Xena: Warrior Princess - General Discussion

[Joe Hellandback]

10 Little Warlords

The Good; how brilliant is Hudson as Xena? If LL had ever decided to not return to the role I would totally have bought her as Xena. Human/drunk Ares is also funny. 

 The Bad;  The Joxer/Gabby double act is never as funny as it should be. Callisto/Xena in hell is funny but you shouldn't think about it too deeply.  

Xena clichés; Dr Xena patching up Ares,        

Funeral dirge; 1    

Doubles; 2

“I have many skills’; 2

10 years ago; 1

Dead Gabby suitors; 3

Dr Xena-10

Xena in bondage-5

Loyal advisor who is actually the villain-4

Gabby captured-11

Village in peril-8

Duel to settle things-2

The Pinch; 11 

Xena animal skills; 2

Xena fire-breathing; 5

Hurt/comfort; 2

Back from the dead; Gabby-1, Callisto-1

Xena inventions; CPR

Kills;  3

Xena; 23

Best quote;

Joxer; "I have a message for Callisto… I mean Xena…. I mean... have you got the hang of this yet?"

Gabby; "About half the time"

Greek myths;    

No but very similar to Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians/And then there were none. Xena also quotes Mark Twain.  

Subtext; Gabby jealous that Xena has taken off with Ares.   

Notches on the Chakram; 

Gabby; 1 

Xena; 1 

Ephiny; 1

Meg; 1

Joxer; 1

Callisto; 1

Ares; 1

Other; a lot of fun, the novelty of seeing Hudson playing Xena so damn well is terrific and also we begin to get to know Ares more and more and he's oddly likeable. His explanation that he was born a god and totally suited to his role is quite plausible, the ancient world actually needs Ares in charge of its' conflict but this will change over time. Hades' revenge on Ares over the whole Callisto/Xena bodyswap? Gabby uses the term 'bastard' which was quite the eye-opener, Xena stabbing the warlord who tries to sneak up on her and Ares is also quite graphic.        

Rating; 8/10

[Joe Hellandback]

Not going to bother with a full review of A Solstice Carol, more fun than I remember, The Hercules Doll, Gabby and her donkey, Gabby Hula Hooping, it's pretty weak but fun enough, 5/10

[BetterButter]

Xena: Warrior Princess: An Oral Herstory

[John Potts]

On ‎26‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 12:47 PM, SparedTurkey said:

My ultimate favorite is One Against An Army. Can't explain it.

Probably doesn't play well in Sparta*, what with having their famous stand against the Persians being a defeat but the "real" stand was achieved by one woman!

* I'm sure the Spartan market is MASSIVE!

[John Potts]

On ‎18‎/‎06‎/‎2018 at 8:56 PM, Joe Hellandback said:

 The Bad; she doesn't exactly do much to prevent infection but I guess we can't have everything.

We do occasionally see people cauterising wounds, though not Xena herself (that I can recall). Xena is certainly badass enough to just take the pain, but I guess they didn't want to have to keep putting burn marks on the (mortal) regulars' arms if they cared about continuity (which they clearly didn't, or they wouldn't have so many "doubles" wondering around!). Xena can't know everything!

Have to agree that Hudson Leik was amazing as Callisto - always interesting to see what Xena might have been if she'd just kept on her evil path and just revelled (and how!) in it.

[Primal Slayer]

Reboot script released

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d37bAT99s_tT8U2ssJHBB9ss4eNU6ghG/view?fbclid=IwAR3pw2m_p0i6GRGbxsoxE0Dw7QA4m5HLCynmv_KVZ72UTuk4FCX-_sIy33w

[slf]

SyFy has the entire series on their app.

Edited July 15, 2019 by slf

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎9‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 6:36 AM, BetterButter said:

Xena: Warrior Princess: An Oral Herstory

Intetresting, I always thought it was LL who wanted to Xena to die in the final ep, now it seems to have been ROC. 

On ‎10‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 9:35 AM, John Potts said:

Probably doesn't play well in Sparta*, what with having their famous stand against the Persians being a defeat but the "real" stand was achieved by one woman!

* I'm sure the Spartan market is MASSIVE!

I like that one too, it's pretty vicious stuff at times but rousing, Xena does Zulu

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎10‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 12:33 AM, Primal Slayer said:

Reboot script released

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1d37bAT99s_tT8U2ssJHBB9ss4eNU6ghG/view?fbclid=IwAR3pw2m_p0i6GRGbxsoxE0Dw7QA4m5HLCynmv_KVZ72UTuk4FCX-_sIy33w

Oh dear god no!

19 hours ago, slf said:

SyFy has the entire series on their app.

Might take a look, my recorded ones stop at the end of s4. 

[Joe Hellandback]

The Xena Scrolls

How much do I love ROC's performance as Indiana Gabby? She's perfect right down to the cigar chewing. A couple of 'bastards' here, I don't remember the series being so big on swearing? Further evidence of my Xexer theory, Joxer's descendent doesn't have the hots for Janice, he has the hots for Mel. The Eye of Hephestus traps Ares suggesting Aphrodite has some hand in his imprisonment but I noticed this time around Ares says he's been trapped for centuries and not millenia so he may have been up and about more recently than we thought. He's also aware of what's happening in the outside world?

 Most 'clip shows' are terrible, Xena and Hercules do them better than anyone else (Herc sometimes better than Xena actually). We also have Rob Tapert aka Mr Lucy Lawless in a cameo, a lot different from how Bruce Campbell portrays him. The fact that it establishes Xena/Hercules as a fictional show in the present is intriguing.

10/10  

[Bort]

My cable network (Comcast Xfinity) has the whole series on demand. Have for years. I watch some episodes once in a while but haven't the time for a full-on rewatch.

[Chaos Theory]

I always really liked watching Gabrielle grow as a person. A lot of shows might have kept her as a naive waif needing to be saved by Xena but the show genuinely grew Gabrielle as a person and not always toward the light.  It was part of the reason I really liked A Bitter Suite.  Besides it was one of the first shows to do a musical episode well it worked with how both Xena and Gabrielle were hurting.   I also for the same reason really liked the Ides of March.   Gabrielle had resisted killing up until that point but the moment Xena was in genuine danger out came killing machine Gabrielle.    Of course she loses against the tide of Romans but I really like that moment.  

Edited July 30, 2019 by Chaos Theory

[Joe Hellandback]

On 7/16/2019 at 7:06 PM, kariyaki said:

My cable network (Comcast Xfinity) has the whole series on demand. Have for years. I watch some episodes once in a while but haven't the time for a full-on rewatch.

