Key to the Kingdom

This comic break from the drama and tension surrounding the death vision highlights the talents of Lucy Lawless and some of her fellow cast members. Lucy has an inspired scenery-chewing turn as Meg, Bruce Campbell as Autolycus is his usual self (which in my opinion is always fun) and Ted Raimi somehow makes Joxer the brains of the outfit. The only thing missing was flying fish. I guess you can't have it all.

Joxer is used well in this episode. Unlike season three where there were episodes where it didn't make any sense for him to be present (King Con comes to mind right away), Joxer had so far been used well in season four. (This was his second appearance -- the first was in A Family Affair.) While he is still a comic character, his goals and motivations make sense for the character. He is funny without being overly annoying.

The plot is as complex as a comedy ever gets. Joxer and Meg make a deal with Autolycus -- if he helps them steal the Key that will give them access to the Crown of Athena, they'll cut him in for half. The "Key" turns out to be a baby, and hijinks ensue, ending in the revelation that the infant is the king of the land placed under a charm by Athena so he can see the world through a child's eyes.

Xena makes a token appearance at the end to kick the bad guys' butts -- probably the only quibble I have. While it is her show, I would like to have seen the trio of Meg, Auto, and Joxer beat off the baddies without help. But hey, even that's a trifling problem.

We get some character development in the parts of Meg and Joxer. Meg, it seems, can't have children (so any thought that perhaps one of Meg's offspring produces the future look-alike from Xena Scrolls is nixed). She has stolen the Key to start her own family, perhaps with Joxer's help who seems really interested (after some thought) in being a father.

In some respects, their relationship here foreshadows the episodes from the end of season five, where we learn that Joxer and Meg get married and raise a family.

As is the case with many of the comedies from the latter half of the show's run, there isn't a lot of deep thematic resonance going on here. In the end, I find this episode to be a nice break from the dramatic tension of the season's primary story arc. Bruce Campbell's direction does a good job of capturing the kinetic energy of the cast and story, and it is nice to have an episode that pays a visit to some of the regular supporting cast; it shows that (at least in some respects) they have lives away from Xena.

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