Gabrielle is kidnapped by an arrogant grunt, Palemon. Xena discovers this and when a fight ensues between the two, she has Sumac Oil squirted in her eyes, causing temporary blindness, that can be cured if she can treat it with Egyptian Senna within 24 hours. But Gabrielle is her main mission right now.
Summary
Gabrielle is kidnapped in the marketplace one afternoon by the handsome young warrior Palaemon, who returns to the scene of the crime just as Xena arrives to look for her friend. Palaemon tells the warrior princess that he's killed Gabrielle and that she is the next to die. A wild and reckless fight ensues but before Xena can gain the upper hand, her sword slices through a large bag of oil, suspended from a market stall. As the bag bursts open, some of the oil gets into Xena's eyes. When Palaemon fails to strike immediately, Xena realizes he lacks the killer instinct and therefore must have lied about murdering Gabrielle. When she finally overpowers him, he confesses he wants to be known as the man who killed Xena in a fair fight, and refuses to tell her where he's taken Gabrielle, even when Xena puts her deadly "pinch" on him.
Forced to let the brash young warrior live, Xena binds his hands as she struggles to clear her eyes of the oil, which contains the harmful substance sumac. With Palaemon in tow, she sets off to find Gabrielle, determined not to let her companion know how increasingly blurry her vision is becoming. On the way, Palaemon reveals he was hired to kidnap Gabrielle, but insists that no harm will come to her.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle has been taken to a castle where she learns from the rakish courtier Apex that King Solus has chosen her for his bride. As Apex locks her inside a royal chamber, Lagos arrives to inform him that Xena is headed their way. Apex orders him to round up some guards to prevent any interference by the warrior princess as Vidalus, the royal attendant, arrives to begin the work of transforming Gabrielle into a queen.
When Xena and Palaemon are attacked by Lagos and his men on the outskirts of the village, Xena cuts Palaemon free and the two drive off their assailants. In the process, Palaemon finally realizes that Xena is blind. When he tries to leave, Xena locates a manacle left by the soldiers and cuffs her wrist to his, determined to make him her eyes. The two set off once more to find Gabrielle, who has by now made a couple of brave but unsuccessful attempts to escape.
Xena finally explains to Palaemon that her blindness has been caused by the sumac in the oil, and that she will be blind for life unless she cleanses her eyes with Egyptian senna within 24 hours. Palaemon is astonished by her bravery when she tells him she can get the cure at the Athens market, but will not go there before she rescues her friend. Shackled together, the two head for the woods to evade a group of soldiers. In the ensuing chase, Xena runs blindly off the the edge of a cliff pulling Palaemon after her. When the warrior manages to grab onto a root branch protruding from the ravine, Xena decides to unlock his manacle to save him from plunging down with her. Xena's fall is miraculously broken when the manacle chain catches on a jagged rock and Palaemon pulls her to safety.
In the meantime, Gabrielle has been forced to undergo a dramatic makeover at the hands of Vidalus before being presented to the court. What she doesn't realize is that the court artist has completed a golden bust of her to adorn the lid of a sarcophagus which has been made exactly to her size. Gabrielle gradually wins Vidalus' confidence and convinces him to show her the way to the king's bedchamber. When she enters, she is stunned to find King Solus lying dead, enshrouded under a canopy of white linen. Apex soon arrives with his guards, who have now arrested Vidalus, and reveals that Solus accidentally drowned in the royal baths a few days earlier. He explains that according to their laws, if the king is married at the time of his death, the monarchy is dissolved and the power goes to the ministry -- in this case, Apex himself. He further explains that by ancient proclamation, the queen must accompany her king to the Other Side.
Xena and Palaemon make their way inside the castle wall just as the wedding is commencing behind a translucent silk screen to keep the royal well-wishers and peasants from learning that King Solus is really dead. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Gabrielle and the king are sealed inside separate sarcophagi.
A short while later, Apex commands his men to alert the people that the king has met with a tragic accident. At the same time, Lagos informs him of Xena's arrival. As the guards rush off to find her, Xena learns from Vidalus that Apex has taken Gabrielle to the crematorium. They arrive to find the king's body already burned and with only seconds to spare, Xena snatches Gabrielle's coffin from the flames. Moved by Xena's courage, Palaemon finally abandons his plan to kill the warrior princess in order to boost his own reputation, and Xena regains her eyesight with the help of Vidalus who, as luck would have it, grows Egyptian senna in his garden.
Disclaimer
Once again, Gabrielle's luck with men was harmed during the production of this motion picture.
Background Information
- Jeremy Callaghan, who plays Palemon in this episode, goes on to play Pompey, Caesar's adversary, in numerous episodes.
Links and References
Guest Stars
- Jeremy Callaghan as Palaemon
- Chris Bailey as Apex
- Sydney Jackson as Vidalus
- Graham Lauder as Lagor
- Ajay Vasisht as Vendor (Blind Faith)
References
People
Gods
No gods were mentioned in this episode.
Places
Other
| << Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 >> | ||||||
| #01 | Orphan of War | #09 | A Solstice Carol | #17 | The Execution | |||
| #02 | Remember Nothing | #10 | The Xena Scrolls | #18 | Blind Faith | |||
| #03 | The Giant Killer | #11 | Here She Comes... Miss Amphipolis | #19 | Ulysses | |||
| #04 | Girls Just Wanna Have Fun | #12 | Destiny | #20 | The Price | |||
| #05 | Return of Callisto | #13 | The Quest | #21 | The Lost Mariner | |||
| #06 | Warrior... Princess... Tramp | #14 | A Necessary Evil | #22 | A Comedy of Eros | |||
| #07 | Intimate Stranger | #15 | A Day in the Life | |||||
| #08 | Ten Little Warlords | #16 | For Him the Bell Tolls | |||||