Season Two brought more of the type of silly humor and action that fans seemed to enjoy. It brought a lot of personal tragedy for the gals, loss of loved ones, decisions forced out of pragmatism rather than ideals, and a continuing theme of the nature of the gods versus mere mortals. With a lot of tongue in cheek action/humor, the show became very popular in this season and displayed a number of exceptionally well-written episodes that explored a lot of drama. With some information gleamed off the official website (credit to them for much of it below), here's a breakdown of the season's shows:

Season Two Episodes:

Episode 1: Orphan Of War: (Sept. 30, 1996):
On a mission of peace, Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) return to the Centaur village that Xena's evil army devastated years before. The two are soon attacked by warriors under the command of Dagnine (Mark Ferguson), a ruthless leader in Xena's former army. The ruthless leader is looking for a stone of power in order to become unstoppable and it's up to Xena to save the day, and protect her son, in the process.

Episode 2: Remember Nothing: (Oct. 7, 1996):
After killing a young attacker, Xena makes a deal with the fates to restore his life. The catch is that she can never again draw blood in anger or all will revert to normal. The other catch was that the Fates went further back in time than the day in question and we get to see Xena's life, as well as those around her, as though Xena had never picked up a sword at all in her life.

Episode 3: The Giant Killer: (Oct. 14, 1996):
While visiting the giant Goliath (Todd Rippon), an old friend who has been working as a guard for the Philistine leader Dagon (Calvin Tuteao), Xena (Lucy Lawless) watches as a group of Israelites is arrested for hunting game in the Philistine forests. Convinced that Dagon is trying to enslave the half-starved prisoners and their people, she turns to Goliath for help in freeing them. He has other plans, insisting on revenging the death of his family, and when Goliah meets a young man named David, history takes over.

Episode 4: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: (Oct. 14, 1996):
When Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) save Joxer (Ted Raimi) from being torn apart by three wolves in the Bacchae forest, the lovable rogue tells them he has come on a mission of vital importance. Orpheus explains that his body has been taken over and cursed, with only Xena able to break the spell. With hordes of feral Bacchae on the prowl, can Xena help her friend?

Episode 5: The Return Of Callisto: (Oct. 21, 1996):
Callisto escapes her prison and sets off to find Xena in order to fulfill her promise of killing the warrior princess. Meanwhile Gabrielle reacquaints herself with an old flame, marrying him after having left him previously. Callisto ends their romance and Gabrielle swears revenge, which Xena knows will ultimately consume her friend if left unchecked. Can the two defeat the evil Callisto and keep their souls intact?

Episode 6: Warrior…Princess…Tramp: (Oct. 28, 1996):
Fearing his death is near, King Lias (Norman Forsey) summons Xena (Lucy Lawless) to his kingdom to ensure that his daughter Diana's (Lucy Lawless) succession will be a smooth one. Physically, Diana looks like Xena's double, though she's far different in temperament. Supposedly arriving long before Xena, Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) is surprised to find Joxer (Ted Raimi) in a tavern near the castle, babbling about a romantic encounter he had with the warrior princess that morning. All becomes clear when yet another Xena look alike, a tramp bar wench, is discovered. Xena, trying to insure the royal throne stays in the king's family, has to pretend she is, at any given time, each of the three gals, or a conspiracy will end in tragedy.

Episode 7: Intimate Stranger: (Nov. 11, 1996):
In the aftermath of Callisto's (Hudson Leick) agonizing death in a pit of quicksand, Xena's (Lucy Lawless) dreams are invaded by the evil woman warrior and by Ares (Kevin Smith). Both prey upon her deep-seated guilt at having let Callisto die, no matter how wicked she was. The plot by Ares and Callisto comes to fruition when Callisto switches places with Xena, taking over her body. Xena is given one day to capture Callisto by Hades who will otherwise keep her in hell with him. Can Xena save Gabrielle, all while looking like Callisto?

Episode 8: Ten Little Warlords: (Nov. 18, 1996):
Xena, still trapped in Callisto's body, discovers that Ares has been rendered mortal and the social fabric is coming apart at the seams. She needs to help the evil god return to power or the consequences will be disastrous for everyone. As much as she hates the thought of returning Ares to power, she has little choice in the matter if she wants the world to calm down and not destroy itself.

Episode 9: Solice Carol: (Dec. 9, 1996):
Xena and Gabrielle come across a kingdom where a holiday similar to Christmas has been outlawed by an evil king. She sets out to change things in a manner that pokes fun at the legend of Santa Claus. By showing everyone the error of their ways, she restores peace and joy to the kingdom.

Episode 10: Xena Scrolls: (Jan. 13, 1997):
The setting is in 1942, eons after the myth of Xena has been forgotten. Nazi's want to steal the artifacts of an ancient tomb that contain mystical relics, in an Indiana Jones' style adventure using the cast as contemporary characters rather than the usual warrior princess style show.

Episode 11: Here She Comes… Miss Amphipolis: (Jan. 20, 1997):
The ever-opportunistic Salmoneus (Robert Trebor) urgently summons Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) to ask for help in keeping the peace in the kingdom where he's organizing the Miss Known World Beauty Pageant. Three area kings have placed a lot of faith, and the peace of their kingdoms, on the outcome in a show reminiscent of the mainstream movie, The Producers.

