Xena wakes to find that the day keeps repeating itself and that it has something to do with two feuding families. This episode of Xena: Warrior Princess is a mashup of Groundhog Day and Romeo & Juliet.
Been There, Done That starts with Xena waking to the cry of a rooster and Joxer entering the barn they are all sleeping in. Joxer has a hat full of goose eggs he found for their breakfast. Unfortunately, the stableman drops a horseshoe into Joxer’s hat and splatters the eggs all over him. Later Joxer intervenes in a fight between two townsmen and he is stabbed through the heart. He dies in Gabrielle’s arms, and they burn his body. Both Gabrielle and Xen are sad at this loss. They lie down in the woods together and Xena pulls Gabrielle close and says, “Sleep now. It’ll hurt less in the morning.”
Come the morning, Xena wakes to find herself back in the barn. Joxer appears saying the same thing he said the day before “Rise and shine everybody…” Xena is confused because she remembers what happened the day before. Gabrielle and Joxer have no memory of previous events. Xena spends the rest of the episode trying to figure out what is causing the day to repeat.
There have been lighter moments this season, I almost forgot. I quite enjoyed this one, and not because Xena kills Joxer (Ted Raimi). I’ve grown quite fond of the little jerk.
The first five minutes must have had a lot of anti-Joxer fans cheering. If you didn’t know the day was going to repeat itself you couldn’t be blamed for assuming the Mighty Man had met his maker. I admit I got a bit choked up when Xena cried over Argo’s death, despite knowing things would be alright. I was also shocked when she chakramed Joxer. I know what I’m like when I haven’t had enough sleep after a stressful day, but, I think I’d stop short of murder. I did wonder if there was a little insanity left over from “The Furies”.
Joxer (speaking to Gabrielle & Xena): “Many people have bonded in their hatred of me. Take you two for instance.” Sad.
Disclaimer: The rooster was not harmed during the production of this motion picture, although his feathers were severely ruffled. However, a little gel and mousse straightened out the mess.
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