The End of Xena (She has many skills)

For the last two years or so, I have been watching Xena: Warrior Princess with my fellow Fringe-editor Sarah. It all started for me when I had my first detached retina in August 2005. I was low on energy and had a dilated pupil for almost three weeks, so it felt good to watch the comforting first season in the dim light of my apartment. After that, I was hooked, scoring the remaining seasons off eBay.

When I learned that Sarah also loved Xena, it was a revelation. I am a geek for Xena, and it's rare to encounter others who share the mania. We love Xena for its strong women characters, positive portrayal of lesbians (there's a fun drinking game where you quaff for lesbian innuendo), and most of all for its feminist pastiche of myths and screwball plots. Did you know that Xena...

... invented CPR? And inspired Hippocrates to write the famous oath?
...tempted Lucifer from heaven?
...has returned from the dead three times?
...was besties with Cleopatra and Helen of Troy?
...was a Valkyrie? made Grendel and Grendel's mother?
...was responsible for David's victory over Goliath?
...helped an enfeebled Ulysses draw his bow?
...has three doppelgangers?
...can perform a field tracheotomy in about one minute?
The list goes on and on...

One year ago Monday, Sarah and I made it up to the very final double-episode of Xena -- A Friend in Need. But we couldn't bring ourselves to watch it. The thought of no-more-Xena was too terrible to bear. So we went back to the beginning and re-watched our favorite episodes from the series, and now we're up to the FINAL episode. On Tuesday, we're taking off work, steeling ourselves, and making a multi-course Asian style meal (reflecting the episode's Japanese setting) to celebrate. Since we have to part ways, we're sending Xena off with an Ay-yi-yi-yi!