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It's difficult to talk about HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS without talking about XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS. The shows are so closely intertwined that I sometimes view them as the same series, just following two different sets of characters.
That's really not true, of course. X:WP has a completely different storyline to follow. I'm not entirely sure there even is a storyline in H:TLJ. The first season for Hercules seemed well defined, though. He had lost his family and was sort of on a rampage, seeking out vengeance against Hera. Then he calmed down a bit and just sort of went around beating up on Ares for a while.
But somewhere in there Hercules and Iolaus started to seem invincible (which is a bit much for thirteen episodes). There was no one they could not beat, no situation which they couldn't overcome. Even without Iolaus Hercules was pretty awesome. In "As Darkness Falls" Lucy Lawless (now playing Lyla, the country girl who married a centaur) gave Herc some poisoned wine while she distracted him (and the male audience) with her incredible legs.
Instead of dying Herc went blind. The metaphor was not lost on many of us, but the point of the episode was redemption. Not redemption of Herc so much, though he did pass through the darkness. Rather, it was redemption for the flawed characters around him. The centaurs, traditionally Herc's friends, tried to kill him (Hera, again, was behind the problem). But one of them, Derik, realized he was in the wrong and he refused to murder Herc when he had the chance.
Robert Trebor played Salmoneus in this episode. He redeems himself by showing great courage in the face of peril. That's a trait that Robert has played on a fine balance. Salmoneus is always fearful, but he is bolstered by Herc's courage and friendship. More importantly (I think), Salmoneus deep down inside is willing to do the right thing if it really matters. The precious dinar, object of the Motivated Guy's worship, is not necessarily his whole life.
"As Darkness Falls" was filmed the week before "The Warrior Princess" was filmed. Lucy Lawless was not considered for the role since she had just played Lyla. So, Vanessa Angel was given the role and then she fell ill. Too ill to play Xena. Five actresses turned down this role and in apparent desperation the Renaissance folks tracked Lucy down on a camping trip with her daughter, Daisy, to get her to come in and play Xena.
This was a much different Xena from that portrayed in the series of the same name. Yet Lucy gave the character a certain resolution, a hardened edge that even the formiddable Lysia from "Hercules And The Amazon Women" hadn't possessed. But this Xena was also sensual, bloody, and unforgiving in a way that seems foreign to the character in her own series.
More importantly, though, Xena brought out a new maturity in the character of Iolaus, and Hercules finally got a villain that was worthy of him. Kevin plays the role assigned him well. He sees his friend travelling down an uncertain path and is concerned, but can do nothing. Yet when Hercules learns of Xena's treachery he resolves to do whatever it takes to save Iolaus. And in the end he cannot save him. That is the fascinating aspect of this story.
Xena plays Hercules and Iolaus like puppets. Herc sees what's going on and yet must choose between following Xena's plan or abandoning Iolaus. Iolaus, on the other hand, is struggling to find some meaning for himself. He's a proud and wilfull character (who, in fact, has nearly been done in by the gods because of his pride). The intensity of this episode seems to bring out the best in all the actors.
When Hercules turns away from Iolaus at the end, ready to walk away or to let Iolaus strike him in the back, Kevin makes it believable. I sort of wondered if Iolaus wouldn't do just that. The ending was a bit trite, but I don't see how they could preserve the character without the snappy, "You haven't seen the last of me!" from Lucy as she charges out of Elysia.
"The Warrior Princess" was a pivotal moment for both Kevin and Lucy. It brought out the intense fannish reaction that producers dream about, but it also gave them a vehicle for defining a new kind of relationship. You cannot foresee Herc's becoming Xena's lover and friend afterward in this episode. If anything, you can just imagine Hercules thinking, "Yeah, this isn't finished."
In "The Gauntlet" the emphasis shifts from Iolaus and Xena to Hercules and Xena. Or, rather, to everyone else and Xena. Xena is cut loose from her army -- from her entire world -- because her ambitious lieutenant, Darfus, decides she has lost her edge. While Salmoneus tries to sell her on the Xena Theme, Xena tries to figure out what to do with this nutball.
