Warrior Princess 101 – Lesson 23: What We’ve Learned So Far

with Professor of Fangeekonomics, Ms. Melissa Voelker
 
Reference Materials for today’s class:
Xena: Warrior Princess, Episodes 1-19
 
With only five more episodes to go in the first season of Xena: Warrior Princess, it is time to review what we have learned so far.  (It may seem more logical to wait until the season is completely over, but I’m the Professor and I’ve decided to do it NOW…and I procrastinated and didn’t get around to watching this week’s episode so I have to come up with something to write about.)  Unlike most TV series that air nowadays and start out with a very strong premier season then struggle with later ones, the first season of Xena is one of its weakest.  It became a lot stronger in later seasons when storylines became more over-arching and the characters developed passed their initial 2-D personalities.  This doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot to learn from the warrior woman in her first adventures as a hero, from how to love a demi-god and still retain your own sense of identity, to learning to trust other people enough that you allow them to get close to you.
 
 In the beginning Xena wasn’t exactly a good guy.  She started out appearing in several episodes of “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” as the cold-blooded leader of a vicious army out to conquer the world.  But her eventual love of Herc’s muscles . . .  or good heart, whichever it actually was, led her to change her naughty ways and start on the path of goodness and light and all of that hokey business the strong man was always spouting.  But in order to stay on the path of goodness and light, Xena needed someone to love her and believe in her, so she acquired a sidekick in perky, chatty, Gabrielle.  Gabrielle is important to the Xenaverse, as she adds some humor and comic relief that the warrior woman really needs in her life.
 
Once the dynamic duo (ya, I stole that) became a super team they were ready to face the challenges of their ancient world.  Challenges that included falling in and out of love with a constant parade of men.  From farmers to warriors to men from their pasts, they were not above taking time out of their busy crime fighting schedules for a little romantic dalliance, most of which ended in tears and death.  Luckily hooking up wasn’t the only thing Xena and Gabby thought about, or they might never have gotten any world saving done.  Xena also spent time working through her inner demons, sometimes in a very physical way.  And Gabby, while not having a lot of inner demons to work through, tried to get some by begging Xena to teach her how to fight.  Knowing the path that could lead her little friend down, the warrior princess was a bit loathe to teach her anything that involved weapons or bloodshed.
 
Over the course of their first adventures, Xena and Gabby walked in and out of the pages of ancient myths, such as hanging out with Pandora (a relative of THE Pandora, of the Box fame) and traipsing around with Helen of Troy.  Gabby woke some Titans from a deep slumber, and Xena saved Prometheus from imprisonment at the hands of Hera, Queen of the Gods.  No myth was too big or too small for the duo to rework for their own use.   They didn’t even restrict themselves by sticking to just Greek myths.  They dabbled a bit in the Christian legends of the Ark of the Covenant and Abraham and Isaac when they needed a break from their pagan stories.   Xena also started having some one-on-one personal time with the Greek God of War, Ares.  Longing to bring her back to his bloodthirsty fold, Ares tried to trick Xena into giving up the life of a hero for the life of a warlord instead, but she was too crafty for him. 
 
It was not all fun and games for the women, though.  As the first season progressed it became apparent that Gabrielle was outgrowing her initial “innocent village girl” persona.  After trying to save the life of an Amazon, she took that Amazon’s place in the tribe and became an Amazon Princess.  Later on she won herself a place at the Bard Academy in Athens, her dream since the first moment she realized she had a dream, but gave it up to continue her travels with Xena.  While the show had Xena’s name on it and started out showcasing just her evolution from one kind of person to another, Gabrielle was not far behind in the character evolution department.  And she wasn’t the only one that changed because of Xena’s influence.  One of the mercenary men from the warrior woman’s past also decided to try and become a good guy because of her influence.  Unfortunately for him that ended in his demise at the hands of a bad guy, but hey, not all endings are happy ones.
 
Though darker in tone then its parent show “Hercules,” “Xena: Warrior Princess” was not above having a little fun with itself now and then.  When a princess who looked like she could be Xena’s twin was in danger of losing her life to assassins, Xena switched places with the other woman to save her life.  This led to some rather funny moments with the princess trying to be a warrior and the warrior trying to be a lady.  And when an important artifact went missing from some friends of hers, Xena recruited the King of Assassins himself, Bruce Campbell (or Autolycus in the show), to help steal it back.  Being serious with the “King of B” movies around just isn’t possible. 
 
 A lot of ground is covered in the first 19 episodes of “Xena,” but a lot more is left to look forward too.  More nemeses are left to make their grand (and bloody) entrances, more myths are left to be messed with, and a lot more history is left to be reworked.  Yet for all of their silly looking special effects, not-so-great-acting by guest stars, and hokey plot lines, these initial episodes are important as they lay the foundation for the Xenaverse.  “Xena: Warrior Princess” would never have become the cultural phenomena that it did without its heartfelt, if not always well-done, beginning.
 
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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.

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