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[[File:xena.jpg|frame|Xena and her [[Les Yay|li'l buddy]] Gabrielle]]
▲{{quote|''"[[In a World|In a time]] of ancient Gods, Warlords, and Kings,<br />
▲A land in turmoil cried out for a hero.<br />
''The power.
▲She was Xena, a mighty princess forged in the heat of battle.<br />
''The
''The
''Her courage will change the world."''|'''[[Opening Narration]]'''}}▼
▲Her courage will change the world."''|'''[[Opening Narration]]'''}}
'''''Xena: Warrior Princess''''' starred [[Lucy Lawless]] as an [[Hot Amazon|amazonian leather-clad]] [[Action Girl|warrior-woman]] fighting monsters while battling inner demons based on [[The Atoner|sins from her warlord past]]. Xena originated on ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' as a [[Worthy Opponent]] to the title character, and became so popular with fans that [[Spin-Off|she got her own show]].
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The series ran from 1995-2001, and at one point was the most popular show in the world, surpassing ''[[Baywatch]]'' for the title.
The series also had several comic book spin-offs by Topps Comics and Dark Horse Comics (including two [[
Produced by Renaissance Pictures.
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Has a [[Xena: Warrior Princess/Characters|characters page]].
----
{{tropelist}}
* [[Action Dress Rip]]
** In "The Xena Scrolls" in Season 2, which has Xena's identical descendant and Gabrielle's identical descendant in the nineteen forties, the reincarnated Xena does this, signaling the moment that she's being possessed by her ancestor and is about to kick serious ass.
** She also did this in episode 2, "Chariots of War".
** She also does it in "Warrior... Princess", when she is posing as Diana at the latter's wedding.
* [[Adrenaline Makeover]]: Gabrielle's haircut in Season 4.
* [[Aerith and Bob]]: In a world full of traditional Greek names, we had the distinctly French and relatively normal-sounding Gabrielle (though it was originally a Hebrew name, derived from the masculine Gabriel).
* [[Aliens Speaking English|Aliens Speaking Greek]]: Xena travels the world, but never has any problems communicating with people. While one might initially assume that she's merely multilingual (she has many skills, after all), the fact that Gabrielle and even Joxer don't have language problems imply that everyone is actually speaking Greek
▲* [[Aerith and Bob]]: In a world full of traditional Greek names, we had the distinctly French and relatively normal-sounding Gabrielle (though it was originally a Hebrew name, derived from the masculine Gabriel).
:Semi-averted in that during classical period throughout much of the Mediterranean world, Greek was the common tongue. So much so that one variant, ''Koine'', is the Greek word for common. Of course once Xena and Gabrielle travel to Asia all bets are off.
* [[All Amazons Want Hercules]]: Averted? Parodied? Amazons have crushes on Joxer in ''Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire'' and ''Kindred Spirits'', and Joxer ain't Hercules. In fact, even when Hercules is around, so is his friend Iolaus who gets more female attention than Herc does.
* [[All Girls Want Bad Boys]]: Or at least, according to Ares, every time he tries to seduce Xena.
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* [[Ancient Greece]] / [[Ancient Rome]]: Yes, [[Anachronism Stew|at the same time]].
* [[Ancient Grome]]: One episode was devoted to ''[[Bacchae]]'', and thus featured Bacchus in a major role. As opposed to, say, Dionysus and his Maenads.
* [[And Then There Were None]]: The plot of "Ten Little Warlords
* [[Annoying Arrows]]
** Callisto provides the picture for this trope, after her becoming a godly pin-cushion in "Maternal Instincts".
** {{spoiler|Xena}} also provides an example of this in the finale.
* [[Anyone Can Die]]: By the end of the series, the only recurring supporting character who ''hadn't'' died was [[Bruce Campbell|Autolycus]]. Even the Olympian Gods... The ones confirmed to be killed by Xena and Hercules are {{spoiler|Zeus, Discord, Posiedon, Hades, Hephestus, Artemis, Athena and Deimos. The Furies were also killed.}}
* [[Archangel Michael]]: Recurring character in Season 5 and Season 6.
* [[Arrow Catch]]
** Commonly done by Xena,
** Gabrielle never caught an arrow during the show, but she did block one or two with her staff.
* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: In "The Return of Callisto", a prison warden is showing a new recruit the ropes, and describes the prisoners as "murderers, thieves and perverts."
* [[As Lethal as It Needs to Be]]: Xena's chakram killed enemies or knocked them out, according to [[Rule of Drama]]
* [[The Atoner]]
** Xena
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* [[An Axe to Grind]]: The Horde loves throwing axes.
* [[Badass Cape]]: Xena sported one when she was a warlord. Other characters, such as Hades, also sported capes from time to time.
* [[Badass Longcoat]]: Xena and Gabrielle wear these in
* [[Badass Normal]]: Xena, who has gone toe-to-toe with ''Ares'' at times (although, rampant speculation about her ancestry casts doubt on the 'normal' part of the title). Gabrielle becomes this [[Took a Level
* [[Bald of Evil]]: Averted mostly. Many, many bad guys with long, flowing hair in the Ancient Greek tradition.
* [[The Bard]]: For a while Gabrielle wants to be a traveling bard. She also meets [[Homer]], who it turns out is called "blind" because he closes his eyes when he recites.
* [[Barehanded Blade Block]]: Done by Xena on more than one
* [[Bare Your Midriff]]
** Gabrielle's green halter top and burgundy skirt; later, she switched to a red top that was barely more than a bra and a shorter matching skirt. [[Fan Service|Not that anyone complained.]]
** Callisto's outfit also shows a decent amount of midriff.
** Xena's [https://web.archive.org/web/20130603042621/http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/Lucy%20Lawless%20Xena%20samurai.jpg Japanese armor] in the finale.
