In the beginning, the Xenaverse was a fairly simple place. Xena was the dark leader, and Gabrielle was the innocent, faithful companion, the shining ray of light in the darkness of Xena's mind.
There was a certain amount of duality in this relationship.
Gabrielle was the student, yet in some ways, she was Xena's teacher. The dual roles fostered an interdependence that elevated their friendship to a higher level than anybody had reason to expect.
It was good.
With the coming of their third season together however, things ceased to be so simple.
What transpired was a full scale destruction and reconstruction of the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle.
The general consensus was that Gabrielle had betrayed her traditional role as student and failed to trust enough in Xena's judgment. Others believe that it was Xena who had failed in her role as student. The fact that almost all of Gabrielle's decisions had dire consequences may have partially obscured this.
The Rift made us ask the question,
"Which is more important - loyalty to a friend or loyalty to your most cherished beliefs?"
Discord: "Ares, we have to talk about the Cult."
Ares: "Don't worry about it, Discord, things are well in hand ... ah, the impatience of youth, I admire it, I really ... really do ... and I will excuse it for only so long. The Cult is being taken care of. I put one of my best men on it. He controls their temple, and with that, they're hardly a threat."
Discord: "Best ‘man'? You have a mortal handling this?"
Ares: "Not just any mortal, this one is exceptional."
Discord: "Why don't you just destroy the temple yourself and get it over with?"
Ares: "Why don't you?"
Ares: "Are you willing to go up against this god? He's not even on Olympus. You are just lucky that I have the resources and the people to do something about it. No, it has to be a mortal."
Discord: "Do you handle everything so casually?"
Ares: "If I didn't know better, I would think you were talking about us. Don't mistake confident for casual.
I know full well what could happen. Everything we know, everything we've done to make this would our home,
could come to an end."
Xena and Gabrielle come upon a group of chained men being dragged along by a few soldiers. The soldiers claim the captive men are criminals and go on their way. One of the captives shouts that they will never submit to Caesar, and Xena immediately frees them. She makes no attempt to determine whether or not they really are criminals. Because they were captured by Caesar's men, Xena automatically assumes their innocence.
Gabrielle does not challenge that assumption either. Why should she? With the exception of occasional overt acts of brutality, Xena is "always right".
Xena: "What does Caesar want with you?"
Khrafstar: "He knows I'm recruiting mercenaries to join Boadicea in Britannia."
Xena: "Boadicea is fighting Caesar?"
Gabrielle: "You know her? Of course you know her, you're the ‘who's who' of warriors."
Gabrielle: "What's your name?"
Khrafstar: "Khrafstar, First Priest of the Temple of the One God."
Xena: "I'm going with you to help Boadicea ... and to destroy Caesar."
Xena decides to join the man. Before boarding a boat, Ares appears to Xena and tells her the temple should be destroyed. The God tells Xena that Caesar has taken a temple and that it would really humiliate him if she destroyed it. Meanwhile Gabrielle and Khrafstar talk about faith.
On the boat, Khrafstar tells Gabrielle about his god, talking of love, friendship, and bringing his kingdom to earth.
As they talk, Xena walks past and sits down to polish her sword. Gabrielle goes over to talk to her.
Gabrielle: "Hey, what's up?"
Xena: (while trying to polish her sword) "Does anything have to be up?"
Gabrielle: "Xena, I think you mixed feelings about this. You say you want to help a friend, but you don't sound very friendly towards her."
Xena: "Boadicea and I were allies a long time ago in Gaul."
Gabrielle: "Allies?"
Xena: "In a sense. She thought I was a friend, and I just needed an army. So, I let her think whatever she wanted to until I took control of her men."
Gabrielle: "You used her."
Xena: "I ordered her killed."
Xena: "You see, I'm not the only one dealing with betrayal."
When they they reach Brittania, they join up quickly with Boadicea and have a very good fight with the Romans guarding the beaches. During the fight, though, Gabrielle and Khrafstar are captured and taken to Caesar.
After being captured by Caesar, Gabrielle tells fellow captive, Khrafstar, "Don't worry. Xena will save us". Gabrielle has her place in the relationship. She's the "better half", while Xena is the brains and the brawn.
Xena: "I'm here to help you."
Boadicea: "No, you're not. You're here because Caesar is here, because your hatred of him won't let you be elsewhere, and that's the only reason we haven't crossed swords. I know I can't defeat him without you."
