Warrior Princess 101 – Lesson 5: Heroes in Love

with Professor of Fangeekonomics, Ms. Melissa Voelker

Reference Materials for today’s class:
Xena: Warrior Princess, Episode 1.2 – Chariots of War

When we think about Xena and Gabrielle, we think of them together – as friends, as enemies, as soulmates. But in the beginning, they were two women buddies who were young, on the road, and looking for adventure. Gabrielle was searching for her first true love experience, wishing to “find the tree her branches could intertwine with for eternity” and Xena, well, Xena was just searching. Her eyes had been opened to new possibilities by her liaison with Hercules, making her more receptive to the idea that she could find a lover and partner who wasn’t just after her for her bloodthirsty, warrior side.

A summary of today’s reference material:
Gabrielle tells Xena a love story (the before mentioned one about two lovers who became trees and grew together, etc), trying to convince her that everyone has a special someone out there. The warrior princess is doubtful, but Gabby remains persistent. They split up when Xena decides to do some scouting ahead and her trusty sidekick looks for a place to wait for her. Meanwhile some peaceful looking villagers work together to build a barn. They are attacked by a group of warriors with chariots and their fate seems pretty hopeless, until Xena gallops in to kick some bad guy butt. She does a pretty good job of saving the day until the attacking warriors pull out bows and shoot her down.

Darius, one of the villagers she saved, takes her home with him to see to her wound. He is a bit squeamish about dealing with an arrow wound but luckily Xena is hard-core and talks him through it. As she passes out finally from the pain, the warrior who shot her, Sphiros, hones his staff fighting skills back at the encampment where his warlord father has set up shop. He tries to prove to dear old daddy that he is a true warrior now and ready to take his father’s place as the Keeper of Ares’ Horses (whatever that means), but it looks like Sphiros still has a thing or two to learn before that happens.

[nms:xena,1,1]

Not knowing that Xena has been laid up, Gabrielle waits in a bar hoping that she will arrive at any moment. Luckily she has the power of gab on her side, so she isn’t too hard put for company. Xena doesn’t need company either; she is busy entertaining Darius’ children by telling them stories of her adventures. She is also beginning to share warm, fuzzy moments with Darius himself, though their relationship may be short lived, as the other villagers want him to kick her out. They are a community of peace and she is a warrior so she does not belong. She tries to leave but Darius tells her she should stay. That conversation is also cut short when warriors ride up and burn down the silo containing all of the family’s food.

The next day Gabrielle is still waiting at the bar for Xena, and unfortunately finding other company instead. A dirty, one-eyed ruffian puts the moves on her and to ward him off she tells him she is waiting for her friend Xena and her warrior boyfriend. Then she points at a random man in the bar and says he is her main squeeze. To prove it she plants a big one on the guy and plops down in his lap, which he has no problem with. There will be problems later, however, as this guy she just happened to pick out of the crowd is Sphiros, the man that shot Xena with the arrow.

Xena shares some words and feelings with Darius, and Gabrielle shares some words and feelings with her new friend. It is a whole bunch of cute, tender moments, and there is a good chance at least one of these budding relationships is going to end badly.

Darius convinces Xena that the warriors that have been attacking them want to talk about peace. She agrees to go along for these “peace talks” and even puts on a dress for the occasion. Unfortunately she won’t get to enjoy her newfound wardrobe, as the peace talks are really a trap. Sphiros’ father tells him that once all of the villagers are gathered he must kill them all. Sphiros doesn’t want to, but he wants to fight with his father even less.

The villagers gather and the trap falls into place. But what the warriors didn’t count on was Xena attending the meeting and catching on to the fact that something isn’t right. She attacks the attackers before they can do their dirty work, destroying her pretty new dress before ushering the villagers out to safety. Later she finds Darius packing up to leave and they start fighting. Xena wants him to stay and fight for his family, but he has seen what war does to people and refuses to inflict that kind of pain on the people he cares about.

Xena leaves Darius and his family, while another family plots against her. Sphiros’ father tells him that Xena killed his brother and now must die. Sphiros demands to be allowed to be the one to avenge his brother’s death and rides out with his father in their war chariot. They come upon Xena and Gabrielle, who have managed to meet back up again. Gabby thinks she may have found the man of her dreams and wonders if they will ever see each other again. Luckily for her they are about to meet face to face, as Sphiros and his father ride down on her.

Chariot chasing soon ensues, along with frantic leaping from horseback and complaining by Gabrielle. Then comes sword fighting, and chariot crashing, and Xena telling Gabby she has poor taste in men. Sphiros’ father tells Xena he is going to kill her to avenge his son, but she maintains that it was his older son’s own men that killed him. Sphiros finally decides to stand up to his father and they end up fighting until Sphiros throws down his sword. His father tries to kill him but Xena manages to kill him first. Then Sphiros tells Darius (who rode up miraculously out of nowhere to give Xena her Chakram) that he is ready to really talk peace with the villagers.

Later Gabrielle and Sphiros talk, and share another moment, but it looks like they just aren’t meant to be. It is also not meant to be with Xena and Darius and his family. Though the children beg her to stay, she knows it is not the life for her. Even after she and Darius share some knowing looks and sweet words, she still manages to walk away.

The first season of Xena had a lot of men who came and went from the main character’s lives (I know, I made a spreadsheet.) They were constantly falling in love with new acquaintances, or re-falling in love with men from their past. It is an interesting theme to look back on, especially after seeing the conclusion of the series and knowing that the only person for Xena is Gabrielle, and vice versa. It was almost as if, in the beginning, the show creators weren’t sure if a series about two women alone would really appeal to audiences, so they kept throwing male companions and lovers into the mix. But as the series progresses these love interests appear less and less, until they are basically only seen in flashbacks.

[nms:xena,1,2]

Today a “How well do you know Xena” pop quiz (answers from the Hercules/Xena trilogy and first two episodes of Xena’s show, and will be given next week):

1. Who did Xena hook up with first, Iolaus or Hercules?
2. Xena is known for using weapons such as her sword and Chakram. But when first introduced to viewers, she was using something else as a weapon to get what she wanted. What was it?
3. Even while still a warlord out to destroy and conquer, Xena had a rule when riding in to battle. What was that rule?
4. How many warriors aside from Xena have survived the Gauntlet?
5. Who brought Darphus back to “life” after Xena killed him?
6. Why did Xena go off on her own instead of staying with Hercules after finally defeating Darphus?
7. What are the names of Xena and Gabrielle’s hometowns?
8. Draco wanted to be with Xena “joined in love” or “joined in -” what?
9. Sphiros was not the first guy Gabrielle was romantically (or not so much on her part) linked to. What was the name of her fiancée from back home?
10. Sphiros brother was killed when he tried to talk peace with Xena during what battle?

Never miss an update. Subscribe to Pink Raygun by Email or subscribe via RSS

About Melissa: By day a mild-mannered tv station receptionist, by night a fighter of crime and corruption in the dirty streets of Spokane, WA . . . or maybe not so much. More like a hyperactive, anal-retentive daytime receptionist and a melodramatic, hyperactive nighttime fangirl who only wishes she could be a fighter of crime and champion of justice (except that would lead to getting my super costume all dirty and I hate doing laundry.) Though my intent has always been to write bestselling novels and live a life of wealth and luxury, putting my talents for snarkiness and word doodling together while letting my geek flag fly suits me just fine – for now.

Related Stuff: