Over six seasons, the champion's affected plenty in her timeline-tangled voyages. Xena's traversed the world, the underworld and several alternate universes. She's defeated warlords, dethroned Caesars, slain gods and wrestled with the darkness in her soul. Her "ay-yi-yi-yi" battle cry is easily recognizable.
More directly, however, "Xena: Warrior Princess" has changed the way women will look at and be portrayed on television for years to come.
The series consistently landed in the top five syndicated action shows each week in the Nielsen ratings.
More important, it gave women a relatable power fantasy to hook into, one harder and more emotionally developed than any that came before her. Who can swallow damsels in distress now that we've seen what kind of damage that chakram can do? (Watching "Xena" reruns on frou-frou cable channel Oxygen, with a banner of inane Internet chatter running all the while, is utterly painful.)
So while watching tomorrow's episode, the first of "Xena's" two-part series finale airing at 7 p.m. on KTWB-TV, will be bittersweet for her fans, they can take solace in knowing it's not exactly the end of an era.
Television spawn of the Warrior Princess are abundant and, for the most part, thriving. UPN's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Fox's "Dark Angel." TNT's "Witchblade." You can even give Xena credit for cutting a swath for "The Powerpuff Girls." (Then there are "Xena's" less popular sisters in syndication, "Sheena" and the female Zorro of "Queen of Swords.")
But with the exception of Buffy Summers, no television female has transcended her status to become such a strident symbol of might and resilience since Xena stormed the airwaves in 1995.
An homage to the Hong Kong movie "The Bride With White Hair," Xena was born as a villain on "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys."
With her own series, the world discovered what it feels like to be a girl, Xena-style. Mother, seductress, vengeful war victim and unstoppable savior, she became the most epic of modern feminist icons.
When she visited India, she transformed into Kali. In China she halted a despotic emperor. Jailed, crucified and dismembered, she always returned in one piece.
Fuel for fantasies
Aside from those high kicks and power punches, let's be honest. She also fuels a million private fantasies. For every man's heart the blue-eyed "Xena" and her alter-ego Lucy Lawless set aflame, there's a woman out there pining away for her, too.
Yes, Xena and her companion in arms Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) have been the subject of much "are they or aren't they?" speculation, and producers Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert took great glee in playing with that. Proclamations of love, a hot-tub scene and a famous lip-lock - well, with Xena's soul in another body - stir the pot, but no one's admitted to anything yet. That hasn't stopped Xena's lesbian fan club from steadily growing.
Besides, the pair's relationship serves a higher purpose than titillation. Watching Gabrielle's painful transition from girl to woman, seeing her illusions die with maturity, is utterly relatable for most female viewers.
Gabrielle is hardened now, having broken her vow never to kill, her staff traded for a pair of sai. She grew up and never left Xena's side - true friendship personified.
Internet rumors rampant
So it shall be tomorrow, when Xena rides into Japan to face down hundreds of samurai, with 40,000 souls in the balance. The odds aren't in her favor, and rumors of her death (and a last-minute leap out of the closet) are circulating the Internet.
Whether that's true, we can't say. Regardless of how it ends, we have nothing to fear. Xena's died twice before and managed to come back. She's ensured her television immortality and will battle on, in one form or another.
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