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Xena: Warrior Princess…the Season Six Spaghetti Order

One day a while back, I came across an online post that offered a new idea for watching the Marvel movies – what that author called the “Spaghetti Order.” Why Spaghetti Order, you ask? Because the guy really loves spaghetti, and I guess that makes as much sense as anything. Other people have recommended watching the movies in the order in which they were released or watching them in chronological order, but this fellow thought about it differently. He sequenced the movies in a way that better supported the overall storytelling, with each movie and closing credits scene leading into the next as the series built up to the climax of Endgame…in his opinion, of course. I watched the movies through in that order and had to admit that it made for a great experience, seeming more like one large, planned arc rather than individual stories pieced together by different directors and writers.

So how does this relate to Xena: Warrior Princess? Well, few things are more controversial among Xena fans than the ending of the series, the two-part episode (6x21 and 6x22) “A Friend in Need.” While some think it’s an amazing ending, others hate it with a passion. I’ve heard from people who watched it once and have vowed to never see it again, and I even know of fans who, having heard what happens, have never watched the episodes and never plan to. While I understand the emotional trauma that the episodes can generate, I also think it’s a shame, because while I am not a fan of the episodes in their entirety, there are aspects of the finale that I find incredibly beautiful and powerful, things I would hope every Xenite could appreciate. I started wondering if there were some way to present the final season that could make it more palatable to fans who find the last episode so upsetting.

For years, many fans have used the alternative order that shifts episode 6x18 (“When Fates Collide”) into the final spot, providing a coda of sorts that allows anyone to imagine their own version of what happens next with Xena and Gabrielle. This has been my preference as well, and I think it’s a brilliant ending from a dramatic perspective. But I started wondering if more could be done. “A Friend in Need” has such power partly because it is the official ending, and moving it one spot backward in the order does allow for a new conclusion, but it’s still an emotional wallop being so near the end. I began to play around with the idea of it being more like a midseason cliffhanger…“How will they get out of this one?” Anything that could make it a bit less weighty and easier for fans to watch. That’s when I remembered this concept of the “Spaghetti Order,” and I thought about the other issues that can come up when discussing Season 6…the issues with stories based around vengeance, the regression of Xena and Gabrielle’s partnership at times, Xena’s need (or not) for redemption, Gabrielle’s shifting attitude toward violence, etc. Personally, I’ve also always felt that too many of my favorite episodes were placed in the first half of the season, throwing the second half out of balance (not helping to alleviate the disappointment of the eventual ending).

Over on the Xena Discord Server, we set about making a new order for the 6th season…one that would provide both a different ending and a satisfying narrative arc to conclude the series. Think of it like fan fiction that only uses the original source material. This isn’t intended to be the one and only way of watching the final season – go with whatever you prefer, whether that be the original, the 6x18 swap, or your own Spaghetti Order. Even with this sequence we proposed, we weren’t 100% onboard with all of it. Some will always feel that “When Fates Collide” should be the finale; others can’t imagine the season without the “Gabrielle trilogy” intact near the beginning. It’s for everyone to decide what they prefer and continue loving the show, as we all do. Hopefully this will inspire you to formulate your own thoughts about the final season. And with that, we are proud to present…the Xena: Warrior Princess Season Six Spaghetti Order!

Here’s a quick list of the episodes in sequence:

Soul Possession (6x20)

Coming Home (6x01)

The Haunting of Amphipolis (6x02)

Heart of Darkness (6x03)

Who's Gurkhan? (6x04)

Last of the Centaurs (6x17)

Dangerous Prey (6x11)

Old Ares had a Farm (6x10)

A Friend in Need Part I (6x21)

A Friend in Need Part II (6x22)

When Fates Collide (6x18)

The Rheingold (6x07)

The Ring (6x08)

Return of the Valkyrie (6x09)

Send in the Clones (6x16)

The God You Know (6x12)

