This episode is CRAZY! ABSOLUTELY WILD! My heart! 😍🥹 this is the most romantic episode I’ve ever seen on TV like WTF?!

A win for the gays! That’s all I got to say …

Just kidding! I got lots to say!!!

-Yay, Karl Urban & Claire Steinfield! Caesar & Alti were extra evil and conniving as always - delightful to watch!

-20 seconds into the episode & Caesar calls Gabrielle Xena’s girlfriend! That’s twice this season!

-Love it when they bring up the theme of destiny & fate in Xena. You know shits hitting the fan when these themes come up in an episode! It’s just great writing - even when Caesar tries to change his fate, it is inevitable - he will always be betrayed and assassinated before he is able to conquer the world. Then there’s what’s going on with Xena & Gabs - they were destined to be together and fall in love with each other no matter what world or life time. This idea that their love transcends time and that they fall in love all over again in each life time they meet is the MOST ROMANTIC THING IVE EVER SEEN!

-The love at first sight scene! Xena and Gabrielle look STUNNING in their costumes! Jealous Caesar?! Toooooooo good! Gabrielle’s line: “That's what we all dream about, isn't it? Someone who looks so deeply into our soul -- they find something worth dying for."

-THE BALCONY SCENE! Shakespeare is in his grave giving Xena the stamp of approval! This EP is Shakespeare for the gays! Xena just does it all!!! THE WAY XENA LOOKS AT GABRIELLE! Lucy & ROC with that eye contact - just wow!

-Alti interupting to say: "I saw the way you looked at her during the play. Wouldn't Caesar give anything to have you look at him that way." (literally cannot even fathom how people would interpret this any other way when it aired? it's so maintextttttttttt).

-I want to preface this by saying that the scene where Gabrielle gets her hair brutally mutilated by the soldiers is a terrible scene because Gabs is powerless to stop them, but I also DIED OF LAUGHTER (and I probably shouldn’t have - I’m sorry) not because I don’t empathize with Gabrielle! She’s my fav! But when they cut Gabrielle’s hair again… I was thinking about all the fans who hated it when Gabs hair gets chopped in S4. I love Gabs with long or short hair, but I thought it was funny that XWP was like it doesn’t matter which alternate universe we’re in, Gabs is getting the chop lol!

-AHH I was cackling when Xena visited Alti in prison and Alti asks her: "what do you want?" and Xena says, "Your hands on me---like they were last night." LOL LOL LOL

-The fight scene between Xena and Alti then the Romans - the two arrows through Xena shocked me! Normally it's like one? or something grazes her arm. She was beaut up pretty good:( sad, but great fight scene. Poor Gabs looks devestated too.

-ANOTHER GREAT SCENE - the entire scene with Xena and Gabs in the prison. Very "Ides of March." Xena's line, "I'll love you forver." AGHHHH - im combusting!!! there defintely souldve been a kiss there!! ROB! But Lucy and Renee make Xena and Gabrielle kiss with their eyecontact LOL, so I GUESS I'll let it pass. But still... why not at this point?!

-The crucifixtion scene intercut with Caesar getting stabbed by Alti while she rides him WAS WILD. I'm happy they shot it that way because I don't know if I could've watched another crucifixtion. Also, I love Xena saying, "I love you Gabrielle" through all that pain. Other than it being a beautiful and heart wrenching declarion, I also like to think that after Alti poofs into a skelton, Xena knew Gabs must've destroyed the loom, and announces that she loves her becuase she recognizes Gabs is going to destory this awful world they are in without each other.

-Destroying the loom was intense. Gabrielle is like, if there's no Xena, no life is worth living. And we've seen this throughout the show where one of them or both of them would rather die than be without each other, but this was the extra dose of melodrama I need! You burn that loom Gabs!

Anyways, When Fates Collide is now my favourite! Well done! Yay gays!

