have done. Actually I think they have already gone quite a way towards trashing the ethical basis of the show even before Ides... but I just don't have the strength to go over all that again now. Basically what I am saying, is that introducing "the devil" tends to inherently make "morality" into a *game* played against "the devil", where "what is good" is defined simply as "whatever defeats the devil's plans". This, to me, is a much more trivial model of morality, than one which is based in the nature and consequences of human reality, as the morality of X:WP seemed to be in the earlier days of the show.
2) Having introduced "the devil", the ep then makes a resuscitated Callisto into "his" agent, a sort of "demonus ex machina" if you will. This is also a *very*, *very* *bad* idea. It completely trashes and trivialises the character of Callisto herself (and ye gods, the woman's been put through enough already). And it also reduces the levers driving the plot of the episode to farcical garbage. I simply can't take any story remotely seriously when it is moved along by demonic pixies materialising at will and acting without any sense or constraint.
3) So... by this point I am already feeling that the ep is farcical garbage, insulting my intelligence and my morals. AND THEN THEY GO AND KILL XENA AND GAB IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THIS TRIPE!!!!! As I believe I said somewhere else, this is rather like being tied up and watching one's loved ones tortured to death by a troupe of very bad mimes. Well ok... at least I know that no one was *really* torturing Xena and Gab to death. But I still *deeply* resent having to watch them being tortured to death in the context of a plot which I found such offensive drivel! I mean, I don't suppose I would have been very happy about *any* season finale ep in which Xena and Gab were killed... it seems a cheap, exploitative technique, which is offensive and insulting to the fans, inherently. But to do it in *THIS* context was pretty much the ultimate insult.
Anyhow... as you can probably tell, I still can't think about this episode at all without getting extremely upset and angry. It was the absolute antithesis of every reason I ever loved the show in the first place... to say I loathed it would be a severe understatement. I just don't want to think about it at all ever again. And if they continue to serve up this kind of thing in the new season, then I guess I shall just stop watching the show. I don't think I could stand seeing the characters and the imaginative world I was so fond of abused in this kind of way for more than another week or two.
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Am I being too "judgemental" about Ides?
Hmm... Well it's true you can't judge the whole show by one episode. And of course I still feel very positively about many aspects of the show seen as a whole. It does get more difficult to trust the creators though, when they do things like The Deliverer / Gabrielle's Hope / Maternal Instincts (which I have always called the Big Mistake), and now Ides (which I guess I'm currently calling the Enormous Mistake). It requires increasing mental gymnastics to say I'm a fan of the show without reservations. I'm a fan of the show, so long as I can pretend that certain episodes just don't exist, and somehow cut cleanly enough between those episodes and the rest of the show, that they don't taint its entire imaginative being for me. It becomes difficult. I do try... but too much of this kind of thing will bring me to a point where thinking of Xena no longer brings a smile to my face or warm feelings to my heart.
As for 'possible resolutions', I wasn't particularly referring to net speculation. I was referring to *my* speculation. I can't think of any follow up to Ides that I would be comfortable with. Of course, in this case, their very tendency to be arbitrary and to follow things up in a way that's not at all consistent may work in my favour. It did last year... their follow up re Gab's dying and the whole Dahak / Hope thing was thoroughly inconsistent, and I imagine people who actually *liked* those themes were quite irritated by it. It suited me fine though... Hope and the Destroyer as shown in A Family Affair were, to my mind, much more appropriate to the Xenaverse than the Dahak and Hope of season three. The fact that A Family Affair was really not consistent with season three didn't bother me at all, because I most certainly didn't *want* those elements back.
So... maybe they'll do something similar next season - come up with a follow-up to Ides which I can accept as 'really Xenaverse', although I most certainly do *not* accept Ides as 'really Xenaverse'.
Some people say that the dramatic interplay between Xena and Gabrielle made Ides a great ep for them, whatever its other flaws may have been. I'm sorry, but I just can't see it that way. The whole thing was just an imaginative perversion to me. It's premises were too massively contrary to everything I believe and to every reason I watch the show for me to buy into any part of it in any way. To me, such a view is a bit along the lines of "But apart from that, Mrs. Lincoln, didn't you like the play?"
Basically what it comes down to is:
1) The episode, like The Deliverer and Gabrielle's Hope, was very bad thematically for me. It did things that just violated every reason I watch the show. Most specifically I am talking about introducing the Lord Of Hell and Callisto as his minion and arbitrary Demonus Ex Machina.
2) The above would have grossly offended and upset me in any episode, but coming in an episode in which they also killed the principle characters, thus forcing the episode to be pivotal plotwise and extremely demanding emotionally, the offence was amplified geometrically.