You Are There (6x13)

Path of Vengeance (6x14)

To Helicon and Back (6x15)

Legacy (6x05)

The Abyss (6x06)

Many Happy Returns (6x19)

Now we’ll talk through each episode and why we positioned it where we did, including addressing some potential YAXIs (Yet Another Xena Inconsistency), at least the ones we could live with:

Soul Possession (6x20)

One of two episodes during the 6th season separate from the “normal” timeline, this one could have been placed most anywhere, but we settled on using it as the bridge between Season 5 and Season 6. Much like “Déjà vu All Over Again” served as a break between “The Ides of March” and “Fallen Angel” at the end of Season 4, we thought the characters of Annie, Mattie, and Harry could do the same here after the epic episode “Motherhood.” It also provides a nice return of the original Joxer character, and we liked having it come sooner after his death in “Eve” (and spirited appearance in “Motherhood”) as opposed to waiting almost an entire season. The idea to bring back an explanation for the Season 3 finale feels odd coming so late in the series, so any way to move it earlier is a bonus. Finally, we appreciated where Ares’ character settled in “Path of Vengeance,” and it seemed like too much whiplash to have this episode come after that, reverting his character to earlier attitudes and objectives.

Coming Home (6x01)

While we were sorely tempted to have the primary timeline kick off with “The Haunting of Amphipolis,” we couldn’t get around Gabrielle’s wardrobe change. So, this episode remains the last full appearance of her Season 5 costume. It also connects back to the ending of Season 5, as the original order does. Xena is able to pay Ares back for his sacrifice in “Motherhood,” and our small troop of Xena, Gabrielle, and Eve can then head home to check in on the rest of the extended family after the 25-year freeze. You can also consider this one having a family connection, as Gabrielle is able to see what has happened with her Amazon tribe since the death of Ephiny. Gabrielle even comments about Ares having a “thing” for Xena, which is a nice follow to “Soul Possession.” We get a conclusion to the romance angle of Xena and Ares’ relationship, but he can still return as a character.

The Haunting of Amphipolis (6x02) & Heart of Darkness (6x03)

These episodes kick off the trilogy that shows Xena and Gabrielle returning to their childhood homes to see what has happened in the last 25 years. Gabrielle’s outfit again dictates the visit to Amphipolis coming before Poteidaia; the Season 5 costume is disintegrated here, and she dons a lovely blue number before switching to the red outfit in the following episode that she’ll wear throughout most of the final season. These are more like a two-parter showing the Angels’ attempts to send Xena to Hell. Once the Lucifer situation is resolved, the group can move on to Gabrielle’s family.

Who's Gurkhan? (6x04)

The next stop after Amphipolis is Poteidaia, where Gabrielle has to fight through her rage at the death of her family. By the end of the episode, she has seemingly processed her initial grief, and the group all sails back toward Greece to return Sarah home.

Last of the Centaurs (6x17)

This is one of the first significant order changes from the original. With this episode centered on Xena, Gabrielle, and other characters that didn’t appear elsewhere in Season 6, there was a lot of flexibility on where it could be placed. With the focus of the last few episodes being on what happened to family while Xena and Gabrielle were frozen, this episode lets us see what’s happened with Xenon in that time, part of their Amazon/Centaur “family.” There’s also the connection to Borias, a “family” figure from Xena’s past. One thing I’ve always found unsettling in this episode was Gabrielle’s quick jump to insisting that Xena had to kill Belach. I thought it was a surprising role reversal that seemed out of place, but it’s interesting if you consider it happening right after Gabrielle has suffered the loss of her family, whom she was unable to protect. Given the chance now to protect Ephiny’s family, it makes far more sense to me that Gabrielle would be willing to advocate murder. Also, with this episode being set in Greece, it avoids the problem of “Legacy,” where we’re left to wonder how Sarah made it home, why Xena and Gabrielle are back in the dessert, and where the heck are Eve and Virgil? This way we can imagine they’re all back in Greece somewhere, living their usual lives.

