Xena: Warrior Princess: Difference between revisions

Her courage will change the world."''|'''[[Opening Narration]]'''}}

Immediately after her split from ''Hercules'', she gained a friend and traveling companion in Gabrielle. Gabrielle was an aspiring bard who wanted to chronicle Xena's adventures. They became [[Heterosexual Life Partners]] who were the greatest source of [[Les Yay]] the 90s could offer. [[Word of God]] goes back and forth on how "official" their relationship was, with conflicting sources.

Xena had many things in common with ''Hercules'', even sharing certain plot lines between the two series. The one main difference was that while Hercules was a bit [[Technical Pacifist|hesitant to kill]], Xena had no such qualms and would regularly kill enemies. The show was equal parts satire, dark drama and lowbrow comedy, often in completely nonsensical combinations. [[Anachronism Stew]] was par for the course.

Produced by Renaissance Pictures.

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=== ''Xena: Warrior Princess'' provides examples of the following tropes: ===

** Not to mention one episode that featured identical reincarnations of all three... but with Xena and Joxer switched (to enable Xena and Gabrielle to ''finally'' get a [[Happily Ever After]]).

* [[Actor Allusion]]

** "Here She Comes, Miss Amphipolis" sees Xena go undercover at a beauty pageant. Lucy Lawless is no stranger to beauty pagents.

* [[Adrenaline Makeover]]: Gabrielle's haircut in Season 4.

* [[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.<br />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.

* [[Anachronism Stew]]: Anteas (Abraham) almost-sacrifice of Ikiss (Isaac), the siege of Troy, the reign of Julius Caesar, and the birth of Christ all happening during the same three years. The Stew gets thicker in later seasons with such events as Octavius' rule of Rome, Cleopatra and Antony's affair, Katanas and the events depicted in the poem Beowulf.

* [[Ancient Greece]] / [[Ancient Rome]]: Yes, [[Anachronism Stew|at the same time]].

* [[And Then There Were None]]: The plot of "Ten Little Warlords'.

* [[Annoying Arrows]]

** 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."

* [[The Atoner]]

** Xena

** Also fairly standard for female guest stars and recurring characters. This show '''really''' liked its [[Fan Service]].

* [[Barehanded Blade Block]]: Done by Xena on more than one occasion -- for example, in the episode "Cradle of Hope".

* [[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.

* [[Bigger Bad]]: Dahak, who is once referred to as "The blind force behind every evil deed."

* [[Big Damn Heroes]]

{{quote| '''Gabrielle:''' We've repeated the same day that many times.<br />

'''Xena:''' Yes.<br />

'''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]]

** Gabrielle in Season Five.

** Also Varia, Velasca and (occasionally) Amarice.

** 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.

{{quote| '''Leah:''' Life as a priestess to the virgin goddess Hestia isn't all that hard, the most important rule is to know who you are.<br />

'''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

{{quote| '''Meg:''' My father died in childbirth!<br />

'''Gabrielle:''' Your father died in childbirth?<br />

** 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 newfound powers to completely turn the order of the Underworld upside down, sending innocents to Tartarus and allowing the wicked into the Elysian Fields. {{spoiler|It all gets put right in the end, of course.}}

* [[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.

* [[Description Cut]]

** In "The Titans":

* [[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 realise that they need Xena later, and write that she has returned, she does so pulling a giant cartload piled high with fish, after spending several days fishing with no idea why.

* [[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.

** [[Bruce Campbell]] did "The Key to the Kingdom".

** Renee O'Connor did "Déjà Vu All Over Again" and "Dangerous Prey".

* [[Discount Lesbians]]: Done a ''lot'':

** Xena and Gabrielle's first kiss was when Xena was inhabiting Autolycus' body.

** Aphrodite kissing Gabrielle while being not quite herself because of Caligula.

** Arguably, cross-dresser beauty contest winner kissing Xena.

* [[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.

* {{spoiler|[[Downer Ending]]}}

* [[Dragon Lady]]: Pao Hsu

* [[Dress Hits Floor]]

** And who could forget the episode "Endgame," which killed off the (much beloved) Amazon regent {{spoiler|Ephiny}} two minutes into the opening teaser. Still at least {{spoiler|Ephiny}} died on screen; the following season {{spoiler|Amarice}}, who had been Xena and Gabrielle's companion for a good run of episodes earlier that season, was unceremoniously killed offscreen during the teaser for the episode "Lifeblood" (by then the actress, Jennifer Sky, was starring in ''Cleopatra 2525'', but Amarice's character arc ended with her being happily left with a tribe of Amazons, so mentioning her again [[Bus Crash|just to say she was dead]] seemed, well, kind of mean and pointless).

** 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?"

* [[The Emperor]]: Ming T'ien and Augustus.

* [[Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting]]

** See the show title.

** Gabrielle is an Amazon princess.

* [[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.

** [[The Chick]] -- Joxer

* [[Foot Focus]]: On Callisto when she escapes from prison in "The Return of Callisto".

** The Chakram.

** The Dagger of Helios can kill gods.

* [[Groundhog Day Loop]]: The episode "Been There, Done That".

* [[The Gump]]

* [[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 Xena -- and she asks only that he name the baby Gabriel. The entire episode was probably the first example of blatant [[Les Yay]] in the series.

* [[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.<br />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.

* [[Historical In-Joke]]: Oh so many.

* [[Holier Than Thou]]: Hestian Priestess Leah

'''Xena:''' From you? Nothing. From me? Nothing less. }}

* [[Hot Amazon]]: Any Amazon episode had several, and then there's Xena herself...