Herc, in the meantime, hears that Xena is on the rampage again and sets out with his cousin to find and stop her before she destroys his cousin's village. Kevin brings a certain grim and austere menace to the story. You know Hercules doesn't like to kill people, but Xena is the one opponent he really hasn't yet beaten. It's a rematch in the classic sense: intended to decide the issue.
The real complication, however, is that Hercules has to change his whole assessment of Xena as he learns that she still has a human side. With Salmoneus' help Herc comes to realize that Xena is capable of compassion and may be worth redeeming. We see Kevin pass from determined warrior wondering how he's going to stop a vicious army to stunned and then forgiving opponent. Hercules beats Xena completely in their fight, but it's a hollow victory. He won't kill her needlessly and Xena really doesn't have the old fire any more. She seems to be in a state of denial.
Kevin's role is the most demanding. He plays Hercules in a very laid-back fashion, but there is total chaos going on around him in this story. The loyalties of various characters shift quickly: Salmoneus is with Xena, then with Hercules, then with them both; Hercules is after Xena, then he's forgiving Xena, then he's asking her for help; the father of the baby Xena has rescued seeks only revenge, then has to temper his hatred with compassion for other people about to suffer the same fate as his village, and finally must accept that Xena has in fact saved his son.
Hercules manages to keep things moving in the right direction, but Kevin shows that the character is able to consider he might be mistaken about some things. It seems to be a recurring theme in these first season episodes that Hercules is sort of wandering, not really sure of where he's going. When confronting Xena Herc has to reallize quickly this slayer of nations is not only no longer the enemy, she is his best ally. It takes some convincing from Salmoneus that Xena has changed. It takes some good acting from Kevin to show us that Herc doesn't always know what the right thing to do is.
You can almost hear him say, "Oops", when he comes to grips with the fact that Xena isn't the enemy any more.
In "Unchained Heart" Iolaus returns to the storyline as Hercules and Xena are trying to sort out their changing emotions. The attraction between the two characters is strong and obvious. The sense of betrayal that Iolaus must feel for both of them is strongly conveyed by Michael Hurst, but Kevin does an excellent job of portraying the quandry Herc finds himself in.
At one point Kevin has a, "What Am I Doing?" look on his face that underscores the complexity of the situation. Iolaus clearly still has feelings for Xena, but he hides them in concern that she might now be doing to Hercules what she did to him. Xena is feeling guilt over the way she used Iolaus -- and one wonders if she hadn't felt some attraction toward him, too. And Hercules has to figure out what he is supposed to do in the situation. Establishing a relationship with Xena might mean the end of his friendship with Iolaus. It might also mean he becomes too distracted to deal with the problem at hand (Darfus is back from the dead, running around with Graegus and Xena's army).
The real conflicts are mostly resolved before the final fight. There is some doubt about Salmoneus because Iolaus has seen him with Darfus (Salmoneus had left earlier, but was captured by Darfus). When Sal's life is endangered Herc instantly comes to help him. Kevin's portrayal makes it clear that Hercules never doubted his friend for a moment. His arguments on Salmoneus' behalf previously didn't convince Iolaus, but Herc's actions show that he won't let Graegus kill Salmoneus.
The constancy of Hercules' faith in one friend, however, is overshadowed by the awkwardness of the developing relationship with Xena. Of course, by now, Renaissance knows there will be a Xena series. So she rides off to find her own destiny and saves Hercules some agonizing. It would have been interesting to see how the three characters developed together.
In fact, we do later on get to see some of the angst that continues to plague Iolaus over Xena, but the issue of their friendship is almost completely resolved by that time. Iolaus has moved on and so has Xena. They just needed to realize it. With Hercules it takes longer before Xena finally says, "The time when we could have been together is long past."
Unlike other series which spin off from a popular show, XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS keeps coming back to HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY JOURNEYS. The interplay between the characters changes and grows, but the core of the relationship between all three of them is redemption: Hercules redeems Iolaus, Hercules redeems Xena, and Xena redeems Hercules. There is a good chemistry between these three that is evident even in "The Warrior Princess", and it holds up well in "Unchained Heart".
What's probably most ironic, though, is that the guy really doesn't get the girl. And wasn't that supposed to be why Deianeira was killed off?