Xena and Gabrielle get caught up in a war in the middle of the desert. They are quite happy to help out when the Romans decide to join in. But when Gabrielle inadvertantly kills an innocent boy and is sentenced to death, Xena is distracted from the war.
Summary[]
Xena and Gabrielle travel through a sand storm.
Traveling through the desert, Xena and Gabrielle struggle through a ferocious sandstorm. Spotting a battle in the distance, the two swoop in to aid three nomads, led by the fierce woman warrior Kahina , against attackers from another tribe. As they drive off the assailants, a suspicious Kahina berates Xena for having interfered in the fight. Upon hearing Gabrielle speak Xena’s name, Kahina and her cohorts draw their weapons, convinced that the women facing them are imposters. But Xena quickly proves her identity by disarming the nomads with her chakram and instantly wins their devotion. That night, at a feast in their honor, Kahina informs Xena and Gabrielle that they will lead her people’s battle against their archenemies, the Romans.
Gabrielle questions her motives
Alone in their tent, Gabrielle asks Xena how to decide whether to kill or just hurt the enemy in battle. Xena explains that there’s no time to decide and that one has to rely on instinct. At dawn, Xena, Gabrielle, and Kahina travel to the camp of their rival, the nomad Tazere, to make peace so the two tribes can join forces against the Romans. When the trio approaches Tazere, his son Korah confirms that Xena and Gabrielle were the valiant warriors he saw in battle the day before. Xena , Kahina, and Tazere plan their strategy while Korah drools over Gabrielle.
Korah takes a shine to Gabrielle
Xena and Gabrielle decide they need to check out the Roman town by themselves. Xena, disguised as a Roman wife, and Gabrielle, posing as her slave, approach Governor Dalius. Xena claims her husband is from a very prominent family and is interested in finding out if the town would be a good place to invest his money. Dalius assures her that the town has excellent prospects and that the entire region will be under Roman control very quickly. Eager to impress her, he volunteers that three full-strength legions are being brought into the area to control the local tribes.
Gabrielle seconds after discovering she killed an innocent man.
After leaving the town, Xena and Gabrielle are overtaken by another blinding sandstorm, during which Gabrielle suddenly sees a figure headed towards Xena’s back with his arm raised. Instinctively, Gabrielle draws her sai and impales him before he can harm Xena. As he falls to the ground, Gabrielle is horrified to realize that she has accidentally killed Korah, who was holding nothing more than a scroll in his hand.
Xena, determined to save Gabrielle speak to Dalius.
Xena reveals that the scroll Korah was carrying was a peace treaty between Kahina and Tazere. Xena sends a grief-stricken Gabrielle back to Kahina’s camp while she delivers Korah’s body to his father. When Tazere sees his slain son, he vows to make the murderer pay for his death. As Xena misled him to believe that the Romans are responsible so as to protect Gabrielle as well as to prepare for the attacks of the Romans.
Gabrielle is sentenced to death
Back at Kahina’s camp, Xena arrives with the news that the Romans are about to attack. Just then, a group of Kahina’s and Tazere’s men drag in a Roman soldier, convinced he is Korah’s killer. But before they can execute him, Gabrielle confesses her guilt. When Gabrielle tries to explain to Tazere that her actions were a dreadful mistake, he is unmoved and calls her a murderer. Alone and grief-stricken, she has flashbacks of her life over the past years. She concludes her death will be best for everyone.
I guess we've come full circle, huh?
The next day Xena, determined to save her friend, heads back to speak to Dalius. Meanwhile, Tazere’s men bury Gabrielle in a sand pit, leaving only her head exposed. The nomads are charging Gabrielle on horseback, swinging their mallets towards her head, just as the Romans approach with Xena. Chaos erupts and Xena rescues Gabrielle. Xena and Gabrielle meet up with the nomads and Gabrielle declares that she’s going to fight the Romans in Korah’s honor. Xena mobilizes the nomad forces and the battle begins. Gabrielle, seeing Tazere in jeopardy, leaps in to save his life. A sandstorm blows in and ultimately the nomads are victorious. That night, Gabrielle and Tazere make peace. Xena gives a sad smile and puts a hand on Gabrielle's shoulder.
