THE FURIES

The scantily clad Furies do a dance for Ares. He's given a complaint and wants a judgement against Xena. She is to be punished by persecution and madness. Elsewhere, Xena and Gabrielle race -but are interrupted by thugs. A fight! Xena starts going cuckoo in a cartoon-like three stooges type fight. The next thing we know, she's standing naked in front of some villagers at night, bringing "retribution." "They've crucified the women and children!" Gabrielle grows very concerned and they head to the temple of the Furies. There they learn that Xena must avenge the murder of her father to satisfy the Furies! Next, Xena suffers from delusions. Then Xena visits her mother, Cyrene. Turns out, she killed Xena's father (protecting Xena). We hear Xena give her rendition of Shakespeare's famous Macbeth speech. Then she heads to a cliff where she seems to contemplate jumping. Ares seems to talk her out of it. (We learn later that this was all part of her plan. She's got enough sanity to know her situation.) Later, Xena convinces the Furies that Ares is her father (since her father came home unexpectedly from war the night she was conceived). Xena delivers something of a denouement. But why would Ares want her mad? "A mad Xena would be more sympathetic to his quaint worldview." To make her alleged half-godness convincing, she fights Ares and wins. The insanity is lifted!