Dangerous Prey (6x11)

Back in Greece, Xena and Gabrielle receive a message from Marga to come help the Amazons, so this episode fits in well here. And it comes after an episode referencing Ephiny, so it’s appropriate to follow that with a story about the future of her tribe now that we’ve seen the future of her son. Varia is still learning how to be a leader, and we thought this one originally was placed too close to “Path of Vengeance,” where she has somehow become the leader who united all the Amazon tribes. We’ll be moving that episode later (more than a year after this one), so it will be more realistic. And technically this episode is better coming before “Old Ares Had a Farm” because Gabrielle rides in on a white horse here, but she leaves “Old Ares” riding a gray cart horse. Gabrielle clearly borrows horses where she can in Season 6.

Old Ares had a Farm (6x10)

This episode was somewhat flexible as far as placement, just needing to be after “Coming Home” and before Ares regains his godhood. However, we thought it provided another opportunity to avoid a question that the original order creates – namely why Ares did nothing to try and save Xena in Japa. Rather than having to come up with an explanation about the limited powers of gods in various cultures not their own (not a great argument considering Ares has shown he has powers in regions where he isn’t the primary god – see “Chakram”), it makes even more sense for the answer to be that he was mortal at the time. I also appreciate not having the additional “lost year” of the Rheingold trilogy coming before this. Word would have spread quickly after “Coming Home” about Ares’ mortality. I’ve also never understood Xena walking into a tavern at the beginning of this episode and knowing all of these warlords after being gone for so long – I’ll take any opportunity to shorten that timeframe.

A Friend in Need Part I (6x21) & A Friend in Need Part II (6x22)

Now we get into the critical juncture of this revised order – setting up this 2-part episode as a midseason main event. It follows nicely after “Old Ares,” as Xena is starting to reflect about their past and future in that episode, which is also how these episodes begin. In these episodes, we find Xena still making decisions that affect both her and Gabrielle, without consulting her partner. This is something Xena has always done in the past, and it shows their relationship hasn’t fully evolved to an equal footing. Even though Gabrielle is given more opportunities to show her abilities (e.g., coming up with the acrobat fire brigade, throwing the Chakram), it’s still a scenario that feels more like the master and the student rather than partners. While she oversees part of the army in the battle, it doesn’t feel much more developed than how she has led troops before following Xena’s plan, like in “Amphipolis Under Siege.” Meanwhile Xena’s story is back to focusing on her need for redemption, seemingly forgetting everything about India in Season 4 and her resolution to follow the Way of the Warrior and the fact that she ended up in Heaven after dying…I could go on. Granted she is faced with an impossible situation in these episodes, but the series felt like it had moved on from redemption being the primary theme before these episodes aired. And we won’t even get into the issue of vengeance suddenly being the answer… But the plot of these episodes is what it is, and now we can focus on how Xena and Gabrielle could move forward after this. The plot and thematic problems with these episodes become less burdensome when these episodes aren’t the end of the series.

When Fates Collide (6x18)

