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batbabydamian · 6 months ago

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so, Batman #147… rambling about the difference in how Zdarsky portrays the two current Robins

this is a fantastic run for Tim, and very much written like a return to form of what plenty consider the best dynamic duo, but even more so "the best Robin". once Damian's introduced in this run, Zdarsky really makes sure you still know that lol

1. "We don't need anyone else" VS "I need my family"

#147 clearly exemplifies the contrast, so i'll go through it first. Damian, having fallen for Zurr's lie and accepted him as the real Bruce, goes so far as to say in the very first page "We don't need anyone else." it's cold colors, machinery, and hollow declarations of "father and son" for these two.

towards the ending, Tim has deduced where the real Bruce is hiding and brings him food expecting Bruce's knack for self-neglect. it's all warmth, sunshine, and mutual understanding - also a cute back and forth of "Batman and Robin" between them. on top of this, where Damian isolates Batman & Robin from family, Tim is the one to remind Bruce about "helping each other." Bruce heartily agrees with "I need my family" for a weighty end.

along with this parallel, from #138 Tim makes it clear that even in opposition, he's only ever trying to help Bruce. Damian was still on the wrong side with Zurr-induced-Bruce here at the time too 😭

2. Tim's independence as both a hero and partner

Tim is written as the ideal Robin to Bruce's Batman, and has made Robin its own independent hero on equal footing rather than a sidekick - it's made in statements by both Tim and Bruce, and through the entire narrative. he takes initiative and tries to foresee what would ultimately help Bruce. beyond being great partners, there's many bits showing their emotional connection ("i'm scared of being lost, but i'm more scared of losing you, Bruce" hit me like a bag of bricks). tbh this almost could be a Batman and Robin run lol

added the first panel from #126 of Tim declaring he's his own hero outside of Bruce, proven plenty especially in his backups in #131-134!! the other panels are a few highlights from #128, #130, and #135 of the partnership between Tim and Bruce

granted it's Zurr, but Damian is mostly seen following orders and given pensive looking panels when there's something concerning. While Tim continued to represent Batman's ideals during his own solo quest to find Bruce, Damian doesn't question or take action against "Bruce's" sudden shift in ethics

Batman #134 Backup - Tim showing support toward Toyman VS Batman #146 - Zurr and Damian confront Harley as she pleads about her change of heart

another kiinda parallel in #147 is Bruce acknowledging Tim's hard work to become Robin compared to Damian who's out here going Batman and Robin/Father and Son. i don't think it's an intended parallel but just the state of continuing to show Tim in a better light - Tim put in the effort "to become the second-best Robin" while Damian is Robin because..."son." supposedly less effort on his part too, because LOA.

second pic is from Batman/Catwoman The Gotham War: Scorched Earth, felt fitting to add since Tim mentions needing to "know everything" in both. and the humble brag. which ofc Tim believes Dick is the best!! but also. jic we didn't know Tim is the best current Robin sdfgh

3. Damian's blind loyalty as "Bruce's son"

there's a weight to the Robin title when regarding Tim, whereas Damian's "Robin" role is excess and counterintuitive. he's delegated to desperate sidekick to Bruce, as well as becoming an obstacle to the family. being Robin only seems significant to Damian in how it ties himself to his father, and his single Robin quality is a loyalty that's been written to an extreme fault. the only positive angle i could see this in is Zdarsky aiming to put Damian in a sympathetic light in how far Damian was willing to fall to stay by his father's side, hence, fooled by that nightmare story/confession. the problem with this is that we have not seen a single emotional connection between the two in this run, so why should we care about that relationship.

also, Damian constantly bringing up his position as Bruce's son just makes him look entitled? since Bruce rightfully expressed his claim of having the others as his sons too (with the unfortunate exclusion of his daughter)! so it's like a "lol you're not that special" vibe when looking at it from the outside?? ykw concerning #138, Damian saying "You're the one trying to destroy my father" also could have been in contrast to Tim saying "We'll help our dad" at the end.

Zdarsky seems to believe the only meaningful part of Damian being Robin is he's the son of Bruce, and not a single nod to any noble aspect Damian's achieved beyond that. we're constantly reminded of Tim's greatest hits as Robin, from taking on the mantle to pull Bruce out of darkness (#135, #138), mastermind a whole takedown (Gotham War: Scorched Earth), and always being on the same wavelength with Bruce etc. the entire run sings Tim's praise, and it's deserved!! my problem is how it's in stark contrast to Damian's portrayal of being the other Robin who's only special because he believes he's the greatest son and wants to be at Bruce's side.

so all this to say, if your fav is Tim YOU'RE EATING WELL!! personally as a chronic enjoyer of things, this has been an entertaining run! as a chronic enjoyer of Damian, it's definitely not for many of his fans at this point in time.

i did like this part!! his grin!!

#rambling #i'm not v good explaining things besides yelling about how cute Damian is but hopefully the observations are clear enough #instead of an essay i think i should pull up a conspiracy board of all the panels/lines and post it notes of my points #bc writing this has made me go cross eyed trying to verbalize parallels and differences 😭#like. Tim's Robin moments are stunners!! kickass or emotional scenes with or without Bruce!!#then Damian acts like everyone is beneath him and Bruce...when they've barely had any meaningful dialogue with eo #gave Zdarsky the benefit of doubt that Damian was pulling something similar to Morgan Ducard #but ofc that would mean he actually cared about any of Damian’s comics outside of his intro with Morrison 😭#i don't think Zdarsky hates Damian exactly just that he's a convenient character to use as a parallel since there's two Robins ALTHOUGH #thinking of the Batman sketch by Jorge or Zdarsky?? ITS A BLUR at NYCC and Zdarsky added a word bubble with 'Tim is the Best Robin' or smth #he wants to remind ppl of that every so often. like in the batman run. i wouldn't mind it if he wasn't putting my fav against that #especially when they're sharing the title but alas!#this run could be a great sendoff to Tim's Robin era and gaining a new title... or this is all Zdarsky fanboy lol which is fair #ANYWAY BACK TO WHIMSY!! TO DILLY DALLYING AND SHILLY SHALLYING!!

