WARRIOR...PRIESTESS...TRAMP

Xena seems...strange. She's given up her warrior ways, serves the virgin goddess Hestia, and speaks with a funny impediment. AND she's about to be burned at the stake for it! Gabrielle, thinking it a test, saves Xena -only to learn that she's actually another look-alike. Not Diana. Not Meg. It's Leah -a priestess! Later, Gabby (who is quite amused) finds Xena and breaks the news. A funny mix of faiths comes into play. Somehow, Xena suspects foul play against Leah. Upon entering the Hestian temple, they find none other than Meg who is posing as Leah! Xena goes to talk to Meg while Gabby helps Leah pose as the same. Gabby manages to crack a masturbation joke in the process.... At the tavern, Joxer arrives and the tramps go wild. He is, however, mortified when Gabrielle shows up! Elsewhere, Leah spills the whole plan to the inside guy. Mistake! (There's a lot of confusion around this point and it leaves us guessing who is who and where.) Anyhow, Joxer gets himself in prison trying to save Meg and plays the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" game -except a warrior's name replaces Kevin Bacon. (It's funny that he refers to his own times as "mythology.") Xena frees Joxer. A fight! Leah foils the bad guy's plans and then Xena steps in to finish them off.

THE KING OF ASSASSINS

While getting information from a man in prison, Xena finds Joxer in the stocks. She buys him out. Elsewhere, Autolycus steals a sword but his partner in crime kills a man in the process! Not only that, but this assassin is...Joxer?! Wrong again! Turns out it was Joxer's look-alike brother, Jett. In fact, Joxer's whole family is ruthless. (That explains a lot.) Gabrielle soon crosses paths with the real Joxer and Autolycus and they decide to stop Jett from killing again. We learn that Cleopatra is his next target. Auto successfully sneaks inside her palace, but Joxer and Gabrielle get thrown into the dungeon! Auto soon gets caught, however, he saves himself at the mention of Xena's name. (Cleo is in need of a warrior. Her brother is out to have her killed, she knows.) We learn that her brother has men on the inside working for him. Joxer, mistaken for Jett, is released from the dungeon. He leaves Gabrielle locked up for her own protection. Jett himself soon makes it into the castle and runs into Auto. Later, Auto and Cleo have a negotiation full of double entendres. Meanwhile, Gabrielle tricks her way out of her cell. (That guard is funny!) She runs into Jett (thinking it's Joxer) who plays it off. Jett then finds Joxer and gives him a...brotherly welcome. (We also learn of yet another brother, Jace.) Eventually, the three warn the guard of the assassination plot but are, on account of the inside men, captured in return! (Except Joxer who poses as Jett in front of the guard.) Suddenly, Xena shows up! She frees our prisoners, Joxer stands up to Jett, and the murder is interfered with. A fight! We leave off with Joxer and Jett's heart to heart. Jett goes to prison and our heroes go on with life.

THE DEBT II

Gabrielle wants to visit Xena in prison but the law won't permit it. "I hear you were betrayed by a friend," says a guard to Xena. "No, not by a friend," she replies! They've got her in this huge, horrible head stock. Meanwhile, Ming explains how Xena taught him to rule. Flashbacks! We also learn of Lao Ma's execution. We witness more great lessons from Lao. "To conquer others is to have power; to conquer yourself is to know the way." Ming Tien is Lao Ma's son. Meanwhile, in the present day, Gabrielle gives Xena smack for not promising to never attempt such assassination again. Flashback to Lao healing evil Xena's bad leg. Xena is condemned to death in the present day, so Gabrielle is finally allowed to visit her in prison. She gives a heartbreaking plea for Xena's forgiveness, talking about her own self-hatred. It works. We learn of an important origin: "You're going to help me run the Kingdom of Lao. You'll be my warrior princess." And that this debt to Lao Ma is there because she helped Xena to be reborn. Xena is taken to her execution. But she remembers all the teachings and transcends, becomes spiritually powerful, and defeats them all. Xena lets on that, though Ming Tien is still alive in the rubble, she won't kill him. But, after he rants about his mother's execution (which was at his own hands) and how she cried like a baby, Xena does kill him -privately. Now Gabrielle is the one with no idea.

THE DEBT

In the middle of the night, Xena wakes to find Gabrielle missing. She finds her a short distance away and is thanked for standing by Gabrielle "through everything." A messenger then arrives, sent by someone who is "soft as water; hard as the raging flood." (Xena recognizes this.) Ambush! (Xena kills in an Indiana Jones fashion!) Message: The Green Dragon has become too large and must be made small. Xena doesn't want Gabby coming along on this mission because she's going out of her way to kill someone. Xena tries to explain. (Let the flashbacks begin!) Evil Xena travelled east to lose herself in vengeance after Caesar left his mark on her. She and Borias were after the riches of Chin. They arrange a meeting to try and make a few deals. Meet young Ming Tien, the son of Ming Tzu. Later, while making love on horseback, Borias ditches Xena for another meeting. Meet Lao Ma. An agreement is made but Xena wants to kill Lao Ma. (She didn't want her civilizing influence around Borias.) BUT, it turns out that Lao can fight back! So begins Xena's training...for good. (We learn that the Green Dragon is Ming Tien.) Back in the present day, X & G part ways. "You owe someone so much that you would just throw away these last few years?" asks Gabrielle. "Yes," replies Xena. To the ship! Xena remembers being captured after Borias gave her up. (He was tired of her ruining their alliances.) Ming Tzu, her captor, set her loose for the purpose of hunting her! But Lao Ma secretly intervened. "You don't know it yet, Xena, but you're a remarkable woman, capable of greatness." She hides Xena in a bath in her home. She treats her with kindness and dresses her in the customary clothing. Back to present day: Xena sneaks into Ming Tien's palace wearing camo. She has flashbacks of her more recent life; doubts, if you will. Eff it. She goes in for the kill anyway. But instead of a grown up Ming Tien, she finds...Gabrielle! "I'm sorry, Xena. I couldn't let you do this."