With no surprise, this episode keeps its reordered position after “A Friend in Need,” with Caesar providing the ultimate ironic twist by being the one to give Xena another chance at life. Everyone has their own interpretation of how this episode ends. I like to think that the Fates were wrong about Gabrielle’s destruction of the loom destroying the world (which seems to be proven), and once they saw that things were set right again, they gifted her (much like they did for Xena in “Remember Nothing”) with the one thing she wants most in the world – to have Xena returned to her. So, from here, we move forward assuming the world is continuing as it was, with the only change being Xena alive again. This episode makes for an incredible midseason premiere after the cliffhanger of “A Friend in Need.” We also thought that it could feel more like the start of a new 7th season, possibly taking the final season and producing two shorter seasons instead, as more recent TV shows have done. It’s hard to get away from “A Friend in Need” feeling like the ending of something. So, enjoy it whether you consider it the start of Season 7 or the midpoint of Season 6. By having this episode not be the finale, it also offers the tantalizing prospect of considering how much the alternate universe experience could have affected Xena and Gabrielle. At the end of the episode, they appear to remember both their original lives and their alternate lives. That opens up a whole world of experiences that could change their approach to things. This Gabrielle knows what it’s like to live a life without fighting, a life without love, and then face losing that love before it is fully realized. This Xena knows a life where she never became evil, where she was a beloved leader, giving her some balance against the weight of her guilt from her original life. We do see some clips from “The Abyss,” but we already have the precedent that Alti can show Xena moments from the future, so that isn’t a concern. In fact, it implies that Caesar changing fate was destined to happen, as was Gabrielle setting things right again.

The Rheingold (6x07), The Ring (6x08) & Return of the Valkyrie (6x09)

The placement of this trilogy (the beginning of the Norse arc) is dependent on several of the episodes that have to come after it and conclude that storyline, along with the Ares/Aphrodite godhood story. But it also works well coming right after Xena and Gabrielle have returned to their “original” lives. They’re far from home and making their way back to Greece after the world was set right – we have no idea where they ended up in that final scene of “When Fates Collide.” By placing “A Friend in Need” ahead of these episodes, there’s a new aspect you can consider after seeing Xena’s relationship with Akemi – it supports the idea that evil Xena has forsaken love given everything she’s lost. In the present, having just “found” Gabrielle and their old lives again, Xena’s first instinct is to protect her by leaving her behind once she learns about Grindl. Xena isn’t going to risk Gabrielle losing her life after just getting her true self back. Gabrielle, on the other hand, having just “found” Xena and their old lives again, is having none of that and immediately sets out after her. The added torment Gabrielle is going through – losing Xena in Japa, finding her in the alternate world, losing her again, getting her back, only to have Xena abandon her again – fully justifies Gabrielle’s urgency in tracking her down and making Xena promise never to leave again. And after all that, it feels like Xena may finally be ready to keep that promise moving forward. From this point on, Xena seems to focus less on redemption and more on doing good for the sake of doing good. Remember that this Xena now has a new perspective on life with what happened in “When Fates Collide.” By the end of these episodes, Xena has also learned an important lesson that she takes with her – redemption can be gained through forgiveness. That’s the power that allows Grinhilda to return to her true form. The additional “lost year” built into these episodes also serves to provide more space in the timeline for several events to have developed that will be addressed later on: Caligula’s rise to power, Eve reconnecting with her Roman past, and Varia uniting the Amazons. There is one brief clip from “The Abyss” when Xena regains her memory, but it’s a generic scene of her and Gabrielle – not one we’re going to worry about.

Send in the Clones (6x16)

The other present-day episode from Season 6, this one could also be placed most anywhere. As a clip show, in a perfect world, it would be positioned after 6x03, 6x06, 6x07, 6x09, and 6x11, but we decided that wouldn’t be a dealbreaker for us (the only impact being that you see clips from “The Abyss” early as a viewer). It’s not any different from the future visions Xena sees through Alti in “Adventures in the Sin Trade.” Since this is the future, there’s no reason they couldn’t be watching clips of anything from Xena and Gabrielle’s lives. We opted to place it here before the next sequence of episodes that all lead toward the end of the series. And given that the kiss in “Return of the Valkyrie” is shown, we didn’t want this to come ahead of the Rheingold trilogy and spoil that. We mostly considered it a fun episode, but not something weighty enough to put it any closer to the eventual ending.

