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if I was an isolated noggin, I don't think that Joxer would be my first choice for a messenger.

LOL!

Yes, that is very true. Hadn't thought of that. How did Joxer come by the head, anyway?

This episode was defintely a so-so ep.

And thanks. I have been looking at Elfrieda's reviews, yeah. I need to comment more.

Return of Callisto
(screencaps courtesy of Angel Bacchae)

Ah, the psycho b*tch is back. An awesome villain, and it's good to see her back (just knew she was going to with the way her last appearance ended).

The scene in the beginning when Callisto is strapped into that dangerous looking chair, one of the jail guards teaching the others just how to treat a prisoner like this, is great. Callisto is one twisted person and taunts the guards even though she has no advantage against them. Words are all she has (you would think the guards would put something over her mouth if they want her to stop talking).

Callisto is extremely clever to steal the dagger from the guard when he doesn't suspect it. Her condescending "Thank you." is so Callisto, and so chilling. I can't help thinking, though, just how Callisto takes care of, um, business while strapped in that contraption...

Anyway, she uses the dagger to release herself from the chair, unlocks the cell with it and precedes to attack the guard that had been particularly nasty toward her. She kills him behind a closed door and all we hear is screams and the squirt of blood. That's violent. When she comes out of the back room, she's got blood all over her and all of the prisoners chant her name. They'd want someone like her on their side. She unlocks the doors and lets her men out but she tells her commander, Theodorus, to recruit all of the men who can fight and kill all the rest who are too weak. You'd think she could just let the weak ones live but I guess she has too much fun snuffing out anyone who can't fight for her. She also wants the chair with devilish plans for it and putting someone into it.

Perdicus is back--that's a surprise. I wouldn't have expected to she him come back after Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts (he had a connection to Gabrielle but he really wasn't that interesting of a character) and how he just shows up at Xena and Gabrielle's camp (how did he find them, anyway, and know exactly where they were?) professing his love for Gabrielle and asking her to marry her is...well, surprising. Unexpected. It's very much a "huh?" moment for me.

Gabrielle is shocked herself, and Xena is quite taken aback as well. I think Gabrielle is too stunned to answer him clearly but Xena...she looks hurt to find that Perdicus is there asking to take Gabrielle away from her (Xena).

Turns out that Perdicus has been fighting a lot, and killing, and that life is really getting to him. He doesn't like killing and he's pretty much near to a breakdown. He wants to marry Gabrielle because she is the part of his life that he looks up to--how she can fight but never kill--and he wants to be a part of that life. Hmmm.... it seems to me that he wants to marry her out of a guilt to himself for killing all the people he has killed. He could just stop being a warrior and go back to being a common villager if it bothers him that much. But it seems he's confusing his feelings about fighting and bloodshed and his feelings for Gabrielle. He thinks that by marrying Gabrielle he'll be able to put all of that behind him (what is Gabrielle, a saint?) Not that he wouldn't have feelings for Gabrielle (they did leave on a hopeful note at the end of Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts, and who knows what kind of feelings he developed in those days at their village--but still. It feels sudden.

Ah, Joxer. Trying to prove his warrior prowess by attacking a barrel ribbed with iron. He's quite the comic relief. Callisto shows up with her men and Joxer freaks a bit, though doesn't run. He's on Xena's side now and Callisto tells him to deliver a message to Xena. "She should have killed me when she had the chance. For every drop of innocent blood I shed-- from here on out is on her hands as well as mine." She's playing a similar ploy she did in Callisto: where she continues to put any crimes that she does all on Xena's shoulders. She can't take responsibility for herself, can she?

The talk with Xena and Gabrielle about Perdicus' offer shows just how much Xena is willing to put Gabrielle's happiness in front of her own (she does seem sad by the idea that Perdicus would marry Gabrielle). She tells Gabrielle that she will stand by her decision, whatever she decides. Their nice moment is cut short when Joxer announces from a hill that Callisto is back.

