"Xena: Warrior Princess"
The God You Know (2001)

Director:

Garth Maxwell

Writer:

Emily Skopov (writer)

TV Series:

"Xena: Warrior Princess" (1995)

Original Air Date:

29 January 2001 (Season 6, Episode 12)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

Archangel Michael asks Xena and Gabrielle to kill Caligula, Emperor of Rome turned into a god, who is pursuing Eve and the other Elijans...

Plot Keywords:

Relationships | Action Heroine | Friendship Between Women | Angel | Rider Horse Relationship

Cast

Lucy Lawless	...	Xena
Renée O'Connor	...	Gabrielle
Adrienne Wilkinson	...	Eve
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alexis Arquette	...	Caligula
Daniel Konuke	...	Gay Concubine
Charles Mesure	...	Archangel Michael
Kevin Smith	...	Ares
Alexandra Tydings	...	Aphrodite

Language:

English

The Acting You Know...and love!

By "The Gods You Know", it had really become clear that The Powers That Be behind "Xena" had really lost any sense of direction for the show. They might as well just have changed the name of the series to "Xena: Lingerie Model" or "Xena: Bath Princess". The series had begun to reduce itself to cheap gimmicks of women in underwear or bathtubs in every episode.

Sure, "Xena" had always been a skin show, but they still always looked tough, and it never distracted from the series. But, in season six, the loss of some of the best writers in the series (Chris Manheim and Steven L. Sears) had clearly taken it's toll. As well, due to the harsh fan backlash over season five (which, in my opinion was one of the best seasons of the series), The Powers That Be began to turn to turn the show into what "fans wanted". The problem with this is – what side of the fan base do you listen too? Generally the loudest part of the fan base is not the largest. As well, if you turn around and change your show to match someone else's vision, you lose site of your own – a series must always have one person's vision at the forefront – and season six did not.

Despite the lack of direction in season six, "Xena" never faltered on sets, costumes, music, etc. "The God You Know" features some truly gorgeous costumes, in particular, the one worn early in the episode by Lucy Lawless.

As always, the acting of "Xena" never suffers; Tydings and Smith, regular guest stars, both provided unique and fabulous performances. Wilkinson, ever burdened with dull dialogue and an ever whiner Eve, still manages to deliver a performance worth noting. The scenes between Wilkinson and Lawless are enjoyable in any episode and "The God You Know" is no exception.