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snoopdoggs · 10 months ago

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in the source link, you will find #134 ( 268x151 ) gifs of CLARK BACKO (1993) in the film 'confession.' clark is of white and african (cameroonian) descent and was twenty-eight at the time of filming, so please name and age her accordingly.

tw: alcohol

all of these gifs were made by me, from scratch, so please do not edit or redistribute them without my consent. read my rules before using & please leave a like or reblog if you found these useful.

#clark backo gif hunt #clark backo gif pack #gif pack #gif hunt #rpc #rph #gifsociety #dearindies #*mine

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legitalicat · 5 months ago

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Power is Power - Chapter 1

AN: Another passion project. This will contain no spoilers for season 2 as it is a "fix it fic" in which Rhaenyra is never usurped.

Find Alisanne's bio post here and the series Masterlist here!

Songs for the chapter:

For the Dancing and the Dreaming - Erutan

Summary: Alisanne and Aegon have been married for a year. A marriage between pawns grew into a love unknown before.

CW: Fluff, needy Aegon, true love

Pairings: Aegon Targaryen ii x Alisanne Velaryon (OC)

Word Count: 1.1k

Next Chapter

134 AC

Alisanne was woken by needy fingertips digging into the soft, fleshy bits of her body. Her thighs and breasts conformed to his grip as he pulled her into him. A breathy, semi conscious chuckle escaped her lips as she lifted her head up to allow his arm room to rest in the space left between her neck and mattress. His other arm came over her side and rested against her body, settling in the valley between her breasts so his hand could rest over her heart.

It was not that he wanted to wake her. Most often, he did everything to avoid waking her. There were times, though, that all he wanted was to feel her. To remind himself that she was real, she was his.

“Another one?” she asked quietly as she finally opened her eyes. The early morning sky was a pale blue, the waters in the horizon calm.

“I believe. Woke up scared,” he whispered.

They had only been married for a year, Alisanne had to remind herself of that sometimes. The way Aegon felt so completely right for her had been entirely unexpected. It went against everything either of them had wanted.

“I did not have much better dreams,” she said quietly.

Aegon hummed softly, kissing along her exposed shoulder. This time, it was her who hummed. Moments such as these were perfect. When his lips danced across her skin in any capacity, she felt closer to the heavens than as she soared in the sky on Vermithor.

“Are you ready for today?” he asked her quietly.

“I am not the one who will be making history,” she told him. Still, she could not help but sigh. “I fear what my mother can expect. Viserys has been dead less than a week, and already I hear Otto and Aemond attempt to sew seeds of discontent in court.”

“We gave Nyra an out, if she had wanted it. She’s prepared to take the challenge,” he said quietly.

She nodded softly. In truth, she worried that her mother knew exactly what she was doing. Her absence from court did her no service to prove to the people of court she could rule, yet the people of King’s Landing loved her. Alisanne’s presence in the Red Keep after her marriage was dominated by attempting to counteract what ever poison Otto had pumped into the ears of the courtiers.

If she were to be honest, Aegon’s disinterest in Otto’s plan is what allowed her to make any headway. Her entire life, Aegon had desperately been fighting for Alicent’s love. Drinking wine as though it were keeping him alive, bedding every whore and willing serving girl between his bed and Flea Bottom, all of it done to grab the attention of Alicent. Yet, her attention forever remained upon Helaena and Aemond. If Otto did not require it of them, Alicent barely spoke to him, and eventually Aegon tired of being a pawn.

At first, Alisanne was only meaning to be a dutiful wife. It was what she was taught, though her mother had promised she would not need to wait long before it was over. Yet, the first time they laid together, he had begged her to confess her love even if she did not mean it. She did, time and time again, and eventually it became true.

“Do you miss it?” he asked her. She turned her head towards him as he shifted, leaning up to look out the window she had just been staring out.

“Dragonstone? Or sailing?” she asked, chuckling. In the distance, Velaryon ships and a number of dragons could be seen. They would be docking within the hour, and by noon she would be next to her twin.

“Being with your brothers,” he said quietly.

Aegon was no fool, despite what anyone else may think of him. He saw how his wife longed for her brothers. He saw how she excitedly read every letter time and time again until she could recite them. One would have to be blind to miss how she wrote her own letters to them every day after breaking the fast like clockwork. And he would have to be completely neglectful to miss how she became sorrowful for a moment with Jace’s letters.

“My love,” she said quietly. They had spoken many times about her brothers. Aegon had accepted that she had a history before him, but knew she would be truthful if she did not love him now.

“You love me?” he asked her quietly.

“Of course I love you,” she whispered to him.

“Then you do not need to worry about admitting you miss Jacaerys,” he said. Amusement fluttered through his voice as he kissed her forehead.

“I have just been worried. It was only by chance that I found grandfather before anyone else. If that had not been the case, if anyone had found him first,” she said. She rolled onto her back, looking up at him. “I don’t know how we managed it, Aeg.”