Boadicea and Xena talk strategy and then Xena realizes Gabrielle is missing.
Xena: "Soldier, what happened to that girl that was brought in earlier?"
Soldier: "There's been nobody brought in."
Realising she’s been lied to, Xena draws her sword on Boadicea.
Xena: "You lied to me. Gabrielle was never brought back here and you know it."
Boadicea: "Yes, I was told ... and I knew you wouldn't leave. I had to tell you something."
Boadicea: "We found this (Gabrielle's staff) near the river. Caesar has her. You go up there and they'll die ...
if they haven't already."
Xena: "No, Caesar will know that she's my friend.
He'll keep her alive until he can figure out how to use her against me."
Let us take a closer look. Gabrielle, true to form, meets a young man whom she considers interesting, forgets about everything else, and follows him. Caesar's men catch Gabrielle and this man. Caesar, being the great and wonderful man he is, condemns Gabrielle and her male friend to the same fate to which years earlier he had condemned Xena -- that is, the cross and breaking Gabrielle's legs as a reminder to Xena.
They are taken out the next morning and placed on crosses. Xena suddenly pops out of hiding and saves Gabrielle and Khrafstar. Xena defiantly tears Caesar's flag into pieces, and Caesar, who has been watching some distance away, picks up a javelin and hurls it at Xena. She throws her chakram at it; it splinters and a large piece
of wood goes into Caesar's hand.
Caesar: "I want every legion in this country here by tomorrow."
Xena and Boadicea determine their next move. They want to split Caesar's army, so they attack his strongholds. They start with the temple, and recover that.
Xena: "We're going to take these hills starting with this one."
Boadicea: "There's a temple near there. The Romans hold it. If we leave them there, they'll be at our back."
Xena: "Then we take the temple."
Xena goes on to the next battle, leaving Gabrielle with Khrafstar at the temple.
Ares appears to Xena and asks her to destroy the temple. Xena wants to know why Ares fears this god.
Ares: "There is no place for one god in this world. This is the world that we created! Zeus, Athena, Hades, Poseidon. It is our world."
Xena: "And before that it was the world of the Titans. Oh, that's right, Zeus overthrew them, didn't he? You're just afraid that history might repeat itself."
Ares: "Whatever you might think about us, Xena, you know us. You might love us, you might hate us, but we are not Evil. This god is."
Xena: "Evil to you."
Ares: "Trust me Xena."
Xena: "Based on what?!"
Later on, Gabrielle becomes fascinated with the "one god" of the cultists and decides to make a break with Xena's disdain for divinity by joining them. The result is that Gabriele ends up killing for the first time (actually, killing personally for the first time).
Khrafstar and the other worshippers want to rededicate the temple. A woman tells Khrafstar that the ceremony has changed some since he left, so she leads the prayer. Suddenly she says there must be a blood sacrifice, a sacrifice of an innocent, to the dark one, called Dahak. They grab Khrafstar and tie him to a flat stone altar;
Gabrielle is held back.
As the woman prepares to stab Khrafstar, Gabrielle jerks free, rushes up, and pushes her away. She takes a knife and cuts the rope holding Khrafstar. The woman returns with a sword. Gabrielle turns and stabs the woman in the stomach, killing her. Blood covers her hands.
Khrafstar: "Thank you, Gabrielle. You're going to help bring Dahak into this world. He needed a sacrifice, and not just one of flesh and blood. He wanted your purity, your innocence of Evil. And you just gave it to him."
Khrafstar: "This world, all who are on it will be no more. The new Kingdom of Dahak will rule, and you,
Gabrielle, will bring it to us."
It could be said that it was self-defense, but nevertheless she did kill someone and by doing so, she lost her blood innocence and became a murderer, just like Xena.
Xena stands with Boadicea on the battlefield. Legions of Romans are before them. She is ready to ride off to find Caesar, to kill him herself.
Boadicea: "Xena, you're not the person I once knew, I can see that. I can't forgive you, but I can thank you for what you're doing now."
Then she sees dark black clouds over the temple. "That's where Gabrielle is!" Xena says, and rides off.
She reaches the temple; it is empty. Meridian lies dead on the altar. Then Xena hears Gabrielle sobbing in a corner, finds her, pulls her close. Xena asks what happened, and Gabrielle says she killed the woman.
Xena cannot believe it.
Gabrielle: "I did. I killed her. I killed her, Xena."
Xena: "No, Gabrielle, you couldn't ..."
Gabrielle: "... no, I did. I just stabbed her."