** Also fairly standard for female guest stars and recurring characters. This show '''really''' liked its [[Fan Service]].
* [[Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me]]: "The Path Not Taken".▼
▲* [[Barehanded Blade Block]]: Done by Xena on more than one occasion -- for example, in the episode "Cradle of Hope".
▲* [[Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me]]: "The Path Not Taken"
* [[Battle Ballgown]]: Xena wears one of these in "Soul Possession". To her {{spoiler|wedding}}. It's actually [http://media.photobucket.com/image/Xena%20wedding%20dress%20soul%20possession/Gabbyfan/Xena/soulpossession-wedding.jpg pretty nice.] Also, the dress [http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/13/xena81re0.jpg/ that she wears] in "Return of The Valkyrie" could be taken as this.
* [[Battle Couple]]: Xena and Ares, Xena and Gabrielle, Darnell and Glyphera.
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* [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]]: Xena and Ares. ''So'' much.
* [[Beyond the Impossible]]
** Xena's dizzyingly complex schemes to get herself and her friends out of trouble and her utter disregard for the laws of physics.
** Not to mention her actually
** Or how Callisto's soul managed to {{spoiler|impregnate Xena}}.
** Or how Xena {{spoiler|caused Lucifer's fall from grace}}.
* [[Bi the Way]]: Xena and Gabrielle start out having a few male romantic/sexual interests, but end up getting more and more subtext-y until it is openly [[Word of God]] that they are Common Law married. Not that [[Word of God]] didn't flip-flop on it.▼
▲* [[Big Bad]]: Callisto. Ares. Caesar. Alti. Dahak. Hope. Athena.
* [[Bigger Bad]]: Dahak, who is once referred to as "The blind force behind every evil deed."
* [[Big Damn Heroes]]
* [[Bill, Bill, Junk, Bill]]: A variation occurs in the [[Groundhog Day Loop]] episode "Been There Done That", as Xena is explaining her predicament to Gabrielle and Joxer, answering the questions she know that they'll ask in advance:
{{quote|
'''Xena:''' Yes.
'''Gabrielle:''' But I--
'''Xena:''' No, No, Yes, No, I tried that, yes both ways, no, I don't know, no again, are there any more questions? Good.
* [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing]]
** Xena,
** Gabrielle in Season Five.
** Also Varia, Velasca and (occasionally) Amarice.
** Ephiny inverts this, by being unfriendly toward Xena and Gabrielle originally, before becoming one of their best and most trusted friends.
** Callisto for the first ten minutes of "Surprise", on ''Hercules''.
▲* [[Bi the Way]]: Xena and Gabrielle start out having a few male romantic/sexual interests, but end up getting more and more subtext-y until it is openly [[Word of God]] that they are Common Law married. Not that [[Word of God]] didn't flip-flop on it.
* [[Black Sheep]]: Joxer is a [[Heroic Wannabe]] in a family where his father is a warlord and his brother Jett is an infamous assassin. On the other hand, due to Joxer and Jett's reluctance to talk about him, third brother Jace may qualify for this trope even more so.
* [[
** The fifth season episode "Married With Fishsticks", which mostly forgets about the story arc going on at the time to do a pointless filler episode where the feuding Aphrodite and Discord accidentally send Gabrielle into an alternate world where she's a mermaid, and is entirely populated with mer people. The whole thing is ''incredibly'' weird, and ends with it apparently being [[All Just a Dream]] as Gabrielle wakes up back with Xena.
** Arguably, the sixth season episode "You Are There" also counts
* [[Blondes Are Evil]]: Callisto, Mavican, Najara, Krafstar and Hope.
* [[Booze Flamethrower]]: One of Xena's signature moves.
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* [[Buffy-Speak]]: A few examples:
** Gabrielle describing how to survive a battle when you have no fight experience:
{{quote|
** And in "Warrior... Princess":
{{quote|
'''Gabrielle:''' Chakram.
'''Diana:''' [[Gesundheit|Bless you]].
** Then there's the "loud-speaking-thing" (it's a primitive type of megaphone) in "Altared States".
* [[Bury Your Gays]]: It's complicated. As aired, future versions / reincarnations were still happily together, but {{spoiler|the core couple was broken up by Xena's death.}} The comics continuity removes that last bit.
* [[Bus Crash]]: Phantes, Ephiny's centaur husband, dies off-screen between her first and second appearance on the show.
* [[But for Me It Was Tuesday]]: [[Deconstructed]]. The Xena-led raid that killed Callisto's family was a source of mild regret for Xena at the time (it involved an accidental fire that killed women and children), but she never gave it much thought afterwards. It's not until Callisto returns [[All Grown Up!]] and with a massive thirst for vengeance upon the woman responsible for the deaths of her parents and sister that Xena realizes the full consequences of her actions and the fact that she's [[Create Your Own Villain|unknowingly created her worst enemy]].
* [[Butt Monkey]]: Joxer.
* [[Cain and Abel]]: Pao Ssu and K'ao Hsin.
* [[California Doubling]]: The New Zealand variant standing in for ancient Greece and other parts of the world.
* [[Camp]]: Apparently you can have lesbian [[Camp]].
* [[Canon Discontinuity]]: Many fans do not officially consider the two-part "Friend in Need" arc to be the finale, and neither do the writers of the ''Xena''
* [[Catch Phrase]]
** "I have *many* skills."
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* [[Celebrity Paradox]]: According to "Soul Possession", [[Bruce Campbell]] does exist... and has a sizable fee for appearing at conventions.
* [[Cerebus Syndrome]]: The first two seasons were heavy on camp and occasionally had a serious episode. Then, in Season 3, {{spoiler|Gabrielle got pregnant with her [[Fetus Terrible]] daughter, Hope}}, setting off a season-long storyline meant to put Xena and Gabrielle through emotional hell. Also, the Season 3 finale ended on a cliffhanger featuring {{spoiler|Gabrielle and Hope dying in a firey pit.}} Subsequent seasons had even less comedy.