“We managed because you, my beautiful wife, are a very clever woman,” he told her, chuckling a bit as he leaned down to kiss her. His hands roamed her body, even after he pulled away. “And fuck, it is so intoxicating.”

Alisanne leaned up to kiss him once more, their lips meeting in a fevered embrace. She truly could never get enough of him. The love she bore for him was an all consuming kind, one that she never hoped to move past. Aegon was everything to her.

If they could do nothing but stay in bed all day, they would. There was not a moment without longing when they were not together. Aegon preferred to have her close enough to touch, always. A way to remind himself that she was real, that what they shared was real. Alisanne, though, liked him in arm’s reach so she could protect him. Nobody would defend him the way she would, she knew that.

When she finally pulled away from him, he was looking at her with love and devotion. The most pure, selfless love and devotion that anyone had ever looked at her with, and she looked at him the same. Alisanne could not ever imagine she would love someone the way she loved him.

“Go dress, petal, and we will greet your family together,” Aegon said quietly, stroking her cheek.

For one moment, she leaned into his touch. A moment she wished she could freeze in time and relive over and over. It was not enough, though, as soon she pulled away from him to get dressed.

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Taglist: @zaldritzosrose @thenameswinter99 @mysticalendings @sihtricsafin @abecerra611 @tomgcsmrs

#power is power #alisanne the graceful #alisanne velaryon #aegon targaryen ii x oc #aegon targaryen ii #house of the dragon

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dreamnants-mis · 11 months ago

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An attempt of a character analysis on Andy and Victor which I'll probably miss some details on because I write like a fifth grader essay. (So feel free to tell me things that I probably missed).

Because it's very relevant since Victor appeared in the anime recently and we may be getting the Autumn arc this season.

Spoilers for up to Chapter 134! Proceed with caution!

Andy and Victor are actually similar despite how Victor in his introduction appears very different from Andy, since it turns out Andy himself is Victor's alter ego created from Undead attempting to get around Remember sealing Victor's consciousness away. In particular, Victor comments that Andy reminds him of himself in the past, so I imagine Andy was influenced by Victor in some ways.

The similarity in particular being both are nihilistic and disconnected from their humanity, even though they express this in very different ways. But I like to think what they also share is both are afraid to openly care for others because of the fear of being hurt since as Undead, they will survive while everyone around them dies.

The latter point comes from a realization Andy has post-Spring battle; Fuuko's battle with Spring proves she can kill beings that aren't human and what might be preventing Fuuko from killing him with Unluck is because it's him who's afraid to love her back the same, leading to him declaring it's his turn to fall in love with her, which could be interpreted as Andy wanting to be someone able to accept and return Fuuko's feelings.

Interestingly, he already technically confessed to her, but he tried to play it off when pressed about it since Fuuko didn't hear it.

Here, Andy clearly seems to pause registering Fuuko noticed he was saying he loved her and then immediately tries to lie to her, which she knows he's lying about. Episode 9 also add a similar moment where he talks to Fuuko about the Longing teacher and the kids and he gets surprisingly introspective on the topic before almost rather abruptly asking Fuuko if that charmed her.

Regardless, it does highlight that Andy is secretly afraid of being emotionally vulnerable and that manifests in his outward actions/words not fully reflecting what he actually thinks.

But where Andy begins to diverge from Victor is being able to believe in others from Fuuko's influence and trying to overcome that fear of being able to care for others openly.

His fight with Billy highlights his gained ability to believe in others. Besides Fuuko, he trusted that the other Union members can handle Under while he tries to retrieve Fuuko from under and this conversation in particular highlights this:

He agrees with Billy that only the strong should face God, but then tells him that together, the Union is strong.

Which is powerful considering we know Andy started the series just as nihilistic and detached as Victor.

In fact, in the context of the scene while these two were fighting, Fuuko was climbing Tokyo Tower and reached Spring in the time for the two to end up in a stalemate.

In particular, Andy's interactions with Lucy are incredibly significant in helping Andy come to understanding himself.

When they're trapped in Seal, Lucy tells him the secret to astral projection is dreaming of something you want, which for her is being able to play with others that her ability made her unable to do. Andy at first states he's already achieved just about everything in his years of living. At least, until Lucy stating that "[he's] got everything" because he can't die makes Andy start to think. And here, we see what might truly be "the greatest death ever" for Andy is actually being able to die of old age after living a fulfilling life, something that Andy had given up on since Undead makes that impossible to achieve.

Of course, he acts surprisingly shy and even tells Lucy to not laugh at him for said dream. And yet, I think that's important to think about because it does show Andy has become more conscious about his feelings and what he actually wants.

But then we get to Victor and find even after 455 billion years, he's never quite been able to describe what exactly Juiz gives him until she's gone, and only then he understands why people keep fighting to protect the warmth others have given them. Victor became someone too afraid to love deeply or consciously because he would always survive and anyone around him would not. Even for Juiz, she was still mortal and could still die in battle, and that over the course of countless loops made Victor afraid to consciously acknowledge what exactly she meant to him, even though she had been the reason he hadn't completely lost his mind having to watch the world get destroyed and reformed 100 times.

In the flashbacks, we also see Victor was rather cynical of the idea of allies, at one point getting into an argument with Juiz after one version of the Spoil quest resulted in most of the Roundtable being wiped out, claiming it was the allies that added to Juiz's burden and nearly got her killed. I think that likely contributed to Victor focusing more and more on individual strength, though it's clear even he can't do much alone against God.

