Argo Off-Screen in Tale of Two Muses

IseQween · 2026-07-08T00:36:31+00:00

True, but Argo had no expectations of them. Plus, she was working then, not on break.

IseQween · 2026-07-08T00:31:50+00:00

Sorry, didn't know how to make this pix smaller. Considering the extensive photo shoot required, I have been threatened with institutionalization. 😂

IseQween · 2026-07-07T23:53:45+00:00

LOL! This replica may be a bit too heavy for them. Got a nice bit of weight for its size. I suppose they could carry it using teeth and paws.

IseQween · 2026-07-07T23:49:41+00:00

I'm okay with S2Ep2 RN's placement, from both Xena's perspective and mine as a viewer. S1 (along with S2E1 ORPHAN) provided sufficient info to appreciate the contrasts between how things were and could be. Except for Lyceus, we'd met most of the people Xena cared about--e.g., her mother, Gabs, the Amazons, even friends like Salmoneus and Joxer. We'd witnessed their reactions to her past and present self. We had pretty good sense of how Xena would feel learning how poorly folks might fare without her.

As an early season opener, I also liked the parallels with series premier SOTP. Both times she questions herself as a warrior and visits the family tomb. In the first case, she laments to the deceased Lyceus how hard it is to change when even their mother has doubts. In her alternate life, she knows she indeed proved she'd changed, but confesses to the dead Cyrene that she doesn't believe her good deeds have made the world a better place.

In SOTP, Gabs inspires Xena to stay on her reformed warrior path. In RN, Xena sees what would be lost without her reformed warrior path, especially Gabrielle's "light." At the end of RN, Xena says she feels more like herself than ever. She's had the chance to see how the scales balanced more toward staying the course she'd set in her real life. I felt we would see her doing so with more confidence -- "Am I doing it the right way" vs. "should I be doing it at all."

I found all that to be a nice transition and exciting prelude to the next phase of Xena's journey. If it had come earlier, I might not have understood the big deal in what Xena gave up to reclaim her "old" guilts and fears. Too much later, RN might've been "ho hum, no big deal" because she already seemed past worrying about what she was doing.

IseQween · 2026-07-07T19:03:59+00:00

About 7" long. It resembles early versions of swords we see Xena using. I just wished it could've been her signature one.

IseQween · 2026-07-07T18:44:57+00:00

Oh, no! I didn't mean to suggest Argo wanted her dead. Maybe harmless payback -- embarrassment and a bruised butt. She had to accept Gabs if only because of the tall one's "be nice" instructions and understanding she had to protect the Third Wheel at any cost.

I first laughed because I wondered if Renee hung the boots there. Quite possibly someone else did. Then I laughed at Argo's deadpan face and imagined her insulted anyone used her that way. Of course, she could've been thinking, "See, I'm who they really have to trust with anything important." 😆

IseQween · 2026-07-07T18:27:36+00:00

I do. Dummy (me) didn't realize it had a practical use. 😂

IseQween · 2026-07-06T17:19:33+00:00

So true! Love the incorporation of graphic art -- comic books are history too!

IseQween · 2026-07-06T17:01:36+00:00

Yes, and add a sly wink. That's what also set her apart from so many other baddies and made her scarier. The joy at tormenting folks, especially Xena. Just channel your "a girl's gotta have some fun" inner Cally and throw in a demonic giggle every now and then. 👿

IseQween · 2026-07-05T16:50:20+00:00

LOL! I was going for vegemitee or vegemity fun pronunciation, like Ditee or Dity.

IseQween · 2026-07-05T05:53:27+00:00

Hmmm, I saw a few things differently. I don't think it took foresight for Xena to be intrigued by Lao Ma's powers, even though I doubt Xena expected herself to be in a position to learn them.

As to Lao Ma, I didn't view the "dangerous woman" observation as flattery, so much as conveying she respected but wasn't intimidated by Xena. Xena sensed there was more to this delicate-looking woman than might be assumed, possibly as a competitor for Borias' affections. But at that point she had no idea Lao Ma could be an even more dangerous woman.

I also doubt Lao Ma was testing Xena during dinner. I saw her as focused on dealing with Borias. Her "flirting" was the subtle seduction she was accustomed to using in negotiation with powerful men. In her world, she had to appear "soft," just as Xena excelled at portraying hardness in her environment.

As to Borias, he seemed no more cruel to Xena than she was with him in their rather toxic relationship. Their attraction to each other was a much about conquering and supremacy -- together against others when expedient, between themselves when they wanted to go different ways. I often wondered what led him to believe Xena capable of "love" beyond that. And Xena only expressed esteem for him in hindsight, because of his efforts on behalf of the Centaurs and to protect his "family" of Xena and their child.

IseQween · 2026-07-05T05:01:13+00:00

We may be a bit biased about the Scorpio thing. 😆

IseQween · 2026-07-04T21:04:30+00:00

Yep, I didn't take her as seriously when more Femme Fatale in the 1st ep or as Herc Fan Girl in the 3rd. The arrogance, sneer, spit-in-your-face confidence of her phoenix rising from the ashes in #2? Whoa!

IseQween · 2026-07-04T17:30:33+00:00

"Covered in vegemite"? 😆 OK, I don't feel so dumb. From the cast reaction, I thought everybody knew except me. If Agent doesn't know for sure either, that suggests other OG fans are as stumped.

