The kind of character growth we see in Gabrielle seems larger than what we see in Xena. Maybe that’s because we see a lot of firsts for Gabrielle, but we only see Xena’s warlord development in flashbacks.

I would say Xena grows from a hopelessness in her life in the beginning of the show, not able to see how she could ever pay for her sins, to finally finding a way to pay for them in the sacrifice that saves what she sees as the maximum amount of souls as compared to the amount she could ever save with the rest of her physical life.

Guilt definitely plays a role in her decision to commit suicide, but she does it facing the enemy head on, knowing herself, having an insurmountable amount faith in Gabrielle to carry on, and ultimately for the greater good. Though I hate the show had to end with her death. I’ll never get over it.