4Music are showing them in the UK, hope they do the whole lot. 

On 7/25/2019 at 4:24 PM, Chaos Theory said:

I always really liked watching Gabrielle grow as a person. A lot of shows might have kept her as a naive waif needing to be saved by Xena but the show genuinely grew Gabrielle as a person and not always toward the light.  It was part of the reason I really liked A Bitter Suite.  Besides it was one of the first shows to do a musical episode well it worked with how both Xena and Gabrielle were hurting.   I also for the same reason really liked the Ides of March.   Gabrielle had resisted killing up until that point but the moment Xena was in genuine danger out came killing machine Gabrielle.    Of course she loses against the tide of Romans but I really like that moment.  

I never liked Way of Peace Gabby, that's an okay  philosophy if you have a demi-goddess warrior to protect you but what about everyone else? But the important thing Gabby should never become a Xena clone. 

[Joe Hellandback]

Starting again, just watching My Life is Murder and it put me in the mood for more LL.

Here she comes Miss Amphipilous

Very entertaining although if I was to have one complaint surely any sufficiently weighted wagon would have created those marks in the sand, it didn't have to be a war wagon? Some good stuff by Salmoneus (although they had Ted Rami sing the woman song on my Xena DVD for some reason?) and a storyline which is all the more relevant these days, Xena once again ahead of the curve. Jennifer Rucker will show up again in a couple of future present day eps and I must say that to my shame I never got the Miss Artiphys gag, someone else had to point it out to me.

7/10 

[rcc]

I really enjoyed the first season of My Life is Murder. Lucy can still command a scene like she did as Xena.

[Joe Hellandback]

Destiny

How can Xena atone? Well for a start how about burying the skull of the poor dope she and Gabby are standing beside? Little Callisto, the same girl we see on Hercules? She's changed her eye colour. Here we have midway Xena, not truly evil yet, still primarily intent on defending her homeland but becoming bored with that and tempted by the idea of conquering the world, even before her Batcave moment. Mark Urban utterly magnificent at Cesar, no wonder they kept bringing him back. Also Xena adopts the first of her girly pets, many people forgetting that Gabby was not the first devoted young woman who Xena adopted as a protégé, she was actually the last in the very long line. And this is the one who taught her the pinch. "BREAK HER LEGS!". Amazingly enough all based on a true story, Julius Cesar really was captured and ransomed by pirates and subsequently returned to wreak his vengeance upon them. The healer comments on Xena's amazing recuperative powers, more evidence of her demi-godhood.

8/10 the modern day stuff not so involving as the flashbacks.    

[rcc]

SyFy Channel has started a marathon of Xena every Thursday 6 am to 4 pm ET. Lucy and Renee give commentary between episodes.

[rcc]

Today's times is 9:30 am to 2:30 pm ET. I guess it changes every Thursday. Also commentary during commercial breaks too.

Edited April 23, 2020 by rcc

[proserpina65]

I've been working from home on/off weeks, and have caught some of Xena, mostly the episodes with Hades.  Of course they ran Mortal Beloved at 6am on a day when I did not have to go to work.

[Spartan Girl]

Been watching the SYFy marathons every Thursday and wow I forgot how much I enjoyed this show. This, not Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was peak feminism and it was fun. 

And even though it was never "stated" that Xena and Gabrielle were a couple, COME ON. WE ALL KNEW. They were making out with each other in the last few seasons, for crying out loud, it doesn't get more obvious than that.

[Spartan Girl]

SyFy finished its first rerun cycle, and I guess I agree that the series finale could have been better, but I think both Xena and Gabrielle both ended up where they needed to be. Xena sacrificed herself for good and found peace, and Gabrielle came full circle as a warrior in her own right -- plus, she got the chakram.

I'm on the fence about Joxer. On one hand, he was obnoxious, but at least he got called out on his asinine behavior, most of the time physically, so I could tolerate it. And I give him credit for accepting that Gabrielle didn't love him the same way he lived her without getting bitter about it.

Plus, that stupid "Joxer the mighty" theme song is such an earworm.

[Joe Hellandback]

On 5/28/2020 at 3:43 PM, Spartan Girl said:

Been watching the SYFy marathons every Thursday and wow I forgot how much I enjoyed this show. This, not Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was peak feminism and it was fun. 

And even though it was never "stated" that Xena and Gabrielle were a couple, COME ON. WE ALL KNEW. They were making out with each other in the last few seasons, for crying out loud, it doesn't get more obvious than that.

Not sure about that, Xena and WW are great feminist figures but they're not exactly relatable, literally goddesses. Buffy was someone every girl could see themselves as. 

10 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

SyFy finished its first rerun cycle, and I guess I agree that the series finale could have been better, but I think both Xena and Gabrielle both ended up where they needed to be. Xena sacrificed herself for good and found peace, and Gabrielle came full circle as a warrior in her own right -- plus, she got the chakram.

I'm on the fence about Joxer. On one hand, he was obnoxious, but at least he got called out on his asinine behavior, most of the time physically, so I could tolerate it. And I give him credit for accepting that Gabrielle didn't love him the same way he lived her without getting bitter about it.

Plus, that stupid "Joxer the mighty" theme song is such an earworm.

But what happened next? For me, Gabby just went back to Potidea and lived out her life with her sister and niece. We do know she has kids though as we meet her descendants. 

[Primal Slayer]

Just thinking of the Dahak storyline, it was so good. Hope was a great villain.

[MagnusHex]

Started watching season 1 alongside Hercules: The Legendary Journeys season 2 a few weeks ago, and boy, it's definitely a better show than Hercules. I mean, it's still a bit campy and silly at this point of the series, but when it knocks out of the park, it knocks it hard, especially that season 1 finale, Is There A Doctor in the House?, where Lucy Lawless really kills it with her performance as she

Spoiler

grieves over Gabrielle's death

that lasted for an entire minute. I mean, we all know by now that it's not going to happen, but if you didn't know back in 1996 that there would be more seasons, this last episode in season 1 would really hit you hard. Xena was literally screaming and just loses it; Lucy really sold the scene well and made me shed more than a few tears.

And there have been terrific performances as well in previous episodes that made me cry buckets as well, including one where

Spoiler

Xena was the one who died (Episode 21: "The Greater Good"), and Renee O'Connor gave an equally heart-rending performance as she grieved. I liked that scene a bit more because it was just done so well, the way the music went silent, and that subtle, gradual realization of Xena's death. Robert Trebor also did really with as Salmoneus in that scene when he stopped goofing around and just accepted the warrior's death with such dignity in his voice.

