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scifi_rewatchAn astonishing lack of Gabrielle in this episode for no real reason beyond the fact that there was just no room for her. I’m not complaining much, because the story revolving around Xena and her childhood/teenage friend, Flora, was compelling to me. I may be reaching a bit but it seems like perhaps they knew each other growing up around Amphipolis, and Xena was like an older mentor to the little girl from a decade ago. Some of their shared memories also hint to the type of person Xena was that led her to take such an active role in defending her homeland—that first, arguably noble step that ended up leading down a dark path. It’s also interesting to note that in comparison to how Flora turned out.
This is the episode that also introduces Salmoneus, the hilarious, cowardly salesman who’s always looking for a deal and can babbly even more than Gabrielle. :P I did a little research and was shocked to realize that he only appeared in three “Xena” episodes total (plus a few over on “Hercules.”) He left such a lasting impression on me for such a small role. Major kudos to actor Robert Trevor.
We open with warlord thugs overtaxing villagers. When one complains about how he can feed his family now, his answer is the mocking suggestion to have his wife and daughter work the streets. Damn, we need some female justice up in here. …or ninjas! People covered with black cloth summersault into the scene and beat up the guards. They throw a wolf-shaped medallion onto one of the bodies—“Give this to Xerxes….from the Black Wolf.” Title reference! One of them returns the pouch of gold to the impoverished tax payer. Looks like they don’t need Xena around these parts!
…but let’s not be too hasty! Xerxes, distinguished from his men by his gold armor, threatens the village. Give up the Black Wolf or you’ll all have to work the mines! Men—and even one woman—start confessing that they are the Black Wolf. “Arrest them all,” Xerxes tells his guards. He has a new plan; he’ll give them seven days to give him the real leader “or I’ll skin you all.” Sounds less time-intensive that way. The guards herd off their new prisoners.
We get our first sign of Xena, riding the New Zealand landscape! Where’s Gabs?? That question goes unanswered, but Xena dismounts to tell Argo that they both need a new pair of shoes. Time to head into the next town!
Inside said town, a woman is begging the guard to let her into the prison to see her daughter. The guards push her down and laugh at her, which Xena witnesses. Time for a bit of vengeance with a side of snark! “You like shoving women around so much?” Xena challenges the goons. “Try me.” Fist fight! She’s able to grab two long fighting sticks from the guys and use them to whack pairs of them at a time. When they’re finally all on the ground she goes to the woman…and recognizes her! “Hermia?” They haven’t seen each other in ten years, but this Hermia doesn’t react with disdain. Perhaps the message has finally touched down that Xeen is good now. :P Our warrior princess inquires after the woman’s family—two of them are dead, thanks to Xerxes, and her daughter, Flora, is now in the dungeon. “Little Flora?” Xena asks incredulously. Well, she’s not so little anymore, apparently. Hermia says she’s “madly” in love with a black wolf, which goes a long way in detailing how this woman might feel about the rebels. “Why must she die for a lost cause?” “Causes are only lost when people give up,” says motivational Xena. “Perhaps Flora knows that.” Either way, Xena promises to get the girl out. Hermia protests—nobody escapes Xerxes’s dungeon! But Xena is resolute.
In the castle, Xerxes grouses that he’s “being mocked by children!” Damn hippies. :P His minister of security, Koulos, calls the “rebels” incredibly disciplined. Xerxes wants the execution of the Black Wolf as the “main entertainment” at an upcoming feast honoring Zeus. Or perhaps he could just kill his minister instead. He throws a dagger at the wall beside his head! Koulos’s lip quivers slightly as he vows to find the Black Wolf. And I couldn’t help but feel for the guy a little! But no time for that now. Xena strolls into the room, carrying the helmets of two “sleeping guards.” Love how easy it is to infer her awesomeness. She tells Xerxes that if he kills a random rebel then the wolf pack will have a “martyr” for the people. Maybe he should kill them all? Xerxes considers. More martyrs, Xena replies. The only way to stop this is to “cut off the head of the snake;” then “the body withers and dies.” Xeen sure can turn a phrase. She introduces herself as a “problem solver,” and she wants 10,000 dinars and a pair of boots (should have thrown in Argo’s horseshoes, too! :P) She says Xerxes should stage her arrest in front of rebel supporters—once she’s in the dungeon she’ll expose the Black Wolf. Koulos is skeptical of the whole thing, to which Xena replies, “Ask Myzantius and Traichus about me.” So rare to come across a warlord who doesn’t know Xena on her own, hee. Xerxes takes her offer—and her sword. “Fail in this and you will join them on the block,” he warns. Always the easy solution to go back to mass murder. :-/
Later, Koulos rebukes the guards that Xena knocked out. He mentions that he has his own man on the inside…hello, foreshadowing! “And tomorrow, I’ll show you how a real soldier handles this woman!” We can guess what the next shot of him is—Xena’s fist going directly into his face. :P Win. The guards are the ones who are doing the mocking now. Xena snaps back his wrists and makes him punch himself, hee. He ends up crashed into a food table with the townsfolk openly laughing at him. “You’re making this harder than it needs to be!” Koulos hisses as he struggles to his feet. “You want it to be believable, don’t you?” Kudos to Lucy Lawless for always finding the exact amount of snark needed for any situation. I’ll probably fangirl this more, hee. Anywho, they resume the fight. She keeps downing him but promises the dude “a comeback in the end.” Then she swings him around by his feet and knocks him into his guards. Finally, when the guard mob draws near, she allows them to grab her without a fight. Koulos orders her and another traitor to be taken away.
