Xena: Warrior Princess/Headscratchers

Yes, over here! In Episode BF12, Xena was battling barbarians while riding a winged Appaloosa, yet in the very next scene, she's clearly atop a winged Arabian!
- Uh, yeah, well, whenever you notice something like that... A Wizard Did It.
  - Yes, alright, yes, in episode AG04-
    - Wizard!
    - Aw, for cryin' out gwayven.

I realize it's for fanservice, but is there any reasonable explanation why Xena's armor is so... impractical?
- It's not like she needs it, she can catch arrows with her bare hands.
  - Well, the boots and skirt are actually a step up from the sandals and skirt that would have been more accurate for... some of the years that the show mayb e sort of theortetically takes place during, sometimes. Pants would be too hot for an athletic combat style like hers, and she's on the road a lot where cleaning up is difficult. The exposed arms are pretty normal, for all of the reasons already listed. The exposed shoulders and cleavage... besides the aspect of ventilation/cleanliness, I think it might serve as a target, to make sure missiles are aimed high, where she can see them and grab/ dodge, instead of at her abdominal region, where they might pass unnoticed through the the armor, or perhaps injure a spinning, kicking leg. Not to mention, she's Xena, so I'm not she even CARES about armor. I think she just wears the outfit to pick up girls.
- Not impractical at all, considering her fighting style. If you're going to be flipping around scissor-kicking dudes in the face you're gonna want clothes that offer maximum freedom of movement.
Did the opening narration bother anyone else? "A mighty Princess forged in the heat of the battle." She was not a Princess. She lived in a village with a mom who owned a tavern and a father who was devoted to Ares.
- She was forged into a "mighty Princess," perhaps.
  - The title "Warrior Princess" was given to her by Alti. It's never adequately explained, though; it was mostly an artifact from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, where Xena and her title originated.
Season 3, Dahak, the One True God raped Gabrielle and Hope the child was Exclusively Evil. Season 5, Callisto, minion of the One True God raped Xena and Eve the child was Always Lawful Good.
- Correction: Callisto didn't rape anyone. By that point, she was redeemed and became an angel (thanks to the efforts of Xena herself), and later, made Xena magically conceive a child with her spirit to take a second chance at a mortal life. Also, when they first met Eve as an adult, after the timeskip, she was raised as a ruthless pillager like Xena herself once was; it was only because of Eli that she got her chance at atonement.
  - Gabrielle wasn't asked, she was tricked into magic glowy lights that made her have a surprise baby. IIRC, Xena wasn't asked either, simply touched by magic glowy lights that made her have a surprise baby. She was, at least, more willing to be in an angel's hands than Gabrielle was to be in a demon's. But neither of them consented beforehand to be used as baby-vehicles, and it is a little creepy that the instances are treated so differently just because Callisto was pretty at the time.
  - Callisto is Draco in Leather Pants because Rape Is Love
  - Callisto had nothing to do with Xena conceiving Eve, that was all "God". It was only after that had been done that the same entity decided that Callisto's soul would also be reincarnated as Xena's child.
- There were a number of hints that Hope might not have been quite so Exclusively Evil - she clearly did want Gabrielle's love and approval. However, she was too powerful to be controlled long enough to be reasoned with.
  - Could be more of a female variant of Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas, though. Remember that Hope strangled a man to death a few hours after she was born.
- It's all rather odd, however, that Xena and Gabrielle never question the possibility everything Eve-related could be a repeat of everything Hope-related. The basics are the same: a being possessing amazing power and devoted followers sires a child, with the ultimate endgame being wiping out "lesser gods." You'd think after the hell they went through in Season 3 that Xena and Gabrielle would be a bit cautious.
Eli told Gabrielle that she must stop hitting bad guys with a staff because that is violent. She must kill both good people and bad people with sais because sais are non-violent???
- The sais came after Gabrielle's peace arc. She dumped her staff, got a magical compact, did yoga, watched Xena get her spine broken and become crippled due to her (Gabrielle's) refusal to commit violence, snapped and killed a bunch of people before being taken down, was crucified, pulled into hell, rescued to heaven, and brought back to life with a pregnant (and not at 100%) Xena. Picking up the Sais was Gabrielle realizing she cannot be a person of total peace, and she accepts violence in defense of others. It was completely logical with her character arc.
- Ides of March", Gabrielle takes up arms and fights for Truth, Justice and the Athenian Way. I thought that was the end of her being an Elijan.
- There's some major dissonance over what's non-violent. The staff, which she uses to whack people and KO them (but they get up again) is too violent. Using her little compact to knock people out so that Xena can kill them, however, is acceptably non-violent. Admittedly her whole character arc there was sort of intended to show that this non-violence idea was ridiculous for the lifestyle she was leading.
- There is no dissonance, the doctrine of non-violence is clearly explained. Siege of Amphipolis, a Peasant puts his hand in his pocket to get his handkerchief. "Gabrielle" kills the Peasant with sais and that murder is a non-violent act. Likewise, when the Amphipolitans murdered Xena's mother, they burnt her to death, so that counts as non-violent. Eli is prophet of the One True God, so any weapon that Eli approves of is by definition non-violent. I am a puny mortal. I think that KO-ing people is less violent than killing them with sais which proves my inferiority to the One True God.

Although I found the Goliath episode interesting and "A Day In the Life" to be one of the all-time greats: I still don't quite get it. How exactly does flashing sunlight off mirrors compel giants to take their helmets off?
- The reflected sunlight heated the air, making the giants hot. One of the quickest ways to cool off is to cool your head, so they logically removed their helmets.

What happens to the spirits of Olympians after they are killed?

- That was never adressed. The Gods that Xena killed were very rarely even referenced after their deaths, let alone given an episode to depict any sort of afterlife. It's kind of a cool philosophical question: do gods have souls? Do they have their own afterlife? Do they go to Heaven or Hell like Callisto did? Xena doesnt know.
  - Not that she'd care. Killing someone once was always enough for her. Not that she didnt enjoy killing Callisto again. and again. and again.