08: 1x15-16 "Warrior...Princess" & "Mortal Beloved"

Take a stroll with us through (Tartarus) the Elysian Fields on this week’s XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST! Vera, Katie, and Livy laugh it up at the first purely comic Xena ep, 1x15 “Warrior...Princess,” a Mark Twain mash-up of mistaken identity and courtly intrigue. We discuss Xena’s performance of femaleness and the apparently really elaborate tests she’s been administering to Gabrielle behind the scenes?? Then it’s on to 1x16, “Mortal Beloved,” which marks the glorious return of BFOTW Marcus, who, despite being dead, still looks damn good without his vest! We discuss this episode’s two grand romances: Xena and Marcus’s love connection that crosses the boundaries of life and death, and Gabrielle’s unspoken devotion to Xena that leads her to wait (and wait and wait) for her beloved’s return.

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07: 1x13-14 "Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards" & "A Fistful of Dinars"

Uh-oh, this is a week of contrary opinions on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST. Vera, Katie, and Livy wax poetical over the improbable gem, 1x13 “Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards,” which despite being a clip show -- that much loathed episode format usually considered a waste of valuable tv plotting space -- actually breaks a ton of new ground! We talk about Gabrielle’s surprising choice to leave Xena behind, the utopian ultra-supportive artists’ collective she establishes with her many charming BFsOTW, and the imaginative editing techniques this episode uses to depict the bards’ different storytelling styles. Then we go against the fandom grain in 1x14, “A Fistful of Dinars,” and give this seemingly well-liked episode a big thumbs down. We puzzle over why Petracles’s hair is the way it is, why the gods created ambrosia in the first place, and why this episode is named after a spaghetti western when it’s more of an Indiana Jones serial?? Just...so many why’s.

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06: 1x11-12 "The Black Wolf" & "Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts"

Sing, muses, as we embark upon another epic episode of XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST! This week Vera, Katie, and Livy partake in some whiskey and tackle the Robin Hood-style swashbuckler 1x11, “The Black Wolf,” in which Salmoneus pays homage to Xena’s amazing legs, Gabrielle accessorizes with a fine chakram hat, and Xena teaches people life lessons by dropping them out of trees (as you do). Then we move on to 1x12, “Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts,” an ambitious first outing for one of the show’s most talented directors. We discuss TJ Scott’s unique visual style, the transgressive depiction of Helen of Troy, and the reintroduction of Gabrielle’s greatest BFOTW, Perdicas, so lovable despite looking exactly like Donny Osmond ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

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05: 1x09-10 "Death in Chains" & "Hooves and Harlots"

This week on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST, Vera, Katie, and Livy embark on the Sisyphean task of finding deep meaning in the not-very-deep 1x09, “Death in Chains,” in which King Sisyphus lives in Disney’s Haunted Mansion and Gabrielle falls for a BFOTW so generically perfect he may as well have been grown in a lab. (Rats!) But then we move on to crucial 1x10, “Hooves and Harlots,” an essential episode for Gabrielle, who gains a new title, a new outfit, and her very first weapon. So join us as we break out the Problematic Jar and perform the Amazon symbol of peace.

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04: 1x07-08 "The Titans" & "Prometheus"

Hello, World!

The two episodes featured on this week’s XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST share a relationship status of “it’s complicated.” First, the Titanic ménage à trois of 1x07, “The Titans” (ew, get a room, guys, if only you could find one large enough!). Then there’s the love rhombus of 1x08, “Prometheus,” where Hercules and Iolaus come to town looking to pair off with Xena and Gabrielle, only to end up pairing off with each other instead (phew!). Listen in as we discuss Gabrielle the cruel, if adorable, little goddess, the Platonic origin of love, and the Real Oracles of New Jersey.

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