They jump into the middle of a battle and Xena finds Callisto once again, wicked and more twisted than ever. Xena attempts to save a child and she does so but Callisto catches her off guard and puts a sword to her throat. She could have killed Xena right then and there but she doesn't. Instead, she taunts her, mocking her sentimental side that makes her weak. She wants to destroy Xena's soul just the same as she was destroyed (she claims) by EvilXena years ago.

During the battle, Perdicus ends up killing again and realizes he can't do it anymore. He's going home but wants to take Gabielle with him. Gabrielle decides that she is ready to marry him after seeing how broken he has become (I think part of her is agreeing to marry him out of guilt, as well, maybe out of an obligation to a feeling that she once had for him, and a friendship she shared with him when they were kids. She feels she should marry him for his sake, more than for herself). Xena's surprised by her answer and I think even though she had said she'd support Gabrielle in whatever decision she made, it's difficult for her.

The wedding between Gabrielle and Perdicus is an interesting scene. Xena really does look saddened by what is happening. I think she feels she's losing Gabrielle to Perdicus in more ways than one. Not only as a constant traveling companion but as a best friend. Xena's so used to having Gabrielle around and then to suddenly have her not there I can understand would be difficult. Maybe she feels that Gabrielle will find a powerful friendship in Perdicus that will end up rivaling the friendship she once had with Xena. And that scares her. Her half-hearted smile as Gabrielle kisses Perdicus and then when they walk off together to say their goodbyes--Xena is less than enthusiastic about losing Gabrielle but she's being as supportive as she can be, smiling and wishing Gabrielle good luck, even telling her that she'll still see Xena from time to time. Her lost and helpless look is especially noticeable when she hugs Gabrielle goodbye--there's so much sadness in her eyes. And then later, after Gabrielle has left, Xena watches them leave and says goodbye--it really does sound like a forever kind of goodbye. I feel sad for Xena.

Gabrielle's life of wedded bliss is short lived when the day after they are married, Callisto comes by and kills Perdicus. Xena tries to save him but she's already too late, and Gabrielle is broken. Just before, she had told Perdicus that the meaning of love is life, that in unites everything. Kinda a cheesy thought (and what, she didn't feel her life with Xena had as much meaning for her? I think that feels kind of...far fetched, after everything they had gone through).

Anyway, Perdicus is dead and Gabrielle wants revenge. Xena isn't sure how to deal with this side of Gabrielle--a side that she's never seen before, and we've never seen before, either. Having Gabrielle wanting to kill Callisto with her own hands, the rage and revenge in her eyes as she forces Xena to teach her how to use a sword... That's powerful. I do love the scene of them by the tree, when Gabrielle is so consumed with grief and Xena is doing everything that she can to stop her from becoming what Xena had once become.

It breaks Xena's heart to see Gabrielle so consumed with anger and the need for revenge. Not only seeing her stand her ground and let Gabrielle stick her with the sword but finally having Xena pray during the night, hoping that someone or something--a higher power, a god, something--would stop Gabrielle from going through with this revenge, shows just how much Xena doesn't want this to happen to Gabrielle."don't let that light that shines out of her face go out."

Gabrielle overhears Xena's prayer and then tells Xena that she's going home to mourn, only to end up going to Callisto's hideout in the middle of the night to kill Callisto. And she might have if she hadn't hesitated and heard Xena's voice in her mind and her own thoughts about how she once felt it was not right to succumb to revenge. Gabrielle isn't a killer, even when something has hurt her so deeply. Callisto captures her (she does look crazy when she gives Gabrielle that little grin).

When Xena and Joxer are outside ready to attack Callisto's hideout, Joxer says that he cares about Gabrielle, too. Now, where did that come from? There was no indication, previously, that he cared about Gabrielle. He thought her she was an annoying little blond in their first appearance and in Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, he didn't seem interested in her enough to care. Other than her just being around her and wanting to protect her from the Bacchae.

