Hope



Hope is the daughter of Gabrielle and the evil god Dahak.

While helping to defend Britannia against Caesar, Gabrielle comes into contact with an evil cult that tricks her into killing one of its priestesses, Meridian.[5] Using her, the dark god Dahak impregnates Gabrielle just as Xena rescues her.[5] Over the next two weeks, the child grows inside Gabrielle, and eventually she gives birth to a girl. Even though she is the seed of evil, Gabrielle tells Xena that she is also a part of her and that there must be some good in her as well; naming her Hope.[6] Fearing that the child will become a danger to the world and be used as a pawn for her evil father, Xena wants to kill her, but unbeknownst to Xena, Gabrielle saves her daughter by putting her in a basket and sending her downriver.[6] This precipitates a major rift between Xena and Gabrielle, a story arc that spans several episodes and includes Gabrielle betraying Xena by foiling her attempt to assassinate the tyrant Ming T'ien. Gabrielle alerts Ming T'ien to the plan and unintentionally causes Xena to be imprisoned and tortured.

A few months later, Gabrielle finds Hope again, now looking like a 9 year old and already in the process of helping her father by implementing his plan to take over the world.[1] Hope allies herself with Callisto, and in revenge for Xena's attempt to kill her as a baby, she murders Xena's son, Solan.[1] This forces Gabrielle to accept that Hope is indeed dangerous. She kills her daughter by giving her poison, an act that continues to haunt Gabrielle throughout the series. Gabrielle holds herself responsible for Solan's death, as well as for betraying Xena a second time, even after reconciliation with Xena is achieved through the musical journey in the Land of Illusia.[8]

Hope as a girl.After the death of Solan, Hope rises from her ashes and frees Callisto from the cave in which Xena trapped her. Hope then asks for Callisto's help in preventing the birth of the world's greatest hero, Hercules. With Hope's help, Callisto and Ares traps Hercules between two parallel worlds along with his evil counterpart, the Sovereign. Eventually, Hercules escapes and throws Callisto into the same place trapped with the Sovereign.

Therefore, when she once again encounters Hope, who was saved from the funeral pyre by Dahak, Gabrielle sacrifices herself to save Xena by jumping into a lava pit and taking Hope down with her.[3] At the time, Hope was pregnant with Ares' child, the first Destroyer. It is later revealed that Ares teleported to an inner ledge inside the lava pit and saved Hope and Gabrielle, hoping to use the latter as a bargaining chip against Xena.[9]

Hope ultimately gives birth to the Destroyer.[4] Impersonating Gabrielle, she returns to Gabrielle's hometown Potidaea. Xena later returns to Potidaea and is reunited with "Gabrielle". With news of a wild beast brutally murdering animals at night, Xena finds the Destroyer and barely escapes with her life. Discovering that she is dealing with Dahak's grandson, Xena deduces that "Gabrielle" is really Hope. After finding the real Gabrielle, they devise a plan to kill Hope and the Destroyer.[4]

Gabrielle finds the Destroyer, who, thinking she is its mother, hugs her. Xena uses this moment to stab it in the back with her sword, fatally wounding it. When Hope runs out to help her child, the Destroyer thinks she has betrayed it and stabs her before realizing how it has been tricked by Xena and Gabrielle. Crying, it hugs its mother as the two die in each other's arms

Appearances

 * XWP:
 * "Gabrielle's Hope"
 * "Maternal Instincts"
 * "Sacrifice: Part 1"
 * "Sacrifice: Part 2"
 * "A Family Affair"
 * "Motherhood"


 * HTLJ:
 * "Armageddon Now: Part 1"
 * "Armageddon Now: Part 2"