Xena: Season 3, Episode 20: "Vanishing Act"

This is the statue one. I love this episode, even though I wouldn't say it's a favorite. I primarily love it for the many chances it takes.

This episode - I don't want to say this, but - is similar to "King Con," in that Xena takes a much harder route to do something she could easily have done without Autolycus. The differences are: 

1) Xena reiterates in this episode, that she's taking an unnecessary route for Autolycus.

2) Their mission doesn't involve a friend who was beaten to within an inch of his life. 

3) Xena and Gabrielle didn't ask Autolycus for his help.

Remember Jasmine, who used to live here but has since moved to Los Angeles? Well, after I watched the whole series in 2009 (when she still lived here), I would tell her about episodes; not many but some. This episode was so funny to me, after watching it in 2009, that I told her about the scene where Xena enters as Ezra. Jasmine has laughed about that scene for years without ever having seen it. To this day, she will bring it up and say, "So! Where are you hiding that statue?" the way I, pretending to be Lucy Lawless, pretending to be Xena, pretending to be Ezra, would say it. It's so fucking funny. While watching this episode the other day, I finally captured that scene on video and sent it to her. She laughed and laughed. We both did.

Useless fact: This also marks two episodes in a row where a character has revealed to Xena that his brother died. Her brother also died, remember.

SPOILERS: My reviews are full of them! I'll try to note when I'm about to spoil the series by posting [SERIES SPOILER] before said item and [END SPOILER] after. Please don't read the review, unless you've seen the episode under discussion or don't care if I spoil it.

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EXTRAS:

1) Autolycus: “Yeah, nothing besides letting you live inside my body while I risked my life to steal back your shapely corpse, all the while having to endure Gabrielle whining and crying 24 hours a day about, ‘How much she misses Xena!’” — They bring this up all the time with Autolycus. Even in the last episode.

2) X: “Are you quite finished?!” Autolycus: “That depends. Did it work?” X: “It worked.” Autolycus: “Then I’m finished." — Hhahaaha

3) Ezra: “Myopia, I’ve heard of you. They say you used to be good-lookin’. Huh. [Whispers to G] Plan beta, I saw the furnace belching smoke and knew we had to come right a- are you paying attention to me? This is part of his way. [Aloud] So! Where are you hiding that statue?” — This is the scene I conveyed to Jasmine.

4) Autolycus: “What else would you expect from the king of thieves?” X: “Oh, Thebes. I’ve been there.” — It only took three seasons before someone wrote this joke.

5) Ezra: “Hold everything! The party starts here! Ha-ha-ha! Make yourself scarce, Dummy.” — I live for Xena giving herself permission to belittle Autolycus.

6) Tarsus: “I am obligated to tell you that a well-known Silosian general is on his way here to make a bid.” Ezra: “Really? Is he good-lookin’?” Tarsus: “Look, if you have the money here by morning, I’m sure he can’t top your offer.” Ezra: “Oh, it’ll be here. So, tell me more about this naughty general?” — This is hilarious. And let it be known that when Xena is undercover, trying to fit in, she's straight.

7) X: [Beats the shit out of guards] “I just couldn’t begin to think how to do that his way." — A lot of these jokes were low on the radar, but fucking hilarious. I think the whole storyline of Xena being unable to tone down her aggression to align more with Autolycus' catlike grace is easy to miss.

I don't know about you, but I think a solid gold statue deserves the Solid Gold Dancers:

Here is an awesome video of optical illusions:

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