i'm all caught up with my comments yay!

3 eps left of season 1.

Guess i'll need to start adding more extra comments on eps.

i might have rated "Altared States" too low at 7.5.

i do like the Old Testament eps, probably more than most Xena fans.

This ep had some good issues with faith & zealots. i think i rated it low because Gabrielle was just a comic relief when she could have contributed more. Considering her willingness to accept different beliefs & her upcoming spiritual quest, this ep should have focused more on her handling what was going on instead of being high from the henbane nutbread.

i'll reconsider my score for this ep later.

We still don't know much about Xena's past at this point. More about her family than her past beyond when she left Amphipolis.

This may be the best thing other than starting her story with her origin from the attack on her village. It builds up a mystery.

Still i'd prefer the back story be told from the get-go.

i think this time round watching XW-P i prefer the drama eps much much much more than the comedies.

Also i have noticed this time round the degree to which Gabrielle was made either comic relief or absolutely useless until Joxer came along.

Was it that hard for the writers to make two characters of substance without turning one of them into a joke? Guess they did after awhile but why make Joxer the fall guy? All that comic relief watered down the intensity the show should have had.

"Callisto"

Xena goes up against an evil warrioress who came from a village Xena once destroyed.

Best: The campfire scene; Xena finally gets some to focus on her past evil deeds; Callisto & Joxer are interesting characters introduced here but too bad they'll wear out their welcome; the ladder fight at the end.

Worst: Gabrielle too rough on Joxer, maybe?; the jailer who did nothing when the fire broke out; not sure how Callsito & her men were captured

Redemption score: 9 -A high point here & sadly this may be the last time it gets this high.

X&G yin/Yang score: 8 -the campfire scene exemplified the yin/yang thing.

Greater good comment: Xena saved people from Callisto though she stopped fighting just to get info from Theodorus & didn't resume fighting afterwards; Gabrielle did well here but that may be because Joxer becomes the comic relief which is not necessary, IMO

Rating: 10

Love the campfire scene in "Callsito". Here's the dialog:

Gabrielle: “Maybe. Do you wanna talk about it?”

Xena: “What?”

G: “Cirra.”

X: “It was just another village to conquer-- nothing out of the ordinary. The fire broke out-- and I don’t know if it was one of my men or just an accident, but, there was a strong
wind, and-- those flames just _swept_ through that town like a wave of death. But the people were huddled in their houses, ‘cause they were afraid of my army. That was one time when my
army was responsible for the death of women and children. And there was just a handful of survivors; obviously, Callisto was
one of them.”

G: “You know, she’ll do anything for revenge.”

X: “I don’t blame her.”

G: “Uh-- I do. When will this end? Look at Melas. I know that he’s a good man, but, this hate is making him an obsessed killer. Somebody has to say no to this lust for revenge.”

X: “That is so hard to do.”

G: “You did it! When your village was destroyed, you were-- infected with bloodlust. But you overcame it!”

X: “I was lucky. I saw what I’d become, and I was able to turn around. But if something happened to Mother, or Hercules, or you-- I might do just the same.”

G: “No-- no look, you promise me. If something happens to me, you will not become a monster. There’s only one way to end
this cycle of hatred, and it’s through love-- and forgiveness.”

X: “Don’t you go changing, Gabrielle. I like you just the way you are. Go get some sleep.”

G: “No-- no, you promise me.”

X: “I promise. Go-- go on.”

There was talk on here yrs ago about whether Callisto was insane/mentally ill before Xena attacked her village. A lotta ppl were split on this but i think she was mentally ill.

Xena may have "made her" complete as an evil villianess but i think even if there had been no Xena that Callisto would have turned out bad.

If Callisto's revenge was centered solely on Xena & not innocent ppl, maybe i'd say she wasn't mentally ill. But why kill innocents otherwise? To become like Xena isn't rational for a person seeking revenge against her. Callisto obviously had a blood-lust that superseded her hatred of Xena. A blood-lust that would have manifested itself whether Xena had attacked her village or not. That attack was just the excuse she needed to up the ante on her evil doings.

more later...

So you say, "xc, how can Callsito up the ante on her evil doings when she was just a kid?" Well, how did she survive her village burning when her folks and her "sister" didn't? Did she sacrifice them to survive & to be on her own? Did anyone take care of her after the village burned?