Watched Xena on TV as a kid in 2000's and decided to rewatch it now. I didn't notice it back then but now being able to pause and rewind it catches my attention, what's up with the ornaments of Xena's armor, why is it on and off from shot to shot?

https://preview.redd.it/svnjpzia0wxc1.png?width=843&format=png&auto=webp&s=e6c4ce8fd40ba54a42c544423a26cd47789b9bef

https://preview.redd.it/1tt236uh0wxc1.png?width=854&format=png&auto=webp&s=94444de77c06e327b8e7f2177e303556d9fd0b88

I’ve always painted but this year I began doing paint by numbers. Of course I had to paint my childhood hero.

https://x.com/displaygeek/status/1785464149121880416?s=46&t=xlgglDfVaPpfWQFZZeVeeA

Xena seemed more blood thirsty in her feral evil days, but she undoubtedly kills more that she absolutely needs to even when she’s “good”.

How would you describe how Xenas relationship with violence changes in her transition from good to bad, and throughout her “good” years?

She’s constantly saying people “like her” should really listen to people “like Gabrielle”, so we know she admires and respects Gabrielles path, without really trying to replicate it herself.

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https://preview.redd.it/06yzixaq9hxc1.png?width=712&format=png&auto=webp&s=0fa2c4007a19dd2432cb060b9a681d7a09bd928c

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Akemi lied.

That’s it. That’s the post.

Akemi lied so Xena would stay in the afterlife with her. At least, I hope this is how they were planning on bringing Xena back later on in a movie or whatever. Because it’s the one glaringly obvious issue I have with the situation.

Update: After reading all these comments, and processing other forms of information/commentary on this subject, I’ve given it a lot of thought and this is my new headcanon…

Somehow, eventually, Akemi realizes Xena doesn’t need to stay dead. Maybe she feels bad about having lied to her about it, or maybe Yodoshi was the one feeding her a lie about it which she then told Xena (such a Yodoshi thing to do, with all that “avenge” talk), or maybe she just figures out a way around it for Xena. Anyway, so she goes to find ghost Xena in the afterlife (which would also lend continuity to Xena telling ghost-jellyfish Akemi that she would see her again). This gives Xena and Gabrielle the go-ahead to hatch a plan to bring Xena back to life. Which they successfully do. Then Xena and Gabs live happily ever after, into their next reincarnations, forever and ever. The end.

There are only two musical episodes and they are very different! Which do you prefer? The original songs and heavy themes of The Bitter Suite or the campier cover versions of Lyre, Lyre, hearts on Fire?

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I'm on my first watchthrough, trying to slow down because I don't want it to end and I just finished watching the ring trilogy (s06e09), and the last time we saw Eve was five episodes ago. In the fifth episode of the season she just isn't there and so far no one has even brought her up in the episodes that followed, I feel like I'm losing my mind

I'm not particularly a fan of Eve, I thought that the direction the character was going was kinda boring so I'm not opposed to her not being in the story but I needed at least a single line of dialogue explaining why she isn't there, especially with how important she was throughout season 5 and finally being reunited with Xena after the timeskip

Were there any behind the scenes complications with the actress or were the writers just not interested in the character and didn't even bother on explaining her absence? Also I can imagine that the fans back then must have been asking this same question, right? It's such a sudden disappearance so it's kinda jarring

In a DVD commentary, Rob Tapert agrees with many fans that S5 MARRIED WITH FISHSTICKS was "off the rails." It certainly had a lot of drawbacks for me personally, including being Xena-lite, which usually meant Joxer-heavy; another scenario where our girls get hooked to someone other than each other; slapstick/3 Stooges humor; cattiness; nostalgic homages to old teen-focused musicals/movies I have little interest in. So why on earth am I one of the few people who doesn't dismiss MWF?

True, I am an anal completist when it comes to my annual rewatch of XWP, though I fast forward through much of S2 FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS and S5 LIFE BLOOD. That doesn't explain why I actually get a kick out of MWF, especially the comedic interplay between ROC, Raimi and Tydings. Despite the juvenile pranks, I find something touching (yuck) in Gabrielle's relationship with the kids. I crack up at her sunglasses/lollipop moment and handling of Hagar and the hussies.

My brain somehow accepts this alternate universe, as it does most of the craziness in XWP, even though the sane part is screaming, "No, no! This isn't the show you love!" Are there others out there who find something appealing about this anomaly ep? Armchair shrinks with theories about my MWF lapse into insanity?

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I was watching Xena and randomly paused to answer a call and I looked at the screen and saw this gem.

You are sitting down to watch an episode of XWP. Which one of these fan favourites would you choose?