And here’s Gabrielle! She’s still wearing her Amazon skirt, but she’s traded the top for something a little more flowy and with a sash of blue hinting through. Can see the barest bit of midriff. And thus starts the slow undressing of Renee O’Connor’s costume collection. ;) She finds Argo tied up and asks a nearby blacksmith where her owner is. The blacksmith, of course, makes Gabs pay for the horseshoes before he’ll divulge anything. First he tells our bard that Xena wanted her to meet her at the tavern, but Gab wants to know where she is now. Apparently she senses that something is off. “Xerxes’s dungeon,” the blacksmith finally answers. The only way to get in there is if you’re arrested “and it’s not a nice place to be.” …not that “nice” would be the word I’d usually associate with a dungeon. :P Gabrielle grabs Xena’s chakram from Argo’s saddle.
Xena, meanwhile, is brought into the dungeon. Prisoners wander aimlessly in front of her and one gets into her face, asking if she likes his rock. When she says “no” his face goes aghast and he stalks off. “Xena” madness…it’s something else when the Furies get involved. :P Xena wanders through the prisoners; they observe her tersely, save for a burly man who tries to flirt. Xena punches him in the stomach. :P The rebel she was brought in with finally tells the others that she’s on “our side.” The leader, Diomedes, is not impressed. Flora—the sole woman who claimed to be the Black Wolf—pushes through. She recognizes Xena. “You’ve grown up,” Xena tells her. “And you’ve grown legendary.” Flora tells the others that Xena taught her to “swing a sword” and “embroider a linen for my wedding chest.” Damn, she’s like Athena or something. :P Diomedes arch-eyrbows: “you…embroider?” “I have many skills,” says Xena. The lighting is a little ominous over her face; she kind of looks like a jack-o-lantern. :P Anywho, she wants to talk to Flora alone. She tells the girl that her mother is worried sick about her and she’d promised to get her out. Flora says she regrets causing Hermia pain, but there is no way out. Xena, very quickly, finds an airshaft. :P Tough to be fair, few people possess her acrobatic ability. Also, Flora refuses to leave without her pack. So it won’t be as easy as just swinging up and over. Alas.
Gabrielle has a strange turban on her head; hmm. :P She grabs a tomato to lob at some guards; I think we can guess why. But as she moves to strike, she…literally strikes Salmoneus! Far from offended he immediately tries to sell her a bunch of “Black Wolf merchandise.” Gabrielle tries to get away, but astoundingly she’s out-yakked by the salesman. Guess bards have a thing or two to learn! ;) He stuffs her tomato in a wolf-emblazoned pouch—“I call it the black wolf pack.” Ba da bing. He’s remarkably aggressive each time Gabs tries to get back to the vegetable stand; won’t let go of that sale! …But he’ll wish he had once Gabs is ultimately able to lob a veggie at the guards. They think he did it…even as Gabs confess! They drag the poor, babbling salesman off.
In the dungeon the prisoners are herded together as Koulos comes in, demanding the identity of the Black Wolf. Met with silence he orders Xena forward. He yanks the caged lid off of a hole in the ground that is already housing two skeletons. Yikes. Someone needs to do some housecleaning. Of course, Xena is shoved inside. As she rattles the bamboo bars Flora starts forward but Diomedes stops her. Koulos pulls a lever and water starts pouring in! He mocks her with her own words: “you’ll make a comeback…in the end.” Something tells me he doesn’t have a comeback in mind though. :-/ The guards watch and laugh as Xena’s head goes under. Seems pretty deep in there as Xena yanks the limb off of one of her new neighbors. When she doesn’t resurface one of the guards starts stabbing at the water. Xena, of course, is able to grab the sword and knock the guard out. :P She then hacks away at the bamboo and does an awesome, splashy (get it? :P) flip out of the water. She points the sword at Koulos, but the others have multiple weapons pointed at her, so. :( She’s forced to surrender. Koulos makes one final repetitive threat, then leaves with his guards.
Salmoneus, then, is brought in! Kneeling on the ground he gets one sexy look at Xena’s wet boot and leg. :P Xena recognizes him, likely from their time together on “Hercules,” and yanks him up. She immediately has a job for him to do. Meanwhile she must approach the pack to gain their trust. She’ll need all their help for her escape plan. Diomedes is skeptical, but Xena says her plan will work—unlike his tunnel. :P Flora’s shocked by her old friend’s know-how. Xena buts aside the rebel she was arrested with, throws back a curtain and voila! The boulder has apparently been moved too many times—sooner or later the guards will see the wear. She also lectures Diomedes on hiding his excess dirt better. LOL, fella, listen to the pros! :P Diomedes is still skeptical; he posits that Xena’s arrest was a setup since there’s no way those guards could take her without her consent. He’s pretty smart, actually. Xena admits to this—she allowed herself to be captured to save Flora. Diomedes steals a glance at the girl, then says “talk, we’ll listen.”
Salmoneus approaches the burly man—he wants his belt for Xena, but he doesn’t know what for. He needs as many as possible. “What if my drawers drop?” the burly man asks gruffly. “…I don’t think that’s likely to happen!” He starts babbling about how the dude was “poured into his outfit,” to which the burly man finally responds “whatever” and gives him his belt. Hee.