Episode 12: Destiny: (Jan. 27, 1997):
Xena, gravely wounded in battle, dreams back to the time she fought with Julius Caesar. In the end, she dies but the episode is continued in the following episode, The Quest.

Episode 13: The Quest: (Feb. 3, 1997):
Xena, in a desperate attempt to return to the world of the living, takes over super-thief Autolycus's (Bruce Campbell) body while Gabrielle joins the tribe of the Amazons. A warrior, Velasca, wants to take advantage of the situation in order to become a goddess. Xena changes bodies in order to fight the evil woman and restore herself.

Episode 14: A Necessary Evil: (Feb. 10, 1997):
Velasca, now a goddess, attempts to kill Xena and Gabrielle who resort to using Callisto to fight her. Can their plan work or will the two immortals team up and destroy the world, after Xena and Gabrielle of course?

Episode 15: A Day In The Life: (Feb. 17, 1997):
Xena, after dispatching a group of thugs, is put in the position of being able to save only one of two villages. Either save one from a blackmailing giant or the other from marauders so a coin is flipped and off they go. Through a series of mishaps and coincidences, she has a slim chance of saving both but the plan involves a lot of risk. Will the gals save the day when they are betrayed?

Episode 16: For Him The Bell Tolls: (Feb. 24, 1997): ,br> Cupid and Aphrodite, who use a spell to make Joxer a fearless warrior, put Joxer and Gabrielle, without Xena's help for a time, in a bad position. There are limitations to what he can do and after biting off more than he can chew, the couple eventually come up with a plan to put the two gods in their place and save the day on their own.

Episode 17: The Execution: (Mar. 20, 1997):
When Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) are summoned to the village of Cormier by Meleager the Mighty (Tim Thomerson), they arrive to find that their famous warrior friend has just been convicted of murder. After battling their way past a group of hostile villagers led by Sullus (Douglas Kamo), they burst into the courthouse where Meleager stands chained. Despite Gabrielle's pleas to the court to consider Meleager's legendary courage and character, Judge Arbus (Tony Blackett) refuses to overturn the death sentence. With limited time to find out what really happened, and to return the escaped friend to custody, Xena must use all the skills at her disposal to figure out what happened.

Episode 18: Blind Faith: (April. 14, 1997):
Xena, after ashort struggle, captures a man who claims to have killed Gabrielle. During the fight, she got something in her eyes that slowly cause her to go blind. Can she save her friend from an uncertain fate before her vision problem is uncovered?

Episode 19: Ulysses: (April. 21, 1997):
Xena intercedes between a band of murderous pirates and an old friend, Ulysses, saving him from them. She finds that the god Poseidon is behind the plot to kill the hero for his role in blinding the god's son. That said, she accompanies the hero to his island kingdom in order to restore his lost love to his side.

Episode 20: The Price: (April. 28, 1997):
Xena and Gabrielle come across a small garrison of Athenian warriors who are under attack from a group called The Horde. The gals join the Athenians in order to assist them, Xena having had experience against the ruthless killers in her past. As the episode progressed, it became apparent that Xena's old warrior ways are still inside her and she struggles to gain control of her instincts and not end up paying too high a price for revenge.

Episode 21: Lost Mariner: (May. 5, 1997):
After being shipwrecked by pirates the gals are split up. Xena ends up on land and Gabrielle on a ghost ship that has sailed the seas for 300 years. Can Xena save her friend from an eternity of wandering the seas as a ghost?

Episode 22: Comedy Of Eros: (May. 12, 1997):
Bliss, Cupid's son, messes with Xena and causes the princess to fall in love with an evil warlord. Can she save the day while under the spell or will she become his willing love slave?

Picture: The picture was presented in full frame, 1.33:1 ratio as originally aired on television. It did look like it had way too much grain and the focus was somewhat soft at times but the dvds looked better than my cable connection ever did so it's a step up in that regard. There was a fair amount of edge enhancement, which didn't help the picture and the artifacts were very troublesome.

Sound: The sound was remixed into a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack and it sounded much richer than the original presentation but nothing compared to other series released on boxed sets of late.

Extras: The extras this time were a number of audio commentaries on several of the episodes. You could both see them, in a video window, or just hear them with most of the commentaries being by Lucy lawless and Renee O'Connor, filled out by a few with Rob Talpert. There was also a CD-Rom with director and actor biographies, series trivia, a large photogallery, and a very detailed version (searchable too) of the Xena Chronicles that outlines the episodes in detail as well as the characters in the season two episodes. You could also order a free collector coin if you paid $4.95 for shipping (why they didn't include it was a mystery to me). The box itself was a hard plastic case that unfolded and had a number of pictures from the series.

Final Thoughts: The show was always an anachronism in that it addressed modern ideas in an ancient Greek/Roman setting but with the silly sense of humor that Sam Raimi always seemed to be able to introduce in a show. In short, it was a fluff piece that gathered a large following for a variety of reasons-be it guys wanting to lust after babes, kids who like the fights, women who liked the independent female characters or whatever. Whatever technical limitations the season two set had, which were at least as bad as the Volume 1 set had, I still think it was worth a rating of Highly Recommended.