Armageddon Now

Summary
Hercules and Iolaus are building Alcmene's walls, and she comes by to give the duo the news that some king has gone beserk with Ares because his daughter has got married.

Hope releases Callisto from her cave. Callisto wants to be left alone, but Hope convinces her to destroy the Herc in exchange to 'rid' her of her 'demons'.

Ares and Strife give the king Tyndareus a powerful bow and arrow so he can have a big bloody war and make Ares happy.

But the king only wants his daughter back, but Ares convinces him to take the wapons and go to war. Herc and Iolaus spoil the party, and Herc collapses the ceiling over all the powerful weapons, leaving the Ares and Strife very angry and upset. Strife tries some...weird...moves on Herc, but Herc just sends him flying. The heroes solve the king's problems by talking sense into him, and he invites them to is daughter's wedding feast.

Ares is still moaning about losing a good customer. Strife does something stupid (again) and the god sends him flying. Callisto comes in with plans of her own. Ares and Callisto flirt and play with fire (setting Strife on fire). They start talking about pounding Herc, but when Strife tries to talk sense into Ares, he doesn't listen.

They (Ares & Cally) go outside and open the space portal, releaseing Herc's bearded twin brother, the Sovereign. He calls Callisto a priestess and aproves of Ares wearing black (he's really refering to the wrong Ares--the god of love, who is dressed in white). Ares takes the pendent of Hind blood and the gods disappear. Ares and Callisto flirt some more (with Strife getting more stuffing beaten out of him.).

Herc and Iolaus run into a villager, who gets scared of a shaven Herc wearing new clothes. He says a bearded black leather wearing Herc was tearing up a defenseless town. The Soverign starts beating up villagers and destroying buildings because of all the happy faces. Herc and Iolaus put Sov to sleep and take him to where the portal opens. Callisto and Ares open the portal and the Herc's get sucked in. The gods go away, leaving one very confused and grievious Iolaus.

The Herc's end up in Sov's 'nightmare'. Sov complains about his luck and decides to kill Herc to they can both die.

Ares, Callisto, and Strife are toasting to the fact that Herc's gone. Callisto tries to get the pendent and Ares beats her up. Iolaus hears them and sneaks into the room. When Callisto has lost all her strength, Hope shows up and revives the goddess. It's Ares turn to be beaten, and he gets a good one. She takes the pendent and backs away. Strife tries to talk to her, but she covers a knife with the blood and stabs him. While the Herc's are fighting, Herc feels a shaking and realizes something terrible has happened. Iolaus runs into the room and finds out that Strife is dead. Callisto and Hope leave. Ares says good stuff about the dead little freak and about the force of evil in Callisto's friend. Iolaus and Ares go to get her.

Hope sends Callisto back in time so she can kill Alcmene before Herc is born. Ares sends Iolaus back in time to stop Callisto because Ares has to 'fix things' there with Strife being gone. We see a quick view of Iolaus' life, then he ends up in Corinth where the "harlot" Alcmene is pregnant.

Herc and Sov beat each other up some more, then they have a meanful chat. Herc finds out that the Sov could watch the present via a window in a pool. Herc sees Iolaus running through the window, but Herc can't reach him.

Iolaus runs to young Alcmene's place, where she's talking to her dead husband's grave. Iolaus tells her that a crazy woman is coming and they have to go. Callisto shows up and throws a fireball at Alcmene's direction.

Disclaimer
"Once again, Alcmene's fence was not finished during the production of this motion picture."

Background Information

 * This episode directly follows XWP ' s "Maternal Instincts". In fact, it even begins with some of the ending of that episode. If one pays close attention, they can see Xena and Gabrielle at the funeral pyres while hearing Ephiny sing.
 * This episode marks the series' first inclusion of the Dahak storyline, which began earlier in "The Deliverer" on XWP.
 * This is the first episode of the entire franchise in which a god (Strife) is killed.
 * Music from "A Necessary Evil" is played as Callisto emerges from the mine at the beginning of the episode.
 * Strife compares Callisto unfavorably to the Furies.
 * Callisto states her last encounter with Ares was when she was in Xena's body. This refers to "Intimate Stranger" from XWP ' s second season. Both episodes were also written by Paul Robert Coyle.

