Xena: Warrior Princess - Season Three [5 Discs] [DVD]

Season three of Xena: Warrior Princess was the series' most eventful 22 episodes to date -- as well as the most mobile, with Xena (Lucy Lawless) and her friend and chronicler, Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), traveling far and wide, from the British Isles to the far-off Orient. It is, in fact, during the ladies' odyssey to the land of "Chin" that the viewer learns more secrets of Xena's checkered past, including her "debt" to the philosopher Lao Ma -- and the birth of a son we never knew she had. In the season's lighter moments, teenaged warrior wannabe Tara (Shiri Appleby) tries to supplant Gabrielle as Xena's traveling companion. And everyone suffers from the comic intrusions of aspiring warrior Joxer (Ted Raimi), capricious Goddess of Love Aphrodite (Alexandra Tydings), and self-proclaimed King of Thieves Autolycus (Bruce Campbell). On the darker side, war god Ares (Kevin Smith) continues to be a thorn in Xena's side. Even more disturbing, Gabrielle is impregnated by the demonic god Dahuk, giving birth to a daughter ironically named Hope (Amy Morrison), who literally grows up before her eyes -- as the incarnation of pure evil. Hope ultimately kills Xena's son, Solan (David Taylor), briefly causing a bitter rift between the grieving mothers, and is herself killed -- twice. It is the second demise of Hope which also costs the life of Gabrielle, a tragedy on which Xena: Warrior Princess concludes its third season.~Hal Erickson