All these just go to show that Xena was going to be good television on the same cult status as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Initially, my thought towards both Hercules and Xena at low points of their respective season was that, "This is goofy and silly, and the only reason they're worth watching is because the actors/actresses' performance really carried the show and made them worth it." But by the end of Xena, after the season finale, I feel like this is definitely solid TV that's worth watching even 20+ years since its debut (while Hercules season 2 literally ended on a clip show, ugh).

And the season finale of Xena was indeed really solid, filled with thought-provoking themes about the flaws of "faith healing" and the casualties of war (whether if a just cause is worth sacrificing so many innocents). It's not forcing a special moral of the day teaching about racism like Hercules; it's solid drama.

That is to say, it's no surprise that Xena surpassed the series it spun off from because it's essentially the better-written show. I get why Kevin Sorbo was kinda salty about this, but I'm just literally bored to tears watching Hercules as opposed to watching Xena. Kinda wish I could abandon it and just watch Xena instead, but I'm far enough (season 2) that I might as well get over it.

It almost reminds me of the Buffy/Angel dynamic too. Angel was spun off of Buffy, and over time, became the more serious and dramatic show whereas more than half of Buffy's episodes were goofy comedy episodes, kinda like Hercules' shenanigans and Xena's dramatics.

Anyway, looking forward to more seasons of Xena in the future. Can't wait to see what heights the Warrior Princess will bring me to.

[Primal Slayer]

6 hours ago, MagnusHex said:

Started watching season 1 alongside Hercules: The Legendary Journeys season 2 a few weeks ago, and boy, it's definitely a better show than Hercules. I mean, it's still a bit campy and silly at this point of the series, but when it knocks out of the park, it knocks it hard, especially that season 1 finale, Is There A Doctor in the House?, where Lucy Lawless really kills it with her performance as she

  Hide contents

grieves over Gabrielle's death

that lasted for an entire minute. I mean, we all know by now that it's not going to happen, but if you didn't know back in 1996 that there would be more seasons, this last episode in season 1 would really hit you hard. Xena was literally screaming and just loses it; Lucy really sold the scene well and made me shed more than a few tears.

And there have been terrific performances as well in previous episodes that made me cry buckets as well, including one where

  Hide contents

Xena was the one who died (Episode 21: "The Greater Good"), and Renee O'Connor gave an equally heart-rending performance as she grieved. I liked that scene a bit more because it was just done so well, the way the music went silent, and that subtle, gradual realization of Xena's death. Robert Trebor also did really with as Salmoneus in that scene when he stopped goofing around and just accepted the warrior's death with such dignity in his voice.

All these just go to show that Xena was going to be good television on the same cult status as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Initially, my thought towards both Hercules and Xena at low points of their respective season was that, "This is goofy and silly, and the only reason they're worth watching is because the actors/actresses' performance really carried the show and made them worth it." But by the end of Xena, after the season finale, I feel like this is definitely solid TV that's worth watching even 20+ years since its debut (while Hercules season 2 literally ended on a clip show, ugh).

And the season finale of Xena was indeed really solid, filled with thought-provoking themes about the flaws of "faith healing" and the casualties of war (whether if a just cause is worth sacrificing so many innocents). It's not forcing a special moral of the day teaching about racism like Hercules; it's solid drama.

That is to say, it's no surprise that Xena surpassed the series it spun off from because it's essentially the better-written show. I get why Kevin Sorbo was kinda salty about this, but I'm just literally bored to tears watching Hercules as opposed to watching Xena. Kinda wish I could abandon it and just watch Xena instead, but I'm far enough (season 2) that I might as well get over it.

It almost reminds me of the Buffy/Angel dynamic too. Angel was spun off of Buffy, and over time, became the more serious and dramatic show whereas more than half of Buffy's episodes were goofy comedy episodes, kinda like Hercules' shenanigans and Xena's dramatics.

Anyway, looking forward to more seasons of Xena in the future. Can't wait to see what heights the Warrior Princess will bring me to.

Is this your first time watching the two? Either way you'll definitely have to keep us up to date with your thoughts. 

Really wish the show could get a decent remaster though I would never give up my dvds, probably some of the best produced special features of any series. 

I was always a little sad that her OG suit never made it to her solo series

[MagnusHex]

1 hour ago, Primal Slayer said:

Is this your first time watching the two? Either way you'll definitely have to keep us up to date with your thoughts.

Yeah, it's my first viewing. I wouldn't mind sharing my thoughts whenever I come around to season 2, but I won't be watching it for a while as I have three rotations of TV shows where I would watch three different sets of TV series consecutively, and Xena's on the third rotation so I won't be getting to S2 for at least a month or two.

 

1 hour ago, Primal Slayer said:

Really wish the show could get a decent remaster though

True that. I tried using Chromecast on my 4K TV, and the show just looked pixelated af.

 

1 hour ago, Primal Slayer said:

I was always a little sad that her OG suit never made it to her solo series

lol I never noticed that. I think I prefer this outfit too.

[Black Knight]

I need to finish rewatching this show. I watched most of it in its original run, and then I rewatched the first season a few years ago, and meant to continue with the rewatch but didn't.

As was noted above, Xena was quickly a more serious show than Hercules. Then Lawless started letting too much of Diana/Meg bleed over into Xena (it's like she didn't get that what made Diana/Meg entertaining was the contrast with Xena, and if you lose the contrast, well...), and the comedic episodes, which I really used to enjoy, turned annoying for me. Consequently I missed quite a few episodes in the last couple of seasons. I tried to catch the ones that promised to be more serious and I skipped anything that sounded otherwise. The series finale was, thank Zeus, dramatic rather than comedic. I loved it.

For the first season, The Greater Good is of course a standout, but in some ways I put Dreamworker ahead of it. Obviously TGG had all the draaaaaaaaama and tears - very powerful! - but Dreamworker was incredible from the standpoint of really getting inside Xena's psyche. It was Xena and Lawless's episode, whereas TGG was more O'Connor's and Trebor's.

For sheer fun in the first season, I have to give the trophy to Hooves and Harlots. Plus the Xena/Melosa fight is one of the show's very best.

[Primal Slayer]

Finally started my rewatch two weeks ago and just finished up S1. Still very enjoyable, Xena did a lot of things that the show doesnt get the praise for. 

*The funny thing about Xena/Hercules is that they had plenty of diverse characters throughout the run. Something that im sure many didnt bat an eye at during their original runs, compared to present day where there'd probably be so many people saying the show was being "woke"

The evolution of Gabrielle in the first season is very fun to watch from annoying little Bard to the start of warrior bard. 

