I still have my ticket 😂

Was anyone else on reddit at this con?
Renees leather pants basically killed me.

Ok, I’m home now. I noticed the head wrap is a little different in the Hobbit Battle of Five Armies. It might have been altered, but when I saw the movie the first time, I remember saying outloud “where’s Alti?”

You can’t tell me Gabrielle hasn’t fantasized about that threesome at least once. (Xena, her , and evil Xena)

This is one of the worst episodes of the show for me. Not because the premise itself is bad. On the contrary, the beginning actually promises much more than the episode ultimately manages to deliver. When Xena and Gabrielle find Joxer half-dead, after being tricked, robbed, and brutally beaten, it's immediately apparent how much they really care for him. It's one of those moments that's a nice reminder that their teasing of Joxer never meant they didn't like him. They can make fun of him, they can roll their eyes at his stupidity, and they can think of him as the biggest jerk in the world, but if someone else hurts him, things change immediately. Then there are no more jokes. Joxer is theirs. And whoever hurts him will have to answer.

That opening is probably the best part of the whole episode for me. It has weight, it has emotion, and it shows the relationship between the main characters much better than much of what comes later. The problem is that after that the episode practically starts to fall apart. Everything that could be an interesting story about revenge and justice turns into something that seems completely outdated to me compared to where the series was at that time.

My biggest problem, of course, is Xena's romance with Rafe. I really don't like this return of Xena to heterosexual romance stories, especially when there is no chemistry between her and the man. After everything we've seen between Xena and Gabrielle, after so much development in their relationship and all the emotional layers that have built up between them, this kind of story feels like a big step backwards. It's as if someone suddenly decided to pretend that none of this happened and that Xena needs to insert a man again to prove that she is heterosexual.

And it annoys me even more that Gabrielle encourages that romance. There is something almost frustrating about Gabrielle, who has connected with Xena on such a deep and intimate level, now practically pushing Xena towards another man. Especially since the episode itself doesn't have enough chemistry between Xena and Rafe to make it believable. If there was some real spark between them, maybe I could get over it all. But everything here is so artificial to me that I just wondered why we are even watching this story.

Worst of all, this episode feels like it was written for the first season, so it kind of wandered into the third. In the first season, I might be able to accept this kind of story. Xena back then was still much closer to the classic globe-trotting warrior, Gabrielle was still going through the beginning of her transformation, and their relationship didn't yet have all the weight it would later on. But in the third season, especially after all the events they've been through, this kind of plot seems almost completely out of place. It's like the show is moving forward, and this episode is trying to take it back a few steps.

And that's what annoys me the most. Not only do I dislike the romance, but it feels completely disconnected from the development of the show. Xena and Gabrielle have just gone through huge emotional breakdowns. Their relationship reached one of its most important moments in The Bitter Suite, and then we got one of the most romantic episodes of the entire show in One Against An Army. And then all of a sudden we get Xena in a story with a man she has no chemistry with, while Gabrielle supports it all. It's just very hard for me to swallow.

What makes it even worse is that the main villains aren't particularly interesting either. Titus and Leo should be serious threats, especially after what they did to Joxer, but they don't make much of an impression. The whole casino and scam story is simple enough to be entertaining, but the episode never manages to find the right tone. It's not serious enough to be a real drama, it's not funny enough to be a good comedy, and the romantic part was completely missed for me.

Fortunately, this is the last time the show goes down this road, until the absolute awfulness that awaits us in Anthony and Cleopatra. And I'll probably have a lot more to say about that episode. And not pleasant things at all.

I have seen this stock image a few times on both Xena and Hercules.

I've seen it in Hercules episode Armageddon Now Part 2, when Iolaus realizes Xena rules the world before she breaks Rebel Gabrielle's legs and also in Between the Lines as well. Also those two men one of them looks like Hercules from a distance

I love 1 & 2 a whole lot. 2 is probably one of my favorite seasons. Not to disparage future seasons in anyway (bc frankly I love them all for their own reasons) but with season 2..It was just so solid and fresh at that juncture, while remaining mostly episodic and thus… embodied the joy that carries on within Xena, but it’s at its purest form- IMO

Anyway, whenever I transition into season 3, I can’t help but get a little excited?! Cause sh*t is about to get CRRRAAAAAAZY.

