Category: TV Reviews

Adventures in the Sin Trade II – Director: T.J. Scott/Story: Rob Tapert, R.J. Stewart/Teleplay: R.J. Stewart

This one starts with Xena and Otere in an Amazon sweat lodge. Xena tells Otere how she first met Cyane and the Northern Amazons and we get the first of a series of flashbacks. Xena spies on Cyane while she’s in a sweat lodge (and seems rather attracted to her), but falls through the roof. Cyane is naked, but pulls all Xena’s clothes off at lightning speed and starts pounding her. Xena grabs a robe and takes off, but Cyane does some tree-running and catches up to Xena, preparing to kill her. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 4, Episode 2”

Adventures in the Sin Trade – Director: T.J. Scott/Story: Rob Tapert, R.J. Stewart/Teleplay: R.J. Stewart

This one starts with a half-crazed Xena finding Hades to ask if she can see Gabrielle. Hades doesn’t know where she is and Xena figures Gabrielle must’ve gone to the Amazons’ afterlife after dying in last season’s finale. Hades doesn’t know where that is, but Xena does. She leaves Argo behind and heads out to find Gabi. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 4, Episode 1”

Welcome to my geography and timeline review for Season 3, fellow Xena fans. As I explained last year and the year before, this is my attempt to bring some continuity to the Season 3 episodes, trying to figure out where they took place (and in what possible order) to make the whole thing flow better. Continue reading “Xena Season 3 Geography and Chronology”

Welcome to my overall review of Season 3 of Xena: Warrior Princess. (I won’t link to all the individual episodes that I reference, since you can access them from the tag cloud under Xena Season 3.) This season’s overarching theme would seem to be the Rift, the fans’ name for the anger and mistrust that pulls Xena and Gabrielle apart, causing them to lose trust in each other (and ultimately leading to the death of Xena’s son, Solan). I think the season can almost be split in two, with the first half dealing with the Rift, while the latter half shows how Xena and Gabi get past all that and find their love for each other again. Continue reading “Xena Season 3 Overview”

Sacrifice II – Director: Rick Jacobson/Writer: Paul Robert Coyle

This one continues right on from last episode, with Hope emerging from her cocoon looking like an exact duplicate of Gabi. Xena tries to kill her, but Hope uses her telekinesis to keep Xena away. Callisto jumps in and Xena buries her under some rock again. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 3, Episode 22”

Sacrifice – Director: David Wharry-Smith/Writer: Steven L. Sears

This one starts with Callisto forcing herself out through a portal to another dimension (where she was trapped in a Hercules episode). Elsewhere, Xena and Gabi are looking for an old friend of Gabi’s from Poteidaia (Seraphin), who’s gotten involved with some kind of cult. Xena’s lip-reading talents tell them the cult is trying to bring back some goddess that they worship. When they realize Seraphin is meant to be a blood sacrifice for the cult, they jump in to help her, but she doesn’t seem all that eager to get away. Xena chases some fleeing cultists and is shocked to run into Callisto, who grabs one of the priests and vanishes. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 3, Episode 21”

Vanishing Act – Director: Andrew Merrifield/Writer: Terence Winter

This one starts with Xena heading out to take care of something, leaving Gabi to participate in a festival dedicated to Pax, Goddess of Peace. Xena and Gabi’s friend Hadar makes a speech commemorating the end of hostilities between his town and a neighbouring one, but the next day, the golden statue of Pax is gone and the villagers start blaming each other. Xena returns and quickly uncovers a possible suspect … Autolycus, who’s disguised as an old woman. But Autolycus insists he didn’t steal the statue. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 3, Episode 20”

Tsunami – Director: John Laing/Writer: Chris Manheim

This one starts with Gabi visiting a fortune-teller, who says she’s going to meet a tall, dark man and that there’ll be danger and death. Xena is skeptical and Gabi remarks that danger and death is pretty typical for them. They separate to get supplies and Gabi notices Autolycus being loaded onto a convict ship. She tries to talk to him and gets into a fight with the guards. The ship sets off and Gabi yells for help. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 3, Episode 19”

Fins, Femmes, and Gems – Director: Josh Becker/Story: Rob Tapert, Adam Armus, Nora Kay Foster/Teleplay: Adam Armus, Nora Kay Foster

This one starts with Aphrodite hanging out in one of her temples when three thugs come in to see her. They’ve stolen the Mystic Diamond from the Temple of the Heavens. The Diamond represents the North Star, without which the world will be thrown into disarray, but Aphrodite doesn’t care; she wants the Diamond for her own constellation and (after some sexual innuendo with the leader) sends the men to Parnassus where she has an astrologer waiting to launch the Diamond into the sky. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 3, Episode 18”

Forget Me Not – Director: Charlie Haskell/Writer: Hilary J. Bader

This one starts with clips of Gabi arguing with Xena and poisoning Hope in Maternal Instincts. We soon realize this is a nightmare and that Gabi’s been having a lot of bad dreams lately, and they’re getting so bad she can barely function. Continue reading “Xena Reviews: Season 3, Episode 17”