[Black Knight]

On 9/11/2022 at 11:15 AM, Primal Slayer said:

*The funny thing about Xena/Hercules is that they had plenty of diverse characters throughout the run. Something that im sure many didnt bat an eye at during their original runs, compared to present day where there'd probably be so many people saying the show was being "woke"

One of the producers of Xena, along with one of the editors, used to be regular participants in a private AOL chat during the first two seasons.

He confirmed during the chat after Mortal Beloved aired that the reason Bobby Hosea, who played Marcus, was brought back for a second episode was because the show got backlash for pairing Xena with a black man. So not only did Marcus appear again, unlike most LIs who would be one-offs, but the show doubled down with declarations of love and a sex scene.

[Primal Slayer]

Xenas 'Miss Amphipolis" was the original Miss Congeniality and way ahead of its time for hiring trans actress to play a trans character.

[Primal Slayer]

Ceasars introduction into Xena was so good and making him part of her origin into a Warrior Princess was fab. Could Karl Urban be any hotter?

I wish we had gotten more of M'Lila and a longer journey  towards her teaching Xena how to become the warrior we know. The design team putting Xenas breast plate design on her shirt was such a fantastic move. If we ever get a reboot, I would definitely give her more time as one of Xenas many teachers.

That whole block of episodes is one of the best strings of episodes the show ever did. Velasca was a great two episode villain and one I wouldnt have minded to see more of. Im pretty sure I had a Velasca action figure as a child.

[Primal Slayer]

So Hudson has dedicated herself to a new faith (not sure how long, guess its been a long time now) and sold everything she ever had/kept from Xena to fund her stay in India.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdOM1PyrKBt/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdbTlUjpI4d/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdny556rGxW/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CeCI4CrPv3H/

Edited October 5, 2022 by Primal Slayer

[Black Knight]

Wow. I remember her back in the convention days. I was at her first one, where she was so shy and nervous that she was visibly shaking onstage.

The next year's con, she was back in a black catsuit or similar and having a glorious time posing for pictures and whatnot. LOL

[Primal Slayer]

The start of the Dahak storyline was SOOO good. They make us think that the episode will revolve around Caesar/Ares but in all actuality...they are very minor to the plot. Gabrielle losing her blood innocence and becoming impregnated with Dahaks spawn was dark.

One thing I never understood was....they gave us this GREAT looking demigod for Xena to battle
 Vs.

The Quill is Mighter is such a funny episode. The show can do comedy as great as it can do drama.

Aphrodite trying to get back at Xena by enchanting Gabrielles scroll and it all backfiring on everyone was the best.

The 3 Gabrielle's dancing to the 60s music...gold.

And of course anytime you bring back Minya...its great

The Bitter Suite....such a GREAT episode. Long before Once More With Feeling, we got this beauty that is often overlooked in the musical realm.

Great way for Xena/Gabrielle to work through their issues that has been building up for a season now.


 

One Against an Army is one of the best action episodes of television, period.dot. What they pulled off on a syndicated budget, within a usual episode production, the amount of stunts Lucy did was A+. Plus the emotional side of the story with Gabrielle on doors deathstep yet again, the way the show plays it out never gets old.



The 4-part Sacrifice arc is sooooooooooooo damn good! Starts in Hercules, concludes in Xena.

Hope trying to rid the world of Hercules and bringing in Callisto to do the job was great. She/Ares make for a great dynamic duo and the fact that she is allowed to succeed in killing Hercules mother bringing about a new world where Xena never found redemption was fun.



Ioulos gets to save the day and Xena picks up right where Armageddon leaves off heading into Sacrifice 2-part season finale on Xena. The big reveal at end of Pt.1 with Hope coming out of her cocoon was one of the best tv reveals ever.


All this leading to Ares joining Hope, Callisto joining Xena...so many good teamups.

Gabrielle sacrificing herself to save Xenas life and taking Hope out was like Buffy sacrificing herself in The Gift....these two shows have so much in common you'd almost think that Joss was influenced by Xena to a great degree lol. All this time Callisto has been trying to off herself and the one time she feels alive again is when Gabrielle "dies" and then BAM!

Callisto as we've known her for 3 seasons comes to an end.

I think the only minor thing that would make Sacrifice better is if they included Hercules/Iolaus.
 

If anyone is ever able to get their hands on the anchor bay dvd releases I highly recommend doing so. Esp when it comes to S3, there's practically special features for every episode going into bts, interviews with Lucy/Renee. Always fun to watch after finishing an episode.

[Primal Slayer]

4x01/4x02 whew, what a two parter! Moody, introduces another great female villain in Alti, another Amazon group and some amazing fight scenes. We get Xena visiting Hades and learning how their domains work. It's not the usual Xena episode where there is some type of lightness even in the darkness.

While Callisto was a psychotic blonde who was birthed by Xena, Alti is the opposite. She's sadistic and power hungry not to mention just downright scary. We learn that she cursed Solan from the get go which explains why he never had a relationship with either parent and dies at a young age.

Cyane and is one of those characters that I wish we had gotten to see more. Vicki Pratt is one of those 90s actresses where you saw her in plenty of things but sadly none of them ever became as successful as you'd wish being most notably in Cleopatra 2525, Mutant X.
 

It isnt meant to be funny but...its funny and I love that the cast/crew agree that putting Gabrielles head on a Spider wasnt their best work lol. But its so Xena and so 90s.

And with usual Xena and the Buffy comparison, they foreshadow/show us the characters huge fates in the S4 finale.

Finishing up 'A Family Affair' and I've always thought that sadly they kind of dropped the ball in bringing Gabrielle back to life. After such an emotional season finale and intense 2-part premiere...Gabrielle & Hope are both are just alive as if nothing happened. Xena-verse does a lot of crazy things so Im surprised that the writers didnt think bigger. Dahak should have been the one to just intervene ins his firey way.

The Dahak storyline was such a big part of the show and it's like they just grew tired of it and brought it to an end with Hope being killed by her son. Of course the Dahak storyline doesnt wrap up 100% until Hercules but its so far removed from Xena that it's never as satisfying as it could've been.

Hope was supposed to give birth to 6 destroyers but only 1 survived to scare a tale...and I think that was a mistake. The destroyers could've been a good story arc for not only Xena but for Hercules as well, Hope was also a great villain so her demise being so small left a lot to be desired.

[Black Knight]

2 hours ago, Primal Slayer said:

Cyane and is one of those characters that I wish we had gotten to see more. Vicki Pratt is one of those 90s actresses where you saw her in plenty of things but sadly none of them ever became as successful as you'd wish being most notably in Cleopatra 2525, Mutant X.

I agree about Cyane and Pratt.