Xena approaches Flora and Diomedes for “help with the netting.” Diomedes volunteers, and Xena mentions that he should also appoint someone to watch the other prisoners and make sure no one goes squealing to the guards. Hello again, foreshadowing! :P Alone, Flora ties her knots and Xena criticizes. “I’m not a little girl anymore,” Flora snaps. Xena sits down for a more serious talk. What’s she doing “fighting a tyrant.” “Tyrants change people,” Flora responds. “And people change the tides,” Xena puts in. It’s something she used to say when their village was under attack. “I didn’t want people thinking they had no choice,” Xena explains. Flora fangirls the warrior princess’s ability to read people. But though she apparently idolized Xena as a girl, she remembers this one trick she used to play. She used to climb up an oak tree and reach her hand down to Flora, telling the girl to “have faith.” But when the younger girl reached up, Xena pulled her hand away. Flora wants to know why. “I’ll tell you that you were the closest thing I ever had to a sister,” Xena said. They smile at each other…this scene was actually pretty engaging, especially given that we knew nothing of Flora prior to this episode.
Diomedes and other members of the pack tie knots as the rock man wanders between them. Flora tells Xena that they’re almost finished, and Salmoneus appears with “15 belts, 4 ropes and 3 marriage proposals. This is disgusting work!” Though it’s worth noting that Xena and Flora aren’t the only women in the dungeon. :P The salesman addresses the pack about getting the Black Wolf “an agent to promote his image!” “Who is this guy?” they mutter. Hee. Xena drags the long coils of makeshift rope to the center of the dungeon and asks for Salmoneus’s opinion. He mentions that the pack is very organized for this “fly-by-night operation,” then starts rambling about her letting him know who the Black Wolf is for his “Who is the Black Wolf” poll and his signature line of clothes. Guy can certainly keep busy. :P Xena gives him a mock-exasperated look. She and Diomedes then swing the rope onto the ceiling.
Outside, the guards are playing games when they decide it’s time to “feed the animals.” They come in—no one’s there! They run through the dungeon and discover the tunnel. Xena and the others climb down the ropes into the cell…whaa? I suppose there was some obstacle to them escaping entirely? Or were they just going for the element of surprise? They start fighting and the rebels win! Xena is automatically nervous—this was too easy. “That was easy?!” Salmoneus exclaims. :P Sure enough, when they run out of the dungeon they are met with more guards, all pointing clubs at them. Alas. Kroulus is there to take Xena to Xerxes.
But Xerxes is too busy fighting a man with chains to pay much attention to his two new visitors. Kroulus is whining about how much Xena sucks, then he takes the chance to suck up—I can deal with this betrayal, but betraying you… Oh yeah, lay it on there. :P Xerxes ties up the other man. I wonder if he would have won if he weren’t in charge, hee. Xena admits to bonding with the pack in the dungeon and leading an escape…she was about to become one of them, she says. Then she would have found out the elusive BW identity. Nicely played, madam. “You seem to have set back my plans,” Xerxes tells Koulos after accepting a drink from a serving woman. Koulos protests—her silence hurt us! He could have helped if he knew the plan. “You weren’t completely surprised,” Xena points out, concerning the ambush outside. She wants to know who his man is on the inside. Koulos scoffs it off—he’s just good at what he does. Xena tells Xerxes to send her back in again. “They’ll kill you,” Koulos says. “Maybe I can turn this to my advantage,” Xena replies. Xerxes is happy either way—if they kill her it saves him the trouble and if she succeeds…well, maybe he’ll have a job waiting for her. Pan over to poor, jealous Koulos.
A pretty pink sunrise on b-roll leads to a guard jamming a staff in the dungeon by one of the vents. If they don’t give up the identity of the Black Wolf by the time the sun hits the staff “then you all die!” After the guards leave the burly man drags Salmoneus out and calls him a rat who was hiding in the latrine. (Hey, I’m just relieved they have a latrine. :P) “I hardly knew the woman!” Salmoneus protests. The burly man counters that any friend of “that traitor” Xena is an enemy of his. Salmoneus babbles about how it was more of a business relationship—Xena sidles into the shot and knocks the burly man out with an elbow to his jaw. “If you gotta problem with me, take it up with me,” she tells the pack. Love her sense of honor. “I got no problem!” The burly man holds up his hands in surrender and walks away. :P Xena asks the pack “why would I arrange an escape just to tell the guards about it?” Diomedes proves his cognitive thinking skills again—maybe to break our spirit. We either become more demoralized or we begin to trust you. No wonder Flora likes him; he’s a reader. :P Then again he’s wrong about Xena. And he stupidly challenges her to a fight. “You don’t want to do this…” Xena warns him, but he does it anyway. :P Xena kicks him a bit, then flips over him and kicks him some more. Watch out for those legs, son. ;) Diomedes grabs a rock but Xena knocks it out of his hands as she steps on it mid-flip. Now he’s on the ground and she’s standing over him with a blunt object. Dum dum duuuuum! Xena, of course, drops the rock. Two people here know the truth about me, she says. “One is me and one’s the traitor.” Koulus’s man! She pulls Diomedes to his feet. “She could have killed you but she didn’t,” Flora tells him. So Diomedes is back on board.
Gabrielle also has a new plan—she approaches a guard directly before throwing goop in his face. :P Sheesh, took you long enough to act! The gooped-up guard deposits her in the dungeon. She asks the rock man and surrounding prisoners if they’ve seen Xena… “tall, beautiful, piercing blue eyes? Swings a mean right hook…” They regard her warily. “Looks like she might have swung it already.” Ba da bum. Xena finally approaches Gabs from behind and asks her, shocked, what she’s doing there. Gab’s got it all figured out, too—Xena must have come here willingly and has a plan to get out; just in case, Gabs has backup! Including the chakram in her turban and the whip as a belt around her waist. Damn, she’s barely in the eppy but Gabrielle might take the cake for planning. :P Salmoneus approaches, none too pleased to see the woman who got him thrown in here. Xena introduces the bard as her friend. “You have a friend?!” Salmoneus asks her incredulously. :P “You wouldn’t be here in the first place if you kept your hands off my tomatoes,” Gabrielle retorts, earning a Look from Xeen. :P LOL. Xena asks Salmoneus to get Gabrielle up to speed, thankfully saving us from exposition we already know.
