From: davideml@bellsouth.net   
      
   3-03 The Dirty Half Dozen   
      
      
      
   First air date Oct 13, 1997   
      
   The episode starts out with a soldier running away from something. He can't   
   understand how 6000   
   Athenian soldiers were killed. Then Ares appears and tells him "he's" behind   
   him. Another soldier   
   runs up and his armor deflects the first one's sword. The second kills the   
   first. The second   
   soldier is Agathon. Ares has given him the secret to Hephaestus' metal, which   
   is impervious to   
   conventional iron or bronze weapons. Agathon says he is going to conquer the   
   world with it.   
      
   Next a man, Walsim, is being lead to an axe man and is about to lose his head   
   for being a murderer.   
   But he is saved by two cloaked individuals who create a diversion and he   
   escapes on a horse   
   (looking suspiciously like Argo).   
      
   In the woods the two cloaked people are Xena and Gabrielle. Xena tells him he   
   can go back to the   
   axe man or possibly die by going up against Ares with her.   
      
   Next is a prison where a man named Darnelle is being locked up for killing a   
   man with a spear.   
   Inside the cell, Xena pops up from the sewer, looking for Darnelle, Monlik,   
   and Glaphyra, a woman.   
   The four of them escape back down the sewer.   
      
   Back in the woods, Xena introduces them to each other. Monlik is a master   
   thief. Darnelle is a   
   gladiator. Glaphyra is a slaver who specializes in men only. And Walsim is an   
   assassin. All four   
   were trained by Xena. Gabrielle passes out weapons. Darnelle takes a javelin,   
   Glaphyra takes   
   knives, Monlik gets a crossbow, and Walsim gets a battle axe.   
      
   When they question Xena why they are together, Walsim tells them about going   
   against Ares.   
      
   Xena leads them to the village where the 6000 soldiers were killed. Suddenly a   
   dozen or so of the   
   armored soldiers attack. They all quickly discover their weapons are useless   
   against the armor.   
   They start fighting with their feet and other non-weapons. Gabrielle is very   
   effective using her   
   staff. Walsim hides while the fighting is going on. The soldiers run off. Xena   
   tells them about the   
   metal of Hephaestus and Ares giving it to Agathon.   
      
   In Agathon's castle weapons are being forged with the Metal.  Ares tells   
   Agathon that Xena is on   
   her way and not to underestimate her. Agathon knows Ares has a thing for Xena.   
   Ares says he won't   
   interfere. Agathon tells Ares he is going to kill Xena.   
      
   When the half dozen camp for the night, only Gabrielle and Xena sleep because   
   the others are on   
   guard, each afraid they may be killed by one of the other three.   
      
   Gabrielle asks Xena if they were murderers before Xena met them. Xena admits   
   she changed them.   
   Gabrielle asks what would have happened if they met before Xean reformed. Xena   
   tells her she could   
   never see Gabrielle as evil. Gabrielle wants to know what the difference is,   
   and asks if she is who   
   she is or who Xena made her. Xena can't answer.   
      
   Xena has them split up. Darnelle and Glaphyra go into town to buy supplies.   
   She sends Monlik and   
   Walsim ahead to Agathon's castle to map the interior. She and Gabrielle are   
   going to King Gregor to   
   mobilize his army against Agathon as a diversion.   
      
   Darnelle and Glaphyra banter back and forth about the good and evil in men and   
   women.   
      
   They meet back that afternoon. Supplies have been bought. Monlik says anyone   
   trying to break into   
   the castle will be slaughtered. He wants to sell the Metal for a profit or he   
   won't give up the   
   map. He throws his axe at Xena. It misses and sticks in a tree. He and Xena   
   fight and he is   
   thrown/knocked against the axe and is killed. Xena says they will have to find   
   another way into the   
   castle.   
      
   Xena is concerned that the others did nothing to help either her or Monlik.   
      
   That night at camp Ares shows up and tells Xena he gave the Metal to Agathon   
   for peace. "Peace   
   through slaughter." Xena retorts. Ares says Agathon knows King Gregor isn't   
   sending his army   
   against him and all the soldiers are still in the castle. And he promised   
   Agathon he wouldn't   
   interfere if he kills her.   
      
   They are at the castle. Gabrielle and Darnelle through Molotov cocktail-type   
   bombs at and into the   
   castle. Glaphyra throws her knives to make a kind of stairs for Xena to climb   
   up. Monlik shoots   
   some of the soldiers by hitting them in places the armor doesn't cover, and   
   also a lock on a barred   
   window and Darnelle throws his javelin to make it pop open and Xena gets   
   inside. She is crawling   
   through a long round tunnel or pipe of some sort when a soldier sees her. She   
   throws her Chakram at   
   him. It goes through the armor and kills him. Then bars fall down on both ends   
   of the pipe and   
   Agathon has Xena's Chakram. Walsim and Darnelle are there - they have betrayed   
   Xena.   
      
   Xena, Gabrielle and Glaphyra are in a cell made of the Metal. Walsim and   
   Darnelle are there,   
   gloating. Glaphyra is bad mouthing all men. Gabrielle says she married a good   
   one. Glaphyra asks   
   where he is, and maybe he left to find another conquest. Gabrielle forcefully   
   backs her against the   
   bars, her forearm against Glaphyra's throat, saying he was murdered. Xena   
   steps in and tells   
   Glaphyra he was killed by Callisto, a woman. And she shouldn't blame   
   everything on men, to look   
   inside herself for answers.   
      
   Agathon is giving Walsim and Darnelle a tour of the forge. Darnelle sees a   
   worker sawing a bar of   
   the Metal using a chain made of the same Metal.   
      
   Back in the dungeon, Darnelle gives the chain to Xena so she can saw the bars   
   and all escape. He   
   was following Xena's plan to betray her. They go to the forge room.   
      
   Agathon and the soldiers, and Xena, Darnelle and Glaphyra fight with the   
   weapons there. Xena   
   recovers her Chakram. They throw all the weapons into the furnace and Xena's   
   Chakram cuts the chain   
   holding the blast shield over it.   
      
    Ares appears and Xena tells him he doesn't want second best to rule his   
   empire. He leaves to let   
   Agathon and Xena fight it out. Agathon has a throwing weapon like a double   
   curved scythe. He throws   
   it and Xena throws her Chakram. The Chakram splits it into a few pieces and   
   one piece hits Agathon   
   in the head. The furnace explodes, destroying the castle and all the soldiers   
   and the armor they   
   were wearing.   
