Xena: Warrior Princess is a spin-off of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, where Lucy Lawless’ Xena began as an antagonist before her popularity placed her on a journey of redemption that would result in her own series. From the start, Xena: Warrior Princess set itself apart from its parent show, outshining Hercules: The Legendary Journeys in every imaginable way. Time has only made that divide wider, with the latter being a fantasy show that has aged poorly, while the former is as relevant today as it was then. Xena herself is miles apart from Kevin Sorbo‘s Hercules, with the latter a largely forgettable hero and the former an iconic feminist hero who is both hero and icon first. 24 years later, Xena and the show that bears her name stands as among the genre’s best.

Lucy Lawless’ Iconic Fantasy Character Xena Is a Hero Above All Else

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys found success on the back of Kevin Sorbo, who played the titular hero, going from village to village and saving them from fantastical evils in the form of warlords and monsters, or the diabolical whims of the gods. But Hercules is a one-note character, a brawny do-gooder in a series that exists largely as “monster of the week.” But over the course of only three episodes, Lawless’ Xena had a more complete character arc than Sorbo’s Hercules did over the course of six seasons. Xena first appeared in the first season’s ninth episode, “The Warrior Princess,” as a cruel, bloodthirsty, and manipulative villain out to kill Hercules. Two episodes later, Xena is forced to rely on Hercules for help after being betrayed, but when the two are set up to fight one another, Hercules refuses to kill her. That moment of grace leads to a dramatic change in heart, with Xena choosing to make amends for her misdeeds during the events of the Season 1 finale.

That moment of grace would also lead to Xena landing her own spin-off series, which co-creator Robert Tapert credits to Universal, who said to him, “You know what? You should rip yourself off before somebody else does and try and make a spin-off out of that character.” Xena: Warrior Princess debuted on September 4, 1995, with the pilot episode “Sins of the Past,” which saw Xena returning to her home city to begin her journey to redemption. That episode would also introduce Renee O’Connor‘s Gabrielle — a maiden who would become her sidekick, and eventually her equal as a warrior — creating a relationship that became as much a defining trait of the show as its spectacular action sequences.

It would have been easy for Xena to simply be a gender-flipped Hercules, a one-dimensional character with a different antagonist every week. However, doing so would be to reject that character arc set up for her in the parent series. She was complex, haunted by a past that saw her do terrible things to good people, fighting her inner demons while struggling to better herself. She was smarter, a problem-solver, master tactician, and strategist who could outwit even the gods by thwarting their plans, figuring them out well before they realized she had. Xena was more dangerous — skilled in hand-to-hand combat and psychological warfare — and deadly, with her favored weapon, the chakram. She was flawed, at times arrogant and distant, living in a morally gray area where her violent and cruel past would come up in her efforts to do good. Most importantly, she was a hero. This was a step up from the empowered yet exploited female heroes of Charlie’s Angels, and a major influence on the likes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, whose titular character, like Xena, is a hero first.

Lucy Lawless Is What Makes ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’ the Beloved Fantasy Series That It is

But all of it — the inner turmoil, the fierceness, the physicality — doesn’t work without Xena herself, Lucy Lawless. She literally takes hold of the camera and refuses to let it go, serving as a charismatic badass who can hold her own against anyone or anything. Lawless makes Xena a commanding and imposing figure, standing tall and defiant in the face of adversity. From a purely acting perspective, she impressively takes Xena across the wide array of storylines, from the comedic “Been There, Done That” where Xena is forced to live the same day repeatedly as if she was in Groundhog Day; the musical “The Bitter Suite”; the action of “One Against an Army”, where Xena fights off an entire army by utilizing every trick in her book; and the deep tragedy of “Maternal Instincts,” where Xena’s son is murdered by Gabrielle’s evil daughter, Hope (Summer Proben), with Lawless effortlessly bringing Xena’s heartbreak and anger to devastating life.

Interestingly, what keeps Xena: Warrior Princess not only great, but really relevant, is its importance in the lesbian community. Executive producer R.J. Stewart admits that the creative team knew, and embraced, its lesbian subtext, and were thrilled that the LGBTQ+ community had taken a liking to the show. Stewart further says that they rode the subtext “whenever it made sense,” meaning story first, and subtext if it worked. That, most of all, may be the biggest reason why it worked so well. Lawless says she and O’Connor didn’t think about subtext when filming, but only thought about finding the love in the scene. It wasn’t about sex or sexuality, but about the honesty of love.

The lesbian subtext was secondary and speculative, easily digested by the broader fan base because it was not purposely “othered” or sensationalized. For a body of marginalized people who want their own relationships to be seen as being just as commonplace and conventional as a heterosexual partnership, Xena: Warrior Princess makes a bold statement towards that sentiment, where being a hero and a loving person are the most important of all.