The God You Know (6x12)

The “lost year” from the Rheingold trilogy supports this episode, with Caligula seemingly coming out of nowhere to take power in Rome. While a reordering of episodes doesn’t help to explain some of the other questions this episode generates, it does provide a reasonable amount of time for Aphrodite to have fallen so far and for Ares to have found her. Plus, Xena is seemingly unaware of all of this, so it makes sense that she’s been away and lost her memory. Xena usually seems to have a handle on what’s going on in the world otherwise. After being away for a year, it’s also reasonable that Xena and Gabrielle would head to Rome, trying to track down Eve and make sure she’s okay.

You Are There (6x13)

This episode is the most obvious follow-up to the previous one, leading to Ares and Aphrodite both regaining their godhood. We also have our biggest Spaghetti Order YAXI in this episode, regarding the comments about the pinch. (It wouldn’t be Xena without a few YAXIs!) Gabrielle implies that she doesn’t know how to do the pinch, and Xena says that Gabrielle can take the pinch off but can’t apply it, recalling back to what happens in “The Haunting of Amphipolis.” Our head canon for this one was that Gabrielle didn’t actually learn how to apply the pinch in “A Friend in Need.” Xena is intent on showing her, but Gabrielle fights against it and emotionally is in no position to be learning something like the pinch, sensing that something is very wrong in how Xena is acting. Even looking at when she was taught how to remove the pinch in “The Haunting of Amphipolis,” it appears that Gabrielle is luckier than anything, not clearly knowing how to remove it. Or maybe it’s something that Xena has offered to teach Gabrielle, but Gabrielle has never felt comfortable learning. You could also look at it as Gabrielle wanting the Fates in “When Fates Collide” to eliminate everything that happened in Japa – she no longer has the tattoo, and maybe she no longer remembers the pinch. For this to be the most significant inconsistency in the order, we thought it was certainly tolerable. Even looking back at “Destiny” when Xena learns the pinch from M’lila, there was no indication of there being two different steps to it. So, if that’s something the show writers played around with in Season 6, we can play around with it, too. There’s an additional reference to Gabrielle being the “Battling Bard of Poteidaia,” which is only a problem considering that Gabrielle says in “Legacy” that she hasn’t heard it said that way before. However, we’ll consider the overall craziness and implausibility of “You Are There” as a very good reason not to worry too much about continuity here.  

Path of Vengeance (6x14) & To Helicon and Back (6x15)

As we near the end of the series, we bring back two main elements that have been a part of the series since the first season: the Amazons and Ares, God of War, providing an answer as to the fate of each. Ares shows that he will always be the same, and the Amazons are nearly decimated, with their future as a civilization unclear, much like that of the Centaurs. Given the “lost year” in the Norselands, it explains how Varia has had time to develop as a leader and unite all the Amazon tribes. As in the original order, it makes sense to have a newly returned God of War looking to increase his power as soon as possible. His relationship with Xena has settled into a seductive flirtation, having evolved past the lovelorn desperation of Season 5. Apparently being a mortal helps to give one perspective. This is also where we say goodbye to Eve, as she chooses to move on with her life; as a main character, it feels more appropriate for that to happen closer to the end of the season rather than the middle. Shifting into “To Helicon and Back,” that episode kicks off a new Gabrielle trilogy of episodes, as she has to face how she will approach war and violence after stepping into the role of the Amazon Queen, something she has pushed aside since early in the series. What we also see here is a new level in Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship. It’s the first time we see Gabrielle 100% leading with Xena willing to follow at her side, showing that their partnership has strengthened. Even in the first episode, “Path of Vengeance,” Xena lets Gabrielle take the lead in working through the politics of the Amazons, ending in her unsuccessful battle with Varia. Never before has Xena given Gabrielle so much leeway to make decisions and guide what happens. But even so, Gabrielle looks as lost as ever at the end of the episode, wondering whether she can continue to be a ruthless leader and what it will cost her.

