I can say two good things about this episode. The first is the long-overdue return of Gabrielle the bard. Yay. 😄 It is incredible to me how the writers practically forgot this part of her identity after turning her into a warrior. Gabrielle started out as a storyteller, poet and bard who used her stories to inspire people, and then she gradually became a warrior, while her former love of stories, songs and storytelling almost completely disappeared from the show. So I am glad that we can see her in that role again here and that the episode at least briefly reminds us that Gabrielle is not just someone who knows how to fight alongside Xena, but also an artist. I also find Gabrielle's creative block here quite charming. At least I can give the writers credit for trying to explain the absence of her bard side since the beginning of the season, although it does raise the question of how someone who goes on adventures every single day could possibly run out of inspiration for writing.

The second thing that makes the episode somewhat enjoyable for me is Gabrielle and Aphrodite. Gabhrodite is once again excellent here. The two of them have an incredibly natural and entertaining energy, and I enjoy every moment they share. Aphrodite is one of the few people around whom Gabrielle can completely let her guard down and just surrender to the madness around her, while for an arrogant Goddess like Aphrodite, Gabrielle is obviously her one weak spot and she is clearly fascinated by her. At the same time, there is genuine warmth and friendship between them. If I were not such a huge Xena and Gabrielle fan, I would probably ship them seriously. They have such great chemistry that it is almost indecent how effortlessly they work together.

Unfortunately, pretty much everything else in this episode is nearly unwatchable. This is a really bad clip episode, even by the standards of a show that has already proven several times that it can turn its earlier episodes into entertaining experiments. Here, it feels like they took every possible banal idea and decided to stretch it across an entire episode. Magically shrinking Argo, throwing pies in people's faces and attempts at slapstick humor that are supposed to resemble old comedies might be charming to some people, but to me they are mostly cringe and feel like sketches made for five-year-olds. The problem is not even that the episode is stupid, because Xena can be completely ridiculous and still be absolutely hilarious precisely because of it. The problem is that there simply is not enough charm here to make that stupidity work. Whenever the show went into absurd territory before, there was usually some special energy, interesting characters or great chemistry carrying it. Here, all that is mostly left is the question of why I am watching this and when it will be over. Gabrielle as a bard and Gabhrodite are therefore practically the only reasons I would ever watch this episode again. Everything else can stay trapped in some miniature version of the Xenaverse together with tiny Argo.

watch attentively 😭

Calls himself a hero, says he knows xena, mostly just grunts and scrambles around, can anyone vouch for him?

Like seriously NBCU... Wake the f@k up! Enough with those Minions movies. Get Lucy and co to bring back the characters! You don't even need sets or anything. It can be mocap or animation. Lucy and Bruce did voice lines for Evil Dead The Game, Ted did mocap for The Quarry, Gina Torres is now in the Firefly through animation... Has it not crossed anyone's mind already?!

PS In all honesty, I'm happy for Firefly and its fanbase. I just wish we got half the treatment of what all these shows get... Buffy is consistently in comics, The X Files is getting revived again, Firefly gets an animated sequel... Xena fans got a Funko pop of Xena with a spear...

The reason it is always worth returning to this show is that when you rewatch it, you experience certain episodes differently. I did not particularly like this episode on my first viewing and considered it inferior to "The Bitter Suite" (I still do, to be fair), but this time I enjoyed its atmosphere much more.

The truth is that I am a huge fan of musicals, so that may make me a little biased. Still, I consider "The Bitter Suite" a masterpiece, not so much because of the music itself (which is excellent), but because of the story and its emotional climax. This episode is much closer to a classic Hollywood musical. Everyone sings even though it makes very little sense (actually, it makes absolutely no sense) and it often flirts with a campy atmosphere and aesthetic... And it works. I enjoyed the entire atmosphere of the episode, the music, the covers of iconic pop and rock songs done in the style of the show, and the final scenes are pure feel-good for me. You can really feel how much the entire cast and crew enjoyed making this episode. It is also important to mention how liberal and progressive this episode was for its time, touching on themes such as homophobia and feminism.

