I'm expecting quite a lot of downvotes, but this is actually one of my favorite episodes of the season 😅
Okay, I'm aware of all the objective flaws and shortcomings of this episode, but I enjoyed it, its charm, and its aesthetic. It gives me a certain guilty pleasure feeling when I watch it. There are plenty of comedic moments that made me laugh and entertained me, especially the children playing "Home Alone" games with "their mother". I don't think this is any worse than "Fins, Femmes and Gems" or "In Sickness and in Hell", which don't receive nearly as much hate as this episode. This was conceived and written as a silly, naive comedy, and that's how it should be approached. Honestly, I find episodes that try to be serious and high-quality but end up failing in every possible way much worse. Like the three terrible episodes that come right after this one.
I actually really liked Hagar as a character, even more than Joxer himself. I said what I said 😄 At the beginning, we're introduced to him as an asshole and a chauvinist, but throughout the episode, his relationship with Gabrielle changes him, and he comes to acknowledge all his flaws. I wish we had gotten a spin-off featuring him and his children, where we could meet his ex-wife and watch him try to win her back.
Aphrodite and Discord are hilarious in this episode. I loved all their scenes, especially the bit where they throw fireballs at each other as if they're playing tennis 🤣 Discord is seriously underrated. It's a shame she wasn't more present throughout the show. I wish we'd gotten to see her more often because she's genuinely entertaining and brings her own unique dose of dark humor.
The episode is packed with pop culture references. The most obvious example is the cult classic film "Overboard", which provides the main storyline. But there are also homages to "Married with Children" (my favorite TV sitcom, by the way ❤️), "The Flintstones", "Baywatch", "Lolita", and surely plenty of others I didn't notice. I love it when writers try to express their love for the works they admire.
Essentially, the episode lightly and humorously explores Gabrielle's subconscious fears about whether she can be a good parent to Eve. These fears are explored through her subconscious mind and dreams. Motherhood in the fake world she has created helps her confront motherhood in reality. Also, perhaps her subconscious is raising the question of whether she might have deeper feelings for Joxer than she's aware of, since Hagar is clearly an idealized version of the kind of man Joxer could be for her. But the moment she remembers who she is, thanks to her memories of Xena, makes it crystal clear whose heart she belongs to.
P. S. Roe is the cutest baby ever 🥰
