#maeve x sinbad

[z-haven]

Tagged by @becomingabeing (hi! )to answer these questions and then to tag nine people to get to know better.

last song: Roar by The Boyz.

currently watching: Dead Friend Forever, Cherry Magic Th, The Apothecary Diaries, Solo Leveling

three ships: YaiJom (I Feel You Linger In The Air), AlanJeff (Pit Babe the series) and Jaewon x Jihyun (The Eighth Sense)

favourite colour: Black. But also purple and then blue (I'm drawn to cool colours and even the colour red).

currently consuming: I'm having lunch right now - rice, red beans and stew chicken.

first ship: Before I even knew what shipping was Sinbad/Maeve (The Adventures of Sinbad).

relationship status: single

last movie: My Beautiful Man: Eternal

currently working on: fanfic WIPs (I've got the draft sorta down but I know there are blanks to be filled in), plus a longer fic on hold and an idea for another one etc. Once I have ideas for fics, I just 'jot' them down for later.

Okay so this is no pressure so I'm gonna tag these lovely people @tabbygray , @alicestillfalling, @ulfynja37, @prapaiwife, @imaginaryfriendashkun, @clairedaring, @sammie-lightwood-bane, @michaelkiettisak and @ladyrauxel

[salmonthestoryteller]

The last post reminded me that I do not have good luck with ships in series. XD

Here's from the ones I mentioned plus a few. (Spoilers involved.) (All Gifs from Gif searches.)

Hige x Blue (Wolf's Rain)

Well, everyone is WR technically dies. (And is technically also still alive.) And Blue and Hige die together, and it's just all: 😭

Zack x Lyta (Babylon 5)

Who apparently nobody likes enough to make good gifs for. Anyhow, Lyta tossed Zack for Byron... Who I can't even find a gif for... No real loss. Seriously, Lyta, I'm a lesbian and even I would have chosen Zack over Byron.

Ivanova x Talia (Babylon 5):

If you've never watched the show- Yes! They are Canon. Talia ends up being a sleeper agent. When her other personality is released the one we know is destroyed, essentially killing her though her body lives on as the other person. 😭

Ivanova x Marcus (Babylon 5):

So after losing Talia, Ivanova gets a new romantic option later in the series in Marcus... who kills himself to save her life.

I am not even joking. She loses both her love interests over 4 seasons, and I shipped both and still got no HEA. (It remains one of my fav series despite this. Not sure what that says about me.)

AusHun (APH/Hetalia)

I adore them, but there are no Canon ships in Hetalia. I lie, there is HRE x Chibitalia. But that's like first crush/love and historically would end with their goodbye and HRE dying. Every other relationship is up for interpretation. (Which is something all APH fandom loves and lives for, including me.) But technically, Canon wise, my ship is divorced. (But, no not an official ship even if they were married. I understand how confusing that might sound to non fans. XD )

Sinbad x Maeve (The Adventures of Sinbad):

Y'know, even though they were my final choice while looking for a happier ship they technically don't get an HEA. In season 2, Maeve is washed overboard and we spend a good portion of the season searching for her. Only to end with the notion she's safe but not returning any time soon, and he has to go on without her for now. So I mean, it's possible for them to have a future HEA, but where the series ended it didn't happen.

I think this might explain my love of old movies... at least I got my HEA.

[atamascolily]

Sinbad gives the courtesan Shirez a tour of the Nomad. It's going well, except for the fact he can't stop thinking about Maeve. Good thing Sinbad excels at lying to himself. 

Takes place at the end of episode 2x05, "Ali Rashid and the Thieves," with some references to the events of that episode.

[atamascolily]

Episode Review - Sinbad 1x08 - “The Ties That Bind”

In which Maeve is kidnapped by Vikings on account of her hair, and the rest of the crew runs into some seriously bad special effects while attempting to rescue her. Issues of consent, power and agency are explored, and those helmets lined with leopard fur are just ridiculous.

This is the "Maeve episode" and it was THE VERY FIRST EPISODE of the show I ever saw at a tender age. I totally fell in love with everything. Even though the show was called "The Adventures of Sinbad," it was clear to my younger self that this show was actually all about Maeve being awesome, with her fireballs and her hawk and all that swordfighting. And honestly? I'm not sure I was wrong about that.

(Photos from Far Far Away.)

This is my favorite episode, hands down. Admittedly, I have a LOT of favorites - "Double Trouble" is practically perfect and "The Best Within" and "The Village Vanishes" are amazing, and pretty much every episode in the first half of season one is highly enjoyable for me. And yet - despite all the craziness in this episode, it will always be my favorite because it was the first one I ever saw and it's all about Maeve and NOT actually about Sinbad at all, really.

We open with Maeve walking with Dermott on her fist through a beautiful field in South Africa - er, some random island, because the show is all about islands. A random kid is following her. Every time she moves, he follows and every time she stops, he stops. This happens several times.

SERIOUSLY, I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THESE PLANTS. How is it that the trees in the background look so much like pine? What are they? What is going on in the foreground? Is this a forest/fynbos edge? Where are they filming this?

Also, after watching so much of Season Two, I'm impressed at how... LIGHT... season one is. Not just in tone, but in the literal color palette. Also, the Maeve theme is really sweet and I missed it. Season Two is just so... quiet in comparison.