Xena: "Accidentally, you ..."
Gabrielle: "... Xena, I stabbed her ... Xena, I murdered her."
Then Khrafstar walks in and Gabrielle pulls away from Xena, almost into a fetal position. Xena draws her sword. "What have you done to her, you bastard?" she growls. Khrafstar tells Xena that Gabrielle is for Dahak, the one god. Xena realizes this is not the one god of the Israelittes. Then Khrafstar thanks Xena for bringing Gabrielle to them. "Your hatred brought you here," he says.
Khrafstar and Xena fight. Khrafstar has god-like powers and flings Xena away. Suddenly the altar bursts into flames, and the flames chase Gabrielle. They come alive and pull Gabrielle into the air, hoisting her above the altar. She is engulfed in flames. Khrafstar changes into a devil-like being, and calls himself The Deliverer.
He and Xena fight, and Xena isn't winning. Xena keeps trying to get to Gabrielle as she hangs suspended in the air, flames all over her body. Finally Xena wounds Khrafstar and changes tactics. "You half-witted toady to a third-rate god, come and get me," she says.
She taunts him and then when he attacks her, she throws him into the flames that are beneath Gabrielle. She dives and catches Gabrielle as she falls. They have no time for anything else; the temple explodes.
Xena and Gabrielle sit among the rocks, with Xena holding Gabrielle.
Gabrielle: "Xena?"
Xena: "I'm here, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle: "It hurts inside."
Xena: "What?"
Gabrielle: "Everything's changed ... everything."
Xena: "It's going to be okay, I promise."
The problem is two-fold. The most obvious part is her feeling of failure for falling off the pedestal she had allowed Xena to place her on. Her blood innocence was the symbol of all that she was supposed to be. She knew her place as an amorphous "good influence" who was supposed to keep Xena away from the "dark side" by the sheer dint of her purity. What she was, rather than what she thought and did, was supposed to be the most important thing. Killing, even in self defense, "spoiled" all this by spoiling her worldly innocence. Xena, for her part, perpetuated that idea by failing to even consider self defense as a possible explanation for Gabrielle's "murder". There was no in-between for a symbol of purity like Gabrielle; there was only accident or murder. The second problem may have been a sneaking feeling that if only she had listened to Xena, this would never have happened.
Most people have blamed Xena for what happened to Gabrielle in The Deliverer and, in a way, Xena was responsible for what happened. If Xena had not had so much hatred for Caesar, she would not have gone to Britannia and nothing would have happened to Gabrielle. At the same time, people have to take responsibility for their actions and Gabrielle is not innocent of blame.
Had Gabrielle not been infatuated with Khrafstar, she would have been close to Xena when they landed in Britannia. Caesar's men would not have caught her. Again, had Gabrielle been close to Xena when the battle started or even at the medical area, she would not have been at the temple and would not have been forced to kill. Both women have to carry the burden of their actions.
Gabrielle is sitting in a field, smelling the flowers and dreamily enjoying her surroundings. She sees Meridian coming towards her and goes to embrace her. Gabrielle then reaches for a dagger and ruthlessly stabs Meridian killing her once again.
It is a nightmare.
Xena holds her when she wakes and tries to calm her.
Gabrielle: "I had that dream again."
Xena: "Yeah, I know ... (Gabrielle tosses her cookies) ... It's part of the same thing, Gabrielle. Your body and dreams are just reacting to your first kill."
Gabrielle: "I'll never forgive myself."
Xena: "It was instinct."
Gabrielle: "No, you're wrong. I made the decision to kill her. I went against everything that I stand for."
We can see that neither Xena nor Gabrielle is yet in control of the events they must face, and once again they must rely on their friendship to see them through the tough times. They just have to survive the rough spots together and trust that the love they have for one another will see them through.
They gather their things and begin walking through the woods. Gabrielle is feeling very ill and leans on Xena. Suddenly three winged women come swooping down and attack Xena. She cannot fight them off because they hit hard and then become like air. But they do not attack Gabrielle.
Banshees: "Gabrielle, we mean you no harm. We're your friends. We love you. We worship you. Let us Banshees care for you. You are the chosen one, Gabrielle."
Xena and Gabrielle arrive at a village.
Gabrielle: "The banshees, are they human?"
Xena: "I've only heard stories, but it seems they take on mortal features just before they strike, then they go back into shade form once they strike you. I was just getting their timing."
Gabrielle: "Xena, what do you think they wanted with me?"
