Yay, I was so excited for you to get to this one! X:WP always has a few "Xena lite" or "Gabrielle lite" episodes every season. I think a lot of those times Lawless or O'Conner were out promoting Xena on things like The Tonight Show and Good Morning America, though there are some notable exceptions. So I don't know how often they got breaks. :(

Anyway, I love all the things you love about this episode: Gabrielle's expanding confidence, Xena's respect for Gabrielle's choices, and of course Gab's relationships with all those Bard Academy hopefuls. But my favorite moment is when Gabrielle and Xena part ways in the tavern and tell each other the story of the travelers in search of their family -- only to find out they were with their family all along. Such good gazing-into-eyes in that moment!

Too bad the writers had to lessen it by having Xena say, "you're like a sister to me."