Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards

• As much as Gabrielle has proven that she is well versed with mythology and other stories, she only tells tales of Xena in this episode. Now we know what inspires her.
• Xena tells Gabrielle of a cyclops she is leaving to fight. She immediately assumes Gabrielle will follow her. "I gues I don't have to ask you if you're interested," she says.
• Gabrielle reveals she has other plans, she want to go to Athens.
  • "How long would you be gone?" asks Xena as sad music starts up in the background.
    "Maybe four or five years," responds Gabrielle. She immediately tries to reassure Xena: "Maybe a little less if I study real hard. You'd hardly notice I was missing."
    "Even if I had an army around me, I'd still notice you were missing."
  • Gabrielle shares a story with Xena about two orphans who search the world for their family.
    • As one orphan ends his journey, "he found himself at the begining. The family he had sought had travelled the world with him. The only family he had ever known, ever needed, was standing right beside him..." recites Gabrielle.
      "Thanks for being my family," says Xena.
    • As Xena walk away, Gabrille gets all misty-eyed.
• Gabrielle later relates the story of a warrior princess and her sidekick: "They met in the hardest of times. They learned how to care for each other. They became a great team."

This episode was the first clip show for the series. As Xena was barely in the episode, all the subtext takes place at the very begining and end of the episode. Gabrielle still exploring her ways with men, as she frequently does during the first season.