Xena: Season 5, Episode 03: "Succession"

ALTERNATIVE TITLE:
"The T-1000/Rambo Episode"

Nice, simple, run-of-the-mill Xena episode. Refreshing to see. I did enjoy it, though I can't decide if it's a favorite or not!!

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.

CLICK HERE for full page view.

 CLICK HERE FOR bigger VIEW! 

My initial thought upon seeing the morphing was "Terminator 2 (1991)." Here's one of my favorite actors Jenette Goldstein as the T-1000, fucking shit up for Edward Furlong.

The way Xena and Gabrielle transformed into one another was also very Matrix-y. Both The Matrix and this episode came out the same year (1999), though The Matrix was first released.

One last possible influence is from the first I ever saw do it: Michael Jackson "Black or White" (1991). The whole song is great of course, but here's the morphing part:

And the whole thing, with the woods and having to make weapons and build traps, reminds me of Rambo: First Blood (1982), as many things in Xena often do. But Gabrielle even hurts her arm and has blood trickling down, just like John Rambo. It's really hard to tell, here, if this is Rambo or Gabrielle:

I just saw Disobedience (2018) a few days before watching this ep, so of course I’m going to put “Love Song” by The Cure here.

Don't forget to like the Xena Movie Campaign on Facebook!

Click HERE for an updated calendar/watching schedule.

 Xena Movie Review Templates: COLOR or Black & White

 Thanks for reading!