The stage is set for a clash of the Titans when Gabrielle inadvertently releases three of the giant gods from a centuries-long entombment and one of them proceeds to terrorize a village against the wishes of the other two.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
Guest Stars[]
- Mark Raffety as Hyperion
- Amanda Tollemache as Theia
- Eddie Campbell (credited as Edward Campbell) as Crius
- Andy Anderson as Hesiod
- Paolo Rotondo as Phyleus
- Syd Mannion as Calchas
- David Mackie as Rhodos
- Jack Dacey as Creon
Summary[]
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Xena watches a group of murdering thugs led by Hesiod walk along, she then tells Gabrielle to watch Argo. Gabrielle asks Argo if she's hungry and she heads off with Argo. Xena intercepts Hesiot and his men just as they talk about meeting up with more allies for looting. She confronts Hesiot, sarcastically calling him "special" to her. Dropping her weapons, she launches into a fight, taking on multiple attackers using acrobatics and skill.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle struggles with Argo, trying to find a place for her to graze. Back in the fight, Xena holds her own, but during the chaos, Hesiot escapes on a stolen horse. Xena whistles for Argo, but she doesn’t come immediately. Eventually, Gabrielle arrives with the horse. Xena scolds Gabrielle for inadvertently helping Hesiot get away, reminding her not to just apologize, but to improve. Then she rides off, leaving Gabrielle to reflect on the lesson.
Gabrielle chants words from a scroll that frees The Titans
While Xena pursues Hesiod and his men, Gabrielle stumbles into a cavern where a group of priests are performing a ritual. When she corrects the pronunciation of a young woman who is chanting words from an ancient scroll, the huge rock sculptures of three Titans known as Theia, Crius and Hyperion spring to life from the cavern wall. Thrilled at being liberated, the Titans drop to their knees before Gabrielle, whom they proclaim a great goddess.
Act One[]
The Titans meet the humans
Xena rides swiftly through various landscapes, tracking Hesiot, who meets Creon at a tavern. Hesiot warns him that someone is chasing him: Xena. Creon dismisses the threat until Xena bursts in, takes him down, and confronts Hesiot. Hesiot grabs the barkeep as a hostage, but Xena outsmarts him, frees the barkeep, and subdues Hesiot.
Just as Xena starts tying Hesiot up, Creon's men arrive, outnumbering her. Hesiot taunts her, believing she can’t handle a dozen men alone. But Gabrielle arrives and reveals she’s not alone—Crius, a Titan, is with her. The powerful Titan scares off the gang by tossing Creon across the room. The men flee in panic.
Gabrielle introduces Xena to the Titans as her best friend and asks them not to advertise her virginity. Delighted by the prospect of solving humankind's problems with the help of these amazing servants, Gabrielle sets out with Crius to assist Xena in capturing the evil Hesiod. Though terrified at first by the sight of the Titans, the villagers are reassured when, at Gabrielle's direction, the giants begin fixing the damage from a recent flood. Meanwhile, a skeptical Xena warns her friend that there may have been a very good reason why the Titans were entombed by the Olympians in the first place.
Hyperion is convinced Gabrielle's no goddess, uses his powers on her.
Gabrielle soon realizes how naive she's been when Hyperion, now angry and convinced she's no goddess, sends her flying backwards through the air with one powerful breath.
Act Two[]
Rushing to Gabrielle's aid, Xena narrowly escapes being crushed by driving her sword through the Titan's foot. Hyperion begins destroying the town and only Xena's quick thinking allows the villagers to escape his rage by seeking shelter in a temple sacred to the Titans.
Xena and Gabrielle seek refuge in a temple from the Titans.
Despite the objections of Crius and Theia, Hyperion announces he will kill every human being he sees until Xena is turned over to him and will make a king of whoever does so. He also plans to capture Gabrielle, whom he needs for a second chant to free hundreds of other Titans from the walls of the cavern. When several anguished parents cry out in fear for their children who are still in the village, Xena sneaks out to rescue them.
The Titans fight.
Phyleus, a handsome young village priest who is smitten by Gabrielle, remains by her side while Xena's cunning prisoner Hesiod -- now tied to a pillar in the temple -- tries to turn the frightened townspeople against Xena. Before Hyperion can kill the children, Crius attacks the evil Titan and a terrible battle ensues. As Xena leads the children to the safety of the temple, Hyperion kills Crius and follows her.
Xena is captured by Hesiod to be taken to the Titans.
Upon entering the temple, Xena is captured by the evil schemer Hesiod and a group of villagers who have freed him in their eagerness to appease the Titans.
Act Three[]
Placing her in a wooden coffin, Hesiod and Rhodos deliver the box to Hyperion, but are themselves killed when the furious Titan opens the coffin and finds that the warrior woman has escaped.
Xena makes her way back to the temple just before the terrified villagers are about to turn Gabrielle and Phyleus over to the Titans and tells them of Hyperion's plan to destroy humanity by releasing the hundreds of Titans still entombed in the cavern. Finally rallying behind Xena, the townspeople begin constructing a large contraption resembling a giant mousetrap.
Gabrielle is taken prisoner by the Titans.
Meanwhile, Phyleus reveals that there is another chant on a scroll beneath the cavern altar which, if said correctly, will turn the Titans back to stone. Gabrielle steals off to the cavern that night but just as she locates the scroll, a cage rigged by Theia drops over her.