Xena breaks into Callisto's hideout but she is waiting for her. She captures Xena and puts her in the same chair that she had been imprisoned in during her time in prison. It looks bad, with Xena chained up and Gabrielle tied up, ready to be burned at the stake. It's actually pretty cool that Joxer is the one that gives Xena the oppertunity to free herself, though he hadn't intended it--the bumbling Joxer (though very brave, willing to charge into Callisto's camp even though he for sure probably had no chance against her or her men) comes charging in and is shot by an arrow and while Callisto is distracted with him, Xena is able to life the chakram off of Callisto's belt (she really does have liking for Xena's chakram).

She cuts the binds on the chair, saves Gabrielle and then she and Callisto fight. Their final fight, riding chariots across the beach, is a very cool scene. (the chariots just happened to be so conveniently waiting outside the cave for them...) Callsto loves a good chase. Just like a good car chase but with chariots and horses it's so much more fun for me. I love the setting of this show.

It ends badly for the two of them when Xena is able to tackle Callisto in her chariot, (after having been dragged by Callisto's chariot for a bit) pull Callisto off the chariot and they roll down a sand dune into quicksand. The sand doesn't really look wet enough to be quicksand but anyway.

Xena saves herself by throwing her chakram at a dead log and winding the whip around it, using it to pull herself out of the quicksand and Callisto so cleverly thinks she'll be saved by Xena, too, because that's, well, what Xena does. It's shocking to see Xena end up doing the opposite. Sitting on the sand, watching as Callisto pleas for her help, and believes that Xena will not let her die, until her very last breath when she sinks beneath the sand, screaming out. The conflicted look on Xena's face during this entire scene is so eerie. This isn't something that you'd expect to see from the hero of the series. Especially one who has claimed to turn good since her evil warlord days. She clearly doesn't enjoy killing Callisto, and letting her die in such a slow and horrible way but she doesn't back out of it, either. Not for a moment. She sits, and watches, believing she's bringing justice. There's still darkness inside her even if she's turned good.

Afterwards, Joxer and Xena have a nice lighthearted moment to liven things up from the intensity of the last scene. I like how Xena at first makes Joxer think that his wound from the arrow is fatal, and then when she tells Joxer he'll live, he's very happy that it'll leave a nice scar. Xena walks away and Joxer continues to be impressed with himself, thinking up good names for himself after his mighty deed. "The Good", "The Warm", "the Valiant".

The final scene is a nice, relaxing moment between Xena and Gabrielle. Gabrielle has gotten over her seething hatred of Callisto and, for now, is content with just remembering Perdicus. The backdrop of the two of them standing together silhouetted against the sunset is a really nice visual to end with. They're together, and Xena comforts Gabrielle.

Thanks. Great summary of the high points of this episode.

I'm back. Hope to start continuing again.

Warrior...Princess...Tramp
(screencaps courtesy of Angel Bacchae)

I guess it's a good thing to have a comedy right after the intensity of the last episode.

Queen Diana is in need of Xena's services once again, this time because her father is very ill and there appears to be some trouble in the kingdom...again. She also has a newborn baby.

Joxer in a tavern pretending he's the one who saved the day when they were up against Callisto--yep, that's Joxer alright. He boasts and brags but he's all very lovable doing it, too. Gabrielle walks in, not impressed but quite amused by his version of the story. I'm not sure why she and Xena are split up but according to Gabrielle, Xena wouldn't be meeting her in the tavern until tomorrow yet Joxer claims that he saw Xena just an hour ago. He says that Xena's going to miss his affections, and gets a prompt and angry nose-pulling from Gabrielle who tells him not to mess with Xena's reputation. Xena and Joxer? Yeah, okay.

And enter...another Xena look-a-like. From the moment we see her, sitting at the table drinking and hiding silverware in her breastplate, it's clear that this is definitely not Xena. Diana thinks she's Xena, come to help her little problem with the kingdom (it's not explained what that problem is) and this Xena look-a-like blows her cover as not being Xena even more when Gabrielle shows up and she has Gabrielle thrown in the dungeon.

