Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) is considered to be a major influence behind this episode, which has a similar plot: recover Spock's/Xena's body while his/her consciousness is sharing the body of another person, who is part of the search party.
Autolycus' Amazon disguise is a reuse of Gabrielle's attire that she inherited from Terreis in Hooves and Harlots (1995).
This episode was produced to give Lucy Lawless time to recover from a pelvis injury she suffered during a Tonight Show appearance and to keep production of the series going in the meantime.
The idea of Xena's spirit possessing Autolycus' body was inspired by the Steve Martin vehicle All of Me (1984).