Literally speaking, Eve is the redeemed spirit of Callisto, reborn by choice as #Xena’s child. Reincarnation is part of the Elijian cosmos on this show (as it was among some early Christians). That said, there’s an interesting line that gets overlooked in that ep, “Seeds of Faith,” in which #Xena, who doesn’t trust Callisto’s new perspective, dares her to get off her angelic high horse & try living in the real world again. I wonder if this put the idea in Callisto’s head to accept this challenge, deciding to be reborn as her child?

If so, this casual taunt of #Xena’s sets in motion some amazing events for the rest of the series, not to mention, endanger Callisto’s salvation when, as Eve, she gets separated from her mother & reverts to her warlord ways. This also leads to some interesting layers in Xena’s & her child’s relationship, as adults. Though they don’t know each other, after 25 years separation, still, there’s the unusual bond between Xena & Callisto that surely must exist. In a sense. Xena is the mother of 2 people: Callisto & Eve; quite a burden.

This is the final shape of Eve’s origin, but it took a while for the writers to arrive at this, given that the show changed hands during this period between its temporary show runners, & the return of R.J. Stewart from running the spin-offs. Preliminary plans were made, perhaps from Rob Tapert’s notes, I’m guessing, for Eve’s birth, the Twilight of the Gods, & finally, the 6th & last season. Some of these were kept, but a fair amount of Eve’s story was dramatically revamped. 

Originally, Eve as Livia was intended to continue on through to the end of the show. She would pursue Xena & Gabrielle as Caesar’s queen, while the heroes fled Greece much like they did in season 5 from the gods, under different names. A final confrontation in the series finale would end with Livia realizing who she was, and Caesar beginning the Pax Romana, the Roman Peace. I’m glad they didn’t do this. It’s the equivalent of Gabrielle’s descent into madness in The Play’s the Thing, turning a show about peace into a bloodthirsty crowdpleaser, destroying the message in the process. 

Rob wanted Livia to last only 2 eps, ending season 5 with Eve’s return, so a different idea was proposed: Livia corrupts Caesar & tries to get Ares to build a siege engine that shoots firebolts (which sounds to me very much like Ares’ unsuccessful 1st appearance on #HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys ). 

It also reinforces an unsavory idea (to me, at least), by blaming Livia’s evil on her innate evil qualities inherited from Callisto’s spirit. The writers saw it as Callisto’s karma she had to work off, but that doesn’t make sense to me: would an angel carry bad karma? Of course, in the dvd commentary, both Rob Tapert & R.J. Stewart suggested this was so, but this is a rare moment when  I think the writers got it wrong. I think Adrienne Wilkinson got it right when she attributed it to Livia’s upbringing.

It’s the most logical conclusion, & no surprise, since she would have to make logical sense of the role with her performance. This is also how I interpret Livia’s downfall, & I’ll talk more about this next week, when I discuss the Elijian philosophy.

These are story details, but the overall arcs also help shape Eve’s origins. There’s the Child of Destiny, i.e., the Rosemary’s Baby motif, that culminates in Eve’s story, but there’s also the series-long teasing of the coming of the One God to replace the Olympians that is fulfilled with Eve’s character. But there is another motif as well: the Dionysus motif, which is strongly associated with Xena, but finds full expression with Eve, as she most resembles, more than anyone, the character of Dionysus in The Bacchae: the stranger who brings the new disruptive faith to town, & leads to the undoing of those who refuse it. 

There are hints that Eve fits this pattern in her names, as well. It was Chris Manheim who originally gave her the name Livia, taking it from the BBC series, “I, Claudius,” & the matriarchal figure from The Sopranos. But I notice she was referred to as Lydia in one of the early drafts, making me think this was a placeholder name, which I believe was taken from The Bacchae: Dionysus declares he has arrived from his home, Lydia. 

Eve’s name has several roots, I believe. Paradise Lost was one of the sources that was required reading at this stage of the show, featuring Adam & Eve at the center of a war between Heaven & Hell. Another, I’m certain, was Aristophanes’ comedy, The Women’s Festival, which refers to Dionysus by his other names: Evius, Evivus, & Evoe. I believe The Women’s Festival was used as a source for a number of Xena episodes, including Kindred Spirits, which is where Xena took baby Eve to protect her from the gods. But there’s one more major factor to Eve’s origins I believe we should look at. 

Over at Hercules, as Xena was airing Adventures in the Sin Trade, in which Xena is separated from Gabrielle by death, there is a similar, but longer arc on Hercules, in which Herc is also separated from his friend Iolaus. That arc is much longer, & explores that idea much more fully (due to Herc having more flexibility in its format: Xena fans would not tolerate Gabrielle being out for an entire season). 

