Photo Reproduction/Renaissance Pictures/Universal Television Enterprises/Studios USA Television Distribution
The series “Xena: Warrior Princess” had a total of six seasons and more than 134 episodes.
From the beginning of the plot, the main character is looking for redemption for the crimes committed in the past. Many were curious if Xena would have a happy ending, but the producers surprised the public by killing off the main character in the episode titled “A Friend in Need.”
After fighting a large army, Xena is hit by multiple arrows and her head is severed by a samurai. Most viewers didn’t like the dramatic ending.
The director RJ Stewart Explained why he decided to end the series with the protagonist’s death (via EPipoca):
“The reason we killed Xena is because this show was unique when it started. Xena was introduced in Hercules as a villain with a large number of corpses on her back and the first thing I asked Rob to do was retire the guns in the series. But a heroine who doesn’t fight couldn’t exist on the show.”
The idea was always to show the warrior redeeming herself and ending up sacrificing her own life.
“Xena finds her mission, which is to redeem herself. We have always denied her the ability to forgive herself for what she has done. She had to pay a high price she was a war criminal, Hercules explains. So six years later. We wanted to do a Japanese ghost story and if we did that, Xena would be the ghost! We were like, ‘How are we going to bring her back to life for the 78th time? Wait a minute the ultimate redemption could be here if she doesn’t come back to life!’” the director explained.