One thing about the storyline with Cyane is that when I watched Xena murder her, I really understood for the first time why Xena felt like she could never truly redeem herself. Obviously we'd seen her do plenty of terrible things leading up to that storyline, but something about that murder hit especially hard. I think it's because Cyane had been open and welcoming, and Xena just threw that away for Alti's power. Most of Xena's past crimes were war atrocities, because she'd decided she wanted to conquer a lot of land and peoples, and were generally impersonal. What happened with Cyane was more personal, and malicious with zero provocation.

[Primal Slayer]

29 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

I agree about Cyane and Pratt.

One thing about the storyline with Cyane is that when I watched Xena murder her, I really understood for the first time why Xena felt like she could never truly redeem herself. Obviously we'd seen her do plenty of terrible things leading up to that storyline, but something about that murder hit especially hard. I think it's because Cyane had been open and welcoming, and Xena just threw that away for Alti's power. Most of Xena's past crimes were war atrocities, because she'd decided she wanted to conquer a lot of land and peoples, and were generally impersonal. What happened with Cyane was more personal, and malicious with zero provocation.

Agreed, seeing Cyane take her in, Xena not only betraying them but killing most of them AND helping in condemning them to not gain the ability to move on to the afterlife properly was sad to see. Plus all their deaths were brutal with everyone being impaled by broken tree branches or whatever.

This entire scene with those two was so good

[MagnusHex]

Currently watching season 3 of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and season 2 of Xena: Warrior Princess for the first time while also listening to the Mount Olympus podcast that reflected on these episodes. Something pointed out in the podcast which I've now noticed is the number of episodes on both shows that featured the main stars playing other people, whether it's Hercules as Prince Hercules, Iolaus as prince Orestes in Long Live the King, and of course, we had a pair of episodes with Lucy Lawless playing Calisto AND playing Xena trapped in Calisto's body, Xena in 1940/1942 (depending on where you're watching this show) as Melinda "Mel" Pappas, Xena as THREE different characters in Warrior... Princess... Tramp, and now in the latest episode I'm watching, Here She Comes... Miss Amphipolis, Xena is disguised as the titular Miss Amphipolis herself. That's not even mentioning the other characters/personas Renee O'Connor has played in the aforementioned 1940s and Miss Amphipolis episodes.

It's an interesting running theme for sure that really explored the actors/actresses' acting range, and of course, among these, Lucy Lawless pulled off her characters the best (though her accent as Mel did leave one yearning).

I heard that Xena's plotlines get crazier in later seasons, especially when it breaks the fourth wall or something (I heard there were clones?), and with how zany it already is, I could see how it's possible it will get zanier. At the very least, it's entertaining enough to keep me watching, because oh boy, the writing for Hercules did not hold up at all. The only reason I haven't dropped it is because I'm watching it as a companion piece to Xena, but there were so many plot-holes and lackluster episodes. Xena's writing does hold up a lot better, especially when Calisto was involved, but then you get a beauty pageant episode like this... Oh well.

Oh yeah, and I forgot, these were the seasons that introduced us to Baby Jesus, probably the most interesting part of both shows so far. Can't wait to see how the One True God plays into the Greek Mythology.

Edited October 27, 2022 by MagnusHex

[SparedTurkey]

5 hours ago, MagnusHex said:

and now in the latest episode I'm watching, Here She Comes... Miss Amphipolis, Xena is disguised as the titular Miss Amphipolis herself. That's not even mentioning the other characters/personas Renee O'Connor has played in the aforementioned 1940s and Miss Amphipolis episodes.

Agree totally on the different character thing but in that particular episode it is different - it isn't a whole new character but Xena pretending to be Miss Amphipolis. With Diana, Meg and the Hestian Priestess, they were wholly separate characters from Xena.

Totally agree, Lucy Lawless was great as them all.

And I think there was also Ted Raimi as all three Joxer twins, Michael Hurst played a few others on Xena, Aphrodite did too. Karl Urban as Cesaer and Cupid. I think it is nice that they kept it in house with the people that really liked or loved the show.

I wasn't a great fan of the Christian-lite episodes but liked the Dahak stuff. Although I love the show so I watch it all anyway.

[Bort]

5 hours ago, SparedTurkey said:

And I think there was also Ted Raimi as all three Joxer twins, Michael Hurst played a few others on Xena, Aphrodite did too. Karl Urban as Cesaer and Cupid. I think it is nice that they kept it in house with the people that really liked or loved the show.

I think a lot of the “same actors, different roles” thing was more about the limited actor pool in New Zealand.

[Black Knight]

That's usually more along the lines of having character actors do one minor role after another, though, as opposed to re-using people who had major roles and were extremely recognizable. I think they just wanted to make it fun for the audience. Using the same guy for Caesar and Cupid is hilarious.

[Ceindreadh]

14 hours ago, SparedTurkey said:

And I think there was also Ted Raimi as all three Joxer twins, Michael Hurst played a few others on Xena, Aphrodite did too. Karl Urban as Cesaer and Cupid. I think it is nice that they kept it in house with the people that really liked or loved the show.

I wasn't a great fan of the Christian-lite episodes but liked the Dahak stuff. Although I love the show so I watch it all anyway.

I loved MH as the Widow Twanky!  And then there was the Hercules episodes where they played the producers and writers!

[MagnusHex]

Xena, season 2, episode 12: Destiny

This is the episode where Karl Urban, who played Cupid in Hercules, among other roles in both Hercules and Xena, now plays Julius Caesar.

We also get to see Xena reflecting on her past once again, this time as a pirate queen. This episode is also where she learned to attack pressure points (I called it "the poking technique" before I looked it up) from a stowaway Jedi Knight Gaelic slave, M'Lila (Ebonie Smith, AKA Jessica Jefferson).

Fun fact: Much like what occurred in this episode, the real Caesar was actually kidnapped by pirates in real life and he did advice his ransom to be raised from 20 talents of gold to 50 talents of gold. He would also crucify the pirates as well... Credits to the Mount Olympus podcast for this historical tidbit.

