Favorite Xena episode
I was inspired to watch a few Xena episodes on youtube recently. As campy and silly as Xena was, in the end it turned into a show that was maybe not great, but at least solidly crafted. There were even a couple of episodes which were genius, and in my book, the best in the series.
When I watched 'Adventures in the Sin Trade I & II' for the first time, I was absolutely blown away, sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time. I couldn't believe how intense and well written these two episodes were.
The first part opens with Xena looking for Gabrielle after her death at the end of season 3. The assumption is that Gabrielle has gone to the amazon land of the dead.
I loved the first part of the episode which is all about Xena's desperate ride to the land of the dead. When she gets there she deliberately lets herself slide into an out of body state where she will be able to follow Gabrielle. The only way for Xena to go there involves native american like rituals and chanting - they don't actually show the magic mushrooms, just their effect - Xena sets about leaving everything she cares about behind for this quest.
There's almost no dialog. Gabrielle's nowhere to be seen, but this is all about Xena's love for her bard. It is in her every uncharacteristic action as she leaves Argo and her weapons and physical self behind in her attempt to find Gabrielle.
The story keeps going back and forth between flashbacks to the darkest moments of Xena's past, when in her quest for power she accumulated forbidden knowledge and used it ruthlessly to commit terrible crimes. The writers do not shy from the dark side of Xena's character.
All the scenes with the amazon queen Cyane are awesome: the initial meeting in the amazon sweat lodge and all the 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'-style fight scenes in the forest. The killing of amazon leaders is horrifying and inevitable.
These episodes are enthralling and heartbreaking. The good news is that since they are pretty well self contained, they can be watched out of order by anyone who's vaguely familiar with the show's premise.
When I watched 'Adventures in the Sin Trade I & II' for the first time, I was absolutely blown away, sitting on the edge of my seat the whole time. I couldn't believe how intense and well written these two episodes were.
The first part opens with Xena looking for Gabrielle after her death at the end of season 3. The assumption is that Gabrielle has gone to the amazon land of the dead.
I loved the first part of the episode which is all about Xena's desperate ride to the land of the dead. When she gets there she deliberately lets herself slide into an out of body state where she will be able to follow Gabrielle. The only way for Xena to go there involves native american like rituals and chanting - they don't actually show the magic mushrooms, just their effect - Xena sets about leaving everything she cares about behind for this quest.
There's almost no dialog. Gabrielle's nowhere to be seen, but this is all about Xena's love for her bard. It is in her every uncharacteristic action as she leaves Argo and her weapons and physical self behind in her attempt to find Gabrielle.
The story keeps going back and forth between flashbacks to the darkest moments of Xena's past, when in her quest for power she accumulated forbidden knowledge and used it ruthlessly to commit terrible crimes. The writers do not shy from the dark side of Xena's character.
All the scenes with the amazon queen Cyane are awesome: the initial meeting in the amazon sweat lodge and all the 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'-style fight scenes in the forest. The killing of amazon leaders is horrifying and inevitable.
These episodes are enthralling and heartbreaking. The good news is that since they are pretty well self contained, they can be watched out of order by anyone who's vaguely familiar with the show's premise.