GABRIELLE'S HOPE

Gabrielle awakes after having "that dream again" where she loses her blood innocence. It makes her sick but Xena tries to bring some comfort. On their way off the island, Xena is attacked by a group of banshees. (They won't beat up on Gabrielle. They call her "the chosen one.") Gabrielle questions her goodness but Xena interrupts such thoughts. They head indoors to get some food. Xena then heads out to try and find a boat back to Greece while Gabby, feeling better, orders a meal fit for a pregnant woman. But soon Gabby finds herself under attack by villagers who are calling her a witch and wanting her dead! Xena intervenes but then the banshees take Gabrielle! They inform her that she carries a child that will bring a new order to the world. "The child of darkness." Xena and Gabrielle escape to some sort of fortress. Gabrielle gives birth to Dahak's daughter (dubbed "Hope") and gets quickly attached. (The child grows just as quickly.) During the night, Hope seems to have killed one of the fortress' warriors. But Gabby won't let Xena kill the child in return. She runs off on horse. By the time Xena catches up, she finds Gabrielle claiming that the child turned on her and so she threw her off of the cliff. Once Xena's finally convinced, we learn that, in truth, Gabrielle sent the baby down a river in a basket. Xena has no idea. That night, Gabrielle pleads to the skies for Hope to be good.

THE DELIVERER

We learn of a new cult and god that even Ares fears. Elsewhere, after Gabrielle nearly discovers the concept of the atom, Xena frees a number of Caesar's captives. They learn of a woman named Boadicea who is going up against Caesar. One of the men is called Khrafstar, first priest of the temple of the one god. Xena joins him against Caesar. To the ship! Turns out, Xena had once used Boadicea and ordered her killed. Soon enough, the two meet up again and join forces. A fight! Gabrielle and Khrafstar are captured! Caesar plans to use Gabrielle against Xena. He hangs them on crosses. And, just before their legs are to be broken, Xena ambushes Caesar's troops and wins. Caesar calls for reinforcements. Next, Xena and Boadicea take a temple for strategic purposes. Ares warns Xena that the one god is evil. And there is Gabrielle...joining a cult! Suddenly, the members of the cult tie up Khrafstar, supposedly in order to sacrifice him against his will. (We learn the one god is Dahok.) Gabrielle fights and frees Khrafstar and, on an instict, turns around to stab the woman who is trying to kill him. She lost her "innocence of evil!" With that, Khrafstar begins to creepily speak his thanks. It was all a trick! Elsewhere, Xena's focus on Caesar is shifted towards the ominous sky over the temple. She runs to Gabrielle and learns of what has taken place. A fight! Dahok's flames take over Gabrielle and Khrafstar turns into one ugly dude, proclaiming himself as "the deliverer." Xena destroys him in the flames. "Everything's changed," says Gabrielle. "Everything." (By the way, the remains of the temple is modern day Stonehenge. ...In case you didn't know.)

THE DIRTY HALF DOZEN

An army is destroyed with Ares' new weapons and armor -made from an impenetrable metal. Elsewhere, Xena keeps a man from being executed. She seeks his assistance in going up against Ares. But he's not the only one. Xena breaks into a prison to recruit another three -two men and a woman. Soon, the gang wards of a band of these armed men whose head warlord is called Agathon. We learn that Agathon is now out to kill Xena. X & G have a heart to heart and Gabby questions the power of Xena's influence. She wonders if she would have been influenced for bad if she'd met Xena beforehand. (Xena had changed their recruits for evil once upon a time.) "Am I really who I am or am I what you made me?" Later, one of the men turns on Xena and gets killed for it. Ares appears and warns Xena that if she attacks, Agathon is going to kill her; he's promised to not intervene. But Xena invades the castle where Agathon is working anyway. Suddenly, Xena is captured and we understand that her new team has betrayed her! (Well, everyone except for the woman.) While behind bars, Xena wonders if it'd been herself who would have changed had she met Gabrielle sooner, thereby questioning the power of Gabrielle's influence. Soon, we learn that the "capture" was part of the plan! (Although one of the guys actually did turn on them.) They are helped out of prison. A fight! Xena and Agathon have a showdown. Xena wins! They blow up the castle.... The woman and the one man left head east together. And Xena concludes that "nobody made you who you are; it was already there. Question is who would I be without you?"

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

This is Xena meets Groundhog Day. A day goes about as normally as ever for Xena, Gabrielle, and Joxer. We learn of a family fued in the town where they are staying. Joxer steps in the middle of a fight and gets himself killed. Gabby falls asleep with Xena before the funeral pyre. The "next" day, Joxer lives again! But Argo later gets killed instead! We learn that only Xena remembers that the day is repeating itself. "Yesterday" never happened for the others. The day begins anew and Argo lives. Xena has caught onto the fact that only she can fix...well, whatever it is that the day is repeating itself for. The search begins! Prevention is key when it comes to all the fighting. So Xena does her research on the fued. In the process, Xena saves an old man, kills a rooster, gets killed along with Gabrielle and Joxer, Xena kills Joxer, and Joxer and Gabrielle learn to TRUST Xena. Xena learns that she has to stop a woman (who's in love with a man from a rival house) from drinking poison. How? With her chakram, of course! Success! Finally! A new day arrives!