Maybe that's also shown in how Victor is only able to draw power from Rebellion after understanding what Juiz had given him because he's now about to consciously recognize his feelings as they truly were. Before, Victor couldn't really use Rebellion outside of negating the life draining aspects of it because he was too detached from his feelings to power the Artifact or understood the strength and feelings needed to use it. And only after losing the person that mattered to him could finally use it to protect the beacon of hope Juiz had named her successor. But of course, he understands them too late to protect the person he wanted to protect the most.

I think this also shows in their names. As I mentioned in my previous mini-essay on the significance of Andy's name, Andy started out as a nickname Fuuko gave him but it became his name overtime. While Fuuko got the name from the Japanese pronunciation of "Undead" in-universe, the name is actually pretty fitting for Andy in a likely unintentional way since it can be a diminutive of the name "Andreas", which means 'man' aka "human".

As it turned out, it's being human that may very well allow for Fuuko to succeed where Juiz was unable to accomplish and where Andy becomes someone potentially stronger than Victor.

Victor's name meanwhile can translate to "conqueror" and he's called a "God of Victory", someone not quite human. That's also interesting to pay attention to considering he insists to Shen that he's not a god, but a human. Which in some ways could feel hollow since Victor likely is trying to remind himself he is human despite feeling disconnected from it.

Though as we learn from observing Juiz in the beginning of the story, Juiz probably didn't need physical strength but rather heart since that was probably what was missing that kept her from ever succeeding (well, on top of the fact the Gods were clearly screwing her over from the beginning since the one item they needed to kill God would only appear in the last loop).

I think Victor's real tragedy is he became a god of war to protect Juiz, the person he loved, but what he actually needed to protect Juiz from was from herself by being a human and reminding her she is still human. But in becoming stronger and becoming nihilistic, he became someone unable to do that.

#undead unluck #rem rambles #uu spoilers #analysis #ugh i don't like how i wrote some parts of this

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girl4music · 1 year ago

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MY TOP 10 FAVOURITE EPISODES OF ‘XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS’ AND WHY I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

(CONTAINS A LOT OF SPOILERS)

'Xena: Warrior Princess’ is a very influential, inspiring and impactful TV show for me. It is my favourite piece of art/entertainment of all-time and it is the backbone and foundation behind my entire philosophy as a human being on this planet. All the show is great, but it’s the episodes that have given me deep life lessons and helped me understand more about myself and the world around me that matter the most to me. I will give a lengthy explanation as to why each one of these specific favourite episodes in my TOP 10 mean so much to me or what it is about them it’s taught me that has made me a better and more evolved version of myself. There is 134 episodes all in all. From most favourite to least favourite, here are my TOP 10 most favourite episodes of 'Xena: Warrior Princess’ and why I love them so much.

1. S03E12: THE BITTER SUITE

‘The Bitter Suite’ is a musical episode. It combines my love for music and drama into one excellently written, produced, directed and composed episode of the show. But that’s not entirely the reason why it makes the very top of my list, although that’s a huge factor. ‘The Rift’ (as Xenites call it) between Xena and Gabrielle all throughout Season 3 is dealt with and put to rest in this episode. The writers use Yin and Yang and the polarities of love/hate, good/evil and peace/war to represent the importance of friendship, honesty, forgiveness and the ability to put someone you love and care about over yourself in their time of need despite whatever animosity you feel towards them due to past circumstances and situations that broke your heart. They use Yin and Yang several times in the show to give such strong and substantial messages, however, this time takes the winning spot for me. The friendship between Xena and Gabrielle is put to the ultimate test when they fall into this dimension of reality called ‘Illusia’. In this strange, whimsical and colourful place everything is designed to be expressed in song and theatrics. It’s such a clever, artistic and extremely thought-provoking episode. There is a lot it taught me that I unconsciously crafted into my own philosophy of life throughout the years. Also, it was the very first episode I ever saw of the show. They were airing Season 3 in the United Kingdom when I came across it at 5 years old in 1997. Its lessons have remained with me since then but I definitely understand it a lot better now I am a grown adult. If there was ever any episode that you should watch of Xena to introduce you to it… and you really don’t care about spoilers… make it this one. I promise you… you won’t regret it.

2. S03E14: FORGIVEN

‘Forgiven’ deals with the themes of forgiveness and redemption. As you may know, the entire concept to the show is about a Warrior Princess named Xena who fights for the good of mankind to redeem herself from her past sins and be forgiven by the world of which she caused immense damage and pain to. So redemption and forgiveness are the biggest and most reiterated themes and overall messages in the show. But never more so prominent and profound than in this episode. We meet a young girl named Tara that reminds Xena of how she used to be before she became an evil warlord. Lost and confused, hanging around the wrong people, doesn’t understand the difference between right and wrong. She picks a fight with Gabrielle to show Xena she’d make a better sidekick. Initially this girl really pissed me off. I thought she was very arrogant and well out of her league to think that she could replace Gabrielle in Xena’s life. But like Gabrielle, I warmed up to her when she crumbled down in tears and confessed that she hates the way she is and wants to change herself. Become a good person. Just as Gabrielle does in the episode, I judged her too quickly. She had a story that hit me hard due to the way I treated people in my own life. It was a real wake up call to me at the time. One I really needed cause gods know I couldn’t be reached otherwise. I was so far beyond real help.

There’s a line in the episode that has really stuck with me throughout the years and still is something I remind myself of even now as often as possible.

XENA: “You are what you do. You can recreate yourself every second of your life.”