There's a lotta info missing on Callisto for the time after the village burned until she & Xena met up. She's certainly beautiful & charismatic & should have no problem gettin ppl to follow her. But how did she get so good at being a warrior? What made her wait til she did to come forward?

Yeah a lotta time passed to fester hatred & get good at being bad but i think she was evil all along. She's never showed any signs of recalling or reverting to a life that was good. i juts cannot picture her as a common village girl.

more later...

I know I still gotta catch up on Xena watchin' but I wanted to add my two cents to these Callisto posts. I agree that she was probably evil all along. It just makes sense.

Yay! Kate agrees with me!

So was there really a sister for Callisto? Or did she make her up in that evil psychosis?

Killing innocents & blaming it on Xena seemed kinda lame given that anyone who studied Xena- as Callisto claimed she did- would know that Xena would fight even harder to uncover the truth & clear her name & save more innocents.

Doesn't seem like Callisto's plans are based in "sane" revenge. Callisto has too much admiration for evil Xena to have mere revenge on her mind. Maybe not only does she want to be like evil Xena but her blame of Xena for what was done to Cirra sounds more like envy than hate. We see more of this theory as the show progresses.

Don't remember the Callisto sister eps, but upon reflection, in(Season 6, was it??) when Xena and Gabs were brought back from the dead SEEMINGLY by angel-Callisto--based on what we've been discussing, it don't make sense that she became an angel in the end and went all good--umm, maybe that ANGEL was Callisto's elusive sister? Food for thought. I will catch up on eps and hopefully have more to contribute to this forum.

There weren't any eps with Callisto's sister. In the "Callisto" ep, she mentioned her sister dying in the fire of her village. The sister was never mentioned again nor shown in "Fallen Angel" when angel Callisto reunited with her family.

That's a good theory tho- maybe Callisto had a twin sister & she became the angel.

It's still a few seasons away but TPTB never explained what Callisto was doing in hell instead of Tartarus. They did say Satan had an interest in Callisto. i always thought- hoped- that Callisto's angel conversion was a deception & that she was meant to infiltrate heaven & kill Michael & others. i never bought her becoming an angel. Plus angel Callisto essentially raped Xena by impregnating her against her will so go figure how that makes her an angel!

Wow! I forgot about "angel-Callisto" being Eve/Livia's "father!" Yep--definitely a rape since Xena didn't consent! Good theory! Yeah--I think there's some truth to her "faking" the angel crap and trying to infiltrate Heaven. That is something I can definitely see.

The plot thickens!

My other nit-pick with "Callisto" ep was the ending. At the end of the ladder fight, Xena holds a rope with Callisto hanging on. In the next scene, Callisto & her men are tied up as Melas & a group of men have them under arrest (i guess).

Why did Callisto give up so easy? Why didn't her men shoot Xena full of arrows? Did Callisto order them to surrender? i doubt it. But why didn't they put up a fight- or was there a fight off-screen that wasn't aired? i can't see Melas & his band of would-be warriors beating Callisto's men.

It's a minor squabble i have but it makes the ending pretty lame for me after what came before. Maybe they already had "Return of Callisto" planned & wanted to cut to the chase. i guess they didn't want Callisto killed off so soon or even to run away & escape.

And how did Callisto wind up in prison instead of on the gallows or being beheaded? Oh right, they needed a sequel.

"Death Mask"

Xena & her older brother Toris take on Cortese, the warlord who once destroyed her village.

Best: The king and Cortese are one & the same- good twist; Toris criticizes Xena for doing to Gabrielle what she did to her village; Gabrielle gets hotter!

Worst: Cortese is a wimp!; The actor who plays Cortese is wrong in the role too; Xena seems to relish seeing Gabrielle get violent which goes against character; Toris should look older than Xena and have more mystery & he shouldn't be so dull

Redemption score: 1- There isn't much here. No comment from Toris on how Xena has changed.

X&G yin/Yang score: 6- Low cause i didn't like seeing Gabrielle thinking she's a warrior

Greater good comment: Xean & Toris capture Cortese and save villagers from Cortese's men.

Rating: 6.5

Maybe i rated "Death Mask" too low. i dunno.

