Season Four - 1998/99
Adventures In The Sin Trade, Part 1
In search of Gabrielle's soul, Xena searches out Hades and demands that he tell where Gabrielle is - his response is "She didn't come to me" and after a short discussion they conclude that she has gone to the Amazon Kingdom of the Dead. Leaving Argo, Xena heads north into Amazon territory and preforms a bizzare ritual which transports her to another plane. Here she is challenged by a dead Amazon Queen (Cyane) and through flashbacks we discover more about Xena's war against the amazons and her descent into dark magic with an evil Shamaness. In the present day, Xena helps the remainder of the Amazon tribe to battle the evil Beserker who is tormenting their land only to discover it is a puppet of Alti, the evil Shamaness Xena sided with against the Amazons long ago.
Episode: 4.1, US airdate: 27 Sep 98. Rating: TV-PG.
Guest Stars: Marton Czokas (Borias), Erik Thompson (Hades), Vicky Pratt (Cyane).
Adventures In The Sin Trade, Part 2
Continuing the dark and harrowing tale of Xena's liason with the evil Shamaness Alti, we learn how Cyane offered Xena a chance at redemption but how she refused to take it. While in the present time, Xena leads the young amazons who are all that remain of the tribe in a mystic attack on Alti and her forces. In the process, she takes them to the place where all their elders including Cyane died at the hands of Xena. Having put the pinch on the young amazons, Xena uses their dying spirits to bloster her own powers for a massive showdown with Alti which finally releases the spirits of Cyane and the elder amazons so they can cross over into Eternity. In her dying moment, Alti torments Xena with a picture of the future, a future in which Xena and Gabrielle are being crucified, side by side by what appear to be Roman soldiers.
Episode: 4.2, US airdate: 4 Oct 98. Rating: TV-PG.
Guest Stars: Marton Csokas (Borias), Vicky Pratt (Cyane).
A Family Affair
Xena explores the lava pit that Gabrielle and Hope fell into and concludes that Gabrielle may have escaped. Xena and Joxer travel to Gabrielle's home village of Potiedia where they meet Gabrielle in the market square. However, she doesn't appear to know who Joxer is. Things become stranger when the shredded body of a man is found hanging in a tree just outside the village. After a tense meeting with Gabrielle's family, Xena and Gabrielle go out to lie in wait for the monster. When Xena is beaten by the monster and Gabrielle is ignored completely, Xena realises that this is Hope and her child, The Destroyer, and not Gabrielle at all. Letting Joxer in on the secret, Xena dispatches him with a task of counting the flocks of sheep so that he's out of harms way and goes out after Hope, who posing as Gabrielle has taken Lila out for a walk. Catching up with them, Xena saves Lila's life when Hope tricks her into going onto a derelict bridge which collapses. Hope escapes and visits her son, The Destroyer and checks him for injuries. Realising that Xena is on to who she really is, Hope heads back for the village. Both Joxer and Xena then see her (seperately) and start tracking her... it soon turns out that Joxer is tracking Hope and soon ends up as dinner for the Destroyer, and Xena was tracking Gabrielle who is still on her way home. After a tearful reunion, Xena and Gabrielle work on a plan to trick The Destroyer into killing his own mother, and despite a minor setback when Gabrielle is discovered by Hope, the deception works.
Episode: 4.3, US airdate: 11 Oct 98.
Guest Stars: Ted Raimi (Joxer), Willa O'Neill (Lila), Geoff Snell (Herodotus), Lisa Crittenden (Hecuba).
In Sickness and In Hell
Having been re-united with Gabrielle, Xena is on a quest to find Argo who has disappeared from the valley where Xena left her grazing. Matters are made much worse when Gabrielle discovers she has foot rot, and Xena discovers she has lice (although she denies it to all and sundry most voiciferously). Meanwhile Joxer turns up with a predicament - a village he's pledged to support are being attacked by the vicious Scythians - a military-like force well beyond Joxer's abilities to handle. Having duely enlisted Xena and Gabrielle's help, he proceeds to return to the village and make plans for their defense. Xena and Gabrielle meanwhile seem more interesting in salving their ailments than saving the village. When Xena discovers that Argo is currently with the Scythians, she goes in to rescue her beloved horse, only to find she doesn't want to be rescued. After foiling the Scythians attack on the village, Xena faces the leader of the Scythian forces in a showdown. The question is, will Argo change sides when Xena's survival is at stake.OK, so that's the plot... but this episode is basically a comedy with many In-Jokes (Monty Python and the Holy Grail - The Killer Rabbit being a case in point) and crude jokes.