* [[Chainmail Bikini]]: Not Xena herself, but almost every minor female character on the show. Also Gabrielle in later seasons.
* [[Chekhov's Boomerang]]
** The "Hinds Blood Dagger", which originated on ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'', but later appeared on Xena in "Sacrifice 2".
** Surprisingly, NOT the Chakram.
** The "cleavage dagger" which Gabrielle picked up in
* [[Christmas Episode]]: "A Solstice Carol"
* [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome]]: In a
* [[Classical Mythology]]: Not the way you were taught.
* [[Clear My Name]]
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** Season 4: ''Deja Vu All Over Again''. A geeky fan thinks she's Xena reincarnated so her boyfriend takes her to a past life specialist - only to find they are the characters' descendants (but with Xena and Joxer switched around).
** Season 5: ''Punch Lines'' where [[Framing Device|Gabrielle recalls to Aphrodite]] an incident with the god of despair.
** Season 6: ''You Are There''. A reporter and his crew from the 20th century are in ancient Greece, interviewing everyone they come across about Xena. Viewers were also treated this season to "Send in the Clones
* [[Cluster Bleep Bomb]]: Eve, surprisingly, during "You Are There". Also counts as a [[Berserk Button]], as her swearing was caused by his badmouthing Xena.
{{quote|
'''Eve:''' F*** off!
* [[Conservation of Ninjutsu]]: Lampshaded at the end of "One against an army" when after beating the Persian cavalry almost single-handed Xena says they must have had an off-day.
* [[Courtroom Episode]]: "The Execution".
* [[CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable]]: Reviving Gabrielle with hysterical screaming and
* [[Crap Saccharine World]]: "Paradise Found".
* [[Crapsack World]]: There is war ''everywhere''. Bandits prowl the roads and warlords battle for territory. Kind rulers are scarce and the gods don't care about the plight of mortals. When the gods do show up, they tend to make things worse.
* [[Credits Gag]]: The "[[No Animals Were Harmed]]..." disclaimer in the ending credits.
{{quote|
* [[Crossover]]
** Though it shared recurring characters with its parent series, there were only two guest appearances by Hercules and Iolaus. Both appear in Season 1's "Prometheus". Iolaus appears in Season 2's "The Quest" and Hercules in Season 5's "God Fearing Child".
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* [[Curse Cut Short]]
** In Season 3 episode "Fins, Femmes and Gems", Xena does this to Gabrielle when Gabrielle's singing a song about herself ([[It Makes Sense in Context]]).
{{quote|
'''Xena:''' Are you out of your ''mind''?
'''Gabrielle:''' Too loud?
** Amarice after Joxer and Arman laughs at her after slipping in "Animal Attraction".
{{quote|
* [[Dark Action Girl]]: Callisto, Xena herself prior to the show's beginning.
* [[Darker and Edgier]]: Started out slightly darker and edgier than ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' and got progressively more so as the series continued.▼
* [[Dark Is Not Evil]]
** As mentioned on the ''HTLJ'' page, Hades. He rules the Underworld and tends to dress in all-black, but is a fairly pleasant guy.
** Not to mention Xena's revelation that without her dark past, she wouldn't be the hero she became, and that, in the end, it was all worth it.
▲* [[Darker and Edgier]]: Started out slightly darker and edgier than ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]]'' and got progressively more so as the series continued.
* [[A Date with Rosie Palms]]: Alluded to in "Warrior... Priestess... Tramp":
{{quote|
'''Gabrielle:''' Believe me, if I have to go the rest of my life without companionship, knowing myself won't be a problem.
* [[Daydream Surprise]]: In "Paradise Found", Xena imagines breaking Gabrielle's arm.
* [[Dead Little Sister|Dead Little Brother]]: Lyceus.
* [[Death by Childbirth]]: Meg's father.
{{quote|
'''Gabrielle:''' Your father died in childbirth?
'''Meg:''' Yeah. He got drunk and fell off the roof while I was being born.
* [[Death Is Cheap]]
** Xena and Gabrielle died and came back so many times that Hades probably had a revolving door installed. {{spoiler|Which didn't stop Xena from being [[Killed Off for Real]] in the finale.}}
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* [[Death Takes a Holiday]]: Done twice in the first season:
** In "Death in Chains", Celesta (a.k.a. Death) is captured by Sisyphus when he fears his own death, intending to let her eternal flame burn out (an event that would kill Celesta and result in there being no death, ''ever''). During her imprisonment, no-one can die, either, resulting in an army of undead bandits coming after Xena and several terminally ill people [[A Fate Worse Than Death|being stuck in constant suffering]]. {{spoiler|Obviously, Celesta is [[Unexplained Recovery|eventually freed]].}}
** In "Mortal Beloved", the psychotic [[Ax Crazy|Atyminius]] usurps Hades' power by stealing his Helmet of Invisibility, confining him to his palace. Atyminius then uses his
* [[Deconstructive Parody]]: "A Day in the Life" pokes fun at little things usually overlooked like how do Xena and Gabrielle know which direction to go, how do they get food, how do they pass the time, hygiene, the call of nature, etc. Through the characters of Hower and Minya, the show also pokes fun at the fandom.
* [[Defeat by Modesty]]: Averted by Xena, who grabs her weapons before her clothes if she is attacked while naked. This provides a handy distraction.
* [[Description Cut]]
** In "The Titans":
{{quote|
''(cut to Gabrielle fruitlessly trying to break a nut with her fist)''
** Done twice in "Animal Attraction" first when Gabrielle said Xena hates flowers (Xena is sniffing flowers and looking at a teddy bear at the market) then when Arman and Amarice say Xena always has things together (Xena is vomiting).
