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.
Summary[]
Gabrielle chants words from a scroll that frees The Titans
Xena watches Hesiod and his men walk along, she then tells Gabrielle to watch Argo. Gabrielle asks Argo if she's hungry and she heads off with Argo. While Xena pursues a group of murdering thugs led by Hesiod, 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.
The Titans meet the humans
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. 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. 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.
Gabrielle is taken prisoner by the Titans.
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.
Xena tries to rescue Gabrielle and stop 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. Hyperion tries to make her recite the second chant but Gabrielle stalls long enough to allow Xena to sneak into the cavern. She lures Hyperion into the path of the villagers' contraption, which hand-cuffs Hyperion's wrist as it snaps shut.
Gabrielle reads the scroll which turns the Titans back into stone.
In order to save the Titan she loves, Theia 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.
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[]
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
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? | |||