Episode: 4.4, US airdate: 18 Oct 98 - Rating: TV-PG.
Guest Stars: Ted Raimi (Joxer), Timothy Lee (Acestus), Campbell Cooley (Euraylus), Andrew Kovacevich (Innkeeper).
A Good Day
Xena and Gabrielle walk into the middle of a confrontation between roman soldiers and a greek mercenary with a high rank in the imperial roman forces. It rapidly becomes apparent that two opposing factions of the roman army, one lead by Caesar, the other by Pompey, are converging on a rural area of Greece. After a moving speech, Xena pursuades a group of villagers to torch their own village and uses the burnt-out remains as a location to set up a trap for the roman forces. Taking Gabrielle fully into her plan, Xena hopes to distract the roman commanders and leave the uncontrolled armies to fight it out without a good strategist. Xena's hope is that they will destroy each other and that the rural villages will cease to be piggy in the middle between the waring roman factions. The plan works well and Pompey and Caesar are soon distracted by Xena, while Gabrielle has to struggle with her conscience about starting a battle that will kill thousands, albeit she believes in the motives for what Xena is trying to do; free the villagers from the ravages of a war being fought on their soil.
Episode: 4.5, US airdate: 25 Oct 98 - Rating: TV-PG.
Guest Stars: Karl Urban (Julias Caesar), Jeremy Callaghan (Pompey).
A Tale Of Two Muses
Xena and Gabby recruit Autolycus to rescue a small town from the oppression of expression - think "Footloose". This may be the same episode as has been rumoured to show Xena inventing Irish Dance a la Riverdance, clips of which have been shown on Entertainment Tonight in the US.
Episode: 4.6, US airdate 2 Nov 98.
Directed by: Michael Hurst
Guest Stars: Bruce Campbell (Autolycus), Shiri Appleby (Tara).
Locked Up and Tied Down
Xena is arrested---and stands trial willingly---for a murder committed when she was evil. "There's no defense for what I did," she tells Gabrielle.
Episode: 4.7, US airdate 9 Nov 98.
Guest Stars: Katrina Browne (Thalassa), William Kircher (Captain), Chris Sherwood (Draxel), Patrick Smith (Healer), Gilbert Goldie (Town Elder).
Crusader
Xena and Gabrielle meet Najara (Kathryn Morris), a warrior with a beatific glow who has found "the Light." Gabrielle is quite taken with her but Xena has her doubts.
Episode: 4.8, US airdate 16 Nov 98.
Guest Star: David Te Rare (Marat).
Past Imperfect
Xena finally tells Gabrielle of the vision of their crucifixion that Alti forced into her mind before she died. Gabrielle is shocked, but refuses to let it change their plans. Having discovered that an army is about to attack a fortified town, they go together to warn the town garison. A moment or two after their arrival, the attack starts and when the commander is killed, his second in commmand who has no combat experience, asks Xena to help them. This Xena decides to do but becomes very troubled when she realises that the attack exactly mirrors her own attack on the city of Corinth many years before. As the story unfolds, Xena faces off with the enemy only to discover it is someone who was with Xena during the battle of Corinth, and in the process discovers some painful truths about the birth of Solan and the death of his father, Borias.
Episode: 4.9, US airdate 4 Jan 99.
Guest Star: Marton Csokas (Borias).
Key To The Kingdom
Raising Arizona, Xena-style. Autolycus, Joxer and Xena look-a-like Meg kidnap a baby from two corrupt rulers.
Episode: 4.10, US airdate 11 Jan 99.
Directed by: Bruce Campbell
Guest Stars: Lucy Lawless (Meg), Ted Raimi (Joxer), Bruce Campbell (Autolycus).
Daughter of Pomira
Episode: 4.11, US airdate 18 Jan 99.
If The Shoe Fits
Episode: 4.12, US airdate 26 Jan 99.
