The Warrior Princess
Hello again, Xenites and Xenoids! I apologize for the delay in getting to this column, but I had several technical problems that prevented me from getting my regular musings typed up and posted. Those difficulties are behind me now, and I will endeavor to complete this little missive to fulfill my contractual obligations.
This week we turn back the clock once more, heading back in time to take a look at episodes past. That's right, it's the latest installment in my Classics Revisited series. This time around, we take a look at the first appearance of a certain dark-haired warrior woman.
THE WARRIOR PRINCESS
This episode, from the first season of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, marks the third appearance of Lucy Lawless in the Xenaverse. (She had previously appeared as Lysia in Hercules and the Amazon Women and Lyla in the episode As Darkness Falls (H6).) It was a character that would soon catapult the unknown Kiwi actress into international stardom.
Not surprisingly, the story focuses mostly on the relationship between Hercules and Iolaus. Xena serves primarily as the villain-of-the-week, and a plot wedge driven between the two friends. Her character receives a little bit of development, but the information presented here doesn't seem to agree with the story we learn later.
For example, if Xena really was a scourge of the known world less than a decade earlier - as we learn in episodes like Destiny (X36) and Past Imperfect (X66) - why hasn't Hercules ever heard of her? The warlord we meet in this episode certainly doesn't give the impression of a major military commander.
In fact, the Xena we meet here bears little resemblance to the one we meet just a few episodes later in the classic The Gauntlet (H12). Still, despite the differences and inconsistency, there are some glimmers of the woman we will later come to love.
For example, Xena shows a keen tactical mind right from the beginning. Hercules is a threat to her, and she moves to eliminate that threat. She has clearly studied her opponent and has realized the best way to get to him is to sneak under his radar by using his best friend. (Incidentally, this is a tactic that will be used against her by the Olympians in the fifth season finale Motherhood (X112).)
Xena also displays some impressive fighting skills. She defeats several of her men in hand-to-hand combat in her opening scene, and shows her fierce temper and sharp tongue when she berates them for getting beaten by a woman. In addition, Lucy's performance clearly captures the fiery spirit of this woman, and her desire for military conquest.
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