57: 4x13 "Paradise Found"

This week on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST, the real you is bleeding through! Vera, Katie, and Livy do their best sun salutations in 4x13 “Paradise Found,” a sexy, thinky yogafest that kicks off the India arc with its own unique mix of Hinduism, Taoism, and New Age esotericism--with some Sapphic massage and freaky body horror thrown in. This ep is a lot, you guys! We discuss director Rob Tapert’s actor-focused approach, the many visual references from Maxfield Parrish to Alice in Wonderland to Buddhist art, and how lighting, camera placement, and sound design externalize Xena and Gabrielle’s internal struggles. Plus: Xena breaks the hair scale, Aidan’s abuses of power, 69-ing on the yin-yang bed, Gabrielle’s ‘hot little number,’ so many baths, lotus symbolism, and the most psychologically fraught scene in all of Xena. It’s a TORTOISE, Vera!  
 

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56: 4x12 "If the Shoe Fits"

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful podcast called XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST. And on this podcast there were three maidens named Vera, Katie, and Livy who lived in a little house in the woods where they did nothing all day except watch episodes of Xena and talk about them. One day, they watched 4x12 “If the Shoe Fits” and had a lot of things to say about it. They talked about the relative merits of outdoor showers, why Xena sleeps with rope, Gabrielle’s excellently tailored sack, everybody’s Freudian issues, Alesia’s bizarre speaking voice, the launching of one of the show’s greatest ships, and how obvious it is that the script was written in just one night. And once they were finished talking about this episode, the three maidens never had to watch it again, so they lived happily ever after!

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55: 4x11 "Daughter of Pomira"

This week on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST, it’s the child custody battle of the century in 4x11 “Daughter of Pomira.” Vera, Katie, and Livy discuss this episode’s major cinematic influence, The Searchers, and the ways in which this episode fails to live up to the moral nuance and ambivalence of that seminal American Western. We talk about the subtextual reemergence of Gabrielle’s Hope issues, Vanessa’s blue dress of domesticity, and Milo, who is just the worst. So many coins in the Problematic Jar!!!

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Minisode 04: "Hercules & Xena: The Animated Movie"

Come with us across the sea of time this week on XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST as we tackle Hercules & Xena: The Animated Movie - The Battle for Mount Olympus! Vera, Katie, and Livy have a lot of questions about this feature length animated spectacular, and most of them can be boiled down to:"WHY?" Like, why are their faces this way? Why is Xena's hair red in splotches? Why is Gabrielle a bird? Why doesn’t anyone talk about the romantic Arthurian/Sleeping Beauty imagery and subtexty goodness of "Xena's Song?" Why are the Titans the worst? Why is this happening?? Why was this an idea???! Etc. Boom shaka laka laka boom boom, everyone!

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54: 4x10 "The Key to the Kingdom"

Oh baby, it’s time for another episode of XENA: WARRIOR PODCAST! This week Vera, Katie, and Livy are in search of 4x10 “The Key to the Kingdom,” a starring vehicle for… *record scratch* Bruce Campbell? WTF, is this a joke? You’re telling us Xena and Gabs aren’t even in this one?!? After we’re done complaining, we discuss this ep’s zany spin on the Coen Brothers, its comedic undermining of Xena’s heroic persona, Joxer the Mighty Dad, and whether the new Meg revelations are consistent with her character. You can call us Punkin!

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