Paradise Found
En route to India, Xena and Gabrielle hole up in a mountain cave to escape a storm only to find themselves in a magical paradise world with two strange inhabitants. A mystic teacher, Aiden, and a mad soldier. As Gabrielle studies mediation techniques with Aiden, Xena is troubled by strange visions and violent urges. As time progresses, Xena becomes more troubled by Aiden, but is it jeolousy about Aidens rapport with Gabrielle or is it something much more sinister?
Episode: 4.13, US airdate 1 Feb 99.
Guest Star: Jeremy Roberts (Aiden).
Devi
Xena and Gabrielle arrive in an Indian city and are amazed by the variety of street performers and gurus they find there. While watching a magician entertain a large audience, things go wrong when the magician's assistant is suddenly possessed by a demon. All seems to be well when Gabrielle comes to her aid and the demon is driven out. However Gabrielle is then mobbed by the crowd and to her amazement a blind man is healed merely by touching her. Catching the magician trying to escape, Xena pursuades him to explain to her about the "posession" that seems to have turned Gabrielle into a miracle healer. As time progresses, Xena picks up on various clues and she and the magician (Eli) become convinced that it is the goddess Tanaka who has possessed Gabrielle, and that this definitely is a bad thing. Challenging her, Xena and Gabrielle come blows in a vicious fight in the market square; Tanaka determined to get rid of the meddlesome Xena.
Episode: 4.14, US airdate 8 Feb 99.
Guest Star: Tim Omundson (Eli).
Between The Lines
Still journeying through India, Xena and Gabrielle come face to face with an evil nemesis they thought to be dead.This is the episode in which Gabrielle gets her hair cut short!
Episode: 4.15, US airdate 15 Feb 99.
Guest Star: Claire Stansfield (Alti).
The Way
The BANNED episode - the episode was withdrawn by USA Studios after a storm of complaints from an extremist Hindu splinter group.
After being attacked by some strange warriors who transform from being beetles in front of their eyes, Xena and Gabrielle are reunited with Eli and they learn more about his mystic powers to heal. They soon decide to join him on his pilgrimage to find to his destiny and what it means to be an Avatar at a distant temple. Along the way he cures a young girl who has been in a coma, and they meet up with an ancient Monkey-like being who has aided other young avatars on their path to the temple. As they arrive at the temple, Indrajit - a demon, attacks and seizes Gabrielle and Eli. With the ancient monkey's help, Xena attracts the attention of Krishna who agrees to help Xena in the struggle to free Eli and Gabrielle, and to vanquish Indrajit. They also discuss "The Way", each individuals path through life and Krishna reassures Xena that being a warrior is her path in this life. Xena proceeds to fight with Indrajit to free Gabrielle and Eli but looses and ends up loosing both her arms in the fight. Desperate and about to die, Xena calls on Krishna to help her, who reinstates her arms (and adds a few more) and she returns to do further battle with Indrajit. After a vicious fight, Xena decapitates Indrajit and frees Eli and Gabrielle and is returned to normal by Krishna. As they leave the temple, Eli talks of returning home. Xena and Gabrielle talk as they walk along the river, and Gabrielle decides that hers is "the way of peace" and decides to through away her staff and to foreswear violence. Xena asks her if that means she'll be leaving and Gabrielle says no, their journeys will be together regardless of their seperate "ways".
Episode: 4.16, US airdate 22 Feb 99.
Guest Star: Tim Omundson (Eli).
The Plays The Thing
Having returned from India, Gabrielle is really disappointed to have lost a scroll while they were in Pireas, and is troubled by having lost it. Xena sensing that she won't shut up until she's found it, suggests that she returns to look for it. Once there she bumps into a theatrical producer who has found it and tells Gabrielle that it's the best piece of work she's ever read. Appealing to Gabrielle's vanity, she manages to pursuade Gabby to put it on as a stage show. We soon discover however that the producer actually thinks it's a load of saccarine rubbish and is a certain failure - her real plan is to relieve a number of rich warlords of their money by overselling their role in funding the production, and then leave Gabrielle to face their wrath having absconded with the money. Meanwhile Gabrielle has to struggle with the varying conflicting demands of making the show entertaining while staying true to her "vision". When the final night comes, things start to go awry and soon the warlords are after Gabrielle; at with point the real Xena appears and cleans up the mess. This is another of RP's Tribute episodes, this time to Mel Brooks' The Producers starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. It also includes the usual comedy episode diet of In-Jokes, including the reference to "Buffus the Bacchae Slayer" and Minya's inspired revelation that she's a thespian... "She did say thespian, didn't she?" asks Xena at the end, only to be upstaged by Joxer who is left hanging upside down at the end of the episode and mentions complaining to his brother about being left hanging upside down. Ted Raimi is of course the brother of Xena excutive producer, Sam Raimi.