* [[Deus Exit Machina]]: In "The Quill is Mightier...", Gabrielle has one of her scrolls (upon which she is writing a story) enchanted by Aphrodite, causing anything written upon it to come true. The first thing Gabrielle writes on it? "Xena had gone fishing". [[Hilarity Ensues]], including the depowering of ''both'' Ares and Aphrodite. When the characters
* [[Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?]]: Lots. Xena killed {{spoiler|most of the Olympian Gods, a couple non-Olympian Gods, Mephistopheles the King of Hell, the demon Yodoshi, a super-powered Alti, the archangel Michael and stopped the ultimate evil Dahak numerous times}}. And then some.
* [[Discount Lesbians]]: Done a ''lot'':
** Xena and Gabrielle's first kiss was when Xena was inhabiting Autolycus' body.
** In the finale, Gabrielle helps Xena drink from the Fountain of Strength by kissing her.
** In "The Debt 1", Lao Ma hid Xena from her pursuers in a bath tub. When Xena was underwater for too long, Lao Ma gives her an [[Underwater Kiss]] to give her air, but given all the [[Subtext]] between them, there may have been more to that.
** The episode where Xena had to walk through a wall of fire and [[Sleeping Beauty|wake up Gabrielle by kissing her.]]
** Aphrodite kissing Gabrielle while being not quite herself because of Caligula.
** Arguably, cross-dresser beauty contest winner kissing Xena.
* [[Distracted by the Sexy]]: Happens every now and then, such as in "The Prodigal", in which Gabrielle and some of Potidaea's female residents dance sexily to distract Damon's soldiers.
* [[Documentary Episode]]: "You Are There".
* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: In "Kindred Spirits", Xena and Gabrielle act like a couple whose marriage is being tested by career vs. family obligations.
* [[Dogged Nice Guy]]: Joxer towards Gabrielle.
* [[Domestic Abuse]]: Gab Drag, anyone?
* {{spoiler|[[Downer Ending]]}}
* [[Dragon Lady]]: Pao Hsu.
* [[Dragon with an Agenda]]: Ares thinks that Callisto will follow his orders in "Intimate Stranger". She has other plans.
* [[Dress Hits Floor]]
* [[Dropped a Bridge on Him]]
** When Xena, prophesied to spell the end of the Greek Gods' reign, gains the power to kill gods, a group of them led by Athena attacks, and the whole group (except Athena herself, given a decent battle), some of whom were recurring allies or villains throughout ''years'' of the show as well as its parent series ''[[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys]],'' gets taken out more casually and anticlimactically than any ''[[Star Trek]]'' [[Red Shirt]], one after another after another.
** And who could forget the episode "Endgame
** There's also Ephiny's Centaur husband, Phantes. Offscreen, he is brutally ripped apart by war dogs sometime prior to the events of "Is There a Doctor in the House?"
* [[Dumb Blonde]]: As mentioned on the ''HTLJ'' page, this is completely subverted with Aphrodite. She's extremely vapid and shallow ([[Character Development|at least at first]]), but very cunning.
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** Xena stands in for a look-alike princess (Diana) whose life is in danger. Later on, another look-alike, who turns out to be a sassy barmaid (Meg), is added into the mix, and they all swap lives for a while.
** And after that, a Hestial Virgin look-alike (Leah) appears.
** And in
** Season 5, Xena pretended to be the assassinated Cleopatra and manipulated Brutus and Marc Antony against each other.
* [[The Emperor]]: Ming T'ien and Augustus.
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** Gabrielle is an Amazon princess.
* [[Everything's Better with Spinning]]. Almost everybody's style of handling any weapon, but primarily Xena's mighty physics-defying Chakram and Gabrielle's Sais.
* [[Evil-Detecting Dog|Evil-Detecting Horse]]: Argo can tell something is wrong with Xena when [[Grand Theft Me|Callisto's spirit takes control of her body]].▼
* [[Evil Costume Switch]]: Pao Ssu switched from her chipao to the regalia of an empress.
* [[Evil Counterpart]]: Draco, Callisto and Najara and Ilainus all to Xena.
▲* [[Evil-Detecting Dog|Evil-Detecting Horse]]: Argo can tell something is wrong with Xena when [[Grand Theft Me|Callisto's spirit takes control of her body]].
* [[Evil Parents Want Good Kids]]: What Borias and eventually Xena wanted for Solan.
* [[Evil Sorcerer]]: Alti.
* [[Evil Twin]]: Hope for Gabrielle and Jett for Joxer.
* [[Express Delivery]]: Gabrielle carries and gives birth to [[Fetus Terrible|Hope]] within one day. This was likely intentional to highlight the supernatural
* [[Fan Boy]]: Hower and Minya.
* [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]]: Pomira and the Amazons are Native Americans in Greece.
* [[Fantasy Kitchen Sink]]
* [[Feminist Fantasy]]
* [[Five-Man Band]]: When they were traveling together in the first 2
** [[The Hero]]
** [[The Lancer]]
** [[Smart Guy]]
** [[Big Guy]]
** [[The Chick]]
* [[Foot Focus]]: On Callisto when she escapes from prison in "The Return of Callisto".
* [[Forged by the Gods]]
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* [[Four Lines, All Waiting]]: "Animal Attraction" to allow Lucy Lawless more rest due to her pregnancy.
* [[Freaky Friday Flip]]
** In "Intimate Stranger" and "Ten Little Warlords", Xena and Callisto switched bodies (due to a [[Real Life Writes the Plot]] incident in which Lucy Lawless broke her pelvis in an equestrian
** Xena also shared bodies with at least two other characters over the course of the series: Autolycus, in a spirit possession (also cross-referenced with [[Not Quite Dead]] and [[Almost Kiss]]), and a young girl.
* [[Frying Pan of Doom]]: Used in "A Day in the Life". Unfortunately, it was the only one Gabrielle had.