3) Unlike TD and GH, which came in the middle of a season, where the harm they wrought could to some degree be undone fairly quickly, this episode was positioned at the end of a season, so that all its disturbance and harm is left hanging for the whole summer, and there is a clear threat that the premises of the show may well shift terribly in the next season. This certainly added to how awfully I already felt about the ep.
I really find it hard to imagine *anything* the creators of the show could have done which would have upset and angered me more than Ides. Well I suppose if they had come out with some sort of blatantly racist or homophobic message as clearly supported by the show that would have been worse... but that's about the only thing I can think of.
Then again, it's been suggested that the creators of the show love the show, perhaps more than the fans. Well yes, but I have to wonder if what they love and what they're doing has anything to do with the show I thought I loved. I certainly won't follow blindly. I have my own feelings and my own beliefs, and if the show sickens me, I'm not going to change to stay in line with it. Ides was not a television program I would want to be associated with in any way. Maybe it is a little premature to say they've killed the show. I hope so. But for me, they've certainly given it a darned good try. I did like Deja Vu, which reinforced positive things I feel about the show, and I intend to try and enjoy my summer and hope for the best. I shall watch what they air next season, and respond to it honestly. I hope I shall respond positively towards it. But we shall have to see. Ides, to me, was nothing but pernicious nonsense, and I can only wish that it is no indication at all of what might be expected of the future of the show...
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What is the meaning of "The Greater Good"?
When Xena and Gabrielle talk of "The Greater Good", what do they mean? Is it simply a question of making the best choice in a situation? Or of being unselfish? Well I would see the phrase "The Greater Good" as having a slightly more specific meaning than that. I have always seen it as implicitly closely linked to the Utalitarian philosophy of the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham, which is generally summed up in the phrase: "The greatest happiness of the greatest number is the foundation of morals and legislation" (which is a direct quote from Bentham himself). Interestingly enough, another very well known saying of Bentham's is very applicable to the Xenaverse: "all punishment in itself is evil". But I shall resist the temptation to hare off after that diversion.
Of course I well realise that Bentham didn't live until close to 2,000 years after Xena (depending what you figure Xena's dates are - they seem to move about a lot). But I find it very hard to see the idea of "The Greater Good" as presented on X:WP without thinking of Bentham. Xena's idea seems to be very, very similar to Bentham's... i.e. that one's ultimate moral responsibility is to do that which will promote the *most* good... what will most improve the lot of the most people. "Greater" seems to be used both in the sense of implying reference to the mass of people, rather than to individuals, in this sense almost meaning "the collective good". And it is also used in a quantitative sense, implying "the most good". The two senses combined together, the *most* good for the *most* people, produce something that corresponds almost exactly to Bentham's formulation.
The phrase was first 'defined', of course, in the first season ep "The Greater Good". Its definition certainly isn't laid out too explicitly, or at great length. In fact the phrase is only used twice in the ep, once by Xena and once by Gabrielle. Xena says:
"Gabrielle, this isn't about me. It's about these people. That's why we're here. People like this used to be my victims. I keep that in mind every time we come up against warlords like Talmadeus. It's the greater good. Remember that."
And later Gabrielle herself says to Salmoneus:
"This isn't about you or me, Salmoneus. It's about these people. That's why we're here... why Xena was here. We're staying and fighting. For the greater good."
Both of these lay the emphasis mainly on putting the collective good before the wishes and needs of the individual. Perhaps to some degree I am projecting by including the quantitative components - but it seems a fairly reasonable implication... when the "greater good" is spoken of, it implies not only "good" for more people, but *more* good, a greater measure of good.
Subsequently the phrase has been mentioned a few times. In One Against An Army, Gabrielle says:
"The first thing is the greater good, you taught me that. You taught me that there are things in life worth dying for. Things that hold a higher meaning than our own existance."
Again the emphasis here is very much on transcending selfish motivations.
Then there is an interesting little exchange in Sacrifice, part 1:
SERAPHIN: "Look, it's not as blind as you think. Yes, I know Dahak has a plan. And yes, I know people must die. But it's for the greater good."
GABRIELLE: "Don't tell me about the greater good, because you have no idea what it means."
This is interesting since it makes a nod to the fact that a principle such as "the greater good" can easily be perverted, and used to justify imposing suffering on people in the here and now in the name of some "greater good" in the future that this is supposed to lead to. Well... no one said that ethical philosophy was easy!
More recently, in Locked Up And Tied Down, after Xena has been sentenced for the murder of Thelassa and has accepted the sentence, Gabrielle says to Xena "You could have argued 'the greater good'". Clearly by this point the principle has become encapsulated. Presumably what Gabrielle is saying is that Xena could have made the argument that it was not ethically correct that she, Xena, should be imprisoned for life, since the "greater good" would be better promoted if she were allowed to continue her work at large in the world. As a previous poster noted, Xena rejected this argument at the point Gabrielle made it... although one might say that she accepted it in practical terms later in the episode.