3. S01E22: CALLISTO

‘Callisto’ is about a new character we meet late in Season 1. This character becomes the main antagonist of 'Xena: Warrior Princess’ and my favourite character besides the main two leads in the entire show. In the episode before it, ‘The Greater Good’, Xena gets shot in the neck with a poisoned dart and it is revealed to us in this episode who it was that targeted her. Now I don’t just want to talk about the character but also the actress that portrays her as well because that is a massive reason why this episode stands out so much to me over others in Season 1. Hudson Leick plays Callisto and delivers such a remarkable acting performance that gives her character layers and layers of depth, expression and personality. She’s easily on-par with the leads, if not better. I love watching her perform. She’s fantastic!

Excerpt taken from my character study thesis; Section 4: A dark heart is shadowed until the light shines in.

[The introduction of the character Callisto to the show adds a much heavier layer to what is already an overwhelming story of redemption, vengeance, love, forgiveness and balance, which are to me, the main themes in the show that are reiterated repeatedly as it progresses in writing, production and direction. Callisto becomes the main villain in the show, but she isn’t your run-of-the-mill evil villain. Oh, no, no, no. I like to think of Callisto as more of an antagonist than a villain. She has an extremely complicated storyline of her own that inexplicably ties in with Xena’s because Xena murdered her family, or so that’s what she adamantly believes. It’s hard to explain or understand just how much this character is an integral reason for Xena’s reformation from being an evil warlord to a heroine for good, and how the consequences of her dark past have really screwed Callisto up and turned her into, for lack of a better word, a psychopath who is absolutely bent on destroying everything that makes Xena who she is. Starting with her reputation, and eventually escalating to the people she loves and cares about in all the world. This character is so crucial to ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’, that there is never any way to stop her even when she dies. She’s that dedicated to ruining Xena and Gabrielle’s lives. Callisto doesn’t just want to kill Xena. She wants to kill her soul because that is what Xena has done to her. It’s hard to think of Callisto as any kind of villain because you develop such sympathy for her throughout all her appearances in the show. She’s so messed up in the head that you just don’t think of her as an evil person, just an extremely depressed and misunderstood one. What happens to her, in the end, is something that needed to happen, and I was unbelievably happy did. She did terrible things, but she needed the opportunity to be saved and forgiven as Xena did, and fortunately, the show’s producers gave her the ending she deserved.

This leads me on to what happens when Callisto meets Xena face to face for the first time in the late Season 1 episode, titled ‘Callisto’, and how Gabrielle plays a part in stopping Xena from crumbling down in guilt and regret and letting her go because of it once they captured her. Xena doesn’t blame Callisto for how she ended up, knowing that it was her own fault she became that way in the first place. Even if she didn’t mean for her family to be killed in the fire her own men started against her orders all those years ago in ‘Cirra’, Callisto’s hometown, she still felt solely responsible for the consequences that followed.

There is a very important scene, which I call ‘The Promise’ scene, from this episode where Gabrielle asks Xena to promise her that if anything happened to her in their travels together, that she would not turn away from her path of atonement, and rampage like a raving blood-lusted lunatic the way Callisto was. You see for the first time Xena’s vulnerability and struggle with sensitivity. She was finding it so difficult to cry in front of Gabrielle. She tries to send her off to bed before she could see the tears streaming down her face, but Gabrielle wasn’t having it. She made sure she promised her, and that she was sincere with the words. She sees the tears and tries to brush them away from her face. Xena immediately turns away from her and tells her to go to bed, but she doesn’t move. Gabrielle just sits there by her side sharing her pain and accepting her for who she is now, which I find extremely powerful and beautiful. Xena has probably never encountered acceptance like that in her life before, or she wasn’t paying enough attention to see it. The fact that Gabrielle refuses to leave her must have thrown her off. She left herself unguarded for the very first time in her life in front of this young woman. As the flickering flames danced before them, illuminating their faces, we see the Warrior Princess’ walls down for the very first time. The Bard had succeeded in bringing out her sensitive side, if only just for a moment. This would be the beginning of a transformation so intense, it would completely change Xena’s personality and mindset forevermore. Love and forgiveness would be her saving grace, and the beautiful soul sat across from her would be the reason why it happened at all.]

Furthermore, in this episode we also meet Joxer, who becomes the main comic relief in the entire show and gave Gabrielle the chance to be taken seriously as a character instead of the “irritating blonde”, as she’s so often called by other characters in the show, much to my distaste. So because of the introduction of two incredible recurring characters, especially Callisto, this episode ranks high on my list.

4. S05E02: CHAKRAM

‘Chakram’ goes back to the Yin and Yang representation of the show. They use it as the main plotline of the episode in that there is a Light and Dark chakram and the plot was to retrieve the chakram of Light from the temple of the Tao because Xena has always had the Dark chakram and it broke earlier in the show. It’s one of the many episodes in the entire show where the character Ares: The God Of War represents Xena’s Dark side and Gabrielle Xena’s Light side. But this time with a little bit of a twist, as it is Gabrielle that directs Xena back to her Dark side again due to Xena having lost her sense-of-self and the memories of who she was in her past after the both of them were crucified at the end of Season 4 and were brought back to life again through another new character in the show, Eli, at the start of Season 5. This episode means a lot to me because it really clarifies how important it is to have balance in your life and in yourself. A balance of Light and Dark to really understand both and be whole with everything you are as a soul. All that makes you you.