Anyway, turns out the kid wants to know about Dermott. "Is he friendly?"

"Are YOU friendly?" Maeve counters. The kid nods. "Then he's friendly." And Dermott gets his belly stroked. Aww.

(Note: Do hawks even like this? I assume so, and it's a gesture of affection within the series, but this show warps and bends reality a lot and despite being inspired to read every falconry book or novel I could get my hands on as a result of Maeve and Dermott, I don't actually know the answer to this.) 

"Can you make him fly?" the kid wants to know. "I can ask him. Dermott, how about a few turns around the heavens?"

First of all: this is so cute! Even if you don't know that Dermott is actually Maeve's transformed brother, it's still wonderful to hear Maeve treat the hawk as a person, and not as a dumb beast. And it probably impresses the kid a lot, too. 

So Dermott takes off and they both watch him go. Aww.

There's the usual stock footage of Dermott wheeling around, but I actually really enjoy said footage, so I don't mind too much. But all is not well in this sunlit meadow paradise, however.

Enter some Vikings.

They make some cryptic comments about "the red-haired maiden" and about how "Thor has granted our wish" but they really want Maeve to go with them. "You have no choice," their leader tells her.

Maeve draws her blade, and utters the most badass line in the entire series. "Say hello to my choice."

Seriously, this scene, combined with Eowyn killing the Witch-King in J.R.R. Tolkien, was so important to me growing up. I still get chills when I watch this scene and how coldly and decisively she utters those words.

The boy tries to fight and one Viking, Eyulf, picks him up and takes him out of harm's way and orders him to keep out of the fight. This is a visual shorthand for "he's a softie on the inside".

Maeve fights three other Vikings on her own. I don't know what she's thinking her, but she knows this can't be good.

We don't get a lot of backstory for Maeve, sadly, but we do know that she really, really hates raiders, given how she reacts to Sinbad when they first meet. Growing up in Ireland, it's likely that Maeve is very familiar with raiders, and depending on what era this show takes place in, those raiders could very well be Vikings. So, in a sense, this is very personal.

Compounded by the fact that she's a woman and she's alone and she knows what can happen to women in her situation (which is one reason why she's so aggressive to Sinbad when they first meet) - and the situation gets even more serious.

Meanwhile, the kid is trying to jump Eyulf. He fails, but it's a noble gesture. Eyulf is pissed, but pulls him off and forces him back - notably not hurting him.

Once Eyulf enters the fray, Maeve is eventually captured and knocked out. The boy runs away and the Vikings choose not to follow him and set off in the opposite direction with their captive. Dermott is watching all this from the trees. (Maeve ordered him not to intervene, or I expect he would have dive-bombed the Vikings from above.)

Yes, Eyulf's helment is apparently lined with leopard skin. No, I don't know why - probably to distinguish him as PC character, no doubt. Leopard print usually means evil in the show, but in this case, I think it's a red herring.

Also, Eyulf's actor, Bret Hart, is a WWE wrestler who was on tour in South Africa during the show's filming and filled in as a guest star. I had NO IDEA until I started rewatching the show, and I find this hilariously funny. Of course, WWE wrestling is also acting, but this role is a tad less aggressive than his usual schtick. Anyways...

The rest of the crew is relaxing by the campfire and laughing. Aww. Seriously, I could watch a whole episode of this.

More specifically, everyone is watching Doubar eat. "Dim-Dim called it a healthy appetite," Sinbad teases.

"Scientists call it a feeding frenzy," Firouz jokes. He looks so happy and relaxed. Double aww.

FIROUZ, WHY IS YOUR SWORD IN THE GROUND, DON'T YOU KNOW THAT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA IF YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO HURT PEOPLE WITH IT?

Anyway, there's talk of dates, goat cheese and pickled eel, which is all very Mediterranean. "Eating is an art, and I am merely its humble artist," Doubar demurs. Rongar doesn't say anything, but he looks happy, too.

The boy runs in. "Mr. Sinbad! Mr. Sinbad!" Oh, wow, that just sounds WEIRD, but okay. Shouldn't it be Captain Sinbad? But how would the boy know that? Who is this kid, anyway? (We never find out.) 

"Your friend with the hawk! They took her!" Suddenly, Sinbad is on the warpath. “Maeve!” The kid reveals that "Norsemen" - raiders from the North country - took her "somewhere she didn't want to go." Dermott shows up to corroborate. Somehow, Sinbad knows exactly what he means. “Take us to her!”

Sinbad is very, very upset, and charges off after Dermott, but Firouz and Doubar are worried, but more nonchalant. "Betcha they didn't know Maeve was an apprentice magician," Firouz comments sagely.

Maeve is not pleased to find herself in this situation when she comes to and lets everybody know it.

They order her to keep moving. She refuses. Repeatedly, and then knocks one of the Vikings to the ground when he tries to grab her.

The Viking leader - his name is Sven, by the way - laughs at her, and remarks that she's a "spitfire. Twenty years ago, I would have taken you for myself."

Maeve is so not impressed by this bullshit. "And I still would have said no."

Sven just laughs and walks off. Eyolf cautions Maeve not to make him angry. She's incensed and starts throwing fireballs.

The Vikings are FREAKED OUT by this and start shouting about witchcraft, which only makes Maeve angrier.