* [[Hot God|Hot Gods]]: "Indeed"

* [[Hot Springs Episode]]: "Animal Attraction", which is also a tribute to [[The Wild West]].

* [[Identical Stranger]]

** For Xena, there was Meg (a harlot), Diana (a princess) and Leah (a priestess), who all happened to look like Xena. In addition to all of them having being confused for Xena at some point, there were also stories in which they were being confused for each other ''before'' Xena arrived on the scene!

* [[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".

* [[Impossibly Cool Weapon]]: Combined with [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]], Xena's chakram, a handheld stand in for [[Captain America|Captain America's Shield]].

* [[Improbable Weapon User]]: Lampshaded in "A Day in the Life" when Xena says she likes getting creative during battle.

* [[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".

** 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.

* [[Jerkass Facade]]: Autolycus, who Xena calls on it in "The Quest":

{{quote| '''Xena:''' I was in there. I know. Despite all your bluster, Autolycus, you're a nice person.}}

* [[Karma Houdini]]: Satrina, Xena' ex-slave girl partly responsible for Borias' death.

* [[Killer Rabbit]]: A real one in "In Sickness and in Hell".

* [[Kill the God]]: Lots.

* [[Kiss of Death]]: See [[Last Kiss]] below.

** "A Necissary Evil"

** "Maternal Instincts"

* [[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.

* [[Molotov Cocktail]]: Xena invents the Molotov in "Warrior... Princess".

* [[Mugging the Monster]]: Happens to Xena very often - some don't realise just who it is they're attacking, others [[Too Dumb to Live|attack even when they know Xena's reputation]].

* [[Musical Episode]]: Three, if you include "A Tale of 2 Muses" which is a dancing episode.

* [[The Music Meister]]

* [[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.

* [[My Name Is Not Durwood]]: Xena calling Gabrielle "Mavis" in "The Furies".

** When Xena and Gabrielle arrive in Illusyia in "The Bitter Suite", both are completely naked, having lost their clothes to the rapids that brought them there.

** When Hope hatches from her cocoon in "Sacrifice, Part I", she is completely naked, with only cocoon skin and [[Covered in Gunge|goo]] to save her modesty.

* [[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 Dis Continuity]].

* [[Only Mostly Dead]]: In "The Greater Good", Xena temporarily dies after {{spoiler|Callisto}} poisons her -- in her words, she has to fully "go under" to fight the poison. Later, in "Is There a Doctor in the House?" Gabrielle is severely injured and stops breathing for several minutes before being revived. The end of that episode confirms that Gabrielle's soul did indeed make it to the Elysian Fields, so she was technically dead for those few minutes.

* [[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.

* [[The Other Darrin]]

** Hades was portrayed by Erik Thomson (who was also initially [[The Other Darrin]] on ''Hercules'') until he was replaced by Stephen Lovatt for Season 5.

* [[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]]:

* [[Pinball Projectile]]: The chakram, which bounces off pillars, rocks, and Mooks' heads, is the Trope Inspirer.

* [[Pirate Girl]]: Nebula

* [[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 ''Is There A Doctor in the House?'' {{spoiler|She does. Does both, that is, dying and then being awoken by Xena.}}

* [[Pressure Point]]: Xena's favorite interrogation method was a nerve pinch that cut off blood flow to the victim's brain. And she liked to [[To the Pain|explain that as it happened.]]

* [[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.

* [[Production Posse]]: Both Hercules and Xena were Directed by [[Sam Raimi]] and both feature [[Recurring Character]], Autolycus the King of Thieves (Played by [[Bruce Campbell]]) and Joxer the Mighty (played by younger brother, Theodore Raimi).

* [[Punny Name]]: Tons -- the most wince-worthy being, perhaps, two soldiers named Thelonius and Monk.

* [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness]]: [[Euripides]] was very fond of this.

* [[Sex Face Turn]]: ''How'' Hercules got Xena to turn a new leaf.

* [[Shamu Fu]]: More than once Xena went into combat armed only with fish.

* [[She Fu]]: Xena, sometimes taken to the extreme.

* [[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.

** "Tsunami" is a shout out to ''[[The Poseidon Adventure]]''. Made clear with one character who keeps praying to Poseidon.

* [[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.

* [[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".}}

* [[Team Pet]]: Argo, and later Argo II, Xena's horse(s).

* [[Temporary Love Interest]]: Xena had a good number of these before switching to [[Les Yay]] with Gabrielle.

* [[Theme Music Power-Up]]

* [[Theme Tune Cameo]]: Twice. She whistles it in "Fins, Femmes, and Gems" and [[The Power of Rock|plays it on a lute]] on "Lyre Lyre Hearts on Fire".

** "Looking Death in the Eye". Suddenly, a [[Time Skip]]!

** "[[The Quest]]". The [[Ho Yay]] subtext comes true.

* [[Whip It Good]]

* [[White Sheep]]

* [[Who Wants to Live Forever?]]: Callisto eventually got sick of her godhood-induced immortality when she had nothing to live for and wanted Xena to kill her with the Hind's Blood Dagger, but Xena refused to give Callisto what she wanted until she saw Gabrielle perish, realizing that Callisto now had something worth living for. However, Callisto may have just been playing off of Xena's fragmented emotional state in the moment, to achieve her goal.

* [[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!"

* [[Woman in White]]: Celesta

* [[The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask]]