There is a really great scene in the episode, that’s probably my favourite scene, where Xena is praying to some kind of deity, most likely the ‘One God’ of Eli’s religion. It is never revealed who or what exactly she’s praying to but Gabrielle notices and is concerned about her because Xena won’t defend herself when she is attacked anymore, nor does she remember anything violent or negative about herself and her past. Xena questions her whether they’re doing the right thing in restoring her darkness and how that could even be a good thing to do. Gabrielle replies in such a way that is very philosophical and wise that you don’t hear from her in quite awhile in the show. She says “I think it’s vital. I know that sounds strange, coming from me. I think you have to know the darkest part of yourself to be whole.” Xena exclaims back “But this way, I harm no one!” Gabrielle counters “But Xena, what about the people who harm others? Xena, you have this balance of lightness and darkness. Without both of those, the very best in you is defenceless.“ That scene and that dialogue helped me to realize something amazing about myself and the way I look at everything negative I do as something that takes away from who I am as a soul. But really it’s just giving the way to the rise of something much more positive and helping me to understand myself better and recognize the importance of polarity and the teachings of Yin and Yang. It’s a meaningful and motivating episode to me because it represents what I call ‘The Grey Area’ in the best way that I could never explain myself.

Also, Xena gets a cool new and improved chakram with the Yin-Yang design when she neutralises the Light and Dark chakrams together, which brings her back to her former self again, so that was awesome too. I love the way they did this episode so much. I especially love that both lead characters evolved because of the need to be there for each other. The need to protect and defend one another. That’s precisely what their relationship is fundamentally about and they hit it on the nail with this episode. Who said Season 5 didn’t show the love between them? Look deeper. The love is there, it’s just not in the way that you expect. It’s in the themes represented. It’s in the fundamental message that someone that cares about you has to put aside what scares them about you and do what’s best for you.

5. S02E15: A DAY IN THE LIFE

‘A Day In The Life’ is a comedy episode that centers around Xena and Gabrielle’s average day of fighting for the innocent. Now while this episode is highly regarded in the fanbase because of the hilarious things Xena and Gabrielle do to each other to affectionately aggravate one another that drives them both crazy like a squabbling old married couple, it’s also got a very inspiring moral to it at the same time. That you do not need to make yourself the victim in thinking of yourself as unworthy or unappealing to the one you love, and that you have your own strength to fight your own battles and don’t necessarily need someone to defend or protect you all the time. You see, in this episode you are introduced to a couple, Minya and Hower, that fall into somewhat of an estranged relationship when Hower falls in love with Xena as soon as he meets her. Hower is the first person of the couple you get to know, but when you meet Minya, you find out she’s a big fan of the Warrior Princess, but begins to view her with disgust and jealousy when she realizes her boyfriend is attracted to her. Xena and Gabrielle, while occupied with their own married couple problems, have to sort this out and make it clear to Hower that he has no chance with Xena. Xena gives some advice to Minya on how to handle men and she becomes this strong, independent and extremely confident woman that knocks a warlord to his feet that impresses Hower and she no longer feels victimised by him or anyone else. This ignites the flame in their relationship again and Xena and Gabrielle learn to overcome their own differences in the meanwhile because of being inspired to by them.

Furthermore, Xena, the brilliant strategic thinker she is, finds a way to kill two birds with one stone by stopping both an army and defeating a giant. There is this cute little moment in the middle of the episode where she tells Gabrielle that by defeating the giant Gareth, she will be repaying an old friend back from having to fight against him for ‘The Greater Good’, which ultimately led to his death. I thought that was very endearing. It’s a great episode. Funny, yet has a lot of substance to it. At least to me it does. It’s definitely my favourite comedy episode in the entire show and it is another great introductory episode to come to know the comedy and campy side of Xena because Xena isn’t dramatic and serious all the time and that’s part of its charm as a 90’s show.

6. S04E07: LOCKED UP AND TIED DOWN

‘Locked Up And Tied Down’ has Xena dealing with the justification for her regretful past. She is convicted and tried for a murder she committed to a young woman years ago, that has only just seemed to follow her up now. I thought that was quite weird at first, but it’s explained why later on. The build-up of the episode has her boarding a boat shackled in chains and leaving a grief-stricken Gabrielle behind to carry out her sentence: life imprisonment on Shark Island. Gabrielle follows her, of course, and tries to free her while masquerading as the new healer for the prisoners. It is here the sudden event of Xena’s conviction begins to make sense, as Gabrielle discovers that the person Xena, apparently, murdered, is the one who condemned her. It’s an episode where the empathetic ways of Gabrielle transform someone into finding their power and peace again, the way she has done for Xena.

Meanwhile, the opposite is happening to Xena. She feels an immense amount of contempt in herself for all the horrible things she’s done. She’s so disgusted with herself, that she takes accountability for any kind of punishment or chore any of the prisoners are given while on Shark Island, along with her own. For me, that was an extremely painful thing to watch. My hero literally just giving up everything, including Gabrielle, because she hated herself. It was awful to watch how she just let the guards order and push her around like that and have all authority over her. But as painful and awful as it was to watch, it made me understand that forgiving yourself isn’t easy when your past sins follow you around and weigh you down when you’re trying to climb back up in your life. It’s not justice to just feel remorse for what you’ve done. You have to pay for those sins and accept the consequences of the pain and damage you’ve caused to others. You don’t get a free pass just because you believe you’ve repented for your sins. Others make that decision for you. Which means redemption is not earned and can’t be. It’s decided by others. It’s not a nice lesson to learn, but it is an important and realistic one. What’s more is you need to stop seeing yourself as a victim, because nobody is going to have mercy on you if you’ve done wrong. You have to own up to your crimes and deal with the consequences of your own actions. It’s a very dark, twisted and dramatic episode, but that’s just the kind of TV that I love to watch. That’s why this episode is one of my absolute favourites. This show is not afraid to tell the truth of the darkness of its themes or let the leads off for doing questionable things, unlike 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys’, and because of it, it is far superior to it in writing, directing and acting.