Act Four[]
Hyperion tries to make her recite the second chant but Gabrielle pretending not to know the language, stalls. Thea tries to reassure Gabrielle, claiming they mean her no harm, and encourages her to cooperate. Hyperion hands Gabrielle the scroll and insists she read it. Gabrielle is confused, as the scroll is written in an unfamiliar language. Hyperion insists she once knew the language and demands she read it aloud.
Meanwhile, back at the temple, Philius reports that Gabrielle is missing. Xena suspects Gabrielle is trying to prove herself and fears the worst—that if Gabrielle fell into the Titans’ hands, they might already be trying to release even more Titans. Nonetheless, Xena remains hopeful, knowing Gabrielle is good at stalling. The villagers present a mysterious item, and Xena directs them to bring it to the cave.
Inside the cave, Gabrielle, Thea, and Hyperion sit at the altar. To delay reading the chant, Gabrielle begins telling a story about the Titans and the war with Zeus, praising Atlas as the greatest warrior. Thea interjects, claiming Hyperion would’ve been a better general. Gabrielle flatters him and continues, but Hyperion is impatient and demands she read the chant. Gabrielle tries to keep stalling, offering to tell about Prometheus and how Zeus gained the thunderbolt, but Hyperion forces her back to the task. Outside, Xena and the villagers arrive at the cave and prepare the mysterious item.
Xena tries to rescue Gabrielle and stop the Titans.
Gabrielle reluctantly begins reciting the chant: "HeriTAH, HeriTAH, YAsoo HeriTAH, CAli HeriTAH." However, nothing happens. Hyperion demands she read it again, more slowly. Gabrielle does so, but there’s still no effect. Hyperion then tells her to put emphasis on the first syllable, convinced that it’s a pronunciation issue. Gabrielle tries again and then suddenly reveals the real reason the chant isn’t working: she’s no longer a virgin. This enrages Hyperion, who calls her a harlot and threatens to send her to Hades. Thea protests, reminding Hyperion of his promise not to harm Gabrielle, but he deems her useless.
Just then, Xena attacks by flinging a rock with a sling, striking Hyperion in the head. Gabrielle is relieved to see her. Xena teases Hyperion and escapes through a hole in the wall. As Hyperion reaches for her, Xena signals the villagers, who drop a massive cuff that traps him.
Gabrielle reads the scroll which turns the Titans back into stone.
Xena prepares to kill him, but Thea begs for mercy. In order to save the Titan she loves, she offers Xena the scroll which will turn them back to stone. In a last burst of power, Hyperion smashes the contraption to pieces but before he can get to Xena, she yells out the words of the chant to Gabrielle, who shouts them quickly and correctly, turning the Titans to stone.
Tag[]
Xena asks Gabrielle why she risked her life to save everyone.
Back at the temple, Gabrielle tells Phyleus the story of how she and Xena stopped the Titans. Gabrielle tells him, he was almost her first. Phyleus moves to kiss her, but Gabrielle stops him and moves over to Xena. Before leaving the temple, Xena asks Gabrielle why she risked her life by going into that cavern alone. Gabrielle tells her she wanted to make up for what she did. Xena tells her she always has her heart in the right place and everyone makes mistakes. But tells her as they head out of the temple, to never touch her horse again.
Disclaimer[]
none
Background Information[]
Behind the Scenes[]
- Shooting Dates: August 22nd, 1995 through September 1st, 1995 (9 day shoot).
- This was the fourth episode of the series to be written, after "Sins of the Past," "Chariots of War" and "Death in Chains," but aired as the seventh.
- Lucy Lawless on Director Eric Brevig: “[On this episode,] I met the director I liked most as a person of all of them, Eric Brevig. He had experience with special effects, so he came in to do the ‘forced perspective,’ [where] characters who are up close to the camera appear bigger. He was just a wonderful man, but had never directed before. And he produced an episode that didn’t have enough heart in it. Also, it was the first episode I had done where it was not Xena’s story [so much as Gabrielle’s], and I didn’t know what to do with it. I just kind of stumbled through it. It was more a Hercules-type structure [fighting the giants] and I was lost. So I felt crummy about that. Eric did a wonderful job with the effects. And we sort of sold it on that.” (The Official Guide To The Xenaverse by Robert Weisbrot – 1998) [1]
Trivia[]
- Xena does not use her chakram in this episode.
- Only appearance of the Titans on Xena: Warrior Princess (unless Prometheus is counted). They appear as conventional giants whose only real power is their size.
Links and References[]
People[]
Gods[]
Places[]
Other[]
References[]
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| Season 1 | Season 2 >> | |||||||
| #01 | Sins of the Past | #09 | Death in Chains | #17 | The Royal Couple of Thieves | |||
| #02 | Chariots of War | #10 | Hooves and Harlots | #18 | The Prodigal | |||
| #03 | Dreamworker | #11 | The Black Wolf | #19 | Altared States | |||
| #04 | Cradle of Hope | #12 | Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts | #20 | Ties That Bind | |||
| #05 | The Path Not Taken | #13 | Athens City Academy of the Performing Bards | #21 | The Greater Good | |||
| #06 | The Reckoning | #14 | A Fistful of Dinars | #22 | Callisto | |||
| #07 | The Titans | #15 | Warrior... Princess | #23 | Death Mask | |||
| #08 | Prometheus | #16 | Mortal Beloved | #24 | Is There a Doctor in the House? | |||