An episode that provides strong emotional moments and where the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle takes on a deeper and more emotional dimension when they face the possibility of death, which will later be repeated a little more often than it should be, but as this was the first such case, it causes strong emotions. Great moments like Gabrielle's kiss to the "dead" Xena, her display of grief and anger (Renee excels as an actress) and her persistence to fulfill Xena's last wish at the cost of her life and bury her next to her brother. Salmoneus was also excellent, especially in the scene where he finds Xena "dead" and says goodbye to her with touching words, an even more powerful scene given the context that he was the first to see the good in her (I don't know why everyone credits Hercules with her change?). It's nice to see him in more serious moments like this, although there's no shortage of comedy in this episode either, especially the parts when Gabriella pretends to be Xena are hilarious 😂

However, perhaps the biggest highlight of the episode for me is Gabrielle and Argo's relationship and how it develops throughout the episode from the initial bigotry (more Argo towards Gabrielle though. I always thought Argo was jealous of Xena's affection for Gabrielle xD) and how Xena's illness and love for her brought them both together and how Argo ends up saving Gabrielle's life. It's a shame they cut the scene from the episode when Argo comforts Gabrielle over Xena's "death". That would be the pinnacle of the Gabriel/Argo dynamic this episode.