Sadly, nothing comes of it, and she's bound again by Eyulf and they have a moment of sexual tension/empathy with each other before she gets hauled off again.

With her hands bound, Maeve can't conjure, and so we get some backstory. They're taking her to their ship, which is guarded by a demon called the Gilling. Maeve's not thrilled and informs them they won't get away with this, but does not mention Sinbad by name. Probably because the idea of being rescued by him just galls her. But she knows Dermott's getting help and that Sinbad and the rest of the crew will be coming soon.

Meanwhile, Doubar is asking the question we all are wondering, which is, "What the hell are Vikings doing in this show, anyway?"

(Note: there is a movie, The Thirteenth Warrior, based on a Michael Crichton novel, which in turn is based on the accounts of Ahmad ibn Fadlan, a tenth-century Arab traveler who traveled under the protection of the Caliph of Baghdad and published a famous account of his experiences tromping around Europe and meeting Vikings. Seriously. I haven't read the Michael Crichton book or seen the movie, but the original account is so badass, and it's a true story! Honestly, I wish this episode were more like ibn Fadlan's account, but still... the idea of Arabs meeting Vikings isn't as crazy as it sounds - it did actually happen.) 

Firouz has a new invention - the "comprehensive omni-measuring vivid sight situater," or compass for short. Which is just the thing they need to find their way through the "Forsaken Forest". Gee, that sounds ominous, doesn't it? But they'll get out just fine, thanks to science.

But the compass inevitably malfunctions, so it's good that Sinbad is in charge of things. Instead of following Dermott, they'll look for clues on the ground.

Dermott thinks this is a stupid plan, but he gets overruled. "Don't be such a nuisance," Sinbad chides. What a jerk.

The Vikings are also lost. Maeve is so unimpressed by all this.

Hey, it's that forest with all the crazy limestone rocks scattered everywhere.

Eyulf tells off Maeve for sassing Sven's leadership qualities. Maeve is really unimpressed by this. "So what? Now I’m supposed to be polite, after you dragged me here, to this horrible place! Can’t you feel the evil here?"

"Only fear is evil," Eyulf philosophizes. Maeve is so unimpressed by this shit. "So is slavery!"

Eyulf claims Maeve is their liberator and NOT a slave. Maeve points out that her hands are tied and she doesn't really have a choice, so therefore she's their slave.

Maeve distracts Eyulf long enough to take off running.

But she doesn't get very far because Eyulf has a bola, of all things, and hits her around the ankles so she goes down.

 Pretty sure this is a blatant anachronism, since bolas are a South American thing, but whatever, it looks cool

Eyulf tries to explain his theology to Maeve, but she's totally not buying it.

.

Nope.

Still nope.

Maeve tells him that her friends are coming for her. Eyulf's not too concerned because "the Gilling promised" they wouldn't be followed. She won't accept his help and refuses to go quietly. Go Maeve! 

Meanwhile, Firouz is pondering a different philosophical problem. " If something falls in a forest, and no one actually hears it, then herego that something doesn’t exist. Absolutely." Right.

Sinbad is perplexed to find that his companions are suddenly missing....

...only to find them captured by a man-eating plant. In deference to the show's budget, this is mercifully analogue bad special effects and not CGI.

Man, I can't take you guys ANYWHERE, Sinbad is clearly thinking here.

Also the evil plant-monster has decorated itself with a flower crown because fashion is important, too! I think these are proteas.

Fortunately for the crew, Sinbad is able to rescue them and the plant doesn't put up much of a fight.

Back with the Vikings, Maeve's still unhappy and the Vikings are ignoring her.

Sven and the band wander off so Maeve has a moment with Eyulf.

Her attempt to kick him fails and she falls over.

"You're lucky my hands are tied," Maeve insists.

Maeve reminds Eyulf that gentleness is a strength, not a weakness, and he shouldn't apologize for being nice to her because that's the decent human thing to do.

Maeve tells Eyulf her name and they have a moment of bonding. Then she isues the ultimatum: "You’re a good man. And an even better one would let me go."

Eyulf refuses, so Maeve enchants him.She succeeds at levitating him (which freaks him out), but gets knocked down before she can accomplish anything else.

So she gets gagged so she can't talk.

As he slips on the gag, Eyulf oh-so-casually thanks Maeve for her sacrifice to help them.

'Cause the Gilling Demon's totally going to kill her in exchange for their ship. Maeve is not pleased by this revelation.

Meanwhile, Sinbad was so busy charging about after Maeve "like a man obsessed" he blundered into a trap!

And somehow Doubar gets caught up in it, too while trying to free Sinbad. Not one of his proudest moments. 

A giant spider appears, but fortunately Rongar is able to use his dirks to good effect and the crew escapes.

Eyulf is trying to be nice to Maeve, but she's really not interested in alleviating his guilt.

He tries to give her flowers, but she's really not interested in his shit. (Those are sea-lavender, or Statice, by the way, and at least one species in the genus is native to South Africa, so it's not as weird as it seems, even though I'm pretty sure that's the cultivated European hybrid.)

Note to Eyulf: if you're sacrificing a girl to appease an evil demon even after she's repeatedly asked you not to, bringing her flowers WILL NOT make her like you better. Just so you know.

Eyulf is hurt that Maeve doesn't want his flowers, but it's hard to care about his pain of rejection under the circumstances.