Disclaimer[]
Despite severe air turbulance, no sand fleas were harmed during the production of this motion picture, although some experienced periodic bouts of motion sickness.
Background Information[]
Behind the Scenes[]
- The working title of this episode was "Two Women in Search of a Chariot Race." They had planned to have a chariot race in this episode, but wrote the idea out in early production and instead included one in "The God You Know."
- Missy Good, the episode's writer (and the writer of "Coming Home") was actually a writer of Xena: Warrior Princess fan-fic, who was discovered by Steven L. Sears and asked to write for the show.
- This episode marks the third and final appearance of Alison Bruce, who plays Kahina in this episode, on Xena: Warrior Princess. She previosuly played Melosa and Talia on the show.
- Kahina was a 7th century Berber warrior woman who led her armies against the invading Arabs. She is the third female historical figure to team up with Xena. The previous women were: Boadicea ("The Deliverer") and Cleopatra ("The King of Assasins").
Key Events[]
- This episode marks the second and last time that Xena is forced to prove her identity by using her Chakram, something that she was previously forced to do much earlier, in "Warrior... Princess... Tramp.”
- This episode is considered the second of three consecutive episodes, where Gabrielle must choose between life or death (the other two being "Who's Gurkhan?" and "The Abyss").
- This is the last episode to be set in Africa.
Goofs[]
- For a person buried up to their neck in sand, it didn't take Xena very long to dig her out and Gabrielle came out pretty clean for it, too.
- Tyre tracks can be seen in the sand, when Gabrielle's executers are charging toward her.
- The first shot of Xena and Gabrielle in the heavy sandstorm (moments before Korah is killed by Gabrielle) has been reversed.
Archive Footage[]
- Clips used during Gabrielle's "remembering scene", were taken from (in order of use):
- "Sins of the Past"
- "Sins of the Past"
- "The Greater Good"
- "Sins of the Past"
- "The Greater Good"
- "Is There a Doctor in the House?"
- "Return of Callisto"
- "Return of Callisto"
- "The Deliverer"
- "The Way"
- "Callisto"
- "The Ides of March"
- "Seeds of Faith"
- "Amphipolis Under Siege"
- "Who's Gurkhan?"
- And finally two scenes from this episode.
Trivia[]
- Chakram Count: 2
- This episode is set in the same place as "Who's Gurkhan?", somewhere in Northern Africa (maybe Mogador still).
- This is further confirmed when Gabrielle claims that she was amazed that her scrolls had "come this far."
- Gabrielle mentions the Xena once prayed never to see the light go out in her. This is referring to Xena's prayer in "Return of Callisto".
- Gabrielle is using a staff once again towards the end of the episode.
- Gabrielle has always been portraying the slave and Xena as the master, as referred to the episode "Antony & Cleopatra".
- Eve, Virgil, and Sarah do not appear in this episode, in spite of how the previous one ended, and their absence is not mentioned.
Links and References[]
Main Cast[]
Guest Stars[]
- Alison Bruce as Kahina
- Owen Black as Korah
- Rawiri Paratene as Tazere
References[]
People[]
Gods[]
No gods were mentioned or seen during this episode.
Places[]
Other[]
[]
| << Season Five | Season 6 | |||||||
| #01 | Coming Home | #09 | Return of the Valkyrie | #17 | Last of the Centaurs | |||
| #02 | The Haunting of Amphipolis | #10 | Old Ares Had a Farm | #18 | When Fates Collide | |||
| #03 | Heart of Darkness | #11 | Dangerous Prey | #19 | Many Happy Returns | |||
| #04 | Who's Gurkhan? | #12 | The God You Know | #20 | Soul Possession | |||
| #05 | Legacy | #13 | You Are There | #21 | A Friend in Need Part I | |||
| #06 | The Abyss | #14 | Path of Vengeance | #22 | A Friend in Need Part II | |||
| #07 | The Rheingold | #15 | To Helicon and Back | |||||
| #08 | The Ring | #16 | Send in the Clones | |||||