Related Hercules Episodes: The Warrior Princess, The Gauntlet, Unchained Heart.
Though she has lost her hunger for power and destruction, Xena (Lucy Lawless) cannot stand by when a group of warriors under the command of Hector (Stephen Hall), a vicious lieutenant of the cruel warlord Draco (Jay Laga'aia), threatens to slaughter the peasants of a small village. Xena single-handedly drives off the brutal attackers. Though the villagers are grateful, they are also fearful of her reputation and ask her to leave right away. All, that is, except a spirited young woman named Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) who -- bored with life in the village and the prospect of a loveless marriage -- pleads with the warrior princess to take her along on her journey. Xena refuses and leaves alone on horseback, bound for her home in Amphipolis.
That night, Xena steals into Draco's mountain encampment to confront the savage warlord. Having spared his life in their last encounter, Xena asks him to spare the peasant village. He agrees, but when she rejects his offer to join up with him, claiming she has lost her taste for the slaughter of innocents, he makes secret plans to lay waste to Amphipolis. Meanwhile, Gabrielle sneaks away from home in the dead of night, determined to join Xena and become a warrior herself.
On the road to Amphipolis, Xena meets up with a blind man-eating Cyclops (Patrick Wilson), who has an old score to settle with the woman warrior. Evading him, she continues on her journey through fierce rainstorms and across rushing rivers. When she realizes she's being followed by Draco's men, she sets up an ambush and forces Hector to reveal Draco's plans to destroy her home village. Meanwhile, Gabrielle follows Xena's trail, showing considerable resourcefulness along the way. When she is trapped by the Cyclops, she outwits him, then charms an old traveler (Wally Green) into giving her a ride.
Xena's joy at reaching home turns to sorrow when she is met by a wave of hostility from the villagers. Even her mother Cyrene (Darien Takle) cannot forgive her daughter for her sinful past and is unwilling to listen to her warnings about Draco's advance. When Draco's warriors begin torching the valley, an angry mob comes after Xena, convinced that she is in league with the evil warlord. At the last moment, Gabrielle steps forward and convinces the villagers to let Xena go. The two gallop off on horseback, but when Draco arrives, Xena reappears and challenges him to a fight on the scaffolding surrounding the village meeting hall. They agree that the first to hit the floor will die. The ensuing battle is spectacular and evenly matched, spilling over the scaffolding and onto the heads and shoulders of those who have gathered to watch. Finally, with a flying somersault through the air, Xena lands squarely on Draco's chest and sends him crashing to the ground. Instead of slaying him, however, she makes Draco promise to leave without harming anyone.
Though Xena has saved the village and reconciled with her mother, there is too much anger over her past for her to stay. Followed by Gabrielle, Xena leaves to find redemption for her past misdeeds by continuing her battle against the forces of evil.
Guest Starring: Jay Laga'aia (Draco), Darien Takle (Cyrene), Stephen Hall (Hector), Linda Jones (Hecuba), Willa O'Neill (Lila), Geoff Snell (Herodotus), Anton Bentley (Perdicas), David Perrett (Gar), Patrick Wilson (Cyclops), Wally Green (Old Man), Roydon Muir (Kastor), Huntly Eliott (First Citizen), Winston Harris (Boy)
Starring: Lucy Lawless as Xena, Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle
Teleplay by R.J. Stewart
Story by Robert Tapert
Directed by Doug Lefler
Trivia: Originally, the god Pan was going to be Xena and Gabrielle's recurring traveling companion. Those plans were obviously scrapped.