Something else interesting the podcast also pointed out was that the Children of the Sun that kidnapped Gabrielle and other women at the beginning at the episode seemed like a cross between the "Road Warriors" from Mad Max (I assume they meant the psychopath gangsters rather than Mel Gibson) and Ewoks, because apparently, there's a scene in Return of the Jedi where they worshiped C-3PO as a deity, "The Golden One", similar to how Xena was mistaken as a goddess. I don't really remember that scene from the movie because it's been a long time since I've seen it, but the podcast was also reminded of Gozer from Ghostbusters (1984), which I do remember, and I do agree that Xena really should've just feigned godhood and saved herself the trouble. lol

The nature documentary montage that occurred after Xena and Caesar momentarily parted was hilariously lengthier than it needed to be, with M'Lila lip-synching to the music and Xena gazing out at the sea, awaiting Caesar's return. '90s camp at its finest. And of course, Caesar backstabbed Xena ("I am the law Rome"), which is a shame since I wouldn't have minded Karl in a recurring role as Xena's former partner-in-crime, especially with how notable Caesar is in history, but it made sense that Caesar would be too egoistical for that. His act of betrayal felt fitting too in historical context, considering how the real Caesar died (spoilers: assassination by 40 Roman senators, the "old men in white robe" his fictional counterpart mocked in this episode).

I'm surprised at the level of violence in this episode, considering that Xena wasn't nailed to the cross the same way Jesus was, the way most people would understand what crucifixion involved, but her legs getting broken (albeit off-screen) was still a pretty graphic scene for the show.

And of course, the last few minutes of the episode were epic. Whomever did the cinematography and editing of that segment (possibly Robert Tapert since he directed the episode) made this easily one of the best scenes in the series, period, especially with the way the Xena theme kicked in as past-Xena was reborn into the warlord Xena we were familiar with when we first met her, and how we cut back and forth between past-Xena reborn and swearing death on everyone and modern-Xena dying and wanting to pass on as redemption for her sins. Xena being crucified even in purgatory was a bit on-the-nose, but I still appreciate the symbolism of redemption.

Xena has legit died before in this series at least once, but I still teared up a bit in this scene... and I was especially shocked when we cut to TO BE CONTINUED for the first time ever in the series. lmao Such an epic way to end the episode with a bang. And it's not even close to the season finale yet!

And from what I've heard from the podcast, this is the point in the series when both Hercules and Xena started to lean more into serial storytelling as opposed to standalone adventures, which is great because I welcome more serialized stories that might contain more solid narratives worth spanning several episodes.

Overall, this has been a solid episode, especially with its ending. I always enjoyed watching Karl Urban in both Hercules and Xena, even when he's playing a fluffy Cupid that turns into a PS2 monster. He has a kind of grit and somberness that made him suitable for the more serious roles like Caesar (which IMO is his best role so far in either series) and of course, later on, Judge Dredd. Where's my Urban Batman, man? Just saying.

Edited October 28, 2022 by MagnusHex

[Black Knight]

6 hours ago, MagnusHex said:

I'm surprised at the level of violence in this episode, considering that Xena wasn't nailed to the cross the same way Jesus was, the way most people would understand what crucifixion involved, but her legs getting broken (albeit off-screen) was still a pretty graphic scene for the show.

An interesting point about the knee-breaking that I imagine most viewers wouldn't know - I certainly didn't when I watched it, and thought Caesar was adding unnecessary insult to injury - is that it was actually intended to spare the crucified person a long drawn-out ordeal. To put it crudely, they died faster if their knees were broken. It was a form of "mercy" not granted to every crucified person.

[MagnusHex]

Xena, season 2, episode 13: The Quest

This episode showcases why Xena is the better show than Hercules with yet another solid and well-written episode jam-packed with multiple well-balanced plotlines (Xena's death, Amazonian politics, Autolycus being a soul vessel, something you'd usually find in prestige TV like Sopranos, not a cult TV show like Xena.

But we start off a little rough as Michael Hurst just randomly walking to the wrong set at the beginning of this episode before disappearing for good. lol Iolaus wasn't even paying Gabrielle a visit to pay his respects to Xena; he was just randomly walking through the forest for no particular reason (as Hercules and Iolaus usually do) without Herc by his side and stumbled onto Gabrielle. Kinda a random cameo, but okay.

It reminds me of Buffy and Angel, yet another pair of '90s/'00s cult TV shows that often crossed over with each other. Sometimes characters would just wander over for no reason, or not even show the respective characters from the other show at all, merely briefly mentioning them, even if any of the major characters die.

I kinda wish they did a similar thing with what those shows did though, like Gabrielle visiting Hercules at the end of the last Hercules episode before this, "Encounter", to inform him of Xena's death or something. lol I still remember how cool it was when they did that with Buffy/Angel back then. "Gabrielle? Nice to see you, but what are you doing here? Oh..." Cut to black. Credits.

But see, this is why you shouldn't casually kill off major characters if you're just going to bring them back. If this was the first time Xena died (which it wasn't), it would have more impact for me. Let's not forget the numerous times Iolaus died over at Hercules either and then brought back. And of course, Gabrielle has died at least once too. Callisto has died and returned in two episodes this season. It's like, if one of these two pairings died, someone could just go down and talk to Hades, strike a deal, and everything's fine and dandy, so there's no stakes here. Hades has the worst job ever in accounting these deaths. It's like Walmart, except you're shopping for your recently deceased loved one.

Also, the real reason Xena has died was, of course, because of Lucy Lawless' hip injury on the Jay Leno show. Leno and his big nose killed Xena is what I'm saying. 😆

I didn't notice it before, but the coffin has a very similar design as Xena's armor. Where did Gabrielle get it even? The doctor, Nicklio? Does Nicky keep a surplus of coffins whenever his patients die?

Maybe it's a gift from Hades or something. "I'll give you this coffin as a tribute to Xena; please don't come down here and mess with my death quota."

Also, missed opportunity: this episode would've been a nice segue into a Gabrielle: Amazon Princess spin-off show. I get that Xena and Gabrielle has a relationship down the show, but Gabrielle deserves her own show. Plus, if the Amazonian spin-off did well, Wonder Woman might have seen a resurgence in film since Lynda Carter much earlier.

I can't remember if Autolycus' previous heists were as sophisticated as the one in this episode, but they did a good job making him live up to his title as the King of Thieves. When he hid himself in the closet, I thought he goofed up when they locked it, but then he pulled out this drill (the kind that Ancient Greece possesses, I guess), poked a hole and used a lockpick mechanism to unlock the padlock. I was genuinely impressed with this sequence, not that Autolycus wasn't impressive in previous episodes.

But after that nice sequence, we're led to another questionable scene that requires some level of suspension of disbelief because... 1) How is Xena possessing Autolycus? Is she a wandering spirit? What happened to the purgatory she was trapped in the previous episode? What does Hades think of all this besides getting another headache? 2) Why is Xena screaming her iconic ululation in spirit form whenever she comes and goes in Autolycus' body? Is she a screaming banshee? 😆

I love that Gabrielle offered Velasca the Amazon crown/mask and then basically went "SIKE!" and pulled back the mask. 😆

This episode also sees the very first confirmation of what Xena and Gabrielle's relationship is going to be like down the road. There's no longer teasing, there is a full-blown kiss (albeit in a different body). Xena also copped a feel (which Autolycus paid for later on when he didn't move his hand after being back in control).