Maeve talks to Dermott with her thoughts - something that we only see happening a handful of times over the course of the series, despite the fact that it is incredibly useful from a plot perspective - and orders him to bring the flowers to Sinbad as a sign. 

Eyulf offers Maeve food, since the flowers didn't work. It's a Granny Smith apple, which is just hilarious to me under the alleged historical circumstances. 

Maeve doesn't want to eat - she wants him to let her go. He refuses. He uses the lame excuse that she should be "honored Thor has brought you to us". She's so not interested in this shit.

"Maybe the Gilling only wants you as a slave," Eyulf consoles her. Yeah, you know how to comfort a woman, dude.

"I WANT MY FREEDOM! I DEMAND MY FREEDOM!" Maeve yells at him.

Dude, why did you take the gag off? Viking boss-man wants to know. We're trying to avoid reverse Stockholm syndrome here.

Maeve does get one last zinger in before the gag gets put back on: "We can fight this Gilling. Together, we can defeat it. Valhalla wasn’t for cowards.... No one can ask another to sacrifice their life for them." It's clear she's getting to him, even as he reveals that they already tried fighting the Gilling demon, with heavy casualties.

Maeve looks out over the waters, not wanting to look at these people any more than she has to.

You can see Eyulf's clearly thinking about what she said, and her disdain hurts him. But not enough to go against his boss - yet.

Time passes. The crew eventually catches up and finds the sea-lavender, courtesty of Dermott. By this time, Maeve is long gone, but Sinbad gets the message instantly, and is inspired to keep going. More time passes, and the crew poses for the cover of a Beatles album en route. (Sinbad is Paul McCartney here.) 

Maeve gets dragged to the Gilling demon's cave, which is creepy and also apparently has a portal to another world in it.

The Vikings announce they're giving Maeve to the demon in exchange for their ship. The demon tells them to go away and they'll discuss it tomorrow. They leave, reluctant and angry, but unable to do anything about it.

"A real beauty. You’ll be such a delight," the demon croons, and Maeve realizes her day might be about to get worse. It turns out this demon doesn't want to kill her, he wants to rape her. "I do so love your flaming red hair. We’ll make such a loving couple. You’ll come around, once you get hungry, thirsty." 

When she tries to run, the demon magically chains her so she can't escape. Photos from this scene are REALLY popular on kinkblogs across tumblr.

Eyulf's pissed, sensing that the Gilling demon double-crossed them and Maeve is about to die for nothing. Sven reassures him that everything's going to be all right....

Enter Sinbad, sword drawn, yelling WHERE'S MAEVE?

Suddenly, a giant crab attacks everyone! Turns out the Gilling Demon betrayed them, and this monster - which has kept the Vikings from reaching their ship - has come to kill them all!

This is Sinbad's "Oh crap" look.

Yeah, that's terrifying.

Fortunately, Firouz has some exploding sticks! And the Vikings built a fire! That's all you need!

Sinbad rushes in to toss the exploding sticks at the crab...

Boom! Crabcake party after the episode is over, am I right?

As they rush towards the Gilling Demon's cave, Eyulf and Sinbad have a bonding moment - not only do they both care about Maeve, they hate demons and think they all deserve to die? Isn't it nice to know they can agree on something despite their different backgrounds?

This may be the most popular screenshot from this show floating about on the Internet, actually.

Maeve's first words to Sinbad upon removal of the gag: "Where have you BEEN?" Aww.

Look, it's been a really long day and I - I don't have time for this! Sinbad is clearly thinking here.

Of course, the Gilling Demon pops up again: "Where might you be taking my woman?" Yeah, right, dude. She's not your property. But it just goes to show his intentions really aren't good.

Also, we finally get to see the demon's face - and it's not the show's best CGI work. Ugh.

When Eyulf frees Maeve's chains, Sinbad orders her to leave, but Maeve refuses, and Sinbad yells at her. (Maeve is so done with taking orders from men today.) The Gilling demon, however, says he'll kill everybody if Maeve leaves. While the men fight, Maeve sets about smashing her handcuffs on some nearby rocks so she can fight more effectively.

Eyulf, being played by Brett Hart, eventually resorts to a classic wrestling move.

This scene makes WAY more sense as an adult, when I know about the WWE.

Despite spending most of the episode trying to kill them, Maeve is horrified when Sven charges at the Gilling demon to help Eyulf and begs Sinbad to help. So Sinbad does.

He throws his sword into the demon's head - which kills the demon by electrocuting him and everyone in contact with him, including Sven. Oops?

Sven dies, but not before giving Eyulf the mantle of leadership and praising Sinbad and Valhalla and Thor and everybody. Eyulf basically says to Maeve, See, I told you Thor brought you to us and it was destiny and everything worked out just fine - and she's too tired to punch him in the face.

“Back on the beach, Firouz has given Eyulf the compass so they can find their way home. "Maybe next time you'll just ask for our help," Maeve chides him. He agrees. Also, there's a plug for a follow-up episode that never happened: "If you sail North, our homes will be your homes." "A northern adventure. That just might happen," Sinbad replies, and I truly believe that it might have, had Jacqueline Collen not left the show in the second season. But there's always the Thirteenth Warrior....

Oh, and Eyulf gives Maeve his hat. "So you remember the hornheads who took you away." Um, Eyulf, I think she'll remember that JUST FINE without your help, thank you... but nice try?