7. S06E02: THE HAUNTING OF AMPHIPOLIS

‘The Haunting Of Amphipolis’ sees Xena, Gabrielle and the newly reformed daughter of Xena, Eve, go back to Xena’s hometown after over 25 years to find that something has gone terribly wrong. Xena’s mother, Cyrene, is dead and the entire town has been wrecked and abandoned. There is a great evil that has permeated it and wreaked havoc that turned it into a hell hole of death, torture, pain, grief and just outright carnage. 'Xena: Warrior Princess’ finally gets a HORROR story. My favourite producer, Sam Raimi, who executive produces the show along with Rob Tapert, had a lot to do with this episode and you can tell because it’s his sort of episode. His creative area of expertise. Horror, just without the comedy, although there is some well-hidden dark humour in there that only an enthusiast of the original Evil Dead film series will pick up. And I am somewhat of a fan.

Okay, so I’m cheating a bit here. This episode isn’t really all that inspiring or really teaches you anything of any importance whatsoever. It’s just… I love horror basically, and I was waiting for Xena to have some sort of episode where they show blood, guts and gore since it’s done every other genre known to man. If you read my writing about my favourite art/entertainment, you would know what I’m like with begging creators to incorporate versatility. It’s a big drawing card for me when it comes to art/entertainment. There’s not much else to say. There’s a lot of weirdness, disturbing and creepy crap that goes on in it that is right up my alley. It makes my TOP 10 because it’s just something that I enjoy watching and suits my passions for TV media in general. It’s my niche. There’s no moral or message of significance. Honestly, I am just a sick person who loves watching sick stuff. So there you have it. It is an acquired taste and not for the faint-hearted, so I probably wouldn’t recommend watching this one if you do not like or are not familiar with horror. It’s a great one to watch for Halloween though, which I’m sure was the intent behind creating and airing it.

Oh, and Xena finally teaches Gabrielle ‘The Pinch’. One of Xena’s trademarks in her “I have many skills” repertoire. Or at least she teaches her how to take ‘The Pinch’ off. Good enough for me. Xena teaches her everything she knows in the end anyway.

8. S01E24: IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?

‘Is There A Doctor In The House?’ finds our heroines, Xena and Gabrielle, in the middle of an ongoing civil war between the Mitoans and the Thessalians. They end up bumping into a friendly face in the name of Ephiny, an Amazon in Gabrielle’s tribe, who is extremely pregnant and about ready to have her baby. They capture a Mitoan commander and take refuge in a Thessalian temple where the wounded, sick and dying are being treated. This episode is very upsetting. To cut to the chase: SPOILER ALERT! Gabrielle dies. Not only do you get to see Xena’s impressive demonstrations of medical aid, surgery and respiratory reparation, but you also come to see the incredible influence Gabrielle has had on her life throughout Season 1. Xena showcases such vulnerability, compassion and even fear while begging and pleading for Gabrielle to wake up. She absolutely crumbles down in emotion the likes you’ve never seen from her in the show thus far, and you realize that this adventurous and naive young woman she helped on to the back of her horse, Argo, not too long ago, has had an unbelievable effect on her mindset and personality. She has fallen completely in love with her and her ways of empathy and understanding of ‘The Greater Good’ and she just can’t let her go peacefully. She demands for her to return to the land of the living, screaming “Don’t leave me! DON’T LEAVE ME!”. Through much persistence and determination Xena’s remarkable medical and healing skills somehow miraculously bring her back to life again. Don’t ask me how, she just does it, and Xena claims it’s entirely Gabrielle’s doing. I disagree. I think it was Xena that achieved that feat because her love for Gabrielle guided her efforts. Their relationship reaches even greater heights. At least from Xena’s point of view it does.

Elsewhere in the episode, before that dramatic and climactic ending, that I also thought was a great addition to the theme, we go back to Ephiny and watch her talk with the Mitoan general named Marmax, who the Amazon has been put in his care. Ephiny has developed a hatred for the Mitoans because they killed her husband, but is able to tolerate Marmax because she wanted him to understand something about hatred. That the war has to end somewhere for their children’s sake. She challenges him by asking “Is bloodshed all you want them to know?” and the scene cuts out. I thought that was very powerful and it made me appreciate the episode all the more. This episode inspired me a lot and makes it on my TOP 10 because of it.