Legacy (6x05) & The Abyss (6x06)

While these episodes originally appeared early on in Season 6, we moved them here as the dramatic conclusion of the series. Where the first half of the season focused on Xena’s story, the second half focuses on Gabrielle’s. After the events at Helicon, Gabrielle chooses not to stay and lead the Amazons, so shaken by what happened. It’s possible even that the Amazons decided not to rebuild their culture; those points are left open to the imagination. Whatever the case, it seems reasonable that Xena would try to encourage Gabrielle to move on, so they catch a ship to another land and return to North Africa for a change of pace and a bit of a vacation. That was the original intent after the events of “Who’s Gurkhan?” and it works here after “To Helicon and Back” in much the same way. In some ways, it works even better, not needing to try and understand why Xena would take Gabrielle back to the land where her parents were murdered immediately after “Who’s Gurkhan?” At least now some significant time has passed. Gabrielle begins the episode still trying to work through the trauma of what happened to the Amazons, and then she commits what to her is the most unimaginable act – killing an innocent. Most of the series has been focused on Xena’s guilt, but here at the end of the series, it now offers a parallel with Gabrielle having to learn how to deal with similar guilt. This shift between the two of them is nice; Xena’s guilt had led her to self-sacrifice or being willing to give up her life to pay for her crimes on many occasions, and now Gabrielle is the one in that position and Xena has to help her past it. Early in the episode, she’s questioning the moments in battle when you choose to kill or disable someone, something that’s weighing heavily on her mind after Helicon. Gabrielle has killed before, many times as a warrior, but the trauma of the war at Helicon and now killing an innocent are things she hasn’t dealt with before. Killing an innocent is one of the worst things Gabrielle could ever do, and this plus Helicon all push her to the breaking point. She’s at her lowest point since “Maternal Instincts.” The montage of clips of Gabrielle’s journey back to the first episode is especially powerful being so close to the end of the series. Between this episode, “Path of Vengeance,” and “Helicon,” I also love that there’s a strong consistent message at the end of the series about the pain of war and how vengeance isn’t the answer. And they’ve both learned that what is most important to each of them is the other. We can also appreciate turning the “Roman peace” concept on its head – while the emperor after Caligula had supposedly established peace, their actions in North Africa show that “peace” is in the eye of the beholder, and they were more than willing to continue subjugating other cultures to their rule. “The Abyss” will now be the dramatic conclusion of the series, coming right after “Legacy.” We have the return of Virgil, and while somewhat random, it was kind of that way in the original order as well. We haven’t checked in with him since they first returned home after “Gurkhan,” so now that Eve has continued on her journey, Xena and Gabrielle are checking up on other old friends since their Norse and Roman travels. For those who thought Virgil was getting a little too close with Gabrielle, I think you’ll appreciate this separation from the earlier episodes in the season – you don’t have a bunch of Virgil all at once. Looking at the original order, there was the call back to Season 3 with “Soul Possession” here near the end of the series, but instead we’ll now have the Hope dialogue in this episode to provide that connection.

Many Happy Returns (6x19)

Rather than concluding the series with high drama, we opted to end on a lighter note. Is this my favorite episode to end on? No, it isn’t. I’ve always been one to just watch “When Fates Collide” last because I love ending on something powerful. But after so much drama over the last few episodes, why not end on a comedy? The show always liked doing the unexpected. You get your big drama with the previous four episodes and now get to end with some smiles. I always thought it would have been amazing to end on the planned musical episode for the 6th season that never happened, and since this was the replacement, it’s as close as we’ll ever get. Plus, nothing much can beat that final scene on the cliffs, flying off into the sunset.

So, that’s it…the Xena Season 6 Spaghetti order! There are some alternative options. You could keep “Legacy”/“The Abyss” after “Who’s Gurkhan?” if you don’t want to break up that sequence, so instead you’d have “Helicon” as your dramatic conclusion. Or if you don’t want to end on a comedy with “Many Happy Returns,” you could position that right after “You Are There,” and then stick with the dramatic Amazon/Gabrielle sequence to end the series. What’s fun is that you can make it your own and take whatever of this you wish!