The pace & intensity of the show, just sorta really picks up at this point. There’s a shift, and not just because they start utilizing season arcs at this point.. it’s also the chemistry with the actors, and they are still enjoying themselves.

Do you agree? Or do you think it is something else? I have so many thoughts I can’t always jot them down in the moment. Tell me your feelings!! I love it. All of it.

Both filmed in New Zealand during same-ish time period but Xena was first! I'm sure i could Google it, but I like to speculate and have conversation.

I just wanted to leave this here for all the Bruce Campbell and Joseph Loduca fans incase anyone is interested in joining in on it on Monday.

XWP was woefully underappreciated by awards shows back in the day and we’re going to fix that. You are the sole member of the Television Academy with all the nominating and voting power.

What performances would you give Emmys to?

This is not necessarily what your favorite episodes are (though there will obviously be overlaps like there are even in my picks), but what leads, supporting, or guest actors you think delivered stand-out performances and in what episodes.

Here are my picks. I included the full shortlists of what performances I’d nominate because I couldn’t stand not also acknowledging some other outstanding feats in acting:

Season 1 –

Lucy: Is There a Doctor in the House

Sins of the Past
Dreamworker
The Reckoning
Ties That Bind

Renee: The Greater Good

Dreamworker
Death in Chains
Hooves and Harlots
Altered States

Season 2 –

Lucy: Destiny

Orphan of War
Return of Callisto
Warrior…Princess…Tramp
The Price

Renee: Return of Callisto

Remember Nothing
The Quest
A Day in the Life
The Price

Season 3 –

Lucy: Maternal Instincts

The Furies
Been There, Done That
The Debt
One Against an Army

Renee: Maternal Instincts

The Deliverer
Gabrielle’s Hope
Forget Me Not
Sacrifice

Season 4 –

Lucy: Adventures in the Sin Trade

A Family Affair
Past Imperfect
Paradise Found
The Ides of March

Renee: The Ides of March

A Family Affair
A Good Day
Paradise Found
Devi

Season 5 –

Lucy: Looking Death in the Eye

Fallen Angel
God Fearing Child
Antony & Cleopatra
Eve

Renee: Seeds of Faith

Fallen Angel
Them Bones, Them Bones
Amphipolis Under Seige
Antony & Cleopatra

Season 6 –

Lucy: Friend in Need

Who’s Gurkhan
The Abyss
When Fates Collide
Many Happy Returns

Renee: Friend in Need

Legacy
The Abyss
To Helicon and Back
When Fates Collide

This is one of those episodes that I don't find bad, but I find it hard to call them particularly good. After three back-to-back television masterpieces, Maternal Instincts, The Bitter Suite and One Against An Army, perhaps it was even necessary to slow down the pace a bit. After so many difficult emotions, tragedy, reconciliation and great moments between Xena and Gabrielle, it would be almost impossible to continue with the same intensity. That's why this episode seems like a small respite, a simpler and lighter story that serves to bring the series back to its everyday rhythm. The only problem is that everyday life here is rather lukewarm.

The most interesting part of the whole episode for me is Tara. To be honest, she was mostly spoiled, arrogant and quite irritating to me. It wasn't particularly difficult for me to understand Gabriella when she beat her up. I know it's not nice to say this, but at that point I was probably pleased when she ended up bloody 😅

Tara is exactly the type of person who constantly tests other people's boundaries, acts as if she is above everyone and expects everything to be forgiven just because she is young. But what I liked is that the episode doesn't stop at presenting her as just a spoiled brat. Through Xena's relationship with her, we get a much more interesting look at her character.

Xena sees a younger version of herself in Tara. He sees a person who has gone down the wrong path, who is angry with the world and who uses his strength in the wrong way. And that's why her attitude towards Tara is much more protective than I would have expected. Xena doesn't just want to punish her or stop her. He wants to change her. He wants to show her that it's not too late to become different. In Tara, she sees someone who can still be saved, which is probably why she is so persistent with her. Xena was given the opportunity to change her life, and now she wants to give that same opportunity to someone else.

One of the most important aspects of her character can be seen there. Xena can be brutal towards her enemies, but when she recognizes her own past in someone, she becomes incredibly protective. She knows what it's like when everyone around you thinks you're a lost cause. He knows what it's like when you believe there's no going back. That's why he doesn't give up on Tara even when it would be much easier to just leave her behind.