* [[Gaius Julius Caesar]]: Played by Karl Urban, Caesar was one of Xena's most
* [[Gatling Good]]: Used in "The Xena Scrolls".
* [[Gender Rarity Value]]: Joxer and the Amazon Rhea in "Kindred Spirits". She wants to have a baby, and he's the only male around. {{spoiler|They don't have sex, because [[Status Quo Is God]].}}
* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]
* [[Girls Behind Bars]] / [[Prison Episode]]
** "Locked Up and Tied Down".
** "The Black Wolf".
* [[Give Him a Normal Life]]: Solan, {{spoiler|Xena's son.}}
* [[God of Evil]]: Dahak.
* [[Good Hair, Evil Hair]]
* [[Gotterdammerung]]: The Twilight of the Gods.
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* [[Harping on About Harpies]]
* [[Has Two Mommies]]
** In the episode "Cradle of Hope", Gabrielle finds a baby abandoned in the bushes and takes care of him with Xena for a while. In the end, the local king adopts the child and asks if there's any way he can repay
** Eve has roughly three mommies.
** During Xena's pregnancy, Ares demands to know who the father is. Xena cheekily responds that Gabrielle was. Ares' response? [[Girl-On-Girl Is Hot|"That I would have paid to see."]]
* [[
* [[Heel Face Revolving Door]]
** Callisto worked with Xena almost as often as against her.
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* [[Heroic Fantasy]]
* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]
**
**
* [[Hide Your Lesbians]]: The show features one of the best known and longest running examples of this trope in the implied relationship between Xena and Gabrielle. Though the subtext becomes more and more explicit throughout the series, particularly during the final season, they're never officially confirmed to be anything more than [[Heterosexual Life Partners]], and both characters are seen engaged in serious relationships (in one case, even a short-lived marriage) with male characters at various points throughout the series. It should be noted, though, that in later seasons, they stopped having Temporary Love Interests
:One episode set in the modern day, with the Xena TV show existing had Xena reincarnated in one of Joxer's identical descendants, marrying Gabrielle reincarnated in one of Gabrielle's identical descendants. Their friend was Joxer reincarnated in one of Xena's identical descendants. Then, a later episode showed Ares appearing to switch them back into the bodies that look like they used to look, with the result being that Gabrielle and Xena were alive in the modern era and were about to get married as wife and wife. And they were cloned, with heavy implications that their modern day clones were a couple. And they met up as a completely separate reincarnation in the 1940's which ended up with the pretty explicit implication that Xena, reincarnated in her identical ancestor, and Gabrielle, reincarnated in her identical ancestor, would become life partners, though at the time same sex marriage was illegal. So really, Gabrielle and Xena's relationship is confirmed, it just doesn't appear to happen until their various reincarnations.
* [[High Heel Face Turn]]: It was Hercules who inspired Xena to turn a new leaf.
* [[Hijacked by Jesus]]: Although most of the gods being jerks was inherent in the premise, the universe of both ''Xena'' and ''Hercules'' is strange about this depending on the situation, especially Ares, who tends to waver between being a [[Jerkass]] and being an evil bastard, depending on the needs of the plot. Hades is usually treated as just a dark but very overworked and unappreciated ruler of the Underworld. Although the producers seemed intent on making up for lost time in the last two seasons of ''Xena''. The prophet Eli was an exceedingly thinly disguised [[Crystal Dragon Jesus]] and Xena was put on a quest {{spoiler|to kill all the Pagan gods}}.
* [[Historical In-Joke]]: Oh so many.
* [[Holier Than Thou]]: Hestian Priestess Leah.
* [[Honest John's Dealership]]: Salmoneus.
* [[Honor Before Reason]]: In "Tsunami", Xena goes out of her way to rescue Macon, an unapologetic and convicted murderer.
{{quote|
'''Xena:''' From you? Nothing. From me? Nothing less.
* [[Hot Amazon]]: Any Amazon episode had several, and then there's Xena herself...
* [[Hot Chick with a Sword]]: Take your pick.
* [[Hot God
* [[Hot Springs Episode]]: "Animal Attraction", which is also a tribute to [[The Wild West]].
* [[Human Mom, Nonhuman Dad]]
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** Then there's Eve whose mother is Xena and her father is implied to be God.
* [[Human Popsicle]]: Xena and Gabrielle slept for over twenty years and ended up stuck in the future.
* [[Hunting the Most Dangerous Game]]: "Dangerous Prey".
* [[Hypercompetent Sidekick]]: Gabrielle
* [[I Am Spartacus]]
** The episode "The Black Wolf".
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* [[If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him|If You Kill Her You Will Be Just Like Her]]: Gabrielle goes a little [[Ax Crazy]] after Perdicas is murdered by Callisto and literally ends up one incredibly easy sword thrust away from killing the sleeping Callisto; at the last moment, she drops her sword and states that she can't do it.
* [[The Immodest Orgasm]]: Gabrielle loudly fakes sex noises to distract some guards in "The Prodigal".
{{quote|
* [[Impossibly Cool Weapon]]: Combined with [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]], Xena's chakram, a handheld stand in for [[Captain America (comics)|Captain America's Shield]].
* [[Improbable Weapon User]]: Lampshaded in "A Day in the Life" when Xena says she likes getting creative during battle.
* [[Indy Hat Roll]]: "Xena Scrolls"
* [[Innocent Innuendo]]: At the beginning of "Altared States", we see Xena and Gabrielle's clothes are strewn on the bushes and we can hear comments such as, "How was that?" "Very nice!". {{spoiler|It turns out that Xena is showing Gabrielle how to catch fish by hand while wading.}}
* [[Insane Troll Logic]]: Xena's plan in "A Tale of Two Muses".
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* [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja]]: [[McNinja|In Ancient Greece]].