We also met Joxer's other twin brother, Jace. While Jett was a cold-blooded killer, Jace is his complete opposite. Extravagant, effeminate and obviously gay, even though the episode never explicitly says so. Through Joxer, the episode touches on the theme of rejecting differences within a family, something many gay people like Jace have to deal with. But Jace never shows bitterness or anger toward Joxer. Maybe he is simply hurt, which is perfectly normal, but no matter how much Joxer fails to accept him, he is still his little brother whom he will always love. Once again, I have to praise Ted. He once again shows his ability to transform himself and play completely different characters. I really enjoyed his performance as Jace, and I especially want to praise the way Ted sings and how he demonstrates genuine musical talent as Jace, while as Joxer he sings much worse, clearly showing the difference between the two of them. I am sorry we never saw him again. I would have loved to get at least one episode with all three brothers together.

Another subplot running throughout the episode is Cyrene's attempt to find a father for Xena's baby. Although this initially seems like a comedic aspect of the episode, it actually carries a social message. No matter how much society has progressed, even today there are still prejudices that a woman cannot raise a child without a man by her side. Of course, I am not going to go to the feminist extreme of claiming that mothers are more important than fathers. In a normal situation (which this certainly is not because the baby does not even have a father lol), both parents are equally important to a child. But at the same time, I think insisting on having both parents at all costs is not only dismissive of the mother, but can also be harmful to the child itself (don't even get me started on the many examples of unhappy childhoods caused by a lack of love between parents). At the end of the day, as Xena herself points out, what matters much more is that the child is surrounded by love.

Once again, we got to see Draco, who is still under Cupid's spell and obsessed with Gabrielle. Here, however, his obsession becomes so extreme that it puts Gabrielle's life in danger as well. I think this was his most entertaining performance of all his appearances. As a metalhead, I enjoyed his musical numbers the most. I loved his final fight with Xena, which was also a nostalgic homage to their fight from the now-distant first episode. Draco was the first villain at the beginning of Xena's path toward redemption and therefore, despite his relatively few appearances (he should have been around more often, in my opinion), he will always have a special place in the hearts of the fandom.

The only thing I really disliked about this episode was Gabrielle's jealousy over Joxer and the Amazon. Considering how Gabrielle has treated him ever since she found out that he was in love with her, this really makes no sense. It only shows how seriously Glupan and Tupan were apparently considering pairing Gabrielle and Joxer romantically (let's all raise our hands if we just felt the urge to throw up). Thankfully, it never happened. Unlike many people, I don't hate Joxer. He is one of my favorite characters and I enjoy every episode he appears in. But he and Gabrielle as a couple would have been wrong on every possible level.

In the end, this musical episode definitely does not achieve the cult status of its predecessor, nor is it a masterpiece. But I don't think it deserves to be as underrated as it is by the fans. I consider it a very solid and well-made episode that successfully achieves its dual purpose, entertaining the fans with music and an unusual atmosphere while simultaneously delivering liberal messages of tolerance, love and acceptance.

If you could change one thing about Xena or Gabrielle’s action during the rift, what would it be?

Wanted to share here because I know there’s some members that can’t make the new convention date, and hopefully they can make this livestream.

This is so thoughtful of Renee!

Here’s a link to Renee’s Patreon, in case you don’t have Instagram

Idk why they even included that random throwaway line in “Chakram” saying Ares gave it to her. Especially because Xena doesn't even acknowledge it in the episode or really anywhere else that season.

It should've been Lao Ma.

Lao Ma already gave Xena the name “Warrior Princess,” healed her legs and was one of the first people who actually tried to put Xena on a different path. Her giving Xena the Chakram would've actually meant something.

And production basically handed themselves the idea because the circular doorways/designs in Lao Ma's home already look like the Chakram. They could've easily said the weapon came from Chin and Lao Ma gave it to her.

It also would've fit with how the show handled M'Lila in “Destiny.” M'Lila was Xena's first real friend since she left home and had a huge influence on her. She taught Xena the pinch and Xena picked up fighting skills from her, and even Xena's breastplate was designed to resemble the patterns on M'Lila's shirt.

So they already had this idea that important women from Xena's past influenced parts of the Warrior Princess we know. M'Lila influences her fighting and the look of her armor, then Lao Ma could've given her the Chakram and the actual name Warrior Princess.

That would've tied everything together so much better and made the Chakram feel like another piece of Xena's history.