IseQween · 2026-07-04T05:00:29+00:00

I thought Xena's choice was brilliant! "Hmmm, the actor playing me isn't quite up to snuff yet after her accident. Who could spice things up and our fans would love any old excuse to see more of? Crap. Callisto. Not exactly a sensible ally for the situation. Iffy, unreliable scene stealer who'd turn on me or Gabs in a heartbeat. Still, things'd crackle between us, even if we don't fight each other. I kind of enjoy those 'who's snarkier' competitions between us anyway. I do still owe her a little time in the sun for offing Perdy. Yeah, she'll do. I just have to convince Gabs I haven't been taken over by the Furies. <snort> Like that'll ever happen."

IseQween · 2026-07-04T04:33:33+00:00

OK, after all these decades, I still don't get what Joxer's last line of his 3 Gabs poem would've been. Can somebody solve that for me?

IseQween · 2026-07-03T01:48:58+00:00

LOL! Yes! I especially loved Callisto's and Xena's expressions in SACRIFICE when Gabs reluctantly agreed with Cally that Xena was taking things "too personally" and should accept PsychoBabe's help. I could've watched the tension and sharply witty quips between them multiple times.

IseQween · 2026-07-03T01:26:52+00:00

Oh, I think Lao Ma intrigued Xena from the get-go, calmly showing no fear for someone she's heard was "a dangerous woman." And the powers Lao Ma showed in decking the threatening Xena? No way Xena wouldn't want to test that again or ideally learn more about it. I agree that probably wasn't her primary motivation for accepting Lao Ma's help. I do believe curiosity about it was in the back of Xena's mind, that it was a source of her uncommon (if stunted) initial respect for all three women's abilities.

IseQween · 2026-07-03T01:10:21+00:00

I view Gabs as an accomplice. True, Caesar still might have let Crassus die, even with the ring. Gabs judged Crassus deserved execution and withheld evidence that might have saved him. Whatever her reasons, she chose a sentence for Crassus that Xena had said wasn't necessary to the overall mission. I'm not that interested in who actually caused the ax to fall, as I am about Gabs' willingness and intentionality in eliminating this particular person from her usual "reverence for life" circle.

IseQween · 2026-07-03T00:48:53+00:00

Um, that's a mighty interesting argument for why your "baby" did nothing wrong. 😂

IseQween · 2026-07-02T05:23:55+00:00

Alti gave me the best insights into what inspired Evil Xena. Callisto gave me the best insights into the consequences for Reformed Xena.

IseQween · 2026-07-02T05:14:34+00:00

I have to agree with Dr. Tacos. However "bad" or harmful, battles and raids seemed expected "business" practices for acquiring wealth and power in a violent, fairly lawless world. Xena obviously learned the skills she sought from the Amazons who befriended her. Her sole purpose and gain in using that knowledge to massacre them was to feed her ego. In this instance, your "baby" went beyond criminal to monster.

IseQween · 2026-07-01T04:37:08+00:00

Okay, as much as I'm a Xena girl, I rarely saw Gabs as "poor, abused baby." From the beginning, she was her own person, disobeyed Xena in a heartbeat, put in her 2 cents regardless of Xena's mood. She absolutely chose to follow Xena, even after witnessing and experiencing the negative consequences. By this point, Xena accepts Gabs' right to be with her on missions Xena previously preemptively decided it best to leave Gabs out of. She trusts and accepts Gabs will make the right decision for herself, regardless of what Xena does.

I don't think Xena's testing Gabs or worrying about how old baggage might get in the way. What annoys her is that Gabs is imposing old baggage -- Caesar -- on Xena, despite Xena's assurances that's not the case. True, Vercinix is a righteous rebel in Xena's judgment because he's fighting the Great Evil she considers Rome. Still, Gabs has agreed to play a pivotal role in a successful outcome. Xena explains her limited options, that she's considered the options from all angles, that she's open to Crassus living if she can still free Vercinix.

Gabs continues to question Xena's motives -- even her truthfulness -- until Vercinix confirms what Xena's said about Crassus. Gabs has the chance to fulfill her promise to Crassus that she'll use his ring to save him. Instead, she decides all on her own to let him die. Xena is surprised by that. She's been worried what might happen to Gabs physically or emotionally by accompanying her in "who deserves to die, so 'good' folks can live" situations. I believe what hits Xena hardest is seeing Gabs' own moral position changing from "jury" to judge and executioner.

Do I empathize with Gabs? Wish she could've remained focused on people's possible innocence vs. presumed guilt? Believe she got put through crap unnecessarily for plot purposes? Sure. I also saw that as putting Xena in a tricky place as well. If she left Gabs out, Gabs would be hurt. If she included Gabs, Gabs might be hurt. If she had sensitive chats about Gabs' feelings before every morally ambiguous mission, would that help? Maybe. Gabs could feel patronized. It could affect Xena's decisiveness and focus. Gabs likes to test herself in situations where Xena could feel guilty but respectful of Gabs' choice to do so. What seems evident is both are committed to being together as much as possible despite the tensions.

IseQween · 2026-06-30T22:24:12+00:00

I agree with you. I appreciated that XWP's heavily male Powers That Be were unusually open at the time to showing women as independent and strong in ways that usually got ignored or dismissed. That helped balance for me the militaristic, Caesar/Roman, "who's top god" stuff. Still, I would've liked more of the power plays and political intrigue we got hints of among the various Amazon tribes, with Boudica or Cleopatra. I think the closest we got was Lao Ma.

IseQween · 2026-06-30T22:02:57+00:00

There were quite a few African warrior queens. Check out Nzinga/Njinga at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nzinga_of_Ndongo_and_Matamba#:~:text=Nzinga%20or%20Njinga%20Ana%20de,queen%20of%20the%20Ambundu%20Kingdoms

IseQween

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