* [[Instant Drama, Just Add Tracheotomy]]
** This happens to a [[Red Shirt|bounty hunter]] after Xena gets a dagger through his neck, courtesy of another bounty hunter. Xena cuts him a new breathing hole out of mercy. He still dies, though (though because of [[Applied Phlebotinum]], not anything Xena did).
** Xena does this in the first season episode "Is There a Doctor in the House?". You never see the guy again, though, so we don't know how it ultimately turned out.
* [[Interspecies Romance]]: Ephiny marries Phantes, her former Centaur enemy, sometime after the events of "Hooves and Harlots", and they later have [[Half-Human Hybrid|a child]] together.
* [[I Want You to Meet An Old Friend of Mine]]: In "The King of Assassins" and "Key to the Kingdom", ''[[Evil Dead]]'' veterans and frequent collaborators Bruce Campbell and Ted Raimi are reunited on-screen.
* [[Jerkass Facade]]: Autolycus, who Xena calls on it in "The Quest":
{{quote|
* [[Jerkass Gods]]: Very much in keeping with Greek Mythology.
* [[Jumping Out of a Cake]]: Joxer organized a bachelor party for Ares. The girl who jumped out was Meg, the [[Identical Stranger]] of the woman he's going to marry.
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* [[Knight of Cerebus]]: Callisto, Hope and [[Gaius Julius Caesar]].
* [[Large Ham]]: ''Many''. Xena herself ventures into this territory on some occasions.
* [[Last Kiss]]: Xena and
* [[Lava Pit]]
** "Sacrifice 2".
** "Soul Possession".
** "A Necissary Evil".
** "Maternal Instincts".
* [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall]]: In "The Play's the Thing", Joxer is once again bearing the brunt of comedic misfortune. As the episode ends and the executive producer credits appear, Joxer whines, "I'm gonna tell [[Sam Raimi|my brother]]." The whole episode can be seen as a history of the show itself.
* [[Licking the Blade]]: Callisto licks a dagger at one point. Also, in the episode sharing her name, she kisses Xena's Chakram.
* [[Literary Agent Hypothesis]]: Like ''Hercules'', there was an episode that suggests the series is based on the real life of Xena as found by the "Xena Scrolls" written by Gabrielle.
* [[Living MacGuffin]]: In one episode, Xena and her two doubles (Diana and Meg) try to rescue Diana's baby. The baby is ''such'' a plot device that it's not even given a name or gender.
* [[Load-Bearing Boss]]: A couple, but The Deliverer is a good example.
* [[Lotus Eater Machine]]: Solan says that people in the Elysian Fields live the best day of their lives without their loved ones. They are made to think they are on a trip and will be back soon. {{spoiler|Which is why Solan chooses to stay in Tartarus so he can watch his former life with Xena}}.
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* [[Mama Bear]]
** Xena to {{spoiler|Solan and especially Eve, seeing she was a baby being targeted by the Greek Gods}}.
** Gabrielle does it with Hope, but it ends poorly,
* [[Meaningful Name]]
** Khrafstar, who is revealed to be a servant of Dahak. This is rather subtle example of the trope if you're not familiar with Zoroastrianism, from which Dahak was derived. See this definition from the ''Oxford Dictionary Of World Religions'':
{{quote|
** Also Eve, who was destined to bring about the "Twilight of the Gods"; Evening and Twilight both being times of day. This was another incredibly subtle example, even more so in universe, as the person who named her was utterly clueless about her destiny.
* [[Mediation Backfire]]: In "Been There, Done That", Joxer attempts to intervene in order to stop the feuding families. He gets a couple dozen arrows to his face for his trouble (but again, this being a Groundhog Day Loop, he gets better).
* [[Mind Rape]]: Caligula does this to Aphrodite.
* [[Mini-Dress of Power]]
* [[Molotov Cocktail]]: Xena invents the Molotov in "Warrior... Princess".
* [[Mugging the Monster]]: Happens to Xena very often - some don't
* [[Murder by Cremation]]: "Blind Faith". Gabrielle is fed into a crematorium while in a coffin. She's alright though.
* [[Musical Episode]]: Three, if you include "A Tale of 2 Muses" which is a dancing episode.
* [[The Music Meister]]
** Solan qualifies as this, as he is the driving force behind Xena and Gabrielle's being transported to the musical world of Illusia
** Also Terpsichore's Lyre, from "Lyre, Lyre Hearts on Fire". is an inanimate version of this, as the musical aspects of the episode only begin when the Lyre is unearthed by Draco, and are abruptly ended when the Battle of the Bands is won. {{spoiler|By Xena}}
* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: Joxer after his first kill. Even though it was in self-defense (against a warlord, no less), he is completely guilt-ridden over his actions.
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* [[Nobody Poops]]
** Averted in "A Day in the Life".
{{quote|
'''Xena:''' Now, take it easy. There were no good leaves in the bush. I used a piece that didn't have much writing on it! }}
** In "A Tale of Two Muses", Xena uses a ''flushable'' toilet.
* [[Nothing Is the Same Anymore]]: "The Deliverer", which saw Gabrielle commit her first kill (thus losing her blood innocence), the introduction of Dahak and the beginning of the "Rift" arc. A shaken Gabrielle even laments, "Everything's different now."
* [[Not So Dire]]: In "The Price", we see Xena and Gabrielle in a struggle with something which turns to just them fishing. Their fun is ruined however when [[Mood Whiplash|corpses start floating down the river]].
* [[Offhand Backhand]]: Xena, quite often with regular [[Mooks]].
* [[Official Couple]]: In an odd case of this, the episode "The Xena Scrolls" have the descendants of Xena and Gabrielle find the title scrolls which detail Xena's life and which name [[Temporary Love Interest|Marcus]] as Xena's "one true love." Obviously, most fans chalk this down to [[Canon Discontinuity]].