At one point, Hercules goes to Ireland, where he meets a group of druids who are very similar to Elijians: they’re a new religion, threatening to the old gods’ order. They send an assassin, Morrigan, to eliminate the druids, but she quickly discovers that when she kills the Druid of Justice, she must take his place. It’s a role that’s completely opposite to who she is, & the very idea of it makes her ill. Hercules is the mediator, the one who provides exposition by asking the druids how this all works, then talking to Morrigan in her now-weakened state, since she can no longer drink the blood that sustains her.

This is a full season before Eve’s story, but it’s very similar; in fact, it gives us a few more story beats to Eve’s story, should we want to extend it, & that’s what I’ve done in this project, using this idea of Morrigan trying to adjust to this new life of justice & peace, feeling very  unsuited to it all, but finding her motivation in the end. 

I think this beat is missing in Eve’s story, & can help provide background should we wish to expand on her story further. There’s one more building block to consider, & that’s the biblical source of her story. When Motherhood originally aired, it was immediately recognized that Eve’s story matched St. Paul’s story, in the New Testament Book of Acts. His conversion from persecutor of Christians to their greatest champion  is clearly a model for Eve. 

I will address this more next week, but I believe she is not just modeled on a generic idea of Paul, but on a very specific literary depiction of Paul that will shed light on her & the Elijians. Understanding these sources was key to how I approached this project, as well.

Last November, at the 2022 Salute to Xena in Los Angeles, Adrienne Wilkinson asked the crowd which version of her character, Xena’s daughter, they preferred? Was it Livia, Commander of the Roman Army & the Bitch of Rome? Nearly all stood up & cheered.

Or,

Was it Eve, her redeemed, pacifist counterpart, disciple of the prophet Eli? About half a dozen folks stood & cheered. I was one of them! Just 2 days prior, I had finished writing the 1^st draft for this webcomic, but I was neither surprised nor disappointed.

I’d been in the fandom for decades, & knew that folks preferred Livia’s entertaining villainy, her cruel snark, explosive action scenes, not to mention, love scenes with the handsome god of war, Ares. And Eve? No romance, no action, no humor (except at her expense), & only the purest feelings of love for mankind. Surely her character was unsustainable? After all, Gabrielle began in a similar way: determined to follow the path of peace & love, until she was betrayed, taken advantage of, then followed Xena’s path as a warrior.

That’s usually how these arcs work out on tv shows. Peace & love is synonymous with naïveté; eventually, such a character learns that the only practical answer to violence is more violence, hopefully as little as possible. So I was very surprised that Eve stuck to her path.

She had one moment of weakness, in season 6, & a tongue-in-cheek moment later on, but the powers that be kept her true to path. I was really surprised by that, when it 1^st aired. There was almost something transgressive about it. Some folks even thought producer Rob Tapert was trying to sneak a Christian message into the story (he was actually very concerned not to cross that line). I thought that was a very gutsy move, featuring a pacifist on a show that relied on action for its appeal.

Eventually, as I learned more about pacifism, I realized it’s not as strange as I 1^st thought. I’ll talk more about that this week & next, but let’s get back to that half dozen of fans vs. 100s at the convention. If that ratio holds up in the fandom in general, then most folks reading this must wonder what appeals to us about Eve? My goal with this project is to fully communicate that appeal. But maybe I can give some idea of that now. There’s an old story about a man who has to choose between 2 doors. Behind one is a tiger. Behind another, is a lady. Choose the tiger, he’s dead. But choose the lady, & he must marry her. He asks his lover, a princess, who knows the answer, to tell him which door to pick. Whichever one she picks, she’ll lose him. So what does she tell him? We have to guess, & the answer tells us something about ourselves.

As I see it, Livia is the tiger, Eve the lady. Which do you choose? Pick the tiger, & the story is over quickly. Pick the lady, & you must endure seeing a character you love living another life. But, of course, that life is long, & full of interesting twists & turns, who knows what’s in store for you both? The lady offers a future; the tiger does not. But I would say you don’t have to choose, because in this case, the lady & the tiger are one & the same! There is only 1 character. Livia never goes away, & I believe Eve was never entirely absent either.

This is true on the show, as well. Ask Lucifer or Caligula if Livia’s spirit is gone for good. And ask Livia herself, who believed her own heart was a traitor. The best part of this project was writing for her character through the eyes of both, & the possibilities seem endless. Livia is much easier to write for, because she sticks to the script. There’s no limits to what she’ll do for you. She’ll kill anyone you want, betray anyone you like. But Eve doesn’t: she’ll befriend the opponents you write for her, mess with the allies you send to her aid, knock down any walls & break through any doors you set in her path. Try to contain her, & she’ll become bored & listless, until you see things her way. Trust me, it’s better to just let her figure things out herself. It’s awesome, in fact!

This week I’ll look at what shaped Livia/Eve’s creation, issues in writing for her character, challenges in expanding her character while matching the show’s arc. I’ll conclude with the music video that inspired me while writing for her.

