Cradle of Hope

Xena and Gabrielle set out to find the parents of an abandoned baby, and discover that the infants's been marked for death due to a prophecy declaring him a future threat to a local king.

Summary
When an oracle predicts that a newborn child will one day occupy the throne of King Gregor, Ophelia, a young girl, spirits the child away before the King's advisor Nemos can find him. Desperate to save him, she places the child in a basket and sets him floating down a river. The child is later found by Xena and Gabrielle.

On their way to find the baby's parents, Xena saves a woman from a lynching and learns she is Pandora, granddaughter of the legendary woman and the present keeper of Pandora's Box.

Searching for the missing child, Nemos' men confront Xena at a country inn, where they find her with Gabrielle and the baby. While she fights off the attackers, Nemos quickly snatches up Pandora's Box and steals away. When a panicky Pandora explains that the Box will open automatically and release the Hope of Mankind if it is out of her hands for another day, Xena arranges a meeting with Gregor and Nemos.

After declining their offer to return the Box if she turns over the child, she devises a plan to get the Box back. That night, she disguises herself as a dancer for the Quarter Moon Festival to gain entrance into the King's castle. Once inside, Xena is summoned to Nemos' private chambers after performing an earthy, sexy dance guaranteed to tempt any barbarian.

After knocking Nemos out, she creeps to the King's chamber and retrieves the Box, only steps ahead of the guards. Nemos awakens and corners Xena, but she leaps from a parapet window high up in the castle wall to escape and return the Box to Pandora before it opens. Then, recognizing the core of the prophecy, she returns the baby to Gregor and convinces him to accept the baby as his heir, rather than as a usurper to his throne.

Gregor, still grieving over the death of his own son six months earlier, gladly accepts. Feeling his power slipping away, Nemos suddenly appears with his soldiers in an attempt to depose the King. During the fierce battle that follows, Xena and Gabrielle must toss the infant back and forth to prevent his capture.

In the end, Xena disposes of Nemos and the child is safe. As Gregor then prepares to present his new heir to the people, he asks Pandora to stay on to nurture the little boy.

Disclaimer
No babies were harmed during the production of this motion picture. [First ever disclaimer]

Background Information
1) To cut down Pandora from the rope. 2) To kill the soldier who was attacking Pandora.
 * Shooting Dates: July 28th, 1995 through August 4th, 1995 (6 day shoot).
 * Ratings: 5.5 million viewers on its original airing.
 * This episode was the sixth to be written, after Sins of the Past, Chariots of War, Death in Chains, The Titans and Dreamworker.
 * Pandora and King Gregor were originally suppose to return for later episodes, but it never occured. Lucy Lawless enjoyed working with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, the actress who played Pandora, and was surprised that her character didn't resurface.
 * Chakram Count:
 * They always had a professional testfire the alcohol before Lucy did her firebreathing gag, and once when the alcohol content was too high the stuntie's face caught on fire. He was okay, but it made her always pay very close attention to what she was doing. She always drank milk before she did it to coat the lining of her mouth and stomach.