UNCHAINED HEART
EPISODE NO. 13, HERCULES: THE LEGENDARY
JOURNEYS
Last update: 11-13-96
AIRING AND RATING INFORMATION
1st RELEASE: 05-08-95
An AA average of 5.1
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) STAR TREK: DS9 ranked 5th with 7.0; (2) BAYWATCH ranked
7th with 6.0; (3) HERCULES ranked 14th with 5.1
2nd RELEASE: 07-10-96
An AA average of 4.6
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) STAR TREK: DS9 ranked 7th with 5.3; (2) BAYWATCH ranked
13th with 4.9; (3) HERCULES ranked 17th with 4.6
3nd RELEASE: 10-23-95
An AA average of 5.2
Competition from Syndicated Action Dramas:
(1) STAR TREK: DS9 ranked 4th with 7.7; (2) HERCULES
[showing THE GAUNTLET] ranked 10th with 5.8; (3) XENA ranked 14th
with 5.2; (4) BAYWATCH ranked 17th with 5.0
GUEST STARS
Michael Hurst (Iolaus)
Lucy Lawless (Xena)
Robert Trebor (Salmoneus)
Matthew Chamberlain (Darphus)
CAST
CREDITS
Written by John Schulian
Directed by Bruce Seth Green
TV GUIDE DESCRIPTION
Xena's former lieutenant, Darphus, rises from the dead to
carry out Ares' evil plan. While working together to stop the
marauding Darphus, Hercules and the warrior princess Xena take
their personal relationship to a new level.
SYNOPSIS #1:
Xena repents, finds her good side, has
a roll in the hay with Hercules, slowly makes friends with
Iolaus, saves Salmoneous (helped by Herc), and decides that an
unchained heart is okay. She tells Hercules that although her
heart is now unchained, she must hit the road to redeem herself
and discover this thing called "do-gooding".
SYNOPSIS #2:
Xena and Hercules are basking in the
afterglow of battle when news of Darphus' return reaches them.
Iolaus stumbles upon them and before you know it they are
fighting mano-a-mano with Darphus' men. The battle is a draw.
Salmoneous is kidnapped. Iolaus and Xena make up (Xena: 'Sorry I
seduced you and tricked you into almost killing your best friend.
You see I was evil then. Now I am aflame with good and moral
stuff like that. I guess it just rubs off of Herc, you know.'
Iolaus: 'Yeah, I know. He unchains a lot of hearts.').
After acting upon the afterglow,
Hercules and Xena rescue Salmoneous, correct most of Iolaus'
misconceptions, get Gragus and Darphus to terminate each other,
and make the world safe for Athenian democracy once again. Xena
then ditches Hercules to make amends for her sins of the past.
COMMENTARY:
It was clear that the
writers/producers/creators of XWP were using the Xena trilogy in
Hercules to explore and experiment with the character of Xena.
The first show, "Warrior Princess",
Xena apparently was lusted after by all her lieutenants and a
promotion usually implied a place in Xena's bed. Her sexual power
was used and sought after by her warrior boy toys, even to the
point where they willingly or unwillingly would die for her.
The second show, "The Gauntlet", Xena
was shown as the noble and misunderstood warrior whose claim to
power was through hard work and respect of her troops. There was
no implication whatsoever she was sharing favors with Darphus,
and the troops. When the troops were given an opportunity to show
respect, it was focused toward her military and strategic ability
rather than any vague hope of being bedded by the warrior
princess. Her troops rallied around her more as one would under
the inspiration of Joan of Arc than Mata Hari.
The third show, "Unchained Heart",
Xena appeared to forget her previous incarnations and became
obsessed with Hercules and his manly ways. Only at the end of the
program did she appear to have come to her senses which allowed
her to leave Hercules for her own show.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Xena as a Hercules cheerleader can be
sickening, but it was made more palatable by frizzing out her
hair.
