Xena Series Review

Xena title cardWell, this is it; after almost three years and nearly 150 posts about Xena, I finally got to the end of that series. In my very first Xena post, I mentioned how Xena became my favourite show of all time as soon as I started watching it, and doing these reviews has only confirmed that for me. Also, Gabrielle is still my favourite character and, yes, I still like Joxer (when he’s written properly). As I mentioned last week, I think the overall theme of the series may be how love can be transformative, not just for individuals but for the world at large. Gabi’s love certainly transformed Xena, which led her to make the world a better place. Of course, Xena always had that goodness inside her, but without Gabi she may not have been able to find it when she needed it. (Yeah, I’m definitely still a Texter.) I think that’s why I love the show so much, because it shows us that we can actually make a difference by doing what’s right and putting more love into the world than we take out.

Back in that inaugural post, I also laid out my personal list of episodes, from most to least favourite. But watching all the episodes for my reviews has changed my feelings on some of them, so I’m putting a revised list here. You’ll notice that quite a few episodes moved up in the list—some substantially, like Many Happy Returns—and some dropped down a bit. But keepXena and Gabi's first campfire scene in mind that just because an episode moved down on the list, that doesn’t necessarily mean I like it less than before. Some episodes had to fall to make room for others that were moving upwards, and some went down not because my opinion on them changed, but because there are so many quality episodes that others just end up suffering in comparison. In my original list, I mentioned that any episode up to #115 would be a 7 out of 10, but in this list I’d probably extend that to #119. Only the last fifteen episodes are what I’d consider below par, since the creators and actors set the bar so high on this series.

1. One Against an Army                                     68. Takes One to Know One
2. When Fates Collide                                        69. Ties That Bind
3. Kindred Spirits                                                70. Succession
4. Remember Nothing                                      71. Prometheus
5. A Family Affair                                                72. You Are There
6. Sins of the Past                                               73. Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire
7. The Price                                                           74. Gabrielle’s Hope
8. The Quill is Mightier                                    75. Destiny
9. Return of Callisto                                          76. Royal Couple of Thieves
10. Old Ares Had a Farm                                  77. A Fistful of Dinars
11. Intimate Stranger                                        78. A Solstice Carol
12. A Day in the Life                                           79. Warrior … Princess
13. The Ides of March                                        80. A Friend in Need Part II
14. Many Happy Returns                                 81. Legacy
15. Endgame                                                          82. Animal Attraction
16. Locked Up and Tied Down                       83. In Sickness and in Hell
17. Callisto                                                              84. Them Bones, Them Bones
18. The Quest                                                        85. Sacrifice
19. Motherhood                                                   86. The Furies
20. Amphipolis Under Siege                           87. The Convert
21. Warrior … Princess … Tramp                   88. God Fearing Child
22. A Comedy of Eros                                         89. Athens City Academy …
23. The Bitter Suite                                            90. Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts
24. Crusader                                                          91. Ten Little Warlords
25. Eve                                                                     92. Send in the Clones
26. Is There a Doctor in the House?           93. Death in Chains
27. Forget Me Not                                              94. Fallen Angel
28. Looking Death in the Eye                        95. Past Imperfect
29. Been There Done That                             96. The Deliverer
30. Warrior … Priestess … Tramp                97. The Execution
31. Hooves and Harlots                                    98. Last of the Centaurs
32. Between the Lines                                     99. A Necessary Evil
33. Blind Faith                                                    100. For Him the Bell Tolls
34. To Helicon and Back                                101. The Debt Part II
35. When in Rome                                            102. Deja Vu All Over Again
36. The Ring                                                       103. Path of Vengeance
37. Lost Mariner                                               104. Adventures in the Sin Trade II
38. Who’s Gurkhan?                                       105. A Friend in Need
39. Tsunami                                                       106. The Rheingold
40. Maternal Instincts                                   107. Orphan of War
41. Little Problems                                          108. Adventures in the Sin Trade
42. Return of the Valkyrie                            109. The Debt
43. The Greater Good                                     110. Coming Home
44. The Play’s the Thing                              111. Daughter of Pomira
45. Dreamworker                                            112. Married With Fishsticks
46. The Reckoning                                          113. The Path Not Taken
47. The Prodigal                                              114. Here She Comes …
48. Sacrifice Part II                                         115. King of Assassins
49. The Abyss                                                    116. Vanishing Act
50. The God You Know                                  117. Ulysses
51. A Good Day                                                  118. Cradle of Hope
52. Dirty Half Dozen                                      119. Haunting of Amphipolis
53. Livia                                                               120. Purity
54. The Xena Scrolls                                      121. Back in the Bottle
55. Antony and Cleopatra                            122. Altared States
56. If the Shoe Fits …                                     123. Giant Killer
57. Eternal Bonds                                           124. Dangerous Prey
58. Devi                                                               125. Death Mask
59. Fins, Femmes, and Gems                    126. Chariots of War
60. The Way                                                     127. Black Wolf
61. Paradise Found                                        128. The Titans
62. Seeds of Faith                                          129. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
63. Key to the Kingdom                              130. Heart of Darkness
64. Punch Lines                                             131. A Tale of Two Muses
65. Chakram                                                    132. Soul Possession
66. Mortal Beloved                                       133. Lifeblood
67. Forgiven                                                    134. King Con

As I said, some episodes moved up on my list because my feelings for them grew upon re-watch. I could very well change my mind (and probably will) Gabi and Xena sail on to new adventuresafter another re-watch, but this is how I feel right now. I think I might actually watch all the episodes again, this time taking into account my speculations about the revised episode order that I brought up in various Geography/Timeline posts. I’ll see if my revised order really does make the overall story flow better. Speaking of which, I’ve contemplated doing a special timeline post where I try to put Xena’s past exploits into some kind of logical order, but I think I’ll hold off on that for now. Maybe one of these days I’ll try it, but for now it’s time to say farewell to my Xena posts (as much as I love covering the show) and move on to the next show I’ll be reviewing. I’ve decided to do Frankie Drake Mysteries, a show about female detectives in the 1920s. I’ve never seen it before, but the setting appeals to me and I do love shows about kick-ass women (did I mention that Xena is my favourite show of all time?), so I think I’ll enjoy this. Join me next Wednesday for my first Frankie Drake review and thanks for reading my Xena posts.