Xena: "Who knows. It's just another reason to get out of Britannia and back to Greece."
Xena: "You alright?"
Gabrielle: "Yeah, my stomach's feeling better. It's just ... my soul. Xena, I thought that Khrafstar was leading me to the salvation of the world through Peace and Light ... and instead, I discovered the heart of Darkness. I became a part of that. I think that that's what the Banshees were talking about, that maybe there's an Evil in me and they want to worship me."
Xena: "Now, you stop that! Gabrielle, what you're talking now is nonsense. What happened in that temple cannot destroy the core of your Goodness. It only gave it a greater challenge. You're going to rise above it,
I know you will."
Xena leaves Gabrielle at a tavern while she goes to see about finding a boat to take them back to Greece. Gabrielle suddenly regains her appetite and eats chicken livers, sheep guts, etc.
Villagers surround the tavern, wielding pitchforks and torches. The owner of the tavern looks nervously through the window at the gathering mob whilst Gabrielle remains seated and oblivious to the danger. Suddenly the group attack and throw their torches through the windows and onto the thatched roof setting it on fire,
calling Gabrielle a witch.
Trying desperately to quell the rising flames, and screaming for Xena for help, the bard fights for her life. In a burst of athleticism Gabrielle pole-vaults out of the building and into the dock. Climbing out she runs and is chased by the mob. Xena, meanwhile, had found passage to Greece, but had been set upon by several knights with swords.
She fights them off and then runs after Gabrielle, who by this time is fleeing through the woods with the town chasing her.
Xena jumps in front of the villagers and stops them.
Xena: "Why are you chasing my friend?"
Lynch Mob Man: "The warriors ..."
Xena: "... the ones with the pierced heart?"
Lynch Mob Man: "Yes. They said that she will bring in the beginning of The End."
Xena: "The end of what?!"
Lynch Mob Man: "Goodness"
Xena: "And where do these warriors live?"
Lynch Mob Man: "In the forest of the Banshees."
Xena follows searches and finds Gabrielle in the woods and sees the banshees worshiping her.
Banshees: "Don't be afraid, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle: "Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?"
Banshees: "We want to serve you ... worship you ... nourish you."
Gabrielle: "Nourish me? Worship me?"
Banshees: "You are the Gate, the Way, the Spring."
Gabrielle: "What's happening with my stomach?"
Banshees: "Don't you know?"
Gabrielle: "Know what?"
Banshees: "You carry within you the child that will bring a new order to the world, the child of Darkness."
They tell Gabrielle she is going to have a child. Gabrielle gets to her feet and tells Xena that the banshees are crazy and she wants to leave the forest. The banshees disagree however and tell her that she must not leave until the child is born. After a brief and unsuccessful scuffle, Xena gets Gabrielle away from the banshees and they flee to a castle.
Gabrielle: "Where are we? Why did we come to this place?"
Xena: "We should be safe here."
Gabrielle: "How do you know?"
Xena: "This is the castle of the Warriors of the Pierced Heart. They're working against the Banshees ... I think."
Gabrielle: "Xena, what's going on?"
Xena: "I think you're pregnant. I'd say you were in your 4th month."
Gabrielle: "That's ridiculous. Xena, I'm having a hysterical reaction to killing Meridian."
She listens as the knights argue about Gabrielle. One says she "beams innocence" while another claims that what is inside of her is evil incarnate.
Xena: "Ayiyiyiyiyiyiyiyi!!!!!!! .... Kill me and watch him die! It won't take long ... What's growing inside my friend."
Caswallawn: "Darkness."
Eochaid: "We don't know that. It could be ..."
Xena: "... One version at a time."
Caswallawn: "Evil Incarnate. Undo whatever you did to me and I'll tell you everything."
Xena: "I've been told that he's a power that can't be let into the world."
Caswallawn: "Dahak is the blind force behind every Evil will. If he were to become the dominant power in our world, Goodness itself would be the casualty. When your friend was on the altar at the temple of Dahak he planted his seed within her."
Xena: "What are you saying?"
Caswallawn: "The being that Gabrielle carries within her is the window through which ultimate Evil wishes to enter the world."
Gabrielle screams.
She has gone into labour.
Xena races to her friend, locks the knights out of the stable and helps to deliver the baby.
Gabrielle: "What's happening?!"
Xena: "Okay, you're going to have to listen to me. Now breathe deeply ... C‘mon, Gabrielle, it's going to be alright."