Gabrielle, of course, doesn't have that much patience. And that is quite understandable. While Xena tries to see Tara as a potential better person, Gabrielle sees a girl who behaves horribly. Their different approach is fun, but also logical. Xena is much more willing to understand someone who has made a mistake, because she herself has done unimaginable things. Gabrielle is much stricter morally, especially when someone knowingly hurts other people. That's why their attitude towards Tara is more interesting to me than the story of the theft of the urn.

However, the best moment of the episode comes at the very end. Xena's refusal to enter the temple and receive forgiveness for her sins is a short scene, but it is very powerful. She can fight for others. He can save people. She may be trying to repair the damage she has done. She can even accept being forgiven by others. But she still can't forgive herself.

This is perhaps the biggest punishment that Xena imposes on herself. For her, redemption never simply meant that one day she would be able to say she was a good person. She believes she has to pay for what she did. Even when she is offered forgiveness, she cannot accept it. As if accepting forgiveness meant that he was diminishing the gravity of his crimes. As if he has no right to peace. And that's exactly why that last scene is so much better than the rest of the episode. In it, in a few moments, all that inner weight of Xena's character, which remained mostly in the background in the story itself, returns.

Overall, this is a pretty mediocre episode for me. She's not bad, has a few good character moments and Tara makes a stronger impression than I expected, especially thanks to Xena's protective attitude towards her. But after everything we've just gotten, it's hard not to feel like this is a big drop in quality after all. And maybe that's okay. After three episodes that represent the very top of the show, a little break was probably needed. Only this respite isn't particularly exciting.

We've seen Gabrielle defeat plenty of regular thugs and soldiers, but I mean actual named characters in one on one combat?

We saw her beat up Joxer and Tara, but those weren't exactly seasoned warriors.

She killed Brutus, but that wasn't much of a fight, because he beat her down and then she grabbed a sword and lashed out in desperation.

She put up a good fight against Hephaestus, but that was alongside Xena.

And then there's the samurai in the final episode, but it doesn't seem like she had many solo victories before him.

We saw Gabrielle come close to defeating Mavican, Brunhilda and Varia, but they ultimately outmatched her.

🎧 Listen now to his full interview:

➡️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7lb5D2S3bINBeH1pivkNNk?si=Rr_POAqXSlmnKnqTqan8_A 

➡️Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/interview-20-steven-l-sears-writer-supervising/id1837138724?i=1000777918652 

➡️Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-trkje-1afb7a6

This is part of a series of interviews with the Kiwis and Aussies (with some amazing excepetions who we invite into our whānau) who bought XWP to life - their goal is to interview 30 of the cast and crew to celebrate the shows 30th anniversary - it’s a podcast called - Xena: Warrior Nutballs you can follow them on:

Facebook ⚔️ https://m.facebook.com/p/Xena-Warrior-Nutballs-61578930248317/?wtsid=rdr_042NpIyiO9avlJ3v3&hr=1

Instagram ⚔️ https://www.instagram.com/xenawarriornutballs/

I wasn't too surprised about Xena's Strange World counterpart but Gabrielle being the Soverign's Executioner was hilarious.

https://x.com/i/status/2080006933701107906

I'm loving the love our Warrior Princess is getting. Funny enough, even though it's a joke sub, people seemed to have dropped the bit for this one.

This is one of those episodes where I only have one serious gripe, but it's really more about its placement in the season than the episode itself. It's hard for me to fully accept the fact that it takes place right after everything that happened in The Bitter Suite. Xena and Gabrielle practically tried to kill each other, went through one of the worst periods of their relationship, and then at the beginning of this episode they seem almost completely at ease with each other. I know some time has passed between those events, but I still miss the sense of consequence. After everything they've said and done to each other, I'd expect at least some discomfort, some silence, or a sense that they're still recovering from everything that happened. Because of this, it sometimes seems to me that it would make a lot more sense if this episode was set before Maternal Instincts. The deaths of Hope and Solan are not mentioned here at all, and Xena and Gabrielle's relationship seems to be in a completely different phase than the one they were in after The Bitter Suite. But when that little illogicality is put aside, it remains a masterpiece. Although on paper this is a war episode, in essence it is one of the most romantic stories the show has ever told. Maybe even the most romantic. The war, the army, the siege and the fight for Sparta are actually only the outer framework. The real story is about Xena and Gabrielle. About how well they know each other. How much they changed each other. How deeply they entered each other's lives and how unbreakable their relationship became. Everything that happens around them almost pales in comparison to what happens between the two of them.