See, this kind of thing, where Gabrielle is kissing Xena through Autolycus' body, BUT only with his consent, I could accept. What Diana did in Wonder Woman 1984... totally not cool or consensual (regardless of whatever supernatural elements you want to bring into the argument), but that's a more complicated topic for another day.

After Autolycus and Gabrielle's failed attempt at reaching the Ambrosia dispenser (which looks like a gummy candy btw), Velasca brings them back to the Amazon base, kisses Autolycus before backhanding him. She then goes on and "explains" how she likes pain and will do all kinds of stuff to Autolycus if he doesn't inform her the Ambrosia's location. Despite her sadistic taste, at least she knows how to interrogate a prisoner. But if she really wanted to torture him, she should've just tied him to a chair and smacked his family jewels a little. "It's the simplest thing to cause more pain than a man can possibly endure."

But of course, Velasca Salt, the little brute, ultimately fails as our heroes triumph once again. Something Gabrielle said to Xena that felt amusing to me was, "Promise me not to die not on me again." Gabrielle, in your universe, that's like Xena or Hercules promising never to throw babies again.

That's probably not the last we'll see of Velasca, I'm guessing, as right before the episode ends, Velasca manages to grab one remaining scrap of Ambrosia, possibly becoming a goddess down the line. Shame Gabrielle didn't manage to grab any Ambrosia for herself, or more importantly, her Amazonian warriors. I've always felt that the Amazons in Xena weren't really impressive in terms of combat prowess (which is fair for a '90s TV show), but that's because the only Amazon I knew of prior to Xena was Wonder Woman, and she's a literal goddess. With Ambrosia, those Amazons could've been one too. Just saying. lol

[Primal Slayer]

On 10/26/2022 at 10:02 PM, MagnusHex said:

I heard that Xena's plotlines get crazier in later seasons, especially when it breaks the fourth wall or something (I heard there were clones?), and with how zany it already is, I could see how it's possible it will get zanier. At the very least, it's entertaining enough to keep me watching, because oh boy, the writing for Hercules did not hold up at all. The only reason I haven't dropped it is because I'm watching it as a companion piece to Xena, but there were so many plot-holes and lackluster episodes. Xena's writing does hold up a lot better, especially when Calisto was involved, but then you get a beauty pageant episode like this... Oh well.

Very true. I think some of the best Hercules episodes happen to be when someone from Xena is crossing over (Callisto/Hope) as it made the writers take a darker direction temporarily and just tighter storylines all around. I watched Hercules and the Amazons last month and....I know it was one of the movies prior to the series but it was rough and took forever to get to the actual Amazons.

[MagnusHex]

Xena, season 2, episode 14: A Necessary Evil

Where Hercules lost his godhood in the last episode prior this one's airing, Velasca gained hers in "A Necessary Evil." When she boasted about becoming a goddess though, it just reminds me how mundane the gods in the Xenaverse can be (at least in comparison to the One True God who's literally omnipotent). Even Artemis, the mighty Goddess of the Hunt and the Amazons, sat idly by and let Velasca destroy her temple. So when Velasca shouted she's become a goddess, all I could think about was Odin saying to Loki in Thor: The Dark World, "We're not gods," especially when the gods of this world have similar power levels as Thor and Odin, the latter of which has died. It also really doesn't help sell me the credibility of godhood when you can kill a god with a Hind's blood.

Also, can I just say how convenient Ambrosia is? Capable of making another god, when the gods had problems with Hercules creating a potential offspring with god-killing powers. Considering how many psychopathic warlords we have in the Xenaverse, I'm more surprised not as many tried to become a god and then kill the other gods or something (after all, Xena said in this episode that "It takes an immortal to kill an immortal.").

Then there's Xena's attempt to fetch Callisto to kill another god. But what about Hercules? Yes, audiences who were watching both shows in the Xenaverse knew Hercules had lost his powers at this point... but Xena didn't know that. I get that they didn't show Xena checking in on Hercules (and learning he's mortal) because of time-constraint but she could've just said, "Hercules told me he's mortal now" because that's how Xena learned where Callisto was (she literally said "Hercules said that the ceiling of the cave has collapsed" before they reached Callisto). With how much Gabrielle protested against freeing the woman who killed her boyfriend, Perdicus, you'd think Xena would be more sensitive about it and seek an alternate solution, especially when there were more than a handful of gods and immortals in this universe she could seek help from, like Hades for one.

And finally, why does Velasca have extra Ambrosia in the first place? Why didn't she just eat it all and become even more powerful?

So yeah, this episode has plenty of questionable plot points and wasn't really the best episode, especially after how solid the past three episodes have been. But hey, at least Callisto's out of that cave and will probably find her way out of that lava river in the future.

[MagnusHex]

Xena, season 2, episode 15: A Day in the Life

Well, this was sure an interesting episode.

I gotta say, I don't care that it's gimmicky, but I love special episodes like these that change up the formula of the series every now and then to keep things fresh, and "A Day in the Life" episodes have been done in many other TV series as well (including anime), even before Xena (Seinfeld and The Brady Bunch), so it's not exactly a revolutionary storytelling device. And really, it sometimes serves as a crutch at times (in an amateur college student trying to be a writer kind of way) to explore character traits when they couldn't think of any other ideas for the week's episode. It's an efficient crutch, to be fair, but perhaps one that's slightly overused. But I have no complaints about this episode using it, especially when it's an entertaining and hilarious hour, which is appropriate, given that the previous line of episodes from both Hercules and Xena have been depressing (with Hercules losing his second wife in the Xena-crossover episode that preceded this Xena episode, Judgment Day). It's also appropriate that Michael Hurst directed this episode, because you know when things grim and down, Iolaus would be the one trying to cheer things up. 😆

We start off with Xena waking up and immediately handling her usual business: fending off an ambush...

...and defying physics by using her frying pan as a chakram/Captain America shield, bouncing off the heads of THREE soldiers.

Like I said, business as usual. Xena's response to Gabrielle's complaint of her using their cookware as weapons: "I like to be creative in a fight; it gets my juices going." Unfortunately for Gabrielle, Xena's not talking about the fruity kind.

You gotta love that, 1) while Gabrielle and Xena are fighting, the soldier is just left lying there with his blood circulation cut off, and 2) he knows about the technique from the word of mouth.

Oh, and she almost forgets to restore his blood flow. She hasn't "totally woken up yet."