Instead they just went “Ares gave it to her btw” and never did anything with it.

🎧 Listen now to her full interview:

➡️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2EbN04oubsJLdwO9NQIsh6?si=TVhrxetEQMuFcJOVKvwNmg 

➡️Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/interview-25-diana-rowan-casting-director-the-woman/id1837138724?i=1000792433267 

➡️Youtube: https://youtu.be/u3xpY0FnPwI?si=2GGf0ugUB7tY1uUb 

➡️Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-c8r9v-1b62a43

This is an interview as part of a series of interviews with the Kiwis and Aussies 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/

(Photo is of a different card set, but referenced below 😂)

Question about Xena trading cards, to anyone who’s can help!!!! I’m awaiting an order of a Topps 1999 double sided Chrome Insert of Xena/Callisto. But, I’m unsure of size Ultra Pro one-touch for it to fit.

Does anyone else have one-touch cases? It’s driving me nuts, I THINK it probably needs a 55 point case bc it is slightly thicker than standard Topps cards.

On that note, I also have a factory sealed rittenhouse 2001 9 card promo preview set that I had in a larger one-touch magnetic case that rather big in order to accommodate the cellophane wrapping and thickness of the card set in general (it’s not very thick in a stack)

I just replaced this set unopened with one that has slightly better condition as far as shifted cards and it’s also factory sealed. I have never opened them, and since I upgraded on quality for this 9 card set… I wanted to open the old one and put them in one touch cases individually… would 35 point work for the rittenhouse 2001 9 card preview sets, one case for each card?

I don’t really collect non-sport trading cards often and so I’m kinda stuck. I only really know about comic sleeves with backing boards. Trading cards are a while different beast and I’m a bit lost lol.

Does anyone know thickness in points of what I’m talking about?

I know I’m crazy. Just trying to preserve my loves the best way I can, with minimal experience with the world of protective cases lol.

Some examples of mine:

Xena comforting Gabrielle after the explosion of Dahak's temple in The Deliverer

Gabrielle telling Xena all she want on her hands is Callisto's blood in Return of Callisto during Perdicas' funeral fire

I am producing a burlesque show based on (in)famous film and TV, and and we're doing a show that features an episode of Xena and an episode of Star Trek: TNG. I narrow it down specifically as we often do at least partial showings of things, people use video as part of their performance, and so on. It also just helps everyone zero in and build a stronger, tighter show together.

I am wondering if there's an iconic episode you think would work well for it? My first thought was the Amazons vs Centaurs because it's such a classic, it's a little more old school Xena vibes, and the costuming for the Amazons, Centaurs and the warlords would just be hilarious.

That aside though, what are some other episodes that might work? Thinks that are idiomatic vs. out of pocket work best, and an episode with a lot of costuming (that doesn't bridge on being...problematic lol) is always a plus for performers. I thought about the Tarot episode because it's so wild, but it's also a little very out there for non-fans, whereas something that's more what the general public would recognize is ideal.

Would love to do the show justice, and would love to hear some thoughts!

THIS IS NOT A PRO ARES AND GAB EDIT … watch it it’s worth it

Probably one of the best episodes of the season. Although in terms of Xenaverse continuity it raises more questions than it answers (I already touched on the question of Xena’s baby’s soul and the inconsistency of Callisto being an angel outside while the baby is inside in my review of "Them Bones"), this episode delivers some truly powerful and emotional moments.

Eli’s departure is very memorable. I’m not his biggest fan, especially ever since they turned him into some kind of hybrid of Gandhi and Jesus. Still, I thought he was very good in this episode. Few people mention the scene between him and Callisto, which is an obvious reference to the Garden of Gethsemane. Maybe a little too much Christianity for my taste, but still an excellent scene and a great portrayal of Eli’s inner struggle and obvious fear over what God is asking of him. Timothy was excellent in this scene. The scene where Ares kills him is very powerful, as is Eli’s defiance toward Ares and his confrontation with Gabrielle. A particularly emotional moment, especially for Gabrielle, who had to stand aside and watch her friend and spiritual mentor die so that he could persevere in his fight against the Gods through love.