An important part of canon in Xena, Hercules, & Young Hercules is the use of Greek myth, cinema, & world religions as part of its aesthetic structure. In a show that uses a lot of references, you can imagine how elaborate it gets as they intertwine over seasons.

These days, there’s an additional concern, that of cultural appropriation. Using references to religions & cultures in the name of entertainment are considered insensitive by some, depending on how they’re used. The audience is global, these days.

The nice thing about Xena et al is that they were designed for global audiences already, so imo past the test a great deal of the time. Not everyone agrees, but I think there’s some misinterpretation at work in those cases. Some things I’ve heard criticized recently:

Depicting Indians as primitive for the practice of suttee in Between the Lines (i.e., burning the surviving widow with the deceased husband, as his “property”). The alleged stereotypes in “The Way” commonly found in Hollywood films about the Arabian Nights.

& I’ve heard it said that the Horde in The Price is a racist depiction of aboriginal people of color. I see these in a different context. “The Way” looks to me like an homage to Bollywood, & that’s how many Indian viewers interpreted it.

I’m a big Bollywood fan, & that’s how it looks to me as well. Those films often play with the depictions of the Indian gods, just as the West gets creative with its own depiction of Christianity, & the dividing line between homage & pure entertainment is often blurry.

The practice of suttee, sacrificing the widow, was indeed an ancient practice in India, but it was also an ancient practice among the Vikings and the Greeks. Euripides even included it in one of his plays about the Trojan War. So why does Xena single out India? It doesn’t!

In season 2’s Blind Faith, we see Gabrielle wedded to a dead man (Greek), & nearly burnt with her deceased husband, 2 full seasons before “Between the Lines.” Re: the Horde in The Price. Its racial makeup is actually no different than the Athenian soldiers who fight them.

But what most interests me is that we eventually learn that the Horde lives underground, & in caves. This, along with suttee, I believe is a cinematic reference to the film The 13^th Warrior. Based on a true story, but fictionalized by Michael Crichton, this film is a known source for some of the writers of Xena & Hercules. It’s the story of a Persian diplomat who travels to the land of the Vikings (the true part) & encounters a prehistoric race of matriarchal warriors that survived into the modern era (the fiction part).

It’s a fun movie, & there’s numerous episodes that play on its plot points in Xena & Hercules. The prehistoric tribe lives underground, in caves, like the Horde, & are unintelligible. Actually, the Vikings are unintelligible to the diplomat, who learns their language simply by watching them. This connection between primordial humans & ability to speak occurs throughout both series. Its last appearance, I believe, is in season 6’s The Abyss. Why do they use The 13^th Warrior in this way? That’s a matter of interpretation, & you don’t need to ponder the connection in any way, unless you’re wondering why all these things are popping up. If you assume they’re problematic associations, you may miss the larger pattern. Myself, I think it has to do with Rob Tapert’s wish to illustrate how religion develops & spreads. This is the reason given on one of the dvds, & it makes sense to me. Religion was extremely fluid in the ancient world, & not governed by national boundaries (which didn’t really exist as we know them). This is what fascinates me about Eve’s story, as it takes this idea of the growth of religion & extends it into an era that’s more familiar to us in the West: the time After Christ (A.D.). You can probably guess this would also be extremely problematic to explore, & that’s a major concern of mine as well, for this project.

Hinduism also exists in our era, but it’s unavoidable for #Xena: she is openly & conceptually tied to Hinduism, & the show stays true to that to the end, rather than just borrow the images. I’ll explore the issues of depicting Eve’s religion in the next 2 wks.

Writing according to canon for a show like Xena is a toughie, because it seems so chaotic. I’ve spent a lot of time compiling what I think makes up the show’s aesthetic canon, based on my watching the show, reading interviews, and researching the source materials.

A fair amount is guesswork on my part, but it was important to me that I have a grasp of things that couldn’t be figured out just from observing the show. Why did they repeat certain types of motifs throughout the series? 

Why did they avoid using quite obvious stories from Classical Greek lit that would seem to fit the show like a glove? Such as the Trojan War? The depiction of Troy in #Xena & Herc are very non-intuitive, & seem totally unrelated. Why does the show look the way it does?

There’s no Greek architecture, for example. Every other kind, but instead of Greece, they depict a kind of gothic realm. Some say it’s a cost-cutting measure, but that doesn’t make sense. Greek buildings are highly modular. You can save a lot of money reusing those columns.

Ridley Scott did, in Gladiator, when he created the sets for the imperial palace & the Roman Senate with just a few pillars & curtains, moved around. In fact, RenPic did save a lot of money, by shooting a lot of scenes in forests & parks.

But they seem to have spent a lot of time creating an alternate Greece. So it was definitely an aesthetic choice to build things in such a distinctive & unique way. Others say they just didn’t know any better, but clearly, they did.

RenPic went on to make Spartacus, full of period detail. As I present this project, I’ll explain why I made the choices I did, based on what I believe to be the aesthetic logic of the show.