Xena approaches Flora, who’s figured out “the lesson” of the oak tree. Xena wanted her to have faith in herself, not others. Diomedes didn’t understand the story when she told him about it, Flora says. But Diomedes is in love with you, Xena points out. Flora loves him, too. “I’d do anything for him.” “And you’ll do anything for the Black Wolf,” Xena says. She knows who it is! Flora’s not surprised. The warrior princess promises that the plan hasn’t changed; she still intends to get everyone out.
Salmoneus doesn’t like Xena’s new plan—which involves gathering shirts and wetting them to use as air bladders as they escape through the water. The rock man is behind him and Gab as they argue about it. He then goes to the cell door and bangs—but Xena grabs him! The rock is hollow inside, with a message about the rebel escape plan. Gabrielle and Salmoneus grouse about his lack of manners in eavesdropping. :P The guard hisses that he’s a spy, not a traitor, then demands that the guards let him out, which they do. I gotta say…inspired choice by Koulos. Everyone tends to look away from the man acting crazy.
The sun inches towards the staff, but Koulos has a new plan—since the pack’s claim to fame is protecting the little people, perhaps they’ll talk if one of them suffers. He orders Salmoneus brought forward! The hole in the ground has a new cage door, and Salmoneus is about to befriend the skeletons. :P He protests—“I’m the Black Wolf!” and gives a pitifully hilarious howl. :P They throw him in and Koulos, grinning, starts the water flow. Xena moves behind Flora and murmurs “do you have faith?” Flora nods. Xena tells Koulos to get Salmoneus out—she has the identity of the wolf. Once the salesman is safe, she points to Flora! :O Diomedes immediately tries to intercede but Flora says no—it’s true. The guards drag her away. Oh no…
Xerxes gives Xena her sword back when she’s out in the world again. So you’re going to execute the Black Wolf in the town square? She asks. Yup! Xerxes responds. It’s just in time for Zeus’s ceremony. It’ll be a “spectacle.” :/ Xena wants her payment now, but Xerxes says she can still stay and work for him. She’ll at least stay for the execution of the Black Wolf, she says. Our warrior princess doesn’t want to miss that…
Diomedes has gone back to distrusting Xena, yet again, but as the guards line the prisoners up Gabrielle tries a last-ditch attempt to make him have faith again—she mentions the oak tree where Flora and Xena played as girls. Nicely done. Back on board yet again, Gabrielle whispers the plan in his ear.
The prisoners, all chained together, are led to the town square. Salmoneus is worried that the plan will work: “I’m a salesman not a warrior; what do I know about fighting?” Gab’s advice is to stay away from “the pointy ends” of what the guards are carrying, hee. Xerxes, Koulos and Xena walk in, stopping to rest by a raised dias decorated with curtains. Xerxes gives the town a name—Argos! He calls it a glorious day when lawful people need not fear rebellious terrorism anymore. Nice spin. He sits, with Xena and Koulos on either side of him, and organizes the execution forward. Flora, in a black cape, is dragged out. Her head is forced on the block, chained hands going around it. She looks to Xena for a moment then lays her head down. Then Gabrielle takes off her turban and throws the chakram to Xena. Xena hurls it as the axe comes down—severing the weapon. The prisoners hold up their chains then the chakram severs those, too! Such a useful tool. :D The fight begins with Xena knocking out the executioner, freeing Flora and giving her her sword. Xerxes goes straight for Xena, of course, gloating over killing her now. They fight briefly before Xena throws him backwards onto the severed stump of the axe. So long, pal. The others keep fighting—Gabrielle has somehow gotten her staff—maybe a staff since it’s not Ephiny’s from last episode, and maybe she just picked up a piece of wood from the ground? :P Xena fights Koulos next. It’s a little more involved than her fight with Xerxes, just as she was more involved with Koulos over the course of the episode. But it ends with her sliding him into the window of the dungeon, hee. Appropriate. Salmoneus crawls, trying to avoid bloodshed and commenting on the bodies falling around him—“that must have hurt!” :P He is able to kick one guard in self-defense—the guards are always such goons, hee. Finally, all of the goon!guards are on the ground. The wolf pack is officially free—and so is the village!
Xena walks with Flora and Diomedes. The guy apologizes for his behavior towards her but Xena counters that the man knew more than he thought. Flora wants to know how Xena figured out she was the Black Wolf—so it’s true! Xena explains that Diomedes kept looking to her for counsel when he didn’t want to go along with things. Salmoneus ambles up with a sales pitch, of course—a set of scrolls called “The Black Wolf Chronicles.” Hmm…I wonder if he’s influencing anyone else to do that? *whistles* Xena then directs Flora’s attention to Hermia and the mother and daughter are finally able to share a hug. ♥ Xena looks quietly happy to see that her efforts reunited two people from her younger years.
No funny disclaimer this time! :( No idea why…perhaps Tapert et. al forgot? They really had a goldmine Salmoneus—or just the tomato line. :D
I liked this episode more than I thought I would, considering that it focused on non-recurring characters. It was nice to see Xena unite with a less hostile part of her past—and Flora, in general, was very relatable. Of course they’d make her the Black Wolf rather than the cocky Diomedes. :P I do have to wonder at the final “faith” exercise, though—the whole moral was to trust herself, not others, but Flora needed to trust Xena’s hand to free her from execution. Or maybe I can take this metaphor deeper? :P So far, Flora had been hiding her identity as the Black Wolf. Maybe Xena’s point was to make her live her life and trust herself out in the open. Just a thought.
