Written by Chris Black
Directed by John Laing
A modern journalist looks into the latest actions of Xena and Gabrielle and speculates what they're up to.
Tropes
- Balance Between Good and Evil: Xena's reasoning for sending both Aphrodite and Ares back to Olympus is to maintain balance in the world.
- Battle Discretion Shot: The entire battle between Xena and Odin is only seen from the outside of Valhalla.
- Butt-Monkey: Nigel takes quite the (well deserved) beating over the course of filming his exposé against Xena.
- Can't Live Without You: Xena's reason for bringing back both Ares and Aphrodite:Xena: ...you can't have love without hate. You can't have peace without violence, and you certainly can't have forgiveness without anger. I knew I couldn't just send Aphrodite back to Olympus without Ares. It would have thrown the whole world out of balance.
- Cluster Bleep-Bomb: Done by Eve of all people. It has to be seen to be believed.
- Continuity Nod: Charon takes a moment to deride Hercules as a cheapskate, referencing a Running Gag on Herc's show of Charon always getting shafted on payment for passage across the River Styx.
- Immoral Journalist: Nigel for sure. He does get better once he understands what's going on.
- Immortality Inducer: The Golden Apples are capable of granting people immortality. Xena ends up using them to give both Ares and Aphrodite their immortality back.
- Interrupted by the End: Just when Xena was about to explain whether she and Gabrielle were lovers, the episode ends. In-Universe, this takes the form of the camera batteries dying on him.It's dead?! The battery?! This is the world's greatest story and you're telling me the battery is dead?! I don't believe this! Oh, man!
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Xena manages to kick Odin's butt, but all that's seen of it is flashes of light coming out of a the windows of Valhalla because the episode is following Nigel, who showed up when it was already mostly over.
- The Oldest Profession: There reporter travels to a Norse brothel to see how the business if faring without the concept of love. As it turns out, without love the place was busier than ever.
- Riddle for the Ages: We never get an explanation for how Nigel and his crew went back in time to get this story.
- Ship Tease: Ares insists his offer to bring Xena to Olympus was absolutely genuine.
- Sincerity Mode: Ares acknowledges how Xena restored him to godhood because of her atoner lifestyle and not because of any feelings she may have for him. He's not happy about it, but he acknowledges it.
- A Taste of the Lash: After lashing out at Nigel, Eve and the cult of Eli offer their backs to him so that he could flog them with sticks.
- The Unreveal: Nigel wanted to know whether Xena and Gabrielle were lovers. Xena was about to answer his question... but the show ends before it happens.
- Take That!: When being interviewed, Lucifer tells Nigel he can't wait to get him in Hell. Nigel replies that he doesn't see that happening, he's an award-winning investigative journalist, not a bloodthirsty warlord. Lucifer then reiterates that he can't wait to get Nigel in Hell.
- Time Travel: The presence of modern day journalists isn't explained or questioned by the characters. Despite this, this episode IS canon and furthers ongoing plotlines.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Nobody seems terribly surprised at a camera crew and reporter from the early 2000s running around trying to get interviews.
- Wham Episode: Ares and Aphrodite regain their godhoods.
