Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) returns to her Amazon sisters in despair to undergo a purification ritual after her terrible ordeal -- the death of her daughter Hope and her bitter parting from Xena (Lucy Lawless). Ephiny (Danielle Cormack) tries to assure a very worried Joxer (Ted Raimi) that Gabrielle's only chance of survival is to work through the pain. Elsewhere, Xena, who is in anguish over Gabrielle's betrayal and the murder of her son Solan, is approached by Ares (Kevin Smith) as she sings a song of mourning. Ares convinces her to give vent to her rage and Xena comes riding into the Amazon village, determined to kill Gabrielle. Joxer intervenes to save her but before she can escape, Xena lashes her bullwhip around Gabrielle's ankle, leaps onto the back of a horse and viciously drags her captive up a rocky slope to the top of a cliff. Just as Xena is about to hurl her over the edge, Gabrielle lets loose with a kick causing Xena to lose her balance, and the two go tumbling into the abyss. Plunging deep into the water below, they are held under by the downpour of a waterfall as they struggle in vain to reach the surface. As the watery darkness closes in, a faint evocative melody is heard...
Suddenly, a hand pulls Xena out of the water and onto the shore where she lies unconscious. She is soon kissed "awake" by Callisto (Hudson Leick), who appears quite different from the evil woman warrior she's known before. Clad in the outfit of the Tarot Book's Fool, this Callisto ushers her into the land of Illusia with a song. It turns out that she will be Xena's "guide" in this technicolor dreamworld, forcing her to confront her inner demons and the core of her relationship with Gabrielle, all in song since one must sing to be heard in Illusia. Xena, now dressed in the robes and crown of the Tarot Book's High Empress, watches as Callisto spins a large wheel of fortune, ringed by fantastical singing Tarot creatures. When Callisto urges Xena to spin the wheel herself to learn more about her fate, Xena complies. But as Callisto leads her off, Xena's shadow remains on the wheel, transforming itself into a black-hooded specter -- the Torment.
Meanwhile, a hand plunges down in another part of the stream to seize Gabrielle, who gasps as she's hauled up on shore. Her rescuer and "guide" turns out to be Joxer, dressed as the Tarot Book's Hanged Man. Covering herself with tall blades of grass, Gabrielle is astounded when they suddenly transform into the flowing green gown of the Tarot Book's Empress. She, too, must spin the wheel of fortune and as she exits, her shadow also stays behind, morphing into the same hooded specter as that which emanated from Xena.
These and the story's subsequent dream-events, dramatizing the causes of the tragic rift between Xena and Gabrielle, unfold in music ranging from poignant love songs to elaborate production numbers. As the episode continues, Xena arrives in a besieged village where she is welcomed home by Ares and a throng of chanting warriors. Ares, now dressed as the Tarot Book's Emperor, celebrates Xena's return to her war-mongering past. Simultaneously, Gabrielle is being welcomed back home by her sister Lila (Willa O'Neill) and the rest of the peace-loving villagers of Poteidaia. Xena and Gabrielle are soon facing each other in a terrible confrontation in which Xena appears to kill Gabrielle. But she quickly realizes with overwhelming relief that she's just killed an illusion.
Seeking further understanding, Xena spins the wheel of fortune once again. She and Gabrielle now find themselves in an imposing structure akin to the Tower of Babel. As the two start bickering, echoes build to a deafening roar, preventing them from hearing each other at all. When their rage finally reaches a crescendo, the center of the wheel explodes and the evil Dahak grabs Gabrielle, dragging her towards the darkness. At the last moment, Xena reaches out to save her but is dragged into the center of the wheel herself, back to the Temple of Dahak where their nightmare began. There Xena, strapped to a cross, and Gabrielle, chained to the altar, face and ultimately triumph over their hatred -- first in the forms of Caesar, Khrafstar, Callisto, Ares and finally, in themselves. Suddenly freed from their bonds, they emerge in a small grotto near a shimmering waterfall backlighting the figure of Solan. Convinced it's the only way out, Gabrielle grabs Xena's hand to pull her through the waterfall, but Xena is held back by the hooded Torment, who turns out to be Ming T'ien (Daniel Sing). Their struggle is resolved when Xena finally confesses to Gabrielle that she killed Ming T'ien and asks for her forgiveness. Filled with new understanding and love, Xena and Gabrielle awaken from their mystical, musical journey at the foot of the cliff in each other's arms.
Guest Starring: Ted Raimi (Joxer), Kevin Smith (Ares), Hudson Leick (Callisto), David Taylor (Solan), Daniel Sing (Ming T'ien), Marton Csokas (Khrafstar), Karl Urban (Julius Caesar), Danielle Cormack (Ephiny), Willa O'Neill (Lila), Julie Moran (Potedia Woman)
Starring: Lucy Lawless as Xena, Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle
Written by Steven L Sears & Chris Manheim
Lyrics by Joseph LoDuca, Pamela Phillips Oland, Dennis Spiegal
Directed by Oley Sassone