Toris should have been older IMO. It was 10 yrs since the raid on Amphipolis & if he's Xena's older bro then he sure don't look it. Or act like it. He seemed too green & inexperienced. What else has he been doing besides huntin for Cortese?

It would have been more interesting if Toris had a mystery about him. His character seemed too one-dimensional. Add to the fact his name has never been heard before or mentioned afterwards, it makes for a dull person.

He should have had an air of authority & world-wise. i kept wondering how the guy survived for ten yrs on his own! He couldn't have spent all that time tryin to get to Cortese especially considering how close he never got!

Cortese was such a disappointment in "Death Mask". After all the talk about how Xena changed, became a warrior after her village was raided & her beloved brother was killed, it made the warlord who did that such a larger-than-life villain. And what do we get? A whiny, cowardly, panty-waist afraid-of-his-own-shadow jerk!

It makes me wonder how Xena didn't slay this guy the first time around!

They should have made him the strong, fearless, evil, ruthless warlord whose very presence scares snakes & makes cyclopes beg for mercy! Heck even Joxer wouldn't be afraid of this guy!

Combine a wussy Cortese with a green, inexperienced Toris and somebody who wrote & cast the roels in this ep did a pee poor job!

The best thing about the story in the ep above was that Cortese was both a warlord and a king.

Now if Toris had been played by a better, older actor, it might have been fun if he had killed Cortese and took his place, trying to make amends for what the real Cortese had done.

i wouldn't do the story as a simple assumed ID story. i would have some kind of elaborate plot twist about Cortese never really being killed or maybe a Greek god being after Toris/Cortese for something. i too tired to come up with details now.

"Is There A Doctor In the House"

Xena tries to stop a war & heal the wounded from it.

Best: Xena's healing abilities; Gabrielle's story to Marmax; Ephiny's talk with Marmax; Marmax changes his ways

Worst: Xena drags Gabrielle into yet another war this time only to save time on the journey

Redemption score: 5 -It's more Mirmax's redemption here though i feel it's alluded to for Xena behind the scenes

X&G yin/Yang score: 9 -The differences are accentuated here throughout

Greater good comment: Xena & Gabrielle contribute to Marmax stopping the war; Xena heals a lotta people and teaches healing at the same time; Gabrielle saves a child & is nearly killed in the process- this ep is heavy on the greater good!

Rating: 10

"Is There A Doctor In the House" was one of those eps that seemed to have something for everyone and did it well on all accounts. It's too bad that TPTB lost that touch in pleasing so many kinds of fans.

Great supporting characters in this ep: Ephiny, Hippocrates, Marmax.

Ok, season one is over. Soon i be tallying up scores for the season for redemption, yin/yang & the overall ep rating.

Xena season 1

Redemption score total: 100.6

Average redemption score per ep: 4.2

Highest redemption score eps: tied at 9 for "Sins of the Past" and "Callisto"

Lowest redemption score ep: 0, "The Prodigal" which was basically a Gabrielle ep

Xena season 1

X&G yin/yang score total: 185.5

Average X&G yin/yang score per ep: 8.4

Highest X&G yin/yang score eps: several at 9

Lowest X&G yin/yang score ep: 4, once again "The Prodigal". i probably should have had it lower on The Royal Academy ep as it was a clip show but it did show enough of Xena to bring the score higher.

Xena season 1

Ep rating total score: 207.5

Average ep rating per ep: 9.4

Highest ep rating: Several were at 10

Lowest ep rating: 6 for "Athens Academy"

More on these scores later...

Yeah i still got season 1 to blabber aboot.

Not that anyone cares or reads this stuffage.

*sigh*

Xena Season Two

"Orphan of War"

Xena helps the centaurs fight Dagnine to keep him from getting the Ixion stone. Oh yeah, her son is there too.

Best: We finally learn a lot of Xena's past: Dagnine, Kaleipus, Borias & her son Solan; Gabrielle is wearing the BGSB!

Worst: Not sure i like how they presented Solan but at least he's not as annoying as Eve.

Redemption score: 6 as it was a theme here especially with remarks from Kaleipus

X&G ying/yang score: 8 same 'ol same 'ol which is good- don't get me wrong i like it!

Greater good comment: Xena stops Dagnine after he gets the Ixion stone; Xena doesn't reveal herself to Solan nor does Gabrielle give in

Rating: 8.5