Maeve gives Eyulf the torque around her neck (which she never wears again, because the production crew actually REMEMBERED this detail). Also, she kisses him on the cheek - not sure if that's because she's genuinely grateful for his "support" and "sympathy" this episode, or because she knows it will make Sinbad jealous. Maybe both?

Wow, Sinbad is sure uncomfortable about this! Because only Sinbad gets to kiss people on this show, right? Right?

"So, you and Eyolf got close?" Sinbad probes Maeve after Eyulf leaves.

"Now, what, exactly, are you asking?" Maeve puts on the helmet, grins, and walks off. The rest of the crew laughs good-naturedly at Sinbad's blatant discomfort. "Don’t look at me that way. It was simply a…a simple question. ... What? I can’t ask a simple question?"

No, Sinbad. No, you really can't. You're not as objective as you think on this issue and everyone can see except for you (and possibly Maeve, who probably sees it, but won't admit it either).

Well, bye, my romantic rival! Sinbad waves, as the Vikings sail off. After all, all's well that end's well, right...?

Like I said at the outset, this episode might be crazy and weird, but I love it anyway. Because even though Maeve forgives Eyulf at the end, she never stops advocating for her freedom, or for her choice. And that means a lot to me.

So I saw this episode back when it first aired in 1996, and it didn't matter what else was going on - I was totally hooked on this show - which may or may not have been the case had I started with other episodes. But Maeve is awesome, and I maintain her character is the heart and soul of the series - which is one reason why Season Two flounders so much after she left.

[atamascolily]

Still pondering my dream version of season two of Adventures of Sinbad. There are actually two versions: the one where Jacqueline Collen stayed on to play Maeve, and the one where she left, and the show has to cope with the loss and Bryn is a regular part of the crew. I'm really not sure what to all these two versions, but right now I'm going for Spleen (the latter) and Ideal (the former). So not sorry about this.

One episode idea, inspired by 2x22, was that Sinbad is haunted by Maeve doppelgangers because his enemies know that's a great way to annoy/unnerve him. In Ideal, Maeve just happens to be out for a day and her actor actually plays the doppelgangers (as Sinbad's actor plays Rumina-impersonating-Sinbad in 1x09). In Spleen, they get a look-alike to play the dopplgangers, as they did in 2x22, and make it a psychological mind game where Sinbad is not quite sure what's real and what's not and he's afraid to go too far lest he accidently hurt the real Maeve by mistake.

Inevitably, at some point, Sinbad's going to make out with one of the doppelgangers and be very confused and disturbed by the complicated feelings that emerge out of the experience. It would actually be an excellent reverse of the dynamic in 1x09, and fun to play with.

I would also really enjoy it if the doppelgangers were a recurring thing that would pop up, either as a PTSD-style dream sequence, or as Rumina/Scratch/some other enemy just trying to continually fuck with Sinbad's head (or both). This is more of a Spleen thing, because you wouldn't really need to do that in an Ideal-type world where Maeve and Sinbad can hash out their emotional issues directly, rather than doing it via intermediaries.  

We could also have a dream sequence that might explain Maeve and Dermott's backstory, too, again, either with the real Maeve or with doppelgangers, but that might have to be a separate episode. I think I've seen this idea in several fanfics and I seem to recall it might have been passed around as an official idea as well, but I can't actually find a reference at the moment to confirm. I REALLY love the whole "can't figure out if I'm dreaming or awake" trope - which is one reason why I love The Matrix and Inception so damn much (not to mention What Dreams May Come).

As a side note, looking up Sinbad stuff online is kinda fun because it takes me into the old-school archived corner of the web, which is simultaneously disturbing and nostalgic. Also a LOT of broken links.  

[atamascolily]

Okay, so I know I’m doing all my episodes out of order, but I just watched the first five minutes of Sinbad 2x1 and I can’t contain myself. 

I just cannot get over the fact that Sinbad, who watched his red-haired first love drown when he was a child, dived overboard without hesitation to rescue Maeve. I just cannot get over this. 

And the look on his face when he wakes up on the beach and thinks Maeve is standing over him... God. My shipper heart.

Also, it really hurts to see Maeve’s replacement, in the credits, holding Dermott. I was not prepared for that. 

Even though I keep telling myself that I don’t have to regard this as canon if I don’t want to, it’s still really jarring to watch. 

“When will your faves ever?” Might be the most appropriate lament here, because the answer is honestly “never”. 

[atamascolily]

When Maeve spies a mysterious figure on the deck of the Nomad at night, the encounter will twist the lives of everyone in the crew and nothing will ever be the same again.

Episode 2x01 of a Virtual Season Two where Maeve leaves the crew for a time and Bryn takes her place, but otherwise diverges from the canon season two quite dramatically. Currently in-progress.

[atamascolily]

There are a delightfully and unexpectedly large number of Adventures of Sinbad fanvids on Youtube, often with quite elaborate storylines. It's amazing to see how creative people can get with a limited amount of footage.

I haven't watched all of these, but  here’s a promising playlist! And this one, too! Some days, the Internet is good to us.

I'll post links to specific favorites as I encounter them. Here's one exploring the Sinbad/Bryn/Maeve love triangle from Maeve's perspective.

