Little Problems – Director: Allison Liddi/Writer: Gregg Ostrin
This one starts with Xena and Gabi stopping some looters (led by a thug named Galantis) at one of Aphrodite’s temples. Aphrodite shows them a hospice she’s started beside the temple and they find a girl named Daphne who’s been in a coma since her mother died. Xena muses that she’d like to trade places with Daphne to give her a second
chance, and Aphrodite takes her literally, switching Xena’s life-force with Daphne’s. Daphne wakes up, but it soon becomes apparent that Aphrodite didn’t complete the spell properly, so Xena’s consciousness is inside Daphne’s body, alongside Daphne’s own.
Daphne’s father (Sandor) shows up and is happy that Daphne’s awake. But 
she doesn’t remember that her mother is dead and Sandor can’t find the words to tell her. Gabi doesn’t tell Sandor about Xena being inside Daphne, hoping Aphrodite can fix things soon. (If they don’t get Xena back in her own body by sundown the next day, the switch will be permanent.) Elsewhere, Galantis’s boss (Tharon) hears about Xena stopping his men at the temple and orders Galantis to get Xena (who he has a grudge against for scarring him years ago). At home, Sandor finally tells Daphne her mom is dead and she freaks out. He’s not
exactly Mr. Sensitive about the whole thing. Gabi and Aphrodite figure out that Castor and Pollux (who are conjoined twins) have a special oil that can separate them and figure it’ll work on Xena and Daphne too. Meanwhile, Xena tries to help Daphne communicate with her father, but it’s obvious neither of them are very good at sharing their feelings. Gabi and Aphrodite take Xena’s body to a cave to hide it, but Galantis and his men show up to take it.
Aphrodite lets it slip that Xena’s body is “soulless” and Gabi kicks the crap 
out of Galantis and his men. They seal the cave before heading to the Gemini Club to find Castor and Pollux. At the market, Xena urges Daphne to talk to her father, but she just can’t find the words to connect with him. A horse goes wild and runs through the market with a cart behind it, so Xena takes over Daphne’s body and stops it. Galantis sees that and realizes Xena is inside Daphne. At the Gemini Club, Gabi and Aphrodite are turned away because only twins are allowed in. Aphrodite’s ready to blast the bouncer, but Gabi has a better idea. Galantis
tells Tharon his theory about Xena being inside Daphne and Tharon thinks he’s nuts, but tells him to grab Daphne so they can see if he’s right. At home, Daphne asks how her mother died, but her father won’t talk about it and she freaks and takes off. At the Gemini Club, Gabi and Aphrodite get in by pretending to be Scandinavian conjoined twins named Brunne and Hilde. Daphne ends up crying over her mother’s grave, where Galantis and his men find her.
Xena takes over Daphne’s body again and pounds Galantis and his men. 
(I’m not sure how that would work; Daphne’s way smaller than Xena and doesn’t have her strength or even her weight to put behind the punches and kicks. Maybe Xena’s fighting knowledge helped her strikes hit in precise spots, making up for Daphne’s lack of strength.) In the club, Gabi and Aphrodite meet Castor and Pollux and agree to oil-wrestle them to get close enough to get the special oil they need from Castor. Daphne and Xena talk and Xena tries to get her to see how much her father loves her, even if he can’t express it. Tharon is pissed off that his men were beaten by a kid, so he decides to make Xena come to them
instead of trying to capture her. Xena tells Daphne about not having a father and how lucky she felt to have her mom, and Daphne realizes they have a lot in common. At the club, Gabi and Aphrodite wrestle Castor and Pollux (and Aphrodite’s way more into it than Gabi is), getting the oil and taking off. Daphne goes fishing and remembers that her mom died trying to save her when she fell in the sea. Daphne freaks, blaming herself for her mom’s death and before Sandor can find her, he’s grabbed by Galantis and his men.
