For me, the most important episode of the first season because it represents the first appearance of two of my favorite characters. The first is of course Joxer the mighty. Even with his first appearance, he manages to win over the audience with his curmudgeonly and comical demeanor. The scene where he tries unsuccessfully to kidnap Gabrielle is pure hilarity!

Still, he's nothing compared to the character this episode is named after. As soon as she first appeared, I knew Callisto was going to be my favorite character on the show. Whenever Xena and Gabrielle fought their enemies I was always there for them... Except when it was Callisto. The only villain I rooted for 100%. Hudson captivates with his crazy charisma whenever he appears. He fascinates with his psychotic facial expressions and his madness already in his first frame. The dynamic between her and Xena is great, especially the moment when she promises to kill everything if she lets her go, including the horse (Xena's expression at the mention of Argo is everything), as well as their dialogue in the prison. The very idea of ​​creating a Frankenstein's monster is perfectly integrated here, as well as the theme of the eternal cycle of hatred and revenge, and even though Callisto does monstrous things (especially at the beginning by killing children) I can understand her at the same time because Xena made her a monster by killing her family, even if she did it unconsciously. I've always said that it's a shame that Callisto didn't get her own spin-off and that she would certainly be more popular than both Hercules and Xena, because she's a much more layered and complex character than either of them.