[atamascolily]

The Eye of Kratos

In which Sinbad rescues his ex-girlfriend, Maeve is not impressed, the crew infiltrates a corrupt temple in search of a holy relic, there is a lot of rope swinging, and spiders don’t really work like that.

Oh, and there’s an ELEPHANT. For... reasons.

(All photos courtesy of Far Far Away.)

Arriving in the fictional kingdom of Lintopia, whose inhabitants appear spooked and oppressed by the “Day of Punishment”, Sinbad spots an old friend in the crowd by following the shouting:

It’s the pirate queen Talia, aka “The Black Rose of Oman,” about to be executed by a firing squad group of archers for stealing a map showing the way to “The Eye of Kratos”. She is sassy and causes a surprising amount of damage even with her hands tied to a stake. Sinbad just smiles. “She hasn’t changed.”

Of course, Sinbad and crew intervene and a battle ensues. In the aftermath, Talia is delighted to see Sinbad and Doubar, intrigued by Rongar and Firouz and curious about Maeve. Oh, and she’s sure to thank Sinbad for his efforts:

Maeve is not impressed. Sad, poignant Maeve theme music here as we cut to credits. 

Cut to the local tavern. Talia is charming everyone except Maeve - even Dermott, to Maeve’s dismay - with her extrovert personality and sex appeal. We get some backstory here - she sailed with Sinbad and Doubar back in the day and they had tons of adventures.  Chronologically, this was before Firouz sailed with Sinbad, because Firouz doesn’t know her, and well before Sinbad and Doubar were separated in the storm two years before the pilot episode. Probably after Dim-dim raised Sinbad like a father in Baghdad, though. So... early twenties, probably. (I assume Sinbad is 30-35 in the show.)

It’s not directly stated here that she and Sinbad were lovers (that’s in the episode summaries I’ve sen), but judging by the chemistry between them, that probably happened and Sinbad was the one who broke it off.

Talia does have this mysterious map tucked away in her bosom, and she wants Sinbad and company to use it to help her destroy the Eye of Kratos, a mysterious object owned by the creepy cult that is dominating the kingdom. Everyone agrees except Maeve. Sinbad gives her his best puppy dog expression and she caves. I mean, wouldn’t you?

If you want to infiltrate a cult, you have to dress like cultists, so they do. For some reason, this involves an elephant.

Maeve is riding the elephant - probably because she is Friend to All Most Living Things, and can talk to it, although this is not shown.

Haha, the tribute is the same gold and jewels from Episode 14! Hahaha! ... Moving on.

Anyway, birds are not allowed in creepy cult temples, unless they are service birds, so Dermott has to stay outside.

Inside the temple, there is a man in a cage over a pit of sharpened spikes who was caught trying to steal the Eye of Kratos. He is eaten by a giant tarantula, who was last seen in Episode 8 in an entirely different context.

You know as well as I do that at least one of the crew is going to end up in that cage in the next twenty minutes and have to fight the spider because Things Go Wrong. Do I even have to explain that? 

Anyway, they go back the next day to see the Eye of Kratos in the morning sunrise service.  A Vestal Virgin opens the doorway and they circumambulate a statue holding a giant glowing orb. Firouz use SCIENCE! to determine it’s actually a giant diamond catching the light. Meanwhile, Talia sneaks away to try to steal some jewels and gets caught by a booby trap.

Sinbad rescues her, but they both get caught by the temple guards and end up in the cage. WHAT DID I TELL YOU.

Happily, Dermott is watching everything, somehow having snuck into the temple on his own, because Dermott does not believe in rules. Dermott is too cool for your stupid cult rules. Sinbad gives Dermott Talia’s map of the temple to give to Maeve so the crew can rescue them.

Maeve is sad at the thought of Sinbad and Talia alone together, but she needn’t have worried. Talia tries to hit on Sinbad, and he gently turns her down. Sinbad is very good at turning people down gently and gets a LOT of practice over the course of the season.

Meanwhile, Firouz uses the map plus SCIENCE! to get the crew past the temple booby traps despite an inconvenient incense allergy. They get to the cage just as the giant tarantula begins descending for maximum drama.

Y’all know tarantulas are harmless ground dwellers, right, and don’t slide down rope like this? But the way Firouz whispers “Aim true, Rongar,” as Rongar throws up the rope to the cage for Sinbad to catch makes me really surprised there isn’t Firouz/Rongar slashfic on the Internet.

Anyway, so Sinbad and Talia slide to safety just in the nick of time. Maeve lobs a fireball at the rope, which earns a respectful look from Talia.

The bad CGI spider is squished on the spikes. Ouch. No one mourns.

Meanwhile, the temple guards sound the alarm there are intruders, finally. We learn the Vestal Virgin’s sleeping with the head priest, who puts on a lot of makeup, and the whole religion is a scam to extort treasure from the populace, just like Talia claimed.

Firouz manages to open the secret door to the chamber with the Eye and everyone rushes in without stopping to congratulate him. Happily, Firouz has learned to cope with rejection by this point in the series. Sinbad has to swing from another rope to snag the Eye while not being blinded by the glare, while guards attack.

There is a battle as the crew flees for the exit. On the steps of the temple, Talia demands that Sinbad hand over the Eye. Sinbad is stoically resigned, probably aware from the beginning that Talia was up to no good, but hoping he could take her at her word anyway.