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Solan came up with the idea of naming his sister Eve before she was born.

Did he whisper to Xena "If it's a girl name her Eve, if it's a boy name him X?" or is Eve a gender-neutral name where Solan grew up?

Or did Solan know Xena was carrying a girl? Do the dead have the ability to identify the sex of an unborn child?

Omg I just binged the “Ring Trilogy” (The Rheingold, The Ring & Return of the Valkyrie) - ughhh SO good! My heartttttttttttt ❤️

I can’t even begin to unpack these episodes - I just loved them.

I especially love Xena waking Gabrielle up in the eternal flames with that tender kiss. The fact that only Gabrielle’s soulmate could wake her up felt like the gay Disney love story - the prince waking up sleeping beauty with “true loves’ kiss” that I never grew up with, but way cooler because it’s Xena & we’re dealing with Norse mythology - just so good. I got a bit emotional watching it because I feel like even now, we don’t have that representation. It’s beautiful!

Love how maintext their relationship is this season. It always has been maintext to me, but it’s extra maintext now! Also, Brunhilda and Beowulf being in love with Gabs! Ahhahaha. Xena wasn’t threatened by Beowulf at all, but there were a couple of times Xena seemed more possessive of Gabs in front of Brunhilda. I think in the Ring, Xena hears Brunhilda tell Gabrielle that she has “changed her” (and we all know Gabrielle has a type for the redemptive warrior lmao), and Xena gives her this look and tells her to go scout ahead, then turns to Gabs and says, “yeah, I don’t like her.” LIKE LOL. Then of course there’s Brunhilda trying to win Gabrielle’s love: “I see your heart lies with Xena, but I’ll show you which one of us truly deserves your love.”

Okay one more thing - loved all the fight scenes, the whole power of the ring, Xena losing her memory, but still being able to find her way back to Gabs, Grindle was done pretty freaking well for the tech at the time, like I thought that thing was pretty scary looking! so great!

I’m going to be SO SAD WHEN I FINSIH THE SHOW! IM TRYING NOT TO BINGE IT, BUT ITS TOO HARD! AGH

You know that skill where she senses anything near her? I've just woken up and after two minutes I felt a presence of something coming, I didn't hear footsteps, I didn't smell anything, I just felt somebody coming, and it was my auntie.

I was like, holy fuck, just like Xena. I spent all day thinking I could do it again, no success

After my last watch through I realized there isn't much in the way of addressing that Dahak forced himself on Gabrielle. The method on how it was done whether magical, spiritual, or whatever, doesn't really matter, because all they focus on is Gabrielle's loss of her blood innocence (which is a big deal, I know), and her unexpected pregnancy. Why do they never address that she was raped?

I get that Xena is a fictional character, but technically speaking Rome would have been only a small settlement during Xena's time unless she's like, 1,900 years old or so. Since she existed around the time of Heracles, and Heracles is said to have died 900 years prior to the fall of Troy, and according to legend, Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus who were the sons of Aeneas, cousin to King Priam of Troy. However, according to most, the fall of Troy if it happened would've been around 1194–1184 BC. Now according to most historical accounts, Rome was most likely not founded by a single event or founder but by small hill-tops settlements coming together and this would've been around as early as 1700 bce or no later than 1,000 bce. However, the major plot hole is that Ceasar wasn't born until around July 100 BC. So either way, the accounts of Xena being in Rome with Ceasar just doesn't make sense unless Xena is like... really old, roughly 1,900 years old or so if she was around when Heracles was supposedly around. Especially since most Spartans claim to be the descendants of Heracles.

However, this doesn't really lesson my enjoyment since Xena is one of my favorite characters and I'll gladly simp for her... (Besides it's not like every show about any historical or mythological events are accurate. Whether it's Vikings, Sparticus, Rome, or any other, they all have major inaccuracies. Like Vikings and Vikings Valhalla have some major inaccuracies like one being, since these were supposed to be connected as far as I'm aware of, the first vikings show makes it seem like Eric the Red is the guy that gets blind, but then in Vikings Valhalla, the main characters are Eric the Red's children which would be rather hard since the first show takes place like a hundred or so years prior. Like, if you're not going to be accurate with history, at least be accurate with your own continuity of the plot).