Directed by Marina Sargent
Written by Chris Manheim
In order to discover a saboteur of a beauty pageant of rival kingdoms, Xena enters the contest herself to investigate.
Tropes
- Batman Gambit: Lord Claron has been behind the incidents and attacks. His kingdom was neutral throughout the war and profited off of it. To get back to that, he proposed the contest knowing full well the feuding leaders could be pushed into restarting the conflict. It only fails because Xena figured it out.
- Beauty Contest: What this very contest is about.
- Drag Queen: Miss Artiphys. Gabrielle even name drops the term at the end of the episode.
- Dumb Blonde: Xena dons such a wig and plays the part when interacting with others.
- Meaningful Name: Artiphys is similar to the word 'artifice'. Artifice's etymology is similar to the term 'artificial'.
- Red Herring: Miss Artiphys for locking Xena in the steam room. He says he was just trying to scare her for deducing his secret.
- Sarcasm Mode: Xena while outfighting Lord Claron.Xena: Oops! Don’t hate me 'cause I'm beautiful.
- Serious Business: The beauty pageant not so much for the contestants but for their boyfriends (the Doge of Messini, the Regent of Skyros, and the Palatine of Parnassus). They all have major rivalries and bad histories with each other; while they want to maintain the peace treaty, each still wants to beat the others at something somehow. According to Salmoneus, things escalated from sabotaged costumes and props to an outright attack on the beach. We later learn Claron was deliberately playing on this for his benefit.
- Very Special Episode: Not implied, but the episode did break barriers. The actress who kissed Xena was HIV Positive, proving that the virus doesn't spread that way.
- You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!: "Miss Amphipolis" to Lord Claron. He forces the issue and gets exactly what you'd expect.
