Callisto (TV)

Callisto is the name of a fictional character, portrayed by the actress Hudson Leick, who features as a recurring villain on the TV show Xena: Warrior Princess. She also made a few appearances in the related show Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.

The relationship between Xena and Callisto goes far beyond a simple hero-villain antagonism – Callisto is Xena's arch-enemy and nemesis, born out of her own dark past. Before Xena reformed (i.e. when she was still a villain herself), she was responsible for the death of Callisto's family, and Callisto's goal in life from then on is to extract revenge on Xena. She displays signs of bipolar disorder and a weird brand of cheerful cruelty towards Xena and her associates.

Callisto intends to make Xena suffer as much as possible rather than killing her, and repeatedly lets chances to end Xena's life pass by. This is reflected by Xena's own feelings of guilt that cause her, on several occasions, to spare her enemy's life as well. Parts of the fandom see a BDSM-flavored erotic or love-hate subtext in the two characters' interactions.