* [[Off with His Head]]: Pompey and Discord.
* [[Once Killed a Man with A Noodle Implement]]: The assassin Sinteres is said to be deadly with any weapon. King of Thieves Autolycus, posing as Sinteres, has to demonstrate this by killing a man with a thrown toothpick {{spoiler|although Xena's use of a grappling hook helped}}.
* [[Only Mostly Dead]]: In "The Greater Good", Xena temporarily dies after {{spoiler|Callisto}} poisons
* [[Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping]]: Happens ''very'' often, particularly among the minor characters and extras, usually played by New Zealand and Australian actors called on to sport American accents with varying degrees of success. Lucy Lawless was known to do this a few times herself.
* [[Opening Narration]]:
{{quote|
* [[Opening Shout-Out]]: The show made fun of the "the power, the passion" part of the opening narration.
* [[Our Banshees Are Louder]]: Xena and Gabrielle encountered a trio of banshees in Britainia. They didn't display any high-pitched screams, and were described as shades that could take solid form at will (the latter making it difficult for Xena to land a punch). These banshees were also shown to be worshipful of Hope and Dahak. Their mannerisms are also reminiscent of [[Evil Dead|Deadites]].
* [[Our Vampires Are Different]]: [[Not Using the Zed Word|"Bacchae"]] appeared on both ''Young Hercules'' and ''Xena'', ultimately destroyed in the latter.
* [[Out-of-Genre Experience]]:
{{quote|
* [[Pinball Projectile]]: The chakram, which bounces off pillars, rocks, and Mooks' heads, is the Trope Inspirer.
* [[Pirate Girl]]: Nebula.
* [[Playing with Fire]]: Callisto as a Goddess. Occasionally Ares, Hades and other Gods too.
* [[Please Don't Leave Me]]: Adds much fuel to the [[Les Yay]] fire when Xena screams, ''"Don't you leave me!"'' while trying to resuscitate a not-breathing Gabrielle.
* [[Please Wake Up]]: Xena to Gabrielle, word for word, as she is [[Only Mostly Dead|dying]] in
* [[Poorly-Disguised Pilot]]: Season 5's "Lifeblood" showed clips for a new series, ''Amazon High'', that explained the "origin" of the Amazons through a series of vision-quest flashbacks.
* [[Power Tattoo]]: Gabrielle's [http://images.ados.fr/television/photo/5535277553/dernier-episode/xena-gabrielle-883126441.jpg dragon tattoo] in the Finale.
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* [[Prince and Pauper]]: Both Xena and Joxer have several identical lookalikes. Xena has the princess Diana, the tramp-turned-cook Meg, and the priestess Leah. Joxer has two identical triplet brothers named Jett and Jayce.
* [[The Problem with Fighting Death]]
* [[Punny Name]]:
▲* [[Punny Name]]: Tons -- the most wince-worthy being, perhaps, two soldiers named Thelonius and Monk.
* [[Pure Is Not Good]]: Pao Hsu was able to harness her powers because of her purity, of hate.
* [[Rage Against the Heavens]]: Xena as the {{spoiler|Slayer of Gods, killed most of the Olympian gods, and a few non-Olympians}}.
* [[Real After All]]: "Altared States": Gabrielle never reached the [[Buffy-Speak|loud-talking-thing]].
* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]: Xena's pregnancy in Season Five.▼
* [[Reality Writing Book]]: The magic scroll in "The Quill Is Mightier..."
▲* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]: Xena's pregnancy in Season Five.
* [[Reckless Sidekick]]: Gabrielle. Never
* [[Redemption Equals Death]]: {{spoiler|Xena herself}}.
* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]
** Xena is usually the Blue Oni. She thinks through her actions more than Gabrielle, has less rage and blood-thirstiness than Callisto, is nowhere near as jittery as Joxer, and even keeps her cool around Ares. Hercules only flips the dynamic by virtue of being in less internal anguish.
** Pompey and Caesar.
* [[Reincarnation Romance]]: Between Xena and Gabrielle.
* [[Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated]]: [[Freaky Friday Flip|Xena-in-Callisto's body]], almost word-for-word, in "Ten Little Warlords".
* [[Rings of Death]]: Xena's Chakram.
* [[Rule of Symbolism]]
** As a [[Feminist Fantasy]], expect to see Xena's
** In one episode Xena and Callito have a teeter-tottering fight on a series of ladders and rails, defying the laws of physics and gravity, and somehow managing to create a see-saw out of the materials around them. It makes little sense, but perfectly depicts how Callisto sees both herself and her bond with Xena.
* [[Scenery Gorn]]
* [[Secret Test of Character]]: In the pilot, Draco is instructing new recruits to shoot arrows at him while he stands in front of a target. He spares the one guy who shoots the target and not him.
* [[Self-Deprecation]]: "The Plays' the Thing" and "Deja Vu All Over Again".
* [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy]]: The Twilight.
* [[Sequel Episode]]: "Warrior... Princess..." and its sequels "Warrior... Princess... Tramp" and "Warrior... Priestess... Tramp".
* [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]]: [[Euripides]] was very fond of this.
* [[Sex Face Turn]]: ''How'' Hercules got Xena to turn a new leaf.
* [[Shaky POV Cam]]: In "A Family Affair", this is used during Xena's first encounter with the Destroyer (
* [[Shamu Fu]]: More than once Xena went into combat armed only with fish.
* [[She Fu]]: Xena, sometimes taken to the extreme.
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** Ares got a few. [[Fan Service|Not that anyone complained...]]
** So did Marcus, and this was after he was dead.
{{quote|
'''Marcus:''' It's hot down here.
* [[Shout-Out]]
** At the end of "The Play's the Thing", Joxer is left alone hanging over the stage with a rope around his feet, whining that he is going to tell his brother. Joxer is played by Ted Raimi, whose brother is director Sam Raimi, one of the producers of the show.