Memorable Quotations
"Welcome home, Callisto." "Hope? Why? It's over. Leave me alone." "Your work's not finished, Callisto." "I've done all I can." "Not yet. Your biggest challenge is ahead." "And what would that be?" "To rid the world of its greatest hero – Hercules."
 * –Hope and Callisto

"It took Hephaestus months to forge those weapons!" "Well, Hephaestus needs a new hobby, like maybe knitting."
 * –Ares and Hercules

"Won't you both join us?" "Hey, is the world supported on the back of four giant elephants?"
 * –Tyndareus and Iolaus

"Hmm, I thought the world was round." "Really?"
 * –Hercules and Iolaus

"Callisto? She's a twisted sister. Next to her, the Furies are, uh… mellow."
 * –Strife

"So, you're the Sovereign? Gotta tell ya, love the beard."
 * –Ares

"You people should fear me! Hide from me! Tremble at the sight of me! All I get are happy faces! I hate happy!"
 * –The Sovereign during his rampage

"Nice to see he's mellowed out." "You should see him when he really gets mad."
 * –Hercules and Iolaus on the Sovereign

"That's enough!" "Nobody talks to me like that!" [turns around] "Behave yourself and stop acting like a child." "You. You trapped me in that place. Well, I'm out now, and I'm not going back." "Oh, you're going back – one way or another."
 * –Hercules and The Sovereign

"Oh, just great! Welcome to my nightmare!" "It's not so bad." "Tell me the cup is full and so help me…"
 * –The Sovereign and Hercules, trapped in Netherworld

"What, are you crazy?! If I die, you'll die too!" "I don't care about dying anymore! I kill you; you kill me – it doesn't matter. Either way, it ends now."
 * –Hercules and The Sovereign

"Oh! That was low!" [headbutts Callisto] "Well, I guess that was too, but oh well!"
 * –Ares

"So, uh, let me be the first to welcome you to the club." "But I wouldn't wanna be in a club that would have me for a member." [stabs Strife with Hind's blood]
 * –Strife and Callisto

"He wasn't so bad. He tried hard. He-he was just no good at his job." [to Callisto] "You didn't have to do this!"
 * –Ares, mourning Strife's death

"The one great evil is here. It's part of that creature that was with her. Oh, we've sensed him. Everyone on Olympus has. This… this force of darkness spells the end of all of us – gods and man alike."
 * –Ares

"You're too late. It's too late for all of you."
 * –Hope to Iolaus and Ares

"You're an idiot. You know that?" "You know nothing about me." "Oh, yes I do. Oh, yeah. See, I've watched you in here. You should make people worship you – tremble in fear. But what do you do? Oh, you help them out. You solve their puny problems. You're pathetic." "Maybe you're the one who's pathetic. You ever think about that? Are you so happy with your own life?"
 * –The Sovereign and Hercules

Guest Star

 * Kevin Smith as Ares

Special Guest Star

 * Hudson Leick as Callisto

Other Cast

 * Kim Michalis as Young Alcmene
 * Joel Tobeck as Strife
 * Amy Morrison as Hope
 * Liddy Holloway as Alcmene
 * John Manning as King Tyndareus
 * Bernard Moody as Drunk
 * Mark Caldwell as Peasant
 * Rodney Cooke as Passerby
 * Les Dwight as Masher
 * Shirley Eliott as Gossip
 * Patrick Kake as Hercules / Sovereign Double

People

 * Queen Leda
 * Xena
 * Amphitryon
 * Callisto 2

Gods

 * Zeus
 * Ares 2
 * Dahak

Places

 * Arcadia
 * Netherworld

Other

 * Narcolepsus Dust
 * Hind's Blood Dagger
 * Hind's Blood Pendant