Myself, I must say I have always found the presence of this principle on the series a very positive thing... and I am enormously fond of the episode The Greater Good itself. I certainly hope to see reference to this ethical principle as an ongoing part of the series. However I certainly do not feel that it is inappropriate to explore limitations to the ethical application of this principle, and alternatives to it. "The Greater Good" is a fine thing to bear in mind and to strive for... but this simple principle in itself cannot provide a ready answer to all ethical conundrums. Thus I would be happy to see the show explore its limitations.
What I am *not* happy about at all is the show's tendency to abandon a stance based in humanist ethics altogether to go chasing off making up arbitrary rules for playing rather pointless games with demons etc.... and in that respect I am in agreement with the original poster in feeling that I would prefer the show to return somewhat to its original roots. And, as one final point, I must say that I think the idea that by the end of season two the show had finished exploring all possibilities inherent in the original format is stupendously ludicrous. I can buy the idea that the creators of the show may have felt that they need to introduce some 'masala' as the Indians say, something to spice up the series and excite the audience, so, hopefully, jolting the ratings. But the idea that there were no more stories to be written within the framework of the series as it then existed, I simply don't buy at all... not least because I can readily think of many such stories myself, some of which I really wish they had done.
Ah well... here's hoping we'll see more light shed on the principle of the greater good in season 5.
(BTW, given this view of how I see the show, perhaps you can understand why Daughter Of Pomira was my personal favourite episode of season 4... although admittedly Adventures In The Sin Trade Part 1 and Endgame ran it close...)
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Were the themes of Ides in line with 'basic' themes of the show?
Well they certainly weren't in line with the reasons I watch the show. If I look at Ides as a program in its own right, without adding into it things which are not in it, but which I feel because of other eps... that is, if I look at Ides simply as an individual TV program in isolation, then what I see is something I feel no attraction to whatsoever, and which I would have no desire to watch further. Indeed, if it hadn't been for my prior loyalty to the show, I very much doubt I would have stuck through watching Ides to the end. Bluntly I found it stupid, offensive and irritating. Because it *was* part of a show to which I had considerable attachment, and involved characters I had strong feeling for, putting them, in the context of what I considered a repugnant and ridiculous context, into extreme emotional situations, I also found it very upsetting.
Ides can be seen as continuing in the tradition of The Deliverer, Gabrielle's Hope, and Maternal Instincts in "testing the friendship" of Xena and Gabrielle (or so I am told). Yes, but they made no sense at all unless the viewer was prepared to accept premises which I personally *cannot* accept, because I feel they are based on destructive lies about the nature of humanity and the world, and are deeply morally repugnant.
Specifically, for example, I think the premises of The Deliverer and Gabrielle's Hope lead, when accepted into people's world view and allowed to develop to their natural fruition, to child abuse and vicious racism. Now I have no problem with a TV program *dealing* with the *issues* of child abuse and racism, but I do have a problem with a TV program which, to me, appears to be actively (albeit, hopefully, inadvertently) *promoting* child abuse and racism.
Then there's the whole issue of "Xena's obsession with Caesar" as a theme. Well I'm somewhat doubtful of the development of this theme... I don't think it is well delineated. I can see how it can be argued, but really what Xena did in The Deliverer was not qualitatively different enough from the way she usually acts to really justify this idea of 'dangerous obsession'. If this theme was intented (as apparently, according to Steven Sears, it was), then I think it should have been handled more clearly... as it was, Xena's actions really appeared perfectly justified and reasonable, and not particularly 'obsessive' at all. However, this is essentially a minor quibble. Whilst I might not quite agree about how this theme was handled, I have no objections to it whatsoever. If Xena's 'obsession' (whether or not properly portrayed) had caused harm to Gab is some way that didn't violate the fabric of the show's premises (for me), then I would have not objected to it as I did.
Ides of March, I'm told, also "tested the duo's friendship and had them emerge triumphant". Yes, but if a 'wicked Jew' had tricked them, and had Xena imprisoned, that could have 'tested their friendship' as well, couldn't it? But would that have been ok?
The defences of these eps seem to focus on Xena and Gab's characters, essentially ignoring the premises the writers are using in creating and manipulating the universe surrounding those characters. And it is precisely those elements which are ignored which upset me. Of course the fact that the characters of Xena and Gab, who, based on prior eps, I care for, are involved in all this certainly makes me feel much worse about it. (And I also felt that Xena's character was pretty much completely trashed in Gabrielle's Hope and Maternal Instincts, where she was made to mouth abhorrent nonsense completely inconsistent with her previous nature and principles.)