Wonder why they settled in the wolf motif. Something to do with history? Mythology? Should look into that!
___
This is the episode that also introduces Salmoneus, the hilarious, cowardly salesman who’s always looking for a deal and can babbly even more than Gabrielle. :P I did a little research and was shocked to realize that he only appeared in three “Xena” episodes total (plus a few over on “Hercules.”) He left such a lasting impression on me for such a small role. Major kudos to actor Robert Trevor.
We open with warlord thugs overtaxing villagers. When one complains about how he can feed his family now, his answer is the mocking suggestion to have his wife and daughter work the streets. Damn, we need some female justice up in here. …or ninjas! People covered with black cloth summersault into the scene and beat up the guards. They throw a wolf-shaped medallion onto one of the bodies—“Give this to Xerxes….from the Black Wolf.” Title reference! One of them returns the pouch of gold to the impoverished tax payer. Looks like they don’t need Xena around these parts!
…but let’s not be too hasty! Xerxes, distinguished from his men by his gold armor, threatens the village. Give up the Black Wolf or you’ll all have to work the mines! Men—and even one woman—start confessing that they are the Black Wolf. “Arrest them all,” Xerxes tells his guards. He has a new plan; he’ll give them seven days to give him the real leader “or I’ll skin you all.” Sounds less time-intensive that way. The guards herd off their new prisoners.
We get our first sign of Xena, riding the New Zealand landscape! Where’s Gabs?? That question goes unanswered, but Xena dismounts to tell Argo that they both need a new pair of shoes. Time to head into the next town!
Inside said town, a woman is begging the guard to let her into the prison to see her daughter. The guards push her down and laugh at her, which Xena witnesses. Time for a bit of vengeance with a side of snark! “You like shoving women around so much?” Xena challenges the goons. “Try me.” Fist fight! She’s able to grab two long fighting sticks from the guys and use them to whack pairs of them at a time. When they’re finally all on the ground she goes to the woman…and recognizes her! “Hermia?” They haven’t seen each other in ten years, but this Hermia doesn’t react with disdain. Perhaps the message has finally touched down that Xeen is good now. :P Our warrior princess inquires after the woman’s family—two of them are dead, thanks to Xerxes, and her daughter, Flora, is now in the dungeon. “Little Flora?” Xena asks incredulously. Well, she’s not so little anymore, apparently. Hermia says she’s “madly” in love with a black wolf, which goes a long way in detailing how this woman might feel about the rebels. “Why must she die for a lost cause?” “Causes are only lost when people give up,” says motivational Xena. “Perhaps Flora knows that.” Either way, Xena promises to get the girl out. Hermia protests—nobody escapes Xerxes’s dungeon! But Xena is resolute.
In the castle, Xerxes grouses that he’s “being mocked by children!” Damn hippies. :P His minister of security, Koulos, calls the “rebels” incredibly disciplined. Xerxes wants the execution of the Black Wolf as the “main entertainment” at an upcoming feast honoring Zeus. Or perhaps he could just kill his minister instead. He throws a dagger at the wall beside his head! Koulos’s lip quivers slightly as he vows to find the Black Wolf. And I couldn’t help but feel for the guy a little! But no time for that now. Xena strolls into the room, carrying the helmets of two “sleeping guards.” Love how easy it is to infer her awesomeness. She tells Xerxes that if he kills a random rebel then the wolf pack will have a “martyr” for the people. Maybe he should kill them all? Xerxes considers. More martyrs, Xena replies. The only way to stop this is to “cut off the head of the snake;” then “the body withers and dies.” Xeen sure can turn a phrase. She introduces herself as a “problem solver,” and she wants 10,000 dinars and a pair of boots (should have thrown in Argo’s horseshoes, too! :P) She says Xerxes should stage her arrest in front of rebel supporters—once she’s in the dungeon she’ll expose the Black Wolf. Koulos is skeptical of the whole thing, to which Xena replies, “Ask Myzantius and Traichus about me.” So rare to come across a warlord who doesn’t know Xena on her own, hee. Xerxes takes her offer—and her sword. “Fail in this and you will join them on the block,” he warns. Always the easy solution to go back to mass murder. :-/
Later, Koulos rebukes the guards that Xena knocked out. He mentions that he has his own man on the inside…hello, foreshadowing! “And tomorrow, I’ll show you how a real soldier handles this woman!” We can guess what the next shot of him is—Xena’s fist going directly into his face. :P Win. The guards are the ones who are doing the mocking now. Xena snaps back his wrists and makes him punch himself, hee. He ends up crashed into a food table with the townsfolk openly laughing at him. “You’re making this harder than it needs to be!” Koulos hisses as he struggles to his feet. “You want it to be believable, don’t you?” Kudos to Lucy Lawless for always finding the exact amount of snark needed for any situation. I’ll probably fangirl this more, hee. Anywho, they resume the fight. She keeps downing him but promises the dude “a comeback in the end.” Then she swings him around by his feet and knocks him into his guards. Finally, when the guard mob draws near, she allows them to grab her without a fight. Koulos orders her and another traitor to be taken away.