Meg is such a character! And so hilarious. She definitely drives the plot, in more ways than one. She's being used by a guy named Agis who has plans to use her in his evil schemes (apparently to take over Diana's kingdom?) Meg is so different than Xena or Diana, she's unsure, clumsy and sultry. Rather rough around the edges. She flaunts herself, at one point even tries cutting her dress (that's an identical copy of Diana's) so that she can show more cleavage.

Poor Gabrielle, thinking that Xena is treating her like a kid again (really, I know she looks like Xena but I would think that Gabrielle would have some kind of inkling as to believe that something weird is going on...not that she'd have any clue that there is yet another Xena look-a-like. Meg comes to visit her to set things right with Gabrielle and explain why she put her in the dungeon. (if Gabrielle is captureed, the guy will put hot splinters under her fingernails to make her talk. Shiver) Meg clearlly cannot stand Gabrielle--she thinks she's annoying--and does her best to pretend like keeping her in the dungeon is the best for everyone and that Gabrielle will be safer there. Very patronizing and Gabrielle isn't buying it and just gets more and more irritated when Meg locks her in the dungeon.

When Xena finally shows up in the tavern looking for Gabrielle, I love her use of the the firebreathing trick again. Some guys think she's Meg (Meg apparently does get around...) and they think they're going to get some. Of course, all they get is a stream of fire right in the face.

Meg has a huge crush on Joxer which is why Joxer is just so confused, thinking that it's Xena who wants to share his affections, not some look-a-like. I don't think Joxer needs anymore confusion in his life. The scene in the castle between him and Meg is hilarious. Poor Joxer doesn't know what to think. He doesn't want to break up Xena and Gabrielle's friendship but he has a hard time saying no to "Xena" as well. I think it's interesting to see someone finding something desirable in Joxer, the genearl bumbler and comic relief (and "regular joe") of ths show.

The hilarity continues when Joxer finds out from Gabrielle that Xena and Diana are exact look-a-likes. He'd passed the real Diana in the hall, thinking that she was Xena in a different outfit. And when he got a little too affectionate, she threw him in the dungeon. Joxer thinks he's insulted royalty but still believes that Xena has the hots for him. Gabrielle doesn't believe that for a moment and gets more and more annoyed when Joxer starts talking about being a family and marrying Xena because it's the "honorable thing to do". "We could all travel around together. Xena and I could be like a father and mother to you." Gabrielle isn't that much younger than them so it's funny to hear him say this--as if she's some 10 year old or something. It's one of the best lines in the episode.

When Xena finally shows up at the castle, gets Gabrielle out of the dungeon and explains the situation to Gabrielle and Joxer--that there is clearly another look-a-like around (even proves it to them by throwing her chakram and showing how well she catches it) they start to assess just what is going on in the castle and why Meg is trying to impersonate both Xena and Diana. Agis is the mastermind behind the entire plot. He wants the kingdom. He ends up capturing Diana and Xena rescues them (as Meg) by pretending to capture Gabrielle. She has to come to one of Agis' guards and pretend to be Meg so that he'll take her to where they are keepin Diana--she's good at it and stays in character even when the guard uses his sword against her to "test" her to make sure she really is Meg. Of course, he just doesn't know that Xena is an excellent actor.

After saving Diana, Agis plays one last plan and takes Diana's baby.

While Xena goes to rescue the baby, Gabrielle confronts Meg and after a bit of a catfight (hair pulling and biting) Gabrielle is able to pin Meg to the ground. Though she can't bring herself to hurt Meg because she looks so much like Xena. Their heart to heart is rather eye opening. It's clear that Meg has had a hard life, one filled with pain (her father died when she was born and she's been on her own since she was 8) and it's the reason she went into the business of selling herself for sex. There's one moment during her talk with Gabrielle about her childhood that is interesting and I'm not sure what to make of it. She talks about how one of her mother's boyfriends liked her too much. In the literal sense, it could be that she didn't like the praise and worship of anyone but her father and so ended up pushing any potential father away because she wanted to keep her relationship with her mother intact. But maybe it's because I'm thinking too into the meaning of it, and the way Meg looks when she says it--but I get the feeling that maybe she was abused as a child by this boyfriend and that's why she ran away from home. Could that have been a reason that led to her sexual exploits as an adult? If so, that's a really mature message to send but I could see it as a possibility.