Some people seem to be able to just focus on Xena and Gab and ignore the implications of what's going on around them.
Indeed, it seems to me, to see everything as ok, you also have to ignore some actions of Xena and Gab themselves. For example, in Gabrielle's Hope Xena wants to kill Gabrielle's newborn baby. Within the premises of the show, Xena is 'right'. But to me that is absolutely and unconditionally abhorrent, and therefore I simply *cannot* accept the premises of the show at this point... to me they are clearly deeply morally flawed!
I really am very fond of X:WP in many ways... and that's why I get pretty upset when it seems to me that the show is spreading and promoting wicked nonsense!
My take would be that for the first two seasons and part of the third the show basically dealt with problems of human life and humanist ethics, leaving questions of religious metaphysics firmly 'undecided'. Yes, we saw 'the gods'... but they weren't any help in deciding what was the right thing to do in a given situation. And the attitude of the show was firmly 'take responsibility for yourself and make your own decisions'.
So far as I can see, after the first two seasons there still remained a virtually limitless field of exploration open to the show within this context.
However instead, this whole fabric has been progressively eroded in the later episodes, and the emphasis has shifted more to being about trying to figure out what the 'magic key' is, what sort of game the 'powers of the universe' are playing with us... so that we can then learn the rules and play the game to win. I am not happy with this tendency one little bit... and given the pitch it reached in Ides Of March, I'm really wondering if next season is going to be something I shall feel positively about watching. I certainly still have some positive feelings about the show, so I'm determined to keep an open mind, see if I enjoy what they produce, and hope they recover from the (for me) abysmal disaster of Ides.
I get rather upset about this, so I don't discuss it entirely calmly. I hope I have somewhat conveyed what troubles me. It's not enough for me to just sort of 'ride along' with the characters of Xena and Gab. If the show is asking me to believe things that I feel are utterly wrong and lead to terrible moral consequences, then I am simply not going to go along with it, no matter how much I am attached to the characters. And it makes me feel very bad... rather as if a dear friend suddenly started trying to convince me to assist in committing some horrible crime.
I still love X:WP, in parts. But there are parts that I simply have to 'cut off' and 'cast away', to preserve what I admire in the show.
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Does Ides represent more of a menace than Dahak?
Well... for one thing, I think "the devil" is *much* more dangerous than Dahak. What was Dahak? Nobody knew Dahak from a hole in the ground. In fact, in Zoroastrianism (from which they borrowed the term) "Dahak" or "Azi-dahaka" seems to refer more to a class of creepy-crawly subhuman demons than it does to anything like a specific, humanoid deity. So essentially they were free to do what they liked with Dahak. His introduction certainly smacked of Manicheism, but it didn't really firmly commit them to it, and the were free to dispense with him fairly arbitrarily when they got bored with him. "The devil" on the other hand, is not something they can play with so cavalierly. Introducing "hell" and "the devil" in those terms pretty much commits them to trumping, and so essentially dispensing with, the entire ethical basis of the show as they have developed it to date. It's very hard to treat "the devil" relatively, as just another deity drifting round the universe. If they *do* treat "the devil" as just another deity, a character effectively, then I have no problem with that. But if they intend to treat "the devil" as he is generally treated in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition, as the personification of absolute evil, then I have a very big problem with that indeed. The whole strength of the show has been founded, for me, on a humanist ethical basis. And to me, Manicheism seems utterly incompatible with humanist ethics. If all evil is defined by "the devil", then ethics is reduced to nothing but a war against "the devil", and the only ethical rule is "whatever defeats the devil is right" (or it's flip side, "whatever pleases 'God' is right"). To me, both of these formulations trivialise human life and human ethical decisions, and I cannot see myself wanting to watch the show if that is the way it is going to go.
Otherwise... Well, it would have made *massively* more sense if they had used Alti instead of Callisto in this episode, and just dropped the "devil" part entirely (which, after all, would not have been needed). Then I would have felt a lot better about the episode, I expect. Although I don't suppose I would have been very happy about *any* season finale ep in which Xena and Gab were killed... it seems a cheap, exploitative technique, which is offensive and insulting to the fans, inherently. But what just completely blew my top about Ides was the combination of this cheap, season-ending trick of killing the heroes (both the heroes and the fans deserve better, to my mind) with what I saw (and still see, basically) as a complete betrayal of the ethical and narrative basis of the series. I really doubt that I'll ever feel completely warmly towards the creators of the show again... it would take an awful lot to redeem them for having produced Ides in my eyes.