And here’s Gabrielle! She’s still wearing her Amazon skirt, but she’s traded the top for something a little more flowy and with a sash of blue hinting through. Can see the barest bit of midriff. And thus starts the slow undressing of Renee O’Connor’s costume collection. ;) She finds Argo tied up and asks a nearby blacksmith where her owner is. The blacksmith, of course, makes Gabs pay for the horseshoes before he’ll divulge anything. First he tells our bard that Xena wanted her to meet her at the tavern, but Gab wants to know where she is now. Apparently she senses that something is off. “Xerxes’s dungeon,” the blacksmith finally answers. The only way to get in there is if you’re arrested “and it’s not a nice place to be.” …not that “nice” would be the word I’d usually associate with a dungeon. :P Gabrielle grabs Xena’s chakram from Argo’s saddle.
Xena, meanwhile, is brought into the dungeon. Prisoners wander aimlessly in front of her and one gets into her face, asking if she likes his rock. When she says “no” his face goes aghast and he stalks off. “Xena” madness…it’s something else when the Furies get involved. :P Xena wanders through the prisoners; they observe her tersely, save for a burly man who tries to flirt. Xena punches him in the stomach. :P The rebel she was brought in with finally tells the others that she’s on “our side.” The leader, Diomedes, is not impressed. Flora—the sole woman who claimed to be the Black Wolf—pushes through. She recognizes Xena. “You’ve grown up,” Xena tells her. “And you’ve grown legendary.” Flora tells the others that Xena taught her to “swing a sword” and “embroider a linen for my wedding chest.” Damn, she’s like Athena or something. :P Diomedes arch-eyrbows: “you…embroider?” “I have many skills,” says Xena. The lighting is a little ominous over her face; she kind of looks like a jack-o-lantern. :P Anywho, she wants to talk to Flora alone. She tells the girl that her mother is worried sick about her and she’d promised to get her out. Flora says she regrets causing Hermia pain, but there is no way out. Xena, very quickly, finds an airshaft. :P Tough to be fair, few people possess her acrobatic ability. Also, Flora refuses to leave without her pack. So it won’t be as easy as just swinging up and over. Alas.
Gabrielle has a strange turban on her head; hmm. :P She grabs a tomato to lob at some guards; I think we can guess why. But as she moves to strike, she…literally strikes Salmoneus! Far from offended he immediately tries to sell her a bunch of “Black Wolf merchandise.” Gabrielle tries to get away, but astoundingly she’s out-yakked by the salesman. Guess bards have a thing or two to learn! ;) He stuffs her tomato in a wolf-emblazoned pouch—“I call it the black wolf pack.” Ba da bing. He’s remarkably aggressive each time Gabs tries to get back to the vegetable stand; won’t let go of that sale! …But he’ll wish he had once Gabs is ultimately able to lob a veggie at the guards. They think he did it…even as Gabs confess! They drag the poor, babbling salesman off.
In the dungeon the prisoners are herded together as Koulos comes in, demanding the identity of the Black Wolf. Met with silence he orders Xena forward. He yanks the caged lid off of a hole in the ground that is already housing two skeletons. Yikes. Someone needs to do some housecleaning. Of course, Xena is shoved inside. As she rattles the bamboo bars Flora starts forward but Diomedes stops her. Koulos pulls a lever and water starts pouring in! He mocks her with her own words: “you’ll make a comeback…in the end.” Something tells me he doesn’t have a comeback in mind though. :-/ The guards watch and laugh as Xena’s head goes under. Seems pretty deep in there as Xena yanks the limb off of one of her new neighbors. When she doesn’t resurface one of the guards starts stabbing at the water. Xena, of course, is able to grab the sword and knock the guard out. :P She then hacks away at the bamboo and does an awesome, splashy (get it? :P) flip out of the water. She points the sword at Koulos, but the others have multiple weapons pointed at her, so. :( She’s forced to surrender. Koulos makes one final repetitive threat, then leaves with his guards.
Salmoneus, then, is brought in! Kneeling on the ground he gets one sexy look at Xena’s wet boot and leg. :P Xena recognizes him, likely from their time together on “Hercules,” and yanks him up. She immediately has a job for him to do. Meanwhile she must approach the pack to gain their trust. She’ll need all their help for her escape plan. Diomedes is skeptical, but Xena says her plan will work—unlike his tunnel. :P Flora’s shocked by her old friend’s know-how. Xena buts aside the rebel she was arrested with, throws back a curtain and voila! The boulder has apparently been moved too many times—sooner or later the guards will see the wear. She also lectures Diomedes on hiding his excess dirt better. LOL, fella, listen to the pros! :P Diomedes is still skeptical; he posits that Xena’s arrest was a setup since there’s no way those guards could take her without her consent. He’s pretty smart, actually. Xena admits to this—she allowed herself to be captured to save Flora. Diomedes steals a glance at the girl, then says “talk, we’ll listen.”
Salmoneus approaches the burly man—he wants his belt for Xena, but he doesn’t know what for. He needs as many as possible. “What if my drawers drop?” the burly man asks gruffly. “…I don’t think that’s likely to happen!” He starts babbling about how the dude was “poured into his outfit,” to which the burly man finally responds “whatever” and gives him his belt. Hee.
Xena approaches Flora and Diomedes for “help with the netting.” Diomedes volunteers, and Xena mentions that he should also appoint someone to watch the other prisoners and make sure no one goes squealing to the guards. Hello again, foreshadowing! :P Alone, Flora ties her knots and Xena criticizes. “I’m not a little girl anymore,” Flora snaps. Xena sits down for a more serious talk. What’s she doing “fighting a tyrant.” “Tyrants change people,” Flora responds. “And people change the tides,” Xena puts in. It’s something she used to say when their village was under attack. “I didn’t want people thinking they had no choice,” Xena explains. Flora fangirls the warrior princess’s ability to read people. But though she apparently idolized Xena as a girl, she remembers this one trick she used to play. She used to climb up an oak tree and reach her hand down to Flora, telling the girl to “have faith.” But when the younger girl reached up, Xena pulled her hand away. Flora wants to know why. “I’ll tell you that you were the closest thing I ever had to a sister,” Xena said. They smile at each other…this scene was actually pretty engaging, especially given that we knew nothing of Flora prior to this episode.