** Not to mention the occasional reference to a certain [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Buffus the Bacchae Slayer]].
** The reworked title for the play "Message of Peace" is [[Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!|Faster Chakram, Kill, Kill, Kill!]]
** At the end of "The Xena Scrolls
** "Tsunami" is a shout out to ''[[The Poseidon Adventure]]''. Made clear with one character who keeps praying to Poseidon.
** "Takes One to Know One" is this to ''[[Clue (game)|Clue]]'' and other murder mysteries.
* [[Sick Episode]]: "In Sickness and in Hell", where Xena has lice, Gabrielle has foot rot and later they both get food poisoning.
* [[Sidekick]]: Gabrielle and Joxer.
* [[Simple Staff]]: Gabrielle's [[Weapon of Choice]].
* [[Skyward Scream]]: Xena in "The Ring".
{{quote|
* [[Slap Slap Kiss]]: Amarice and Arman.
* [[Snow Means Death]]
** Xena's vision of her and Gabrielle being crucified on a snowy mountain in
** It also snowed during
* [[Something Completely Different]]
** Several episode were set in the present time and portrayed the show as being a re-enactment of the "Xena Scrolls" written by Gabrielle.
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* [[Spontaneous Reverb]]: In the episode where Xena meets the slave girl who teaches her how to fight. At one point the slave girl is on the bow of the boat, singing. She brought her own reverb.
* [[Springtime for Hitler]]: In "The Play's the Thing" (a [[Whole-Plot Reference]] to ''[[The Producers]]''), a pair of con artists get a hold of one of Gabrielle's plays and convince her to put it on as a play. As it's overly talky, lacking any action and full of Gabrielle's beliefs, they expect it to fail and to be able to keep all the money (including what was donated by some vicious warlords). Problem is, the cast and producer Joxer make changes (which Gabrielle ultimately agrees with) to transform it into a rousing, violent adventure story.
* [[Stepping Stone Sword]]: In one episode, Xena is scaling the wall of an enemy stronghold and, when it looks like she is about to fall short, her allies fire arrows into the wall that she uses as rungs to scale the last few feet.
* [[Stripperiffic]]
** Xena's costume, though slightly better then most.
**
** Not to mention the Amazons, the Furies, the Banshees...
* [[Stupid Sacrifice]]: {{spoiler|Marcus, Xena's true love.}}
* [[Subtext]]
* [[Suddenly Sexuality]]: For all the talk of subtext, it has to be remembered that when the show began, Xena and her partner Gabrielle were just really good friends and only expressed interest in heterosexual relationships. However, there is not a sudden reversal on this, nor do the characters ever become loudly and openly lesbian. The level of suggestion escalates over time. As most people will know, later in the series a lesbian relationship between them is strongly implied, though intentionally not made explicit; the one time the question was directly put to Xena and Gabrielle, the episode ended before they could answer. Most fans agree this was caused by the producers catering to the fans more than anything else. Notably, Melissa Good, a fanfic author known for her tasteful portrayal of a lesbian relationship between Xena and Gabrielle, became a story editor in the show's final season, where the lesbian subtext became the most overt.
* [[Superman Stays Out of Gotham]]: Aka "Hercules Stays Away From Wherever Xena Happens to Be
* [[Swarm of Rats]]: In the episode "Death in Chains".
* [[Take Up My Sword]]: In "The Greater Good". Could also be seen as a character arc for Gabrielle throughout the entire show, depending on how you take the events in {{spoiler|"A Friend In Need".}}
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* [[Title Drop]]: Not just the title of the show but also the title of the episodes.
* [[To Hell and Back]]: Hell. Heaven. Elysium. Tartarus. Valhalla. The Amazon Land of the Dead.
* [[Took a Level
* [[Training the Peaceful Villagers]]
* [[Trapped in Another World]]: The Amazon founder Cyane is actually from the 20th century. This explains why some of the Amazon's rituals are familiar (the Amazon purification ritual is a sauna, the Amazon royal challenge is pro wrestling).
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** Also Gabrielle and {{spoiler|Joxer}}.
* [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight]]: The reporter from "You are there".
* [[Villain of the Week]]: Try Warlord of the Week, especially in
* [[Virgin Sacrifice]]: Genia in "Many Happy Returns".
* [[Visions of Another Self]]: A few episodes but played out as [[Flash Forward]] setups with the characters in the modern day.
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* [[We Help the Helpless]]
* [[Wham! Episode]]
** "Sacrifice, Part II".
** "The Deliverer" for kickstarting the Dahak/Rift storylines. Immediately followed by another Wham Episode ("Gabrielle's Hope"), where Gabrielle {{spoiler|gives birth to a certain baby}}.
** "Looking Death in the Eye". Suddenly, a [[Time Skip]]!
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* [[With Catlike Tread]]: Bandits trying to kill Xena in her sleep in "A Day in the Life" ruin their own chances by shouting "Now you will die, Xena!"
* [[A Wizard Did It]]: [[Trope Namer]]... [[The Simpsons (animation)|sort of]].
* [[Woman in White]]: Celesta.
* [[The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask]]
* [[World of Badass]]
* [[World of Ham]]
* [[Xanatos Speed Chess]]: Xena and Gabrielle are the masters of this.
* [[Yellow Peril]]: Ming Tzu and Khan.
* [[You Look Familiar]]: Many examples, but Cupid and Julius Caesar, both played by Karl Urban, stand out.
* [[You Mean "Xmas"]]: [[Yet Another Christmas Carol|"A Solstice Carol"]]
{{reflist}}
{{TV Guide's Top Cult Shows Ever}}
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[[Category:The Nineties]]
[[Category:Fantasy Series]]
[[Category:Sword and Sandal]]
[[Category:American Series]]
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