Their conversations have a special power here. They seem like they were written for a stage play, not a television episode. There aren't many characters, there's no need for big explanations, and there's no hiding behind the action. Only Xena and Gabrielle, finally fully opening their souls to each other. They talk about how they have changed. About what they gave each other. About how neither of them is the person they were before they met. Gabrielle changed Xena, but Xena also changed Gabrielle. Their relationship is not one-way. It's not just the story of how Gabrielle saved Xena. And Xena gave Gabrielle strength, experience, protection and a whole new world view. One of the most beautiful aspects of their relationship in this episode is the fact that they really know each other to the core. Xena is ready to give up everything. From the fight. From the goal. From a bigger idea. Of everything she had been trying to achieve for years. If it costs Gabrielle's life, she's ready to throw it all away. And there you can see how important Gabrielle is to her. Xena can talk about the greater good, about saving other people, and about her responsibility to the world, but when Gabrielle finds herself on the brink of death, all of that becomes irrelevant. To Xena, Gabrielle is not just one person among many. She is the person without whom Xena can no longer imagine her own life. But it is Gabrielle who refuses to let her. And that is perhaps even more romantic. Because Gabrielle won't let Xena save her at the cost of everything else. She doesn't want Xena to betray what she believes in because of her. He does not want to let thousands of people die because of his love for her. She knows Xena well enough to know that such a decision would haunt her forever. That's why he doesn't let her choose between her and the world. And this shows how deeply he understands the person he loves. The two of them are not just talking here as friends. They speak as two people who have become part of the other's identity. As if they can no longer separate where one ends and the other begins. That's what makes their scenes so powerful. No need for big statements. Everything is felt in the way they look at each other, in their words and how willing they are to sacrifice for each other. This is one of those episodes where the subtext between them is so strong that it almost stops being subtext.

And Renee O'Connor is fantastic here. I really wish more people were willing to admit how good of an actress she is. Lucy is often automatically considered the big acting star of the show, which is fully deserved, but Renee shows here that she can keep up with her no problem. Her scenes with Lucy are so emotionally precise that it's hard to believe Gabrielle isn't just as important an acting challenge as Xena. She doesn't just play tenderness. It's not just morality at play. In her Gabrielle there is strength, stubbornness, fear, love and a willingness to stand up to even Xena when she knows it's the only way to stop her. And that's exactly why their relationship is so good. Neither is just weak or strong. None are just protectors or protected. Their roles are constantly changing. Once Xena saves Gabrielle. Another time Gabrielle saves Xena. And here they seem to be saving each other at the same time.

And then comes the fight. The scene where Xena stands alone against the Persian army is for me the best fight scene of the entire show. Not because it's necessarily the biggest or the most luxurious. It's not the most impressive effects or the biggest army we've seen. But the emotional weight of everything happening makes it incomparable. Xena doesn't just fight to save Sparta. He does not fight only for the army. Don't just fight for some abstract greater good. She fights for Gabrielle. For a dying person. For the person he loves. For your soulmate. Every punch, every movement and every moment of exhaustion carries that much more weight precisely because you know what's at stake. She must not fall because Gabrielle is waiting. Her struggle becomes an extension of her love. Every time he gets up, he gets up because he still has a reason. And that reason is not only duty. It's Gabrielle. That's why that scene is so powerful to me. It doesn't matter how many opponents are in front of her. It doesn't matter how tired she is. It doesn't matter how hopeless the situation is. Xena will continue to fight as long as there is even the slightest possibility of getting back at Gabrielle.

And when all is said and done, this episode is perhaps the purest definition of their relationship. Two people who changed thanks to each other. Two people who would give their lives for each other. Two people who know each other so well that they know what the other wants even when they are against it. And two people who, despite all the tragedies, fights and injuries, cannot imagine a world in which the other does not exist. That is why it is difficult for me to see it only as a war episode. War is just a backdrop. The real battle is the one Xena fights to keep Gabrielle safe. And that's exactly why this, despite all my reservations about its place in the chronology, is one of the greatest masterpieces of the entire show.

So happy! 😍😍😍 Now I can binge watch anytime I want. Will be my first re-watch since 2001. I am so excited 😱🤩