Diomedes and other members of the pack tie knots as the rock man wanders between them. Flora tells Xena that they’re almost finished, and Salmoneus appears with “15 belts, 4 ropes and 3 marriage proposals. This is disgusting work!” Though it’s worth noting that Xena and Flora aren’t the only women in the dungeon. :P The salesman addresses the pack about getting the Black Wolf “an agent to promote his image!” “Who is this guy?” they mutter. Hee. Xena drags the long coils of makeshift rope to the center of the dungeon and asks for Salmoneus’s opinion. He mentions that the pack is very organized for this “fly-by-night operation,” then starts rambling about her letting him know who the Black Wolf is for his “Who is the Black Wolf” poll and his signature line of clothes. Guy can certainly keep busy. :P Xena gives him a mock-exasperated look. She and Diomedes then swing the rope onto the ceiling.
Outside, the guards are playing games when they decide it’s time to “feed the animals.” They come in—no one’s there! They run through the dungeon and discover the tunnel. Xena and the others climb down the ropes into the cell…whaa? I suppose there was some obstacle to them escaping entirely? Or were they just going for the element of surprise? They start fighting and the rebels win! Xena is automatically nervous—this was too easy. “That was easy?!” Salmoneus exclaims. :P Sure enough, when they run out of the dungeon they are met with more guards, all pointing clubs at them. Alas. Kroulus is there to take Xena to Xerxes.
But Xerxes is too busy fighting a man with chains to pay much attention to his two new visitors. Kroulus is whining about how much Xena sucks, then he takes the chance to suck up—I can deal with this betrayal, but betraying you… Oh yeah, lay it on there. :P Xerxes ties up the other man. I wonder if he would have won if he weren’t in charge, hee. Xena admits to bonding with the pack in the dungeon and leading an escape…she was about to become one of them, she says. Then she would have found out the elusive BW identity. Nicely played, madam. “You seem to have set back my plans,” Xerxes tells Koulos after accepting a drink from a serving woman. Koulos protests—her silence hurt us! He could have helped if he knew the plan. “You weren’t completely surprised,” Xena points out, concerning the ambush outside. She wants to know who his man is on the inside. Koulos scoffs it off—he’s just good at what he does. Xena tells Xerxes to send her back in again. “They’ll kill you,” Koulos says. “Maybe I can turn this to my advantage,” Xena replies. Xerxes is happy either way—if they kill her it saves him the trouble and if she succeeds…well, maybe he’ll have a job waiting for her. Pan over to poor, jealous Koulos.
A pretty pink sunrise on b-roll leads to a guard jamming a staff in the dungeon by one of the vents. If they don’t give up the identity of the Black Wolf by the time the sun hits the staff “then you all die!” After the guards leave the burly man drags Salmoneus out and calls him a rat who was hiding in the latrine. (Hey, I’m just relieved they have a latrine. :P) “I hardly knew the woman!” Salmoneus protests. The burly man counters that any friend of “that traitor” Xena is an enemy of his. Salmoneus babbles about how it was more of a business relationship—Xena sidles into the shot and knocks the burly man out with an elbow to his jaw. “If you gotta problem with me, take it up with me,” she tells the pack. Love her sense of honor. “I got no problem!” The burly man holds up his hands in surrender and walks away. :P Xena asks the pack “why would I arrange an escape just to tell the guards about it?” Diomedes proves his cognitive thinking skills again—maybe to break our spirit. We either become more demoralized or we begin to trust you. No wonder Flora likes him; he’s a reader. :P Then again he’s wrong about Xena. And he stupidly challenges her to a fight. “You don’t want to do this…” Xena warns him, but he does it anyway. :P Xena kicks him a bit, then flips over him and kicks him some more. Watch out for those legs, son. ;) Diomedes grabs a rock but Xena knocks it out of his hands as she steps on it mid-flip. Now he’s on the ground and she’s standing over him with a blunt object. Dum dum duuuuum! Xena, of course, drops the rock. Two people here know the truth about me, she says. “One is me and one’s the traitor.” Koulus’s man! She pulls Diomedes to his feet. “She could have killed you but she didn’t,” Flora tells him. So Diomedes is back on board.
Gabrielle also has a new plan—she approaches a guard directly before throwing goop in his face. :P Sheesh, took you long enough to act! The gooped-up guard deposits her in the dungeon. She asks the rock man and surrounding prisoners if they’ve seen Xena… “tall, beautiful, piercing blue eyes? Swings a mean right hook…” They regard her warily. “Looks like she might have swung it already.” Ba da bum. Xena finally approaches Gabs from behind and asks her, shocked, what she’s doing there. Gab’s got it all figured out, too—Xena must have come here willingly and has a plan to get out; just in case, Gabs has backup! Including the chakram in her turban and the whip as a belt around her waist. Damn, she’s barely in the eppy but Gabrielle might take the cake for planning. :P Salmoneus approaches, none too pleased to see the woman who got him thrown in here. Xena introduces the bard as her friend. “You have a friend?!” Salmoneus asks her incredulously. :P “You wouldn’t be here in the first place if you kept your hands off my tomatoes,” Gabrielle retorts, earning a Look from Xeen. :P LOL. Xena asks Salmoneus to get Gabrielle up to speed, thankfully saving us from exposition we already know.