Gabrielle: "I'm afraid. I'm afraid."
Xena: "Don't think about that. We just have to get through this. Now, push."
Gabrielle: "What if it's ..."
Xena: "PUSH !!"
Xena: "It's a girl."
The knights bash in the door and two of them side with Xena in protecting Gabrielle and the baby.
Within a day's time the child is crawling.
Gabrielle: "Isn't she beautiful? You were right."
Xena: "About what?"
Gabrielle: "You said that one day I would have hope again. Here it is. That's what I'm going to name her, Hope."
Xena worries that the child is evil. Gabrielle warns Xena not to come between her and her daughter.
That night as the others sleep, one of the two soldiers sneaks away to the main door of the castle and makes a deal with the banshees to let them in; Xena catches him. When she returns to a sleeping Gabrielle, the other knight, and the baby, she finds the knight dead. The baby is playing with a trinket that belonged to the knight. Xena raises her sword to kill the baby and Gabrielle wakes up.
Gabrielle: "What are you doing?"
Xena: "Get away, Gabrielle."
Gabrielle: "What are you saying?"
Xena: "That thing killed Goewin. It strangled him with his own medallion chain."
Gabrielle: "Have you lost your mind? Look at her, she's a baby."
Xena: "It is not a baby. It is a thing in the form of a baby. A Dark wicked thing that must be destroyed."
The banshees burst in and Gabrielle tells them to attack Xena. As Xena finally gets the best of the banshees, Gabrielle rides off, child in arms into the darkness.
Xena tracks her through forests, hills, valleys and rivers. Xena finally catches up to her as Gabrielle climbs a rocky hill. She yells up at Gabrielle pleading with her to stop the evil by killing the baby.
Then Gabrielle screams "Xena" and Xena runs up the hill. Asking her what happened, Gabrielle says the child turned on her and tried to strangle her so Gabrielle had no choice but to throw her over a cliff. There is a cave close by and Xena does not believe Gabrielle at first. She apologizes when she sees there is no baby
hidden in the cave.
Meanwhile down the river below the hill a basket floats with a baby inside it.
That night Gabrielle and Xena have made camp and Xena is asleep. Gabrielle leaves and talks to the winds,
to her daughter:
Gabrielle: "I know you're out there ... somewhere (floating down the river in a basket) ... my love, my Hope,
please ... be Good."
Gabrielle's pregnancy and the subsequent birth of Hope are overwhelming shocks, and this is understating the feelings both women must be experiencing as they try to comprehend what happened in Dahak's temple.
Just as they are thinking that the events have gotten as bad as they can get, there is more trauma to face. Hope seems to be evil, and Xena feels that she must kill the child in order to prevent evil from entering the world. This is seemingly a neat and simple solution to the problem, except that this evil child just happens to be Gabrielle's. There is no easy solution at this point. The events that follow, though traumatic and deceitful at times, do not truly betray the friendship that has been established by the two women.
It is still essential for them to BE together.
Gabrielle does the only thing she can think of to save both her baby and her friendship with Xena, and that is to send Hope down the river in a basket. Xena, on the other hand, can sense that Hope is evil and will someday bring destruction to the world and possibly to Gabrielle herself, so her motivation for trying to kill Hope is to prevent further harm in the future to the ones she loves.
Xena and Gabrielle are walking towards Kaleipus' village, talking about the peace treaty to be signed.
Gabrielle: "Remember how it looked the last time we were here? What a difference a year makes, huh?"
Xena: "One year, two months and twelve days. But who's counting?"
Gabrielle: "It'll be fine. You'll see."
Suddenly, Xena hears something and looks up as Solan jumps from a tree above her.
She tousles his hair playfully.
Kaleipus appears and Xena and Gabrielle greet him. They talk about the treaty and then Gabrielle, sensing that Xena and Kaleipus need to talk alone, races Solan to the village. Xena tells Kaleipus that nothing has changed. She is not there to take Solan from him.
A young girl is seen playing with a ball. She throws it and it enters a crevice in the rocks below. All of a sudden the ground begins to shake and cracks begin to form. The girl rolls her eyes and faints as Callisto appears and stretches, the goddess is now free from her molten lava prison.
Callisto: "A child. I always wanted a child."
Back at the village, Solan goes into a hut and is grabbed. Gabrielle enters to find Ephiny and Xenan there. Gabrielle hugs Ephiny and they talk about Xenan and his importance to the future. Gabrielle looks upset so Ephiny sends Solan and Xenan outside so she can talk to Gabrielle alone.
