Writer:	R.J. Stewart, R.J. Stewart, Robert G. Tapert
Director:	Robert G. Tapert
Star:	Renee O'Connor (Gabrielle),  Lucy Lawless (Xena)
Guest Star:	Venant Wong (Morimoto),  Mac Jeffery Ong (Kenji),  Shiori Terada (Miyuki),  Michelle Ang (Akemi),  Adrian Brown (Yodoshi),  Yvonne Tan (Ayako)

The actress who played Miyuki spoke almost no English, which made it difficult to let her know what they wanted from her moment to moment, but Lucy and Rob praise her highly in the commentary. They also mention that she had short, spikey blond hair under her geisha wig! (edit) They had three separate units filming at once, so Xena's beheaded body was doubled by Polly Baigent, who was no longer with the show. She was Lucy's original body double, and acted in her own right in "The Play's the Thing" and "Send in the Clones". (edit) It was easier for Renee to simulate intense nausea than usual (when Gabrielle saw Xena's decapitated body) because of her pregnancy. (edit) They strongly considered having Gabrielle die alongside Xena. When planning that scenario, they meant to have Varia with Xena and Gabrielle, so that they would have someone to which to pass the torch of heroism. (edit) They considered ending the series with Gabrielle bringing Xena's ashes to her brother's crypt, but decided it would be better to end it on the boat, showing that the adventures would continue even after Xena's death. (edit)

Xena's Voiceover: If I only had 30 seconds to live, this is how I'd want to live them. Looking into your eyes. Even in death, Gabrielle, I will never leave you.
Gabrielle: You will return to me, my friend. (edit) Harukata: Would you risk your life for the return of hers?
Gabrielle: Without hesitation. (edit) Gabrielle: But if I bring you back to life--
Xena: Those souls will be lost forever.
Gabrielle: But, Xena-- that is not right. I don’t care. You’re all that matters to me. (edit) Xena: But if there is a reason for our travels together, it’s because I had to learn from you. Enough to know the final, the good, the right thing to do. I can’t come back. I can’t.
Gabrielle: I love you, Xena. How am I supposed to go on without you? (edit) Gabrielle: A life of journeying has brought you to the farthest lands, to the very edges of the Earth.
Xena: And to the place where I'll always remain... your heart. So, where to, now?
Gabrielle: I think we should go south, to the land of the Pharaohs. I hear they need a girl with a chakram.
Xena: Where you go, I'm at your side.
Gabrielle: I knew you'd say that. (edit)

This is the only episode of Xena not to start with the opening title sequence. (edit) Xena stays true to what she said in A Friend In Need (1) and spends her final moments savouring Gabrielle's image from memory before she is killed. Perhaps foreshadowing that she knew she could not be brought back and that this death was for real. (edit) Gabrielle successfully throws the chakram for the first time in this episode. (edit) The guest actors had a hard time in this episode. Both Yodoshi and the General injured themselves during the production of the episode, though not while they were doing stunts! (edit) Although occasionally the faces of stunt doubles are visible in any film/series, in this episode the Yodoshi that Xena battles at the end is quite obviously a different person than the actor we see for most of the two-parter. The reason for this is that the actor playing Yodoshi hurt his leg badly during the filming. They had to have him do his work after that point sitting down. That's why Xena kills him with such a low shot. Also, when Gabrielle goes to retrieve Xena's ashes from the bird's nest on the cliff and kicks the small urn up into the air (the "hackey sack moment" mentioned in the commentary on the DVD), Renee O'Connor's double's face is quite clearly visible as well. (edit)

The massive (and patently impossible) explosion that Xena creates in this episode is based on classic footage of atomic bomb tests. In audio commentary, Rob Tapert is clearly proud of this allusion; Japanese viewers may have had a slightly different opinion. (edit) The teahouse and the anklet worn by Miyuki are tributes to the Hong Kong action movie A Chinese Ghost Story, which was the inspiration for the episode. (edit)