Xena tries to comfort Daphne, telling her it’s not her fault her mom died 
saving her. Gabi shows up to let them know Tharon has Daphne’s dad and wants to trade him for Xena. The deadline is sundown, so Xena sends Aphrodite to get her body, while she and Gabi head for Tharon’s castle. Gabi and Daphne scam the gate guard by pretending to sell Junior Amazon cookies and Daphne gets into the dungeon to rescue her father. They make peace and he admits he feels guilty about her mom’s death too, since he could’ve saved both of them if he’d been there. On the way out, Galantis grabs Daphne, leaving Gabi and Sandor to
fight the guards. Daphne (or Xena, really) throws Galantis down the stairs and has a sword fight with Tharon, culminating in him falling over the parapets to his death. Aphrodite shows up with Xena’s body and they make the switch just before sundown. Xena says goodbye to Daphne (and Gabi to Aphrodite) and they leave, discussing what it’ll be like when Xena’s kid is born.
I really like this episode—it’s #55 on my all-time list and could move up 
some—but I’m not exactly sure I can explain why. It’s one of those episodes that just gives me a good feeling when I watch it. Obviously, it’s a Xena-lite episode (to give Lucy a break while she was pregnant), but Xena still manages to bond with Daphne and teach her a few things. It’s almost like Xena’s practicing to be a parent here and at the end she tells Daphne she’d love to have a kid like her. Gabi tells Xena to remember her patience with Daphne when her own daughter is a teenager, which is kind of ironic, since
Xena will miss Eve’s teenage years, but she’ll definitely be a handful in her twenties. I also like that long shot at the end, with Xena and Gabi walking along the beach together. I know that’s probably not even Lucy and Renee, just a couple of stand-ins, but it’s still a nice shot and the rising music gives it a sweet, wistful sort of feel.
Probably the reason I like this episode so much is because Gabi really gets to 
shine here. First of all, she kicks ass in several fight scenes, using multiple weapons in the first fight in the temple, then using a burning rope to pound Galantis and his men in the cave. She does great in the final fight too, with Renee doing some really cool moves; you can tell she’s been working on her fighting techniques. It’s also great how well Renee and Alex work together, doing a hilarious double-act with Gabi and Aphrodite. The scenes at the club are so funny, with
Aphrodite really getting into the wrestling (and the foxy-boxing when they first come in), while Gabi is mostly just disgusted by the “shameless exploitation of the female form”. There’s a scene when they’re trying to get into the club where the horns on their Viking helmets get locked together and Alex’s helmet slips down over her face. She almost gives up on the take (you can see her start laughing), but 
when she looks at Renee, she keeps going. She later said in an interview that she couldn’t believe they ended up using that take. I also love when Castor propositions them in Norse and they have no clue what he said, so they just nod and say “Ja, ja!” in their stereotypical Scandinavian accents. And the contrasting looks on Gabi and Aphrodite’s faces when Castor says he and his brother are “cunning linguists” is priceless.
Noticeable Things:
- When trying to figure out a way to get Xena’s soul out of Daphne’s body, Aphrodite mentions henbane, which Gabi immediately vetoes.
- The idea of Castor having a special oil that will separate two souls is a play on castor oil.
- In the dungeon, Daphne (or Xena) uses a finger bone broken off a skeleton to pick the locks on her father’s manacles. If Gabi was there, I’m sure she would’ve made a joke about it being a “skeleton key”.
- Daphne has a wooden sheep made by Sinticles, like the one Xena gave Gabi for Solstice.
- Daphne is played by Rose McIver, of iZombie and Once Upon a Time fame.
Favourite Quotes:
- “I can’t believe it. Aphrodite succouring the ill.” Gabi amazed at seeing the hospice Aphrodite started, but Aphrodite gets bent out of shape because she thinks Gabi is accusing her of suckering the ill.
- “It’s hanging below his belt.” Gabi talking about the oil vial Castor is carrying. Naturally, Aphrodite thinks she means something else …
- “I have a friend in your daughter.” Gabi being very literal, without actually telling Sandor that Xena’s soul is inside Daphne.