Xena approaches Flora, who’s figured out “the lesson” of the oak tree. Xena wanted her to have faith in herself, not others. Diomedes didn’t understand the story when she told him about it, Flora says. But Diomedes is in love with you, Xena points out. Flora loves him, too. “I’d do anything for him.” “And you’ll do anything for the Black Wolf,” Xena says. She knows who it is! Flora’s not surprised. The warrior princess promises that the plan hasn’t changed; she still intends to get everyone out.
Salmoneus doesn’t like Xena’s new plan—which involves gathering shirts and wetting them to use as air bladders as they escape through the water. The rock man is behind him and Gab as they argue about it. He then goes to the cell door and bangs—but Xena grabs him! The rock is hollow inside, with a message about the rebel escape plan. Gabrielle and Salmoneus grouse about his lack of manners in eavesdropping. :P The guard hisses that he’s a spy, not a traitor, then demands that the guards let him out, which they do. I gotta say…inspired choice by Koulos. Everyone tends to look away from the man acting crazy.
The sun inches towards the staff, but Koulos has a new plan—since the pack’s claim to fame is protecting the little people, perhaps they’ll talk if one of them suffers. He orders Salmoneus brought forward! The hole in the ground has a new cage door, and Salmoneus is about to befriend the skeletons. :P He protests—“I’m the Black Wolf!” and gives a pitifully hilarious howl. :P They throw him in and Koulos, grinning, starts the water flow. Xena moves behind Flora and murmurs “do you have faith?” Flora nods. Xena tells Koulos to get Salmoneus out—she has the identity of the wolf. Once the salesman is safe, she points to Flora! :O Diomedes immediately tries to intercede but Flora says no—it’s true. The guards drag her away. Oh no…
Xerxes gives Xena her sword back when she’s out in the world again. So you’re going to execute the Black Wolf in the town square? She asks. Yup! Xerxes responds. It’s just in time for Zeus’s ceremony. It’ll be a “spectacle.” :/ Xena wants her payment now, but Xerxes says she can still stay and work for him. She’ll at least stay for the execution of the Black Wolf, she says. Our warrior princess doesn’t want to miss that…
Diomedes has gone back to distrusting Xena, yet again, but as the guards line the prisoners up Gabrielle tries a last-ditch attempt to make him have faith again—she mentions the oak tree where Flora and Xena played as girls. Nicely done. Back on board yet again, Gabrielle whispers the plan in his ear.
The prisoners, all chained together, are led to the town square. Salmoneus is worried that the plan will work: “I’m a salesman not a warrior; what do I know about fighting?” Gab’s advice is to stay away from “the pointy ends” of what the guards are carrying, hee. Xerxes, Koulos and Xena walk in, stopping to rest by a raised dias decorated with curtains. Xerxes gives the town a name—Argos! He calls it a glorious day when lawful people need not fear rebellious terrorism anymore. Nice spin. He sits, with Xena and Koulos on either side of him, and organizes the execution forward. Flora, in a black cape, is dragged out. Her head is forced on the block, chained hands going around it. She looks to Xena for a moment then lays her head down. Then Gabrielle takes off her turban and throws the chakram to Xena. Xena hurls it as the axe comes down—severing the weapon. The prisoners hold up their chains then the chakram severs those, too! Such a useful tool. :D The fight begins with Xena knocking out the executioner, freeing Flora and giving her her sword. Xerxes goes straight for Xena, of course, gloating over killing her now. They fight briefly before Xena throws him backwards onto the severed stump of the axe. So long, pal. The others keep fighting—Gabrielle has somehow gotten her staff—maybe a staff since it’s not Ephiny’s from last episode, and maybe she just picked up a piece of wood from the ground? :P Xena fights Koulos next. It’s a little more involved than her fight with Xerxes, just as she was more involved with Koulos over the course of the episode. But it ends with her sliding him into the window of the dungeon, hee. Appropriate. Salmoneus crawls, trying to avoid bloodshed and commenting on the bodies falling around him—“that must have hurt!” :P He is able to kick one guard in self-defense—the guards are always such goons, hee. Finally, all of the goon!guards are on the ground. The wolf pack is officially free—and so is the village!
Xena walks with Flora and Diomedes. The guy apologizes for his behavior towards her but Xena counters that the man knew more than he thought. Flora wants to know how Xena figured out she was the Black Wolf—so it’s true! Xena explains that Diomedes kept looking to her for counsel when he didn’t want to go along with things. Salmoneus ambles up with a sales pitch, of course—a set of scrolls called “The Black Wolf Chronicles.” Hmm…I wonder if he’s influencing anyone else to do that? *whistles* Xena then directs Flora’s attention to Hermia and the mother and daughter are finally able to share a hug. ♥ Xena looks quietly happy to see that her efforts reunited two people from her younger years.
No funny disclaimer this time! :( No idea why…perhaps Tapert et. al forgot? They really had a goldmine Salmoneus—or just the tomato line. :D
I liked this episode more than I thought I would, considering that it focused on non-recurring characters. It was nice to see Xena unite with a less hostile part of her past—and Flora, in general, was very relatable. Of course they’d make her the Black Wolf rather than the cocky Diomedes. :P I do have to wonder at the final “faith” exercise, though—the whole moral was to trust herself, not others, but Flora needed to trust Xena’s hand to free her from execution. Or maybe I can take this metaphor deeper? :P So far, Flora had been hiding her identity as the Black Wolf. Maybe Xena’s point was to make her live her life and trust herself out in the open. Just a thought.
Wonder why they settled in the wolf motif. Something to do with history? Mythology? Should look into that!
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