25: 2x16-17 "For Him the Bell Tolls" & "The Execution"

Ring a bell and flip it out for XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST! This week Vera, Katie, and Livy talk love and war and Law & Order. First it's 2x16 "For Him the Bell Tolls," in which Ted Raimi is way sexier than he has any right to be. We discuss Joxer's self-awareness or lack thereof, Gabrielle's insecurities about being a sidekick, and the delightful introduction of The Californians (a.k.a. Aphrodite and Cupid). Then it's on to (DUNN DUNN) 2x17 "The Execution," the return of washed-up warrior Maleager. We discuss the way this episode's clever plot challenges the audience's loyalties; Xena's favorite coping mechanism, flipping; and why court fandom is the scariest. Galeager Forever!!!

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24: 2x15 "A Day in the Life"

The subtext is text this week on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST. Vera, Katie, and Livy let it all hang out in 2x15 "A Day in the Life." We discuss this beloved episode's break from formula: its handheld camerawork, fearlessly goofball performances, and self-referential dialogue creating a new level of intimacy not only between Xena and Gabrielle -- and my goodness what a level of intimacy that is!! -- but also between the audience and the show itself. That's why this ep is the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time)!!! Plus: the male gaze as it applies to hot tubs and hair flips, relationship advice for Minya, Vera's favorite goon returns from the dead (sort of), and Xena's completely unforgivable choice of toilet paper -- that's a DEALBREAKER, ladies!

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23: 2x13-14 "The Quest" & "A Necessary Evil"

Oh my Goddess, it’s time for another episode of XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST! This week Vera, Katie, and Livy embark on a quest: 2x13 “The Quest,” that is! This integral ep is a wild ride, with tragic soliloquies following right on the heels of screwball silliness. We discuss Autolycus’s swaggering return to the Xenaverse, Gabrielle’s emerging leadership skills, Xena’s lookalike coffin, and most importantly, THE KISS. The plot is so epic it continues into 2x14 “A Necessary Evil.” We compare/contrast the ep’s two lady villain-gods: the thinly sketched, high camp Amazon autocrat, Velasca, and increasingly complex, self destructive live wire, Callisto. Plus: Gabrielle moves on from dead BFOTW Perd (finally!), Callisto goes full Gollum, and nothing good ever happens near a lava pit!

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22: 2x12 "Destiny"

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend your ears to a new episode of XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST! This week, Vera, Katie, and Livy flash back to ten winters ago in 2x12 “Destiny,” an episode that delves deep into Xena’s past and has huge implications for her future. We discuss Rob Tapert’s directorial signature (boats! fish! Lucy!); Julius Caesar, a.k.a. world’s worst boyfriend, whose introduction kicks off the show’s longest and most ambitious narrative arc; Xena/M’Lila, a tragic ship that never sailed because Xena was too enamored with the peen; and sharpened logs, which for some reason are Xena’s Kryptonite? Plus Renée O’Connor makes us cry again!  

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21: 2x11 "Here She Comes...Miss Amphipolis"

She's beauty, she's grace, she's XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST. This week Vera, Katie, and Livy get their pageant on in 2x11 "Here She Comes...Miss Amphipolis," a deceptively light episode that has big ambitions, tackling gender and gay culture directly, sometimes successfully, sometimes not so much. We discuss artifice and performativity, why beauty pageants were such a *thing* in the '90s, and what happens to the male gaze when both the writer and director of the episode are female. Plus our french bulldog Phil has strong opinions about human trafficking.

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