Lyre, Lyre: Singing with Xena & Gabrielle
My Xena rewatch reached Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire tonight, it's a campy battle of the bands with Disco Amazons, where did they get some of the ideas from?
But beneath all the sparkle, it’s pure Xena. Love, joy, and resilience shine through, and smack in the middle of it is Gabrielle. Watching her dance, sing, and spar with Xena with that easy chemistry? Pure magic. Watching it back in 2000, young me felt like she was getting permission: to love, be playful, and be herself.
The episode also shows Gabrielle’s strength. Enter Draco, her persistent stalker, who refuses to take “no” for an answer. Gabrielle asserts herself clearly and fearlessly ,she is not interested and escapes his trap on her own. Watching her do that as a teen gave me chills. She sets boundaries, takes control, and refuses to be intimidated. That courage is golden sequins-level epic.
Then there are the songs! Campy, yes, but All People Just Want to Be Free hits differently today. In today’s political climate, it feels like a tiny, sparkly rallying cry that, freedom, justice and joy, are worth fighting for.
aye, looking forward to this one though trying not to skip ahead in my rewatch though 🫣😜. Just got up to the end of season 4 and loving this show to bits all over again, i'm so glad its back in my life and its helping me get through this tough time that for sure. Just watched Ides of March and Gabrielle going berserk when Xena's cut down and killing 8 soldiers in less than 90 secs is one hell of way to stray from the path of peace n love 🫨 😍, still packs a punch that ending. Now on to one of my other faves, Fallen Angel which is just as superb now as it was then 😎.
just wanted to add thanks again to the siterunners, watching this all upscaled is brilliant 😎, and i very much appreciate the subtitles as find it difficult to hear the dialogue at times these days and the DVDs don't have subtitles. I'll send some more donation to the site when I get paid just for those alone!