Captain’s announcement: we are saddened to inform you that due to Joxer’s presence, this episode is way wackier than usual. Yes, even more than Ten Little Warlords. You have been amply warned.
Making fun of Joxer is easy-peasy; the original plays that single note until his death. True, there are exceptions, but they do not amount to anything besides highlighting the haplessness of Joxer the Joke. In 2.0, the typecast fool gets a chance for more; by the end, he picks a side and earns some respect.
Outright, campy comedy strikes the right tone as transition episode. Yes, the intro and conclusion take us from Greece onto Aegean Sea. Yet there is another crucial image here, the one of family. The three of Xena, Gabrielle, and Athena are in both parts of the journey. That won’t last.
Solan changes things, beyond the rescue. Another variable in already fluid and chaotic future, motherhood comes to Xena. Saving him starts things; immediate pales in comparison to later. The trials of Warrior Princess continue.
GABRIELLE
“But if you only knew how much suffering is in store for you
before you get back to your own country.”
Gabrielle quotes prophetic words from the Odyssey. Discuss in FORUMS.
