This is what the Spaghetti Order does too. Erases the consequences of ‘AFIN’ (Parts 1 & 2) and rewrites the original timeline with the events of the alternative one.
So technically ‘When Fates Collide’ is the beginning and the end as it ends one timeline to start another.
And the entire show ends on Gabrielle’s arc instead which works better because the message is better.
It’s not about redemptive love but about learning to reconcile with the choices and actions we make in life without having to actually end our own life to atone.
Because even if that was Xena’s own choice to make, it was still an awful message to give the audience that resonate with Xena and her individual character arc. It would have been better to learn what Gabrielle learns.
Of course then you wouldn’t have gotten this moment:
So it’s a toss up. It really is a toss up for me. There are parts I love about the endgame and parts I really don’t. I guess I just have to take the kicks for the ticks.
And there really is some really big ticks in ‘AFIN’