But the temple guards attack and in the scuffle, Sinbad looks over to see Talia, the head priest, and the Vestal Virgin wrestling with the stone.

It goes flying and... shatters into a million pieces on the ground. Everyone is stunned, especially Talia and the Vestal Virgin, who slaps the priest for leading her on about a “wedding present”. Sinbad yells out, “Does anyone feel like dying over this?” and everyone sheepishly agrees that they don’t.

Talia claims to be repentant, and tries to get Sinbad to come with her to keep her honest, but Sinbad points to his crew, who is posing like they’re at the New York Public Library or something and his answer is clear. Talia shrugs, and mutters something about borrowing a boat. She steals a horse while the crew watches and vanishes towards the coast.

Everything’s chill until Sinbad puts the dots together and realizes she’s about to steal his boat. Panic ensues. Cut to end credits.

NOTES:

1) Talia asks if Sinbad is still on the Nomad in the bar scene. This might be the first mention of the boat’s name in the show. But this particular boat was given to Sinbad by the Caliph of Baghdad in the pilot... so plot hole there. You could retcon it by saying that Sinbad names all his boats the Nomad, but it still wouldn’t explain why Doubar says they “still do”. Did theyfix up the wrecked original Nomad instead? WHY WILL NO ONE EXPLAIN THESE THINGS TO ME? WHY CAN’T WE BE CLEAR ABOUT CONTINUITY IN THIS SHOW?

2) How much do you think the elephant cost? More or less than reusing the CGI spider?

3) It’s great to see more hints of Sinbad’s earlier life. And my Maeve x Sinbad shipper heart gets some serious twinges here.

4) Has Sinbad figured out what Dermott really is, yet? I still can’t tell here.

[atamascolily]

The Rescue

In which Sinbad and crew are set up, CGI is reused, Rongar reveals his archery skills, more things are blown up, serious licenses are taken with herpetology and Firouz is punched in the face a lot.

...In other words, just a normal day for our heroes.

All photos from Far Far Away Site, which just never stops being awesome.

The episode opens with a distance shot of the boat, but don’t let that fool you - this is not a boat episode. Everyone who matters is relaxing on the beach, laughing and having a good time. “To the good life!” Doubar toasts and everyone agrees. “It’s a day like this you wish would stretch out, sweet and long, without a single interruption,” Sinbad says, and of course that is the cue for trouble to start.

A gang of ugly ruffians show up and attack them for no good reason. Everyone kicks ass except for Firouz, who gets a witty line in - “Euphemistically, it’s called getting the wind knocked out of you. I assure you it’s a passing condition” - before getting punched in the face (that’s #1, for those who are keeping track).

I love that Doubar has his priorities straight here. Finish your drink, then go knock some heads together - his signature move. And Maeve proves she doesn’t need footwear to kick ass:

Meanwhile, after defeating everybody, Rongar rushes over to make sure Firouz is okay. The bromance continues!

“What was that all about?” everyone wonders as the ruffians flee. But then this guy shows up:

...and we cut to the opening credits. But seriously, does this guy not look like trouble? The leopard print cummberbund should have given it away.

Sinbad clearly has the same reaction that I do to this guy:

He claims to be Bellamur, whose name Sinbad recognizes. Bellamur has a reputation as a warlord and all-around Dude You Shouldn’t Fuck With. He flatters the crew, and asks for their help with a task:  retrieving his wife Jiyal, who has been abducted by the bandit Turhan (whom Sinbad has clashed with in the past - and has scars to prove it). Bellamur would rescue Jiyal himself, except Turhan has claimed he’ll kill her if Bellamur comes close to his camp. Those ruffians who just attacked are part of Turhan’s gang, trying to keep Sinbad from helping Bellamur out.

Sinbad’s do-gooder heart can’t resist and Bellamur promises a reward, so off we go, even though at this point, something is clearly not right. Bellamur also gives them some magic items to get them past the main obstacle between the beach and Turhan’s camp: the Valley of the Colossus.

What’s all this stuff? Rongar wants to know. It turns out to be various animal parts, which Maeve thinks is kinda gross.

What the hell am I doing with these people? Rongar wonders and then remembers, Firouz. Oh, yeah.

Before they can dither too much, the ruffians attack again, this time with arrows. Rongar gets a good knife throw in and Sinbad grabs the bow and shoots back. They split up the party, which is normally not a good idea but in this case it works out great: Maeve opens up a portal to the Valley of the Collossus, while Firouz watches with scientific interest.

They go through while Dermott waits behind to show the others the way. It conveniently appears to close just as the ruffians are coming through behind our heroes. Inside, it’s a white sand desert!

(Please note how we’ve moved from rocky shoreline to fynbos to giant coastal sand dunes here. The diversity of landscapes in South Africa continues to blow my mind.)

Of course, the Colossus shows up and he turns out be..... the rock monster from the opening credits!

Remember back in Episode 2, when Rumina conjured the rock monster to stop the ship, and Maeve defeated it by throwing fireballs at it after Sinbad spanked her? Well, the crew doesn’t. Maeve does manage to freeze it by yelling “STOP” and pointing her finger and everyone is very impressed. She does not remember how well the fireball trick worked the last time, clearly.

They find a rock tunnel leading to Turhan’s stronghold. Sinbad points out that they might want to block it on their way out to keep from being followed. Firouz puts on his best This is why I invented dynamite expression, and everyone agrees this is the best-ish plan.