9. S02E20: THE PRICE

‘The Price’ is an episode about understanding what it means to be human and the price you pay if you’re ignorant to the truth because you’re blinded by hatred and anger. Xena and Gabrielle stumble into dangerous waters and come across The Horde. Xena remembers this barbaric tribe from when they annihilated her army sometime after the Battle of Corinth. She doesn’t have any understanding or knowledge on them other than what she knows from her past when she was the Destroyer of Nations, and claims they have no will other than to kill everything and anything they come into awareness with. They pick up a wounded soldier in their canoe and bring him into the Athenian Army battlement camp while the war still rages on. Xena becomes ruthless whenever she has an army around her and something to hate and direct her anger at and Gabrielle never likes or accepts it. While Xena is taking command of the Athenian Army to try to destroy The Horde by any means she can, Gabrielle is tending to the wounded in an old armoury unit where there are no doctors or healers and she takes the initiative to be the lead nurse to care for those who are dying and need help. This is where you come to see that Xena cannot stay on the right path for herself and would easily just as go back to her dark days if not for Gabrielle’s hold on her guilty conscience. Gabrielle argues with Xena that maybe The Horde want something and if they had it, they would leave them alone. Or maybe they could find common ground if they learn to understand their ways first. Gabrielle finds the answer when Xena captures one of them and she’s ladling water right next to the tied up Horde. He was breathlessly repeating “Kaltaka”, which is what all the dying Horde chant endlessly on the battlefield. She previously believed it was the name of their god and it was the clue she needed. It translated to water. They just wanted water because the Athenians poisoned the rivers. They didn’t want to fight anymore, they were just desperate for a way to keep themselves alive. Gabrielle defies Xena and goes out into the battlefield to feed the dying Horde weaponless and The Horde crowd around her but don’t hurt her. They notice she was just trying to help. Through this act of kindness towards the opposing side Xena comes to her senses and realizes she’s wrong about them. She goes back to the captured Horde and experiments with her newfound theory that maybe they have a code of conduct that is in common with her own. A Warrior’s Code. She understands him and releases him. Then she goes out to fight The Horde Leader who is the one causing all the trouble for the tribe and defeats him. As she’s walking away with her back turned to the entire Horde tribe, they raise their bows and arrows and Gabrielle screams out “LOOK OUT!”. They don’t target Xena. They target The Horde Leader who was screaming in anguish at being defeated. Xena was now their leader by defeating their previous leader. That was their Warrior’s Code. No real difference to the Amazons, an indigenous tribe they knew so well and wore just as much war paint.

The message is self-explanatory: Don’t judge a person by their race, religion, language, culture, colour, sexuality, gender, or by what you ignorantly think you know about them without getting to know or understand them. You risk losing your humanity.

10. S01E02: CHARIOTS OF WAR

‘Chariots Of War’ is about compliance and expectations from relationships that affects our choices and perceptions of reality. Xena gets herself caught up in a situation where she’s trying to stop these two warlords ravaging a settlement where a community of villagers were trying to build a new home for themselves and Xena takes an arrow to the chest and faints. A single father takes her into his home and cares for her because she saved his young son from being crushed by the newly built settlement that one of the warlords pulled down. While injured, Xena learns of this family’s plight and tries to put it right for them, promising not to use violence to do it, obeying the wishes of the one who took her in who does not want another war. She becomes very affectionate with the father and his family and finds it a struggle to leave them because of it.

Meanwhile, Gabrielle meets one of the warlords in the inn she takes refuge in because a smelly and disgusting drunk keeps hitting on her. She tells a lie that she already has a boyfriend and he is with them in the inn. To prove it, a bold as brass Bard walks right up to this warlord and complete stranger and kisses him on the mouth and requests that he pretends he knows her to keep away from the horny drunks. They start a conversation about what they do and the warlord, who’s name is Sphaerus, tells her that he works for his father, but he makes him do things he doesn’t like and doesn’t want to do and this insightful conversation between them happens that I really love and relate to myself…

GABRIELLE: “My mother always wanted me to get married and have kids. And I remember telling her that I’d always be grateful for the way that she raised me, but she couldn’t expect me to pay for that with my future.”

SPHAERUS: “That’s very insightful.”

GABRIELLE: “It’s a gift. Well, anyway, I came to a point in my life when I had to make a choice and I thought about who I really was, and I made it.”

I’ve written an entire article about this that was inspired by this episode and this is a piece of that article where I explain the moral to the episode because, for me, that’s part of the reason why this episode is so damn brilliant and one of the best.

[The moral to this episode is about what is expected of us to comply to by our family, our employment, our sociality and our romantic relationships and trying to apply it to who we are, how we choose to view reality and how we live by our own perceptions. I tend to think the more we empathise with the people that love or care about us and that we love and care about, the better our relationships become. The reason why I think this is because you can only walk a mile in someone’s shoes once you have begun to understand them… But that doesn’t mean you should take on their beliefs… their perceptions… or their lifestyle. You have your own to live by, and that’s how it should be. What you believe in and what lifestyle you choose to live by is what is your truth. And no one should take that away from you. Not even those closest to you.]

Another reason I love it is because the writer, Josh Becker, did something very clever with it in setting up the idea of Xena and Gabrielle being each other’s Yin and Yang before they even realize that for themselves. And he does it by using none other than their MALE COUNTERPARTS and LOVE INTERESTS. It is ingenious writing and something you will only pick up on with multiple rewatches of the show.

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That’s my TOP 10 favourite episodes of 'Xena: Warrior Princess’. It’s probably not the list that you were expecting since Gabrielle is my favourite character. You would think I would go with Gabrielle-centric episodes. But when it’s your favourite show, you don’t necessarily care about how much screen-time your favourite character has or hasn’t. What you care about is how well your favourite character is integrated into each episode and there is a lot of episodes that are extremely well written in character representation and development so it’s not a factor.

I’ve already written a hell of a lot so I’ll just end it briefly. Thank you for reading. I hope you check the show out for yourselves if you haven’t seen it and come to love it as much as I do. And if you’ve already watched the show all the way through once or more, what is your TOP 10 favourite episodes? Feel free to express why as I have done. I’d love to know how this show has impacted you the way it has impacted me.

Thank you.

- Girl4Music

#xena warrior princess #top 10 favourite episodes #xena #lucy lawless #gabrielle #renee o'connor #the bitter suite #forgiven #callisto #chakram #a day in the life #locked up and tied down #the haunting of amphipolis #is there a doctor in the house #the price #chariots of war

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