Meg has depth and a troubled past. I like that.

All ends up well when they save the baby (both Meg and Diana show up in Xena outfits, pretending to be Xena to rescue the baby--Meg calls the chakram a "round, killing thing" and Meg calls it a "shamrock").

Meg gets the chance to do something good with her life--and become a cook in the castle. Maybe she'll be able to turn her life around a bit. She's still got the hots for Joxer, though, and when Joxer, Gabrielle and Xena say their goodbyes, Meg pulls Joxer over and tells him that the kitchen door is always open. He doesn't seem to uninterested in taking her up on her offer.

One thing I don't get, though, is exactly what's wrong with the king. There's subplot throughout the entire episode that deals with the King being ill and Diana being faced with taking the throne sooner than she expected. Even Meg (as Diana) has a talk with him and thinks he's "died". Yet in the end, Xena tells everyone that the king will be just fine. What the heck? What was wrong with him that he was on death's door one moment (and needing to be covered up because "a chill now could kill him"), and completely fine--though needing rest--the next? That doesn't make sense and it's a rather weak subplot. The story could have been fine without it...

It's a nice comedy. Not terribly complex in character development or plot, but the introduction of Meg makes it a worthwhile ep.

Intimate Stranger
(screencaps courtesy of Angel Bacchae)


A very eerie beginning.

The multiple dreams within a dream within a dream....never knowing which is real and which is not. Good beginning. I think the creepiest of all the dreams is the one where Xena talks with Gabrielle about killing Callisto, and then Gabrielle gets this hallow, unemotional look on her face while she speaks and her voices changes to Callisto's. Also the one where Gabrielle is in her bedroll and Xena turns her over only to find Callisto--with black eyes--staring back at her. Shiver, shiver...

I would expect this episode to come right after Return of Callisto and not have Warrior...Princess...Tramp separating them. It feels a bit out of place to have them in this order.

Xena is extremely tormented by what she has done and rightfully so, I think, considering she did let Callisto die. She could have saved her and I wonder if she should have but her grief and hate about the pain that Callisto had caused Gabrielle--an offense that probably is only rivaled by losing Gabrielle to Callisto herself--was enough to let her die. Ares is back, tormenting her over the death as well. He's good at that, bringing her fears to the surface, her reservations about her choices (as if Xena doesn't have enough guilt on her shoulders to deal with over other things in her life....). Is his appearance in her dream real? Or imagined?

When Xena finally wakes from her nightmares, she and Gabrielle head on their trail of Theodorus' men, the last remaining band of Callisto's warriors. Gabrielle, too, is still affected by Perdicus' death and the fact that she hasn't dreamt once since his death says a lot about the impact it had on her.

Joxer is back, having gone after Theodorus himself, apparently, and is hanging upside down in some shack. When Xena and Gabrielle come to break up the party as Theodorus and his men flee, it's not very nice of Xena to simply cut the rope and let Joxer fall to the ground...on his head. I mean, really. Was that necessary? What did he do to deserve that? Okay, so I get that it's meant to be a nice funny moment (the whole slap-stick thing) but it's not really that funny. Maybe she's in a cranky mood because she's not been getting much sleep (again, why I think this episode should be right after Return of Callisto and not having Warrior...Princess...Tramp separating them--surley the torment would come right away after it happened? Unless it has been, and we just don't see it because of the lighthearted events of WPT.)