Episode: 4.17, US airdate 15 Mar 99.
Guest Stars: Alyson Wall (Minya), Jennifer Ward Leland (The Producer), Ted Raimi (Joxer).
The Convert
Xena is skeptical of Najara's seeming renunciation of violence, and Joxer has trouble handling his first kill.
Episode: 4.18, US airdate 19 Apr 99.
Guest Stars: Kathryn Morris (Najara), Ted Raimi (Joxer).
Takes One To Know One
Xena must solve a murder mystery at her mother's tavern to appease Discord, the Goddess of Retribution.
Episode: 4.19, US airdate 26 Apr 99.
Guest Star: Meighan Desmond (Discord).
Endgame
Ephiny leads the Amazons in an attack against a group of Roman soldiers and comes to blows with Brutus, who after a long fight, kills her. A young amazon, Amarice, is sent to find Gabrielle who is now queen of the Amazons. Gabrielle and Xena return with her to the Amazon village where Xena takes command as Gabrielle's lieutenant and leads the Amazons in an attempt to rescue their fellow amazons who were captured by Pompey's forces to be sold as slaves. Meanwhile Gabrielle struggles with her role as Amazon queen while at the same still trying to hold onto a path of non-violence. With the amazons relying on her decisions for their very survival, she begins to feel that her position has become untenable. Xena then leads a party to capture Brutus and bring him back to the Amazon village; while many call for his execution for killing Ephiny, Gabrielle decides to let him go with an offer of a peace treaty with Caesar. Oddly, she has Xena's backing in this policy, although as we find out later for other reasons. Having prepared the Amazons for battle, Xena then discovers that both Caesar and Pompey's forces are seperately closing on the Amazon village and she releases Brutus so that he can deflect Caesar's forces from attacking the Amazons and lead them against Pompey. In the middle of the fight, Xena breaks through the lines and comes face to face with Pompey. After a fight, Xena tricks Pompey to try and find his true intentions, and when he attempts to stab her from behind, she decapitates him and gives the head to Brutus, warning him not to mention her name in Caesar's presence. Returning victorious to Rome, Brutus presents Pompey's head to Caesar along with the peace treaty that Gabrielle offered Rome. When Caesar burns the treaty, Brutus is deeply shocked and starts to wonder if Caesar is really as honourable as he believes.
Episode: 4.20, US airdate 3 May 99.
Guest Stars: Danielle Cormack (Ephiny), Jennifer Sky (Amarice), Karl Urban (Julius Caesar), Jeremy Callaghan (Pompey).
Ides Of March
Caesar gets what's coming to him, perchance?
Episode: 4.21, US airdate 10 May 99.
Guest Stars: Karl Urban (Julius Caesar), Hudson Leick (Callisto), Jennifer Sky (Amarice), Tim Omundson (Eli).
Deja Vu All Over Again
In the present day, Annie (Lucy Lawless) dreams that she is really Xena, Warrior Princess. Her husband, Harry (Ted Raimi) decides she's watching way too much of her favourite TV series. Annie meanwhile decides to go to see a new age healer (Renee O'Connor) who claims to be able to regress people back to their past lives. When Annie is overcome with shock at discovering she's really descended from Joxer not Xena, Harry brushes past the receptionist Marco (Robert Trebor) and confronts the healer. Trying to prove it's all a fake, Harry agrees to be regressed too, only to discover that he is in fact descended from Xena.
Episode: 4.22, US airdate 17 May 99.
Directed by: Renee O'Connor
Guest Stars: Ted Raimi (Harry), Lucy Lawless (Annie), Renee O'Connor (Healer), Robert Trebor (Marco), Kevin Smith (Ares).