Callisto appears at the entrance to the village and uses firebolts to blast the symbols of peace that have been placed there. As guards rush to stop the goddess, she smiles wickedly and stalks towards them.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle tells Ephiny about Brittania and says that something bad happened there.
Ephiny: "What do you mean? What happened?"
Gabrielle: "I had a child, and she ... she died. I named her Hope. That's what she was, my hope that despite everything that had happened, this child was worth it all."
Ephiny: "You can't blame yourself for her death. Only the Fates know why sleep steals a child's life ...
I'm so sorry."
She does not tell Ephiny the whole story and lets her believe that Hope died of natural causes.
Xena and Kaleipus arrive at the entrance of the village to find Callisto's handiwork. Xena knows it must be Callisto who did this but cannot understand how.
Gabrielle notices Xenan's toy and mentions the wooden lamb she gave to Hope.
Gabrielle: "This wolf -- it's by Senticles, isn't it?"
Ephiny: "Uh-huh."
Gabrielle: "Xena gave me a wooden lamb last Winter's Solstice. I gave it to Hope."
Ephiny leaves and Gabrielle pours herself some water. Someone enters and hides but Gabrielle challenges
them to come out. The young girl with the ball appears, saying she needs to talk to Xena and give her a message from "the monster lady".
Xena: "Callisto! I sensed it earlier, but how could she escape? ... This message she told you to give me --
what is it?"
Young Girl: "She told me to tell you that she knows your little secret and she's going to take it to the grave."
Xena realises that Callisto knows about Solan and a discussion ensues about hiding him in the Ixion caves.
As the trio turn towards the girl, they see she has disappeared.
Somewhere in the woods, in an abandoned cottage, Callisto revels in Xena's anguish, wishing that she could have seen the look on her foe's face, whilst brushing Fayla's hair with menacing strokes until Fayla throws
the brush across the room using her mental powers. Fayla talks about the coming of her father's kingdom
and the Age of Darkness, of how Xena must be destroyed.
Solan: "No way! I'm not a baby. None of the other kids have to hide."
Kaleipus: "You're not one of the other kids."
Xena: "Kaleipus, do you mind if I talk to Solan alone?"
Kaleipus talks to Solan about hiding in the caves and Solan is angry that he is being treated like a child.
Xena explains to Solan that Kaleipus is merely worried about the boy and only has his safety in mind.
Eventually Solan is convinced to do what he is told.
In the meantime, Gabrielle bumps into Fayla who drops a wooden lamb. Gabrielle recognises it as Hope's toy and asks where she got it. She says it has always been hers and that it was in the basket she was found in.
Gabrielle, realising the child is Hope, shakily trys to control her emotions and tells her to stay in the hut.
After she has left, Fayla's face changes and she sneers at her mother.
Hope: "Bye-bye ... Mommy."
*****
Xena hurries through the forest with a cloaked figure. Callisto appears and sets fire to the trees.
Callisto: "Really, Xena ... is that any way to great an old friend? Especially considering the warm welcome
I just gave you."
Xena: "How'd you do it, Callisto? Who helped you? That lava pit should have held you forever."
Callisto: "Well, that's for me to know and you to find out. But, I didn't come here to talk about me, I came to meet your precious little son. Solan, isn't it? Flesh of your flesh, bone of your bone, blood of your blood.
Can't wait to see all that."
Xena: "Hurt my son and I swear by any god you name that I'll ..."
Callisto: "You'll do what? You'll make my life a living hell? Old hat, dear. You did that years ago when you bar-b-qued my family. But now it's my turn to host the cookout ... and where is the guest of honor?"
Callisto: "Solan. Solan, dear. Come meet your Auntie Callisto ... Gabrielle ... (to Xena) Clever you. Fooling me
with the old bait-and-switch. Good plan. After all, even I can't be in two places at the same time, now can I?"
In the caves, Kaleipus is looking around and finds Hope there. When asked as to why she is there, Hope throws a sword at him using her powers mortally wounding the centaur.
Rushing back towards the village, Xena & Gabrielle discuss the fact that Callisto has an ally only to discover
Kaleipus laying bloodied in the woods.
Xena: "Kaleipus! Kaleipus ... Kaleipus, what happened?! Where is Solan? Where's Solan?!"
Kaleipus: "Safe ... went for help."
Xena: "Who did this?"