When Xena rests outside of the shack and talks with Gabrielle about how it wasn't justice to let Callisto die.... I wonder if this is a dream as well. Callisto appears (who we know is dead--unless she's been brought back mysteriously) and transports Xena into some underground cave where she joins up with Ares and they take turns in taunting Xena about killing Callisto. The taunting finally gets to Xena and she admits what she did was murder. In a strange moment, Callisto and Ares throw her toward a rock and she smashes into it... Then wakes up, in a bedroll next to Gabrielle and Joxer in the shack from before.... So the entire time, Xena must have been sleeping. Nice twist.

There is something very wrong about Xena. Her mannerisms, her look are....off. She tells Gabrielle exactly what she believes is Callisto's plan, as if she's had a revelation while asleep--to go to Amphipolis and let her family die by fire the way Callisto's did, and also that she's working with Ares.

Something really isn't right when Xena walks out of the shack and finds Ares standing there--and comes up, kissing him. Xena isn't herself and Ares confirms this--it's Callisto. What an ending to the scene, with Callisto in Xena's body making out with Ares, then cutting to Xena in Callisto's body realizing she's trapped in the same cave she had been in during the dream. Her scream "Callisto!!" makes me shiver.

I think it's completely clear that Xena is not herself, and why Gabrielle doesn't notice something is wrong, I'm not sure. I don't think she'd ever suspect that Callisto would be able to switch bodies with Xena but still--there is something very wrong in the way Xena acts. And especially when Xena tells her that somehow Callisto has escaped from the underworld... You'd think that make Gabrielle more suspicious than she is. If Callisto can escape from the underworld then anything is possible.

By the way, Lucy does a really great job of portraying Callisto, right down to the jerky mannerisms and the crazy glee in her eyes. It's interesting that Argo picks up on the difference in Xena that Gabrielle does not--gotta love that animal instinct.

The one thing Gabrielle should realize in the beginning that Xena is not herself is the way that Xena seems so eager for Gabrielle to have killed Callisto. It was Gabrielle's right, not Xena's, she claims. Gabrielle should know that Xena wouldn't say things like this to her in such a pushy way. It makes Gabrielle uncomfortable but not enough to not want to listen to what Xena says.

The mini training session in the forest is very telling in how off Xena really is but also in how much Gabrielle does not want to go back to the anger and rage she felt just after Perdicus' death. Callisto's skills at taunting Gabrielle and pushing all the right buttons are good--especially when she starts gloating about how Perdicus died and how she "felt his warm blood on my hands". This sends Gabrielle into a rage and she knocks Xena down with her staff. It's exactly the reaction Callisto was looking for. The fact that Gabrielle wanted to "kill" Xena makes her feel sick.

She fastens the breastdagger--which we haven't seen in a long time--to the end of Gabrielle's staff and tells Gabrielle that she must be the one to kill Callisto this time around. And even then, Gabrielle is unsure.

Clearly, she wants Gabrielle to kill Callisto so Xena is stuck in the underworld forever.

Now, why can't Callisto go kill Xena herself? Like she did the last time? What is the reason for getting Gabrielle riled up and wanting to kill? Other than wanting to corrupt Gabrielle, I guess, there doesn't seem much point. Especially if Callisto doesn't plan on keeping her around for a long time anyway. Even if Callisto succeeds at her plan, I can't see her staying with Gabrielle in the long term. Doesn't sound like Callisto really thinks very far ahead in a plan. Her goal is to destroy Xena's family.

The Callisto/Ares sparing scene is....well, awesome. So what if it's Callisto in Xena's body, it's still hot. I like how they spar playfully, fighting as if they are enemies but clearly it's all a bit of foreplay. And Ares seems, well, aroused by the entire thing, licking his lips, staring at Callisto like she's his new conquest, bantering with her. His whole part in this scheme is so that he can get Callisto in Xena's body, probably because he can't have the real thing so he settles for the next best thing.

