Thread by @VespertilioGem

We have another #Kissmatewatches tonight with another Xena and Herc showing! I'm looking forward to the campy fun from last night continuing!

#Kissmatewatches Xena Episode Three: Dreamworker
Gabi longs to be a warrior like Xena, but Xena insists she not. Something about maintaining innocence. This catches Morpheus' priests' eye and they kidnap her to be a sacrifice. Xena enters the dream world and rescues her.

#Kissmatewatches Instead of needing """virgins""" to be sacrificed, they use something called blood innocence (shed blood/taking a life). I actually like this change! It's more important whether you've killed someone with your own hands rather than if you've had sex with anyone.

#Kissmatewatches *insert rants about using Morpheus as a villain here* but they kind of framed it that it was the cult making everything terrible and evil, not the god, so... I guess redact that rant? Using sheep as a symbol was weird. Something to count before sleeping???

#Kissmatewatches One final thing: there's a man who left the evil cult. He's blind throughout most of the episode and it doesn't seem to bother him all that much. Once he aids Xena and she disposes of the cult, he gets his high priest title back... and magically his sight too.

#Kissmatewatches This smacks a bit too uncomfortable. We never know how or when he lost his sight, so was the cult to blame and Morpheus gave it back as a solid? Was he born without sight and the gods gave it to him as a thanks? We just don't know! And it's important to know!

#Kissmatewatches Xena Episode Four: Cradle of Hope
Xena and Gabi find a baby that is prophesied to rule the kingdom one day. Also, Pandora's Box! If it opens, hope becomes fleeting. All ends up well as the king takes the child as his own and vows to protects the box.

#Kissmatewatches Content Warning, there's talk of child killing, child and mother death, and sexual coercion.
King lost his wife and child in one night. Evil Advisor thinks the prophesied child will grow to take the throne by force. Xena tricks Evil Advisor with sexy dancing.

#Kissmatewatches It's a pretty standard prophesy tale. The answer that would make a good compromise is the last one thought of, and the worst answer possible is the one considered the most probable. Screaming at the screen "JUST RAISE THE KID ALREADY" doesn't speed it up.

#Kissmatewatches In the end, we see Pandora's box is actually empty. Hope is in our hearts, where it's safest. It's a cute throwaway sentiment.
But it does make the peril Xena put herself in seem lesser somehow. Good they told Pandora it actually is empty, though!

#Kissmatewatches That's the end of Xena tonight. Onto the Strongest Himbo with a Revenge Memo, HERCULES!

#Kissmatewatches Herc Episode Three: The Road to Calydon
Herc finds a city occupied by villagers that lost their homes. He guides them to a new home while freeing them of a cursed chalice. The head villager, obsessed with control and greed, opposes Herc at every turn.

#Kissmatewatches The woman raised in a brothel was an interesting character. She's an outcast at first, what with the villagers being slut-shamers, but in the end she's accepted into the fold. The only change was Head Villager leaving, so I'm guessing he instigated the attacks?

#Kissmatewatches Speaking of the Head Villager, he was VERY manipulative! Like, I was wondering if he was a cult leader or something.
"Are you on his side, or MY side?"
"I'm only doing what everyone wants!" (No one wanted it.)
"You know he's only after what every man wants."

#Kissmatewatches He was the one who stole the cursed chalice and even tries to retrieve it after Herc throws it past the horizon. The chalice might curse the holder with intense greed, but he was already greedy and selfish before, so maybe it's just his foolishness.

#Kissmatewatches Herc Episode Four: The Festival of Dionysus
A king's life is threatened during a festival of Dionysus. Herc is commissioned to stop the untimely death. Ares and the elder prince poison the wine to fuel the bloodspilling, but Herc stops them in the nick of time.

#Kissmatewatches There's a character that's been in these last two that is starting to rub me the wrong way. He's a blind chaotic evil soothsayer who wants to see the doom of the world to the point of following his visions to witness them happen in real time.

#Kissmatewatches At first, he's an interesting character that has his moments and funny lines. Except he hates staying in happy towns because how happy they are. He revels in evil too much, you know? Not enough focusing on the chaos.

#Kissmatewatches The elder prince was a total Bond villain. Nice, polite, throws the hero into a water pit and walks away so the hero can escape before dying, power hungry... It's kind of interesting to see a low-tech version of the trope!

#Kissmatewatches We go back to the idea of virgins, though in an ancient society it's expected. What I didn't like was the virgin chosen to lead the festival is the one to marry the next in line if the king is killed. It felt like it was added specifically for extra tension.

#Kissmatewatches "Oh younger brother, the head virgin is your girlfriend! How interesting! If she were to kill our father tonight, she'll be my queen and have to bang me against her will! What a hilarious thought!"

Super eww.

#Kissmatewatches Since it's late and I'm ready to sleep, I'll leave my thoughts there. I'm still really enjoying the series and I can't wait to see more! Til next time!

/end of thread

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