The centaur sadly dies before the name of his killer can pass his lips, but not before
he implores Xena to raise Solan.
*****
Callisto is impatient to kill Solan but Hope is weak after what she has done and tells her to wait. She threatens Callisto, saying that she will die along with the other gods if she does not bide her time. Callisto agrees and Hope tells her that the best way to crush these people is to destroy their future by killing their children.
he loves dies.
Xena: "They're not, you still have m- ... many, many friends, and they've all said how
much they love you and want you to come live with them."
Solan: "But I don't want to. I want to live with you."
Xena: "What?"
Solan: "I won't be any trouble, I promise. I'll catch my own food and keep up and I'm
hardly ever sick."
Solan: "You said we were friends, and real friends are like family, right?"
Xena: "Like family."
Solan: "Then take me with you ... please, don't leave me."
Xena: "When all this is over, you be packed and ready to go. We've got a lot to talk about, we might as well
do it on the road."
*****
Gabrielle frantically looks for Hope in the hut. Then, she appears and Gabrielle scolds her.
Gabrielle: "Where have you been? I have been looking all over for you. You said that you would
wait here, remember?"
Hope: "I'm sorry, but she wouldn't let me. I tried to get away, but she ..."
Gabrielle: "Who? Who, Callisto?"
Hope: "I have this power to move things. I don't know why. She says it's because I'm evil."
Gabrielle: "That is s lie. You are not evil. Never believe that."
Hope: "My mother thought so. She tried to drown me in a basket. She wanted me dead."
Gabrielle: "She wasn't trying to drown you. She was trying to save your life."
Hope: "You weren't there! You don't know!"
Gabrielle: "I do. The basket's all there was. I ... I had to put you in it or watch you be killed. Now I had no choice.
I loved you."
Hope: "You ... you loved me?"
Gabrielle: "I prayed that the gods protect you, and they did. They brought you home."
Hope tells her about Callisto's plan to target the children and that she was the one who freed the Goddess to begin with. When the bard suggests telling Xena all about this, Hope says that Xena will merely kill her knowing her true identity, and that Callisto will come after her too if she discovers her betrayal.
Gabrielle says she will take her to safety.
Solan is packing his things. Hope enters the door.
Hope: "Solan?"
Solan: "That's right."
Hope: "The safest place there is."
*****
Gabrielle tells Ephiny and Xena what Hope has told her. Ephiny agrees to hide the children in the caves whilst
Xena asks why this child can be trusted.
Gabrielle: "What makes you think that we can't? Xena, she gave us Callisto's plan."
Xena: "Exactly. Callisto wouldn't tell her anything she didn't want us to hear. The child's probably a pawn
... or worse."
Gabrielle: "That is not true. Xena, you were always so quick to blame her, weren't you?
She is not evil. She's not."
Xena: "Hope. The child is Hope?"
Gabrielle: "I'm sorry. I never meant to lie. Xena, I couldn't kill her. She's my daughter. You're a mother.
You know this. I had to save her."
Xena: "Maybe it's not too late. She's young. Poison will kill her if her powers aren't mature."
Gabrielle: "Xena, she is my child!"
Xena: "She is not a child! She is a body, a vessel, an instrument for evil, that is all!"
Gabrielle: "You are wrong. Xena, Hope is the victim here! That's why I sent her to Kaleipus' hut, so
she'd be safe from Callisto."
Xena: "You sent her to Kaleipus' hut?!"
Xena bolts out of the door.
Entering the hut Xena approaches her son slowly only to find Solan dead.
She tries to revive him but to no avail. Gabrielle enters and Xena screams at her to go away. Xena wails and cries out in anguish whilst Callisto hears her and languishes in her pain.
Later, Ephiny enters & tries to talk to Xena about Callisto's arrival but Xena sends her away. Xenan enters and
Xena yells at him but, seeing who it is, realises that there are other children to protect.
She covers Solan's body and then leaves.
Gabrielle is in the hut pouring poison into a flask. Hope enters and Gabrielle hides the poison.
Gabrielle: "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to wait in Kaleipus' hut."
Hope: "I know, but it was awful. I couldn't stay. I was scared."
Gabrielle: "Why? What did you do?"
Hope: "I ran. As soon as I got there and saw that boy dead I ran and hid."
Gabrielle: "Hope, are you saying that he was already dead when you entered the hut?"
Still desperate to believe her child, Gabrielle tries to convince herself that Callisto must have killed
Solan and not her daughter.
