Welcome to my overview of Xena Season 4, in which I’ll try to touch on some of the overarching themes that run through the season. (I won’t link to every episode I reference, since you can find them all in the Tag Cloud under “Xena Season 4”.) The main theme of this season has to do with Xena and Gabrielle trying to find their true paths in life, their Way. Gabi’s search for her true self is
highlighted more, but Xena is also trying to figure out who she really is. The difference seems to be that Xena kinda already knows who she is (an angry, ass-kicking warrior as she tells Krishna) and on some level has always accepted that. On the other hand, Gabi is more conflicted about who she is (innocent girl from Poteidaia, bard, Amazon queen, fighter, peacemaker) and has more trouble accepting that she might be a combination of all those things. Gabi wants to be a 
peacemaker, healing rather than hurting, but her life with Xena has forced to learn fighting skills. It’s hard for Gabi to admit that violence might sometimes be used for good purposes, even though Xena is living proof of that. So maybe the real theme of this season is acceptance. (It works for some of the other characters too: Joxer has to accept his first kill, and Najara can’t accept that she and Gabi are more different than they are alike.)
Xena has always been a warrior, but she feels guilty about her violent past, so she has to learn to accept that her martial abilities can serve the cause of
good (something Gabi points out in Locked Up and Tied Down). And Gabi has to learn much the same lesson about herself; that she can strive for peace while fighting to bring it about. Gabi mistakenly tries to follow Eli’s Way of Love instead of her own, but as I mentioned in the review for The Way, Gabi and Eli are on different paths, 
even if they are following the same Way. I don’t think Gabi ever left the Way of Love, it’s just that her particular Way can include fighting when necessary (especially when Xena’s life is at stake like in Ides of March … and we got some foreshadowing of that in Indrajit’s palace.) So Gabi has to accept that she can fight and still be a good person, something she already accepts in Xena. It’s ironic that Xena and Gabi both see in each other what they have trouble seeing in
themselves. Once they accept those things in themselves, they can move forward with their lives (although Gabi is still somewhat conflicted next season). And continuing the acceptance theme is Alti’s vision, which looms like a shadow over the whole season. Xena tries to fight against it, but in the end they both have to accept it and be grateful that they can meet death together.
That togetherness is a big part of the season too. Xena and Gabi have finally 
accepted (and admitted) their love for each other and are moving forward with their relationship. Their conversation at the end of Family Affair kinda feels like a “defining the relationship” talk and afterwards they act like a real couple. Xena says it doesn’t matter how they look for answers, as long as they do it together, and we see that over and over through the season. Xena and Gabi work together and learn from each other. Even when they disagree, they never stop loving each other and that lets them face anything … even death. In India, they find out
that they’re soulmates, destined to meet over and over again in every incarnation. But on some level, I think they always knew that, from the moment their eyes locked in that clearing outside Poteidaia. Of course, there’s also Joxer’s crush on Gabi—which will kinda be resolved in Season 5—but that can’t even make a dent in Xena and Gabi’s feelings for each other (especially since Gabi’s blissfully unaware of it).
In previous overviews (Season 1; Season 2; Season 3), I likened Xena and 
Gabi’s relationship to a teeter-totter (or the ladders in Callisto), with the two of them trying to find balance and move towards the centre. I think by this season, Xena and Gabi have found their balance and met in the centre, but their search for inner truth sometimes gets them turned around, so they’re facing outward instead of towards each other. Once they learn to accept themselves (and each other) for who they really are, they can turn face-to-face again and hold onto each
other for support. As I mentioned above, Xena and Gabi bring out the best in each other and despite all their differences, they’re very much alike. So when they’re facing, they not only see each other, but the reflections of themselves that help them accept who they truly are. Maybe that’s the real theme of this season.
And that’s my take on Season 4. If you have any comments, questions, or (polite) disagreements, let me know in the comments. Tomorrow, I’ll be doing a Timeline and Geography post for Season 4, where I try to figure out where each episode takes place, and suggest a different viewing order that might make the episodes flow a bit more logically. As always, if you’re not into dissecting the geographical and chronological minutiae of episodes, feel free to skip that post and come back next Wednesday for my first review of Season 5.