Written by Joel Metzger
Directed by Chris Martin Jones
Xena and Gabrielle seek to stop Varia, new queen of the Amazons, from going to war with Roman and sentencing Eve to death.
Tropes
- Acid Pool: Xena and Varia fight on scaffolding over a pull of lava.
- Blood Knight: Varia. Turns out her time with Xena hadn't quelled it.
- Challenging the Chief: In an attempt to save Eve's life, Gabrielle challenges Varia to a fight for Varia's queendom, which would allow Gabrielle to pardon Eve if victorious.
- The Farmer and the Viper: In this case it's 'The Scorpion and the Swan', told elegantly by Ares.
- Fighting Fingerprint: Varia's flashback revealed how she recognized Eve's signature flip. She later uses the same move on Xena on the way to realizing she was becoming like Livia.
- Flashback: Two of them. Varia explains how her Amazon tribe was destroyed by Livia. Eve later explains that she did so on the suggestion of Ares.
- Heel Realization: Varia realizes she's becoming like Livia when she's about to kill a surrendering Xena.
- Put on a Bus: Eve heads over to Chin and is never heard from again.
- Took a Level in Badass: In a short amount of time, Varia has gotten good enough at fighting to defeat Gabrielle one on one and even give Xena a run for her money.