Gabrielle: "Of course, it had to be Callisto. You said that she's after the children, right?"
However...
Hope: "She is. So, please, can we go now? I don't want to die like Solan?"
Gabrielle: "How did you know his name was Solan?"
Hope: "You said so, remember? Now, please, can we go?"
Gabrielle: "... Yes, yes we'll go."
Gabrielle realises the truth but says nothing.
Callisto enters the village square which is deserted. Suddenly she is hit by an arrow and turns to see Xena.
Callisto: "It hurts, doesn't it? Losing your family rips out your heart and your guts and your feelings until
all that's left is the pain. Right? Welcome to the club."
Callisto throws a bolt of fire at her but Xena rolls out of the way and then archers from all around fire at Callisto.
She is hit numerous times, left with arrows sticking out of all parts of her body, but then braces herself and summoning her power sends the arrows back at the archers with Godly rage.
With everyone ducking for cover or wounded by their own arsenal, the Goddess turns her attention towards the children of the village. Xena stops Callisto from hurting the children as they make their way to the caves by drawing her sword but Callisto blocks the blows and, grabbing the warriors own sword, knocks Xena backwards into some debris and then follows Ephiny and the children to the caves.
*****
She searches for the children but is intercepted by Xena.
Callisto: "You don't seem to get it, do you? You've won. All these years I've spent living to destroy you. Thinking
that only if I could give you the same pain that you gave me I'd be rid of it and life would go on. And then I do
and nothing changes. I don't feel better ... just empty. So you let me go Xena. You can't win this battle and
you've already won the war."
Xena: "It's not that simple. I won't let it be."
Xena throws the Goddess to the floor and pummels her, Callisto responds by throwing lightning bolts at her
but Xena somersaults out of the way. Instead, Callisto hits the pillars that are supporting the roof of the cave.
Ephiny gets the children outside whilst Xena prevents Callisto from leaving.
Callisto: "You'll trap us both! That's your plan?! To trap me here while my pain keeps growing and growing
and yours ends."
Xena: "You're wrong, Callisto. You let your pain kill you years ago. I'm going to live with mine."
Xena manages to get away whilst the roof collapses on top of Callisto, trapping her in the cave.
Ephiny stands outside and is relieved to see Xena alive.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle is kneeling in a glade with the body of Hope next to her. She puts the flask of poison to
her lips, intending to kill herself too but then changes her mind. Xena sees this but she does not
acknowledge Gabrielle.
Xena and Gabrielle stand in front of two funeral fires, mourning the deaths of their children.
Gabrielle turns to Xena for comfort but she is snubbed.
Gabrielle: "If I had just done what you said, when you told me to do it, then they would still be alive, Kaleipus
and Solan."
Xena: "No. Don't you even speak his name."
Gabrielle: "Xena ..."
Xena: "No. You lied to me. I trusted you and you lied to me. And now, Solan is dead. My son is dead ...
because of you."
Gabrielle tells Xena she loves her but Xena does not respond.
Gabrielle walks away.
Xena, with tears in her eyes walks off in the opposite direction.
*****
''Maternal Instincts'' was where Gabrielle's beliefs were put to the most severe test. Hope reappeared, and Xena
once again started demanding that she be killed. There was still no real evidence that Hope should die,
so Gabrielle refused. As a result, Xena's son Solan was killed by Hope.
Xena wants very much to lay this all down at Gabrielle's feet, and she has a point, and Gabrielle is letting her do so. But there are very good arguments that Xena has some responsibility to claim here, too. The situation would probably never have come around if Xena hadn't been so blinded to revenge as to turn her back on Gabrielle in Britannia, and if she hadn't been so unwilling to discuss Hope's fate, maybe she and Gabrielle could have found a place for Hope to grow up that would have taught her differently, or at least taken care of her early if she had proved irredeemable. There's plenty of guilt here to go around, and right now Gabrielle is drowning in it.
Xena wanted to perform a summary execution (an explicit violation of Gabrielle's trust in the "good" Xena) and showed no concern whatsoever for the fact that the child she wanted to run through in cold blood was Gabrielle's daughter. Gabrielle responded in exactly the same way she always has, by acting as the voice of Xena's "conscience". Afterward, she took responsibility for her part in Solan's death (sending Hope straight to Solan was undeniably stupid, even if saving her was not). Xena did not take any responsibility for her part, further burying the moral dilemma core of the story in an avalanche of negative consequences.