(Freakin’ lasers get no respect from the crew, but dynamite does? What the hell, people. Though when all you’ve got are a few sticks of dynamite....things tend to blow up a lot. Note to self: make a gif panel of all the Firouz-induced explosions in this show at some point)

They spy on Turhan’s camp. Good thing Firouz invented the telescope, too!

They come up with a plan: a night attack that involves Firouz throwing dynamite through windows and Rongar shooting flaming arrows with dynamite attached to them around the camp as a distraction while Sinbad and Doubar snag Jiyal, the kidnapped bride. Maeve uses the telescope and Dermott to coordinate the various activities. How nobody in the camp notices the smoke from Rongar’s fire... well, we’ll just call it plot and move on, shall we?

Flaming arrows of dynamite. How is this NOT awesome?

Before all hell breaks loose, Sinbad and Doubar spy on Turhan making out with a very willing Jiyal. Turhan looks like a Sinbad knock-off, and Jiyal is challenging Galadriel here.

Then, of course, the explosion begin and Turhan rushes out, knowing that shit is going down. In the ensuing chaos, Turhan punches Firouz in the face some more, and Sinbad and Doubar grab Jiyal, who resists. Sinbad hesitates, but decides not to aborb the mission and they drag her out, kicking and struggling, while Sinbad engages Turhan and rescues Firouz.

When they finally get back to the rock tunnel, Sinbad stays behind to  keep Turhan from following them, while Firouz lights the dynamite. Sinbad promises he’ll follow them, but the explosion happens, and... he’s not there. Meanwhile, the crew debates about what to do and Jiyal wants to go back to Turhan, who she claims will rescue her, but she doesn’t actually say anything specific about her situation.... and then the crew is surrounded by the gang of ruffians with drawn swords. Then Bellamur shows up and grabs Jiyal and gloats. It’s not pretty.

Turns out Jiyal’s in love with Turhan -- but she agreed to marry Bellamur to spare Turhan’s life. Bellamur, being a double-crossing bastard with no honor, tried to kill Turhan anyway, so Jiyal escaped and ran away with Turhan to safety. The crew has been tricked!

Bellamur’s goons bind the crew’s hands. Instead of killing them - which is what he would do if the writers hadn’t scripted him to grasp the Idiot Ball - he puts this on them:

This is so obviously not a poison lizard, but the whole crew freaks out. Bellamur laughs, and drags Jiyal away. Everyone makes some great faces though. The lizard starts crawling on them, and Rongar, who looks really uncomfortable, flips it onto Firouz.

Firouz gives Rongar this heartwrenching “I thought we were friends” look. Rongar just shrugs. Rongar is an incredibly brave man, but lizards are apparently his weak spot.

The lizard starts crawling around on Maeve, who is freaked out, too:

Okay, this really bugs me. Maeve can talk to animals. Not just Dermott, who is really a human being, but that random squirrel in “The Village Vanishes”. Why the hell does she not even TRY to talk to the lizard here?

It doesn’t really matter, because Sinbad shows up, with Turhan in tow and rescues them. There was another way out around the rockfall, and Turhan’s filled Sinbad in on the situation. Sinbad and the crew vow to complete their mission to “restore Jiyal to her true love” as they originally promised Bellamur... and kick some ass in the process.

Of course, they’ve forgotten about this guy, who is mysteriously unfrozen now:

But Maeve zaps him with some equally awful CGI, so it’s all good.

Bellamur and his goons are on the ridge with Jiyal. Bellamur shoots Turhan in the leg with an arrow and he goes down. Instead of doing the sensible thing, and picking everybody else off with distance weapons, Bellamur and goons charge Sinbad and company with swords.

Seriously, this makes no sense from a tactical perspective, and it’s not like Bellamur is one of those honorable “can’t kill a man in cold blood” kind of guys. I guess Maeve could have zapped them with magic, but they would have been seriously fucked trying to dodge arrows without any cover. What can I say?

Anyway, everyone kicks ass except for Firouz, who gets punched in the face again (#3) and Sinbad pins Bellamur, who begs for mercy... then trips Sinbad and tries to kill Turhan when he’s down. All seems lost until....

It’s Jiyal! She somehow got loose and stabbed Bellamur in the back, thus ending the ordeal for everyone in a satisfying karmic twist. She looks like she’s stumbled out of the Lord of the Rings movies, except they haven’t even been filmed yet.

“D’aww,” says the crew collectively as the lovers are reunited.

Cut back to the beach. Sinbad and crew are getting in the longboat, ready to go, while Turhan and Jiyal thank them. “I’ve decided to settle down. Start a family,” Turhan says to Sinbad. Maybe you should try the same, sometime”. Sinbad looks over at Maeve. “Maybe. Sometime,” Sinbad says, clearly trying to be polite.

On cue, Firouz, Doubar and Rongar start snickering.

Both Maeve and Sinbad are annoyed, but Sinbad has the better facial expressions.

“They do make a handsome couple,” Jiyal remarks to Turhan as the crew pushes the boat back into the water. HELL YES THEY DO. Even random people who they’ve known for less than 24 hours ship them.

Despite this bright spot and the serious explosions and magical stuff, there are too many plot holes and CGI problems for this to be one of my favorite episodes. But at least there is serious shipping here, which warms my heart.