The Deliverer (episode)

Xena's anger and hatred for Caesar leads her to Brittania, where she fights alongside Bodecia. Meanwhile, Gabrielle befriends a man named Krafstar, who she thinks will teach her the ways of a religion that is said to worship a God that will bring great things to the world. But instead, she is led to a cult that worships a Demon God, who will bring about the destruction of the Pantheons and the World and an event takes place that will change her relationship with Xena — and her life — forever.

Summary
At one of the god temples, Ares and Discord are threatened by a monotheistic temple, which Ares tells Discord he is handling. Xena and Gabrielle come upon four prisoners being led by two armed guards. When Xena learns that the captured men are enemies of the hated Caesar, she overpowers the guards and frees them.

Khrafstar, one of the released prisoners and the First Priest of Temple of the One God, explains to Xena that he is recruiting mercenaries to join the warrior Boadicea in Britannia to fight Caesar. Xena immediately offers her help.

Before boarding a boat, Ares appears to Xena who is still annoyed by him over the events with The Furies, he tells her the temple should be destroyed. On board ship, Xena tells Gabrielle that she and Boadicea were allies in Gaul long ago, but Xena betrayed her. She took control of her men and ordered her killed, but Boadicea managed to escape to Brittania.

Just as she finishes her story, a Roman Centurion comes aboard to announce that Caesar has forbidden any vessels to land on Britannia's shores. Xena publicly agrees to turn back towards Gaul, but takes the ship north instead, slips ashore and sends a message to Boadicea.

By the time the Centurion and his soldiers arrive, realizing that they've been duped, Boadicea and Xena have joined forces to launch a furious attack on Caesar's men. The Roman soldiers are forced to retreat, but not before the Centurion takes Gabrielle and Khrafstar captive, unbeknownst to Xena.

The two women warriors, bound only by their mutual hatred of Caesar as far as Boadicea is concerned, head back to Boadicea's camp where the mercenaries are settling in. As Xena tries to find out the whereabouts of Gabrielle and Khrafstar, she is approached by a woman named Meridian, a member of the Temple of the One God, who is also wondering where Khrafstar is. Xena soon realizes that they were captured during the battle and begins to devise a rescue plan.

Meanwhile, Gabrielle and Khrafstar have been delivered to Caesar, who orders the Centurion and his soldiers to guard them for the night. Khrafstar tells Gabrielle more about his belief in the One God. Back at the camp, Xena and Boadicea are preparing their men for battle the following day.

By first light, Caesar has already learned that Xena is trying to lure him into a trap. He orders that a full legion of men be prepared for combat, at the same time, orders the deaths of Gabrielle and Khrafstar by crucifixion.

The two are hauled up on crosses before the ground suddenly erupts. Xena, Boadicea and their men emerge from shallow "graves" and defeat the surprised Romans, freeing Gabrielle and Khrafstar. Caesar responds by ordering that every legion in the country be gathered to fight. Xena, meanwhile, plans her defense.

The two women warriors station their men high up on the seven hills surrounding the valley where Caesar expects the big battle to occur. Xena's plan is to force Caesar to divide his army and fight uphill. In order to secure the area, they take out the Roman soldiers guarding the Temple of the One God but do not destroy the temple itself, a decision which angers Ares who considers the "cult" a threat.

Meanwhile, an intrigued Gabrielle accompanies Khrafstar to the Temple of the One God. There, Meridian begins a strange invocation and suddenly, the circle of worshippers grab Khrafstar and Gabrielle, binding Khrafstar to the altar as a sacrifice. They then begin chanting praises to Dahak, the Dark One, as Gabrielle and Khrafstar struggle.

Finally, Gabrielle manages to free herself but in order to save Khrafstar, she winds up killing Meridian with a dagger. Khrafstar becomes instantly calm and explains to Gabrielle that Dahak needed a sacrifice of purity and innocence, which she has just given him. As Gabrielle looks on in horror, he adds that she will be the one to allow The New Kingdom of Dahak to rule the world.

Outside, Xena and Boadicea notice the sky turning black and stormy over the Temple and Xena goes to investigate. There she finds Gabrielle with blood on her hands, lying next to the altar covered by Meridian's dead body.

As a sobbing Gabrielle confesses to Meridian's murder, Khrafstar appears and thanks Xena for allowing Dahak, the Dark One, to rule. Xena attacks him and a brutal fight ensues. Meanwhile, the altar explodes into a ball of fire and collapses into a pit where the tendrils of flame capture Gabrielle, then shoot to the roof and suspend her over the pit. Khrafstar suddenly morphs into a huge warrior and renews his attack, screaming that he is the Deliverer.

But ultimately, Xena is able to use his own rage against him and sends him into the burning pit. Leaping through the air, she saves Gabrielle from the flames and shields her body from falling debris as the entire temple collapses and takes on a familiar shape — Stonehenge.

Disclaimer
''Gabrielle was slightly well done during the filming of this motion picture. However, the producers would like to recommend a zesty barbeque sauce to bring out the full flavour of this episode.''

Background Information

 * Shooting Dates: May 27th through June 5th, 1997 (8 day shoot)
 * This episode is the start of "The Rift". "The Rift" is the name fans have given to the relationship trouble Xena and Gabrielle have starting in this episode and continuing until the episode "The Bitter Suite" later in the season.
 * This episode originally intended to air before the previous one, "The Dirty Half Dozen" - in the opening scene, Ares is hailing his new indestructable metal and says that he may give it to someone to use, but this had already happened in the previous episode. Also the events from "The Furies" is also brought up, meaning it would be the first time Xena and Ares have spoken since "The Furies".
 * This episode was meant to air as the season premier of the season, since the first two episodes of season 3, were filmed and meant to have aired as the last two episodes of season 2, until the network decided to cut the seasons down from 24 to 22 episodes.
 * First appearance of Discord in the Xenaverse, though she only appears briefly.
 * This episode begins the 18-month long Dahak arc, which concludes the following year with the Hercules episode "Redemption".
 * As a general rule, Renee really hated having Gabrielle scream, since she saw it as a weakness and a stereotype, but she felt it was an entirely appropriate response to killing Meridian and decided to really let herself go.
 * At the end of the episode, after Gabrielle has killed someone for the first time, she says 'everything's changed.' In an earlier episode, Xena says that after taking a life 'everything changes.'
 * Although we don't know it yet, Gabrielle is pregnant at the end of this episode.
 * At the end of this episode, when the temple collapses, it forms Stonehenge.

Key Events

 * The first time Gabrielle kills a person.