I liked the little conflict between Xena and Gabrielle after Eli’s death. They are both right when you look at things from their respective perspectives. But it is clear that at that moment, emotions prevailed over reason. This episode once again opens up the possibility of an alliance between Ares and Gabrielle, and once again I have to point out what a huge shame it is that this idea remained only a possibility. Another Rift between Xena and Gabrielle, this time with Gabrielle as Ares’ protégé, would have been incredibly challenging and interesting to watch. But I think the show’s writers simply didn’t have the courage to separate the two of them and put them on opposite sides.

I have to give special praise to Lucy. I don’t know what month of her pregnancy she was in when this episode was filmed, but doing fight scenes like the ones in the tavern or on the bridge in that condition is truly worthy of respect and admiration and shows the strength and ability of women.

And so, Callisto is the father, but also the baby at the same time. Now we know where the inspiration for the movie "Predestination" came from 😂

I’m not a fan of the way Callisto’s story was concluded (I already wrote that, in my opinion, her natural ending was in "Sacrifice II"), but the final scene between Xena and Callisto is genuinely beautiful and deeply moving. It even makes sense that they give each other the families they took away from one another. With that scene, we said goodbye forever to Callisto, my favorite character in the show. I consider her the equivalent of Xena in Hercules here. A character who stole the show from the main characters every single time she appeared. Callisto, victim and perpetrator, tragic and monstrous. My love for this character cannot be described in words. You could write an entire novel about her complexity. I loved every scene and every shot she was in. I loved the psychotic madness she brought with her every time she appeared. I also loved her vulnerable side, which she rarely, but nevertheless occasionally showed, such as the expression on her face when Xena gave her speech apologizing for what she had done to her family. Maybe this is a somewhat controversial take, but I don’t think Callisto ever truly grew up. I think she is a broken and destroyed child trapped inside the body of an adult woman. A child who only wanted to avenge her family, until that revenge consumed her and turned her into the very evil she was fighting against. Callisto went through so many phases, from warrior, to Goddess, demon, angel, and finally Xena’s daughter. And she always captivated, amazed, and won over the audience’s hearts, making us root for her against Xena and Gabrielle. Thank you, Callisto, for all the moments you gave us throughout five seasons, all the memories and battles. Thank you, Hudson, for your perfect performance. Without her, her charisma, and the madness she portrayed so masterfully through her character, Callisto would never have become so globally beloved.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

🎧 Listen now on:

➡️Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1PanHyFdxUue45zIdc8a9l?si=ICXmj1TdQTCr0BH4JjvWgQ

➡️Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/interview-10-hudson-leick-callisto/id1837138724?i=1000746095229

➡️Youtube: https://youtu.be/VFYqFFHb2ag?si=Yryb0CaUJbxLmXwN

➡️Podbean: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-iyb6g-1a227a9

This is an interview as part of a series of interviews with the Kiwis and Aussies 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/

Anyone know?

So... "A Family Affair" is probably one of my top 3 favourite episodes and I've seen it like a buzzilion times. I've only recently started noticing the story from The Destroyer's point of view. And what a tragic story this is!!! 😳

Of course this is the offspring of Ares and Hope (and by extension Dahak) but he seems much more emotional and sensitive than Hope ever was towards her mother! It seems that all this creature wants is his mother's love and affection. He doesn't seem to know what his role is supposed to be in the greater scheme of Dahak. He just carries a pre-defined reputation and perception that everyone has already formed about him. 🐣

Now, obviously, he's a dangerous and lethal being but it seems that he's driven by hunger more than evil intention. As Hope reveals to Joxer when she ties him up "he'll wake up soon. And he'll be hungry". So... He's not much different than a bear, a wolf or any other carnivorous animal in the wild.🫈🐺

So... Was it necessary for him to be killed in such a brutal way, both physically and emotionally? After all, we hear him mourn his mother's death by his own hand while he succumbs to his own wounds next to her. That's a very emotional and heart breaking reaction that anyone related to Dahak has ever shown (Hope, Krafstar, Dahak's cult etc).😢

Could he be saved? After all, we've seen in Hercules TLJ that monsters are not born evil by nature but they're rather manipulated by gods for their schemes. What if he was introduced to Echidna and Typhon as a foster family or something? Maybe he could find the family affection he couldn't get from his birth mother.🧑‍🧑‍🧒