Later on, a villager named Hower wanders in asking Xena for help regarding a giant blackmailing his village for protection money, so now Xena has to choose between fighting the warlord that sent the soldiers above, or go after the giant (which I'm pretty sure is more of a Hercules problem since warlords are more of Xena's thing beginning from season 2... Hower probably walked onto the Xena film set by mistake).

So Xena flips a coin and decides on fighting the giant with Hower leading the way to his village. Unfortunately, he has a crush on Xena. When Xena and Gabrielle are expressing their annoyance at men falling head over heels for the former, I love that in their exchange, they take a jab at chainmail armors for women and how problematic their designs can be, at least in the '90s (and maybe even the early 2000s).

Later, Xena catches Gabrielle cutting a fish... with her chakram. 😆

Xena, understandably, isn't all too pleased about that. Apparently, Xena threw their only cutting knife at a warlord. See, Gabrielle... that's why you need extra tools on a forest outing. It's basic survival.

But it's okay, because Xena gets her payback when she literally shits on Gabrielle's writing, using her scroll as toilet paper.

After arriving at Hower's village, Xena meets his wife, Minya, from whom Xena requested for a hot bath, which is when we get yet another nice Xena/Gabby moment here with them scrubbing each other's backs. It's a cute little moment.

They also have a discussion regarding how to deal with the giant, and as Xena said, she likes to be creative in a fight, and using mirrors to blind a giant has been done before, so Xena was reluctant to repeat her act. This would also explain my gripe with last episode's "plot-hole" - why Xena was reluctant to find other ways (like seeking Hercules' or Hades' help) to deal with Goddess Velasca. Because she wanted to be original. Probably.

Oh, and Xena also hair flips for a L'Oréal shampoo commercial.

Because you're worth it.

Despite the problematic '90s portrayal of Minya's jealousy of Xena for "stealing her husband," I did find her fangirling of Xena rather cute, especially when she started reciting what happened between Xena and Goliath from what she read in a Xena scroll. She's like Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons if he wasn't an obnoxious jerk.

To defeat the giant (whom Xena discovers to be Gareth, the giant who killed Goliath's family), Xena later invents a new way to stop him instead of sticking with Gabby's mirror plan (because the clouds are blocking out the sun), meaning that Xena rewrites history by performing the Kite Experiment more than a millennium before Benjamin Franklin (though many have disproved the theory that he was the first discoverer of electricity anyway since people have used it centuries prior).

While waiting for Gareth's arrival, we get to witness Xena pioneering another milestone of history: Grease, the movie. The advice Xena gave to Minya in winning her husband back was to basically go all Sandy Olsson from the end of the film:

You could literally hear a musical cue in this scene similar to the one playing when Danny sees Sandy's new look.

Of course, Xena's plan to kill Gareth goes swimmingly as the giant gets a real shocker down his back.

The make-up department did a good job with Gareth's fried skin. I also like how the giant burial ground reminds me of the elephant graveyard from The Lion King. Very eerie aesthetic for this scene.

The episode ends with yet another cute Xena/Gabrielle shipping moment: stargazing on a field.

Unfortunately, that moment is momentarily ruined when Gabrielle successfully hits Xena (in the face) with her staff, something she's been trying to do throughout the entire episode. But all is right with the world because Gabby apologizes with a kiss on the boo boo.

Yeah, I have a feeling this is one episode many have remembered fondly. 😉

Edited November 3, 2022 by MagnusHex

[Black Knight]

Not only was it an extremely funny and heartwarming episode in itself, I also really liked the Gareth loose end being resolved. It's been many years since I saw the Goliath episode, but I remember feeling like the ending of it didn't land right and that maybe it should've ended with Xena going off after Gareth. So I was very pleased when that was resolved in this episode, perhaps due to fan complaints. I remember on the Xena mailing list I wasn't the only one who'd felt that way about the Goliath ep.

[MagnusHex]

Xena, season 2, episode 19: Ulysses

The Mount Olympus Podcast did NOT like this episode or its titular character at all. I could kinda see why not (especially given their political spectrum), and I do agree that this was one of the weaker episodes of the series thus far. However, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have some fun watching it, especially in the first half when Ulysses mainly felt like a competent fighter Xena was impressed by, so I could at least see then why she had the hots for him as a fellow artist in combat. It's only when Ulysses started trivializing his wife's existence and denouncing his past love for her that I started to cringe a little bit. I feel like the writers really didn't put enough substance in Ulysses' character. They had Xena and Gabrielle calling him smart, but we've never seen evidence of such intelligence in the episode prior to the scene where they called him smart (he did figure out later on that Xena's harsh words were her attempt to get him to stay with his kingdom and wife, but that's it). If Ulysses had displayed more admirable qualities in his personality, that scene later on when the peasant is revealed to be him in disguise would've been a lot more powerful too.

But honestly, I wasn't really disappointed by the weak writing because I have pretty low expectations for both main shows in the Xenaverse. This isn't exactly The Sopranos or Better Call Saul. So when weak character writing like this shows up, it doesn't really faze me because I don't take the show that seriously. It's not a knock on the show, because I still like it for what it is (not to mention that I heard the show does get better in later seasons), but it's just that kind of campy small-budget TV show that's the equivalent of a CW YA series. 

I think another reason I was fine with both the episode and the character was that two legendary characters from the Greek mythology have finally appeared, both Ulysses (AKA Odysseus) and Poseidon. Even the sirens from Homer's Odyssey made an appearance! I love the Greek myth, so I'm always glad when they bother to focus on these larger than life figures instead of just some generic warlord or tyrant. It's a shame that they didn't delve deeper into the powers of the Big Three at this point though (Zeus, Poseidon and Hades). Aside from Hades, we haven't really seen much of Zeus' powers in the TV series so far save one or two scenes. It's like, you have gods as your characters. Make them do something impressive. Even for a TV budget, I'm sure you could just flash some cheap CGI around.

The podcast team also had issues with the inaccuracies of Ulysses' portrayal, but I've never read Odyssey nor seen any of its adaptation (if there were any), so I'm immune to any discrepancies between the two portrayal. That's one perk of not knowing the source material before you see the adaptation: ignorant bliss. I also thought that we were gonna get Tennyson's Ulysses before I watched the episode because I really liked that one poem in Skyfall. Shame.

More than anything, I just find the episode fun with its swashbuckling fighting aboard a pirate ship with Xena meeting a potential love interest. Again, if not for Ulysses' creepy alienation of his wife, this would've been a solid and lighthearted adventure for Xena.

Edited November 11, 2022 by MagnusHex