Xena: Season 1 Summary

OK, so a LOT happened in season 1. A lot. And I ain't just a-whistlin' Dixie; I'm talking about going for broke here. A bunch of stuff occurred that I thought would not until season 2. For instance, Gabrielle sees Perdicus again, Gabrielle becomes an Amazon princess, Ephiny has a baby, Xena dies, Gabrielle dies, etc, etc, etc. So much is established in season 1, whereas I thought that season 1 would simply be a light buffer for the other more serious seasons... I love this show. Let this be an advisement that there is total worth in rewatching this series. You will be surprised and enjoy it all over again, if not more.

QUALITY: Season 1's picture quality is as expected, especially for a show that aired in 1995. It's a 4:3 standard TV ratio, a little grainy in some spots, loses detail in the shadows during darker scenes sometimes, but who cares?! I didn't bat a lash over these inconsequential circumstances.

RANK: So far, my favorite season is obviously season 1. In the coming seasons, I'll rank my favorite seasons as I watch them. I know it looks silly, but it's the principle that matters, gd.

Favorite Seasons Rank:

1) Season 1
2) 
3) 
4) 
5) 
6) 

SUBTEXT. You know what it is; I know what it is. And in season 1, it happened. 

All over my face.

The beauty of Xena subtext lies in that it can be interpreted many ways. I love everyone's different takes on the matter. There are those who believe Xena and Gabrielle get it on within the very first episode, some who think they aren't intimate until later seasons, and folks who believe they were just best buds throughout the whole series. If you're one to believe they have feelings for each other, you might want to question some things, like, when did you first think they A) had feelings for each other B) fell in love with each other and C) started fucking each other. You know, stuff like that.

Here are some good subtext sample questions for season 1:

1) When do Xena and Gabrielle start their romantic relationship? 
2) Did it happen in the first season? 
3) If it started in season 1, was it physical or merely emotional?

While it can be argued that they're sleeping with each other early on, I personally believe they haven't "done anything," yet. I think, with the passing of the last few episodes of the first season, they're starting to register that something "real" is going down. [SERIES SPOILER] Of course, (amazingly) this "realness" only intensifies throughout the series. [END SPOILER]

Also, unlike Hercules, I feel Xena and Gabrielle have already strayed from continuous and various love interests amongst the episodes, which I don't recall from the 2009 viewing. (The 2009 viewing was a total fog, guys. It was so powerful, it effed my S up.) [SERIES SPOILER] I do remember at least one episode apiece where Xena and Gabrielle have love interests who aren't each other in the coming seasons. I, for some reason, can mark in my mind which episode is the last male interest for Xena, though I can't currently recall the season in which this episode lives. With Gabrielle, it happens earlier. [END SPOILER]

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Looks like I've got seven wonderful favorites in season 1, which, imo, is a lot, girlfriend. I can't wait to compare them to the favorites of season 2/talk about them again/see if any of them were included in the 10th anniversary (greatest hits) collection/rewatch them. There really wasn't a bad episode in the whole season. If anything, the episodes were mostly safe. There were no extremes with the exception of "Callisto;" which was simply a badass episode.

One thing I wish I could do differently, is create a guide including the directors and writers of each episode. Hmm... Maybe this could still be done. It is important... Lemme think about it.

In summary, season 1 is wonderful, as it's the most innocent of the seasons. Xena and Gabrielle meet, get to know each other, and die.

 

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