I can't deny that it's hot even if the circumstances are rather...questionable and wrong. He is the God of War, I get that he's looking to satisfy his desire for Xena in any way possible. I can't expect much more from the God of War who, up until this point, has been after Xena clearly as a sexual object and a warrior (except for the moment in Ties That Bind when it seems that maybe there's something more when he can't kill her). Here, he's finally got both--the warrior and the woman.

Their kiss as they sink to the ground is also hot. Oooh.

When Callisto returns to the camp where Gabrielle is waiting, adjusting her armor... Yeah, it's clear what she and Ares had been up to.

I really don't like how Callisto torments poor Argo once Gabrielle is away, and then slices her with her sword.

Xena is granted to return to the world to put Callisto back where she belongs and finds Argo in the forest, nearly dead from Callisto's attack. It's so sad, poor Argo. I love how Joxer is there, though, defending the horse and standing up to Callisto with bravery and loyalty. He may be a bumbler but he has quite the heart and he's willing to die for Xena's treasured animal. He's more of a hero than he gets credit for.

Of course, Joxer doesn't understand how Xena is in Callisto's body even while she tries to explain it. She has to put the pinch on him to prove to him she is who she says she is.

And the good thing is that she's able to help Argo and save her with her fine medical knowledge (that extends to animals a well, it seems).

When Xena (as Callisto) and Callisto (as Xena) finally come into contact, it's interesting to see the two of them acting as each other. One thing that is very different about Xena in Callisto's body is how stoic she seems. Even her facial expressions and look are very toned down (and her hair doesn't look as crazed and out there as well). Callisto in Xena's body is full of a spark of crazyness in her eyes, but Lucy really doesn't do the Callisto screech very well. Hudson doesn't do the Xena yell either so...

Gabreille shows up and intends on killing Xena/Callisto now. Callisto's egging finally got to her, I guess. Xena is finally able to get Gabrielle to believe that she is in fact Xena even though she looks like Callisto, by reminding Gabrielle of the dreams she hasn't had since the death of Perdicus--Callisto wouldn't know that. Gabrielle is confused by all of this but is able to accept what has happened. And Callisto is upset, and rides off ready to inflict pain on the village of Amphipolis.

Callisto had thought she was good at the mind games but Xena can be better.

I love it when Callisto, as Xena, comes into Theodorus' lair and kills him to take control of his men. The satisfaction on her face as she slits his throat and the little toss of her head.... She enjoys it too much. Xena really isn't home. (as Cyrene later describes about her "daughter")

I find it interesting to see Ares involved with Callisto's plan in the end. She's all ready to destroy Xena's family and neighbors. Ares isn't in agreement about what she has chosen to do in this "new body". It's really telling to watch him speaking to her, upset that she isn't following his plan, and almost hurt or taken aback? when he learns that she had used him all along. I think Ares finally sees that even in Xena's body, Callisto is no Xena and he's starting to realize that. All he can do is disappear and let Callisto have her way. His plan has failed so miserably, whatever plan that was.

The final confrontation between Xena and Callisto--when Xena sends Callisto to sleep just like Callisto had done to her in the Greater Good with the poison dart (though, this time the effects on her seem to be much faster than they were in the Greater Good)--is cool. Xena uses Callisto's guilt against her to drive her into that rock that she had thrown Xena into in the beginning of the episode. The rock must be the portal to switching the two of them back.

I do like seeing Callisto's innocent and vulnerable side, and that she does have guilt about her deeds and the things she's done even though she would never admit them (so different from Xena who practically feeds off her own guilt). When her mother appears, Callisto is weakening and she refuses to believe the things she has done is her own fault, trying to drown out the accusations from her mother and others, and Xena.

Xena returns to the world but is still trapped in Callisto's body. Not really sure why she wasn't changed back, but Gabrielle reunites with Xena anyway. It's a very open-ended ending with Xena still stuck in a body that isn't her own. It leaves a lot to wonder about.

A solid episode with the highlight being the acting performances by Lucy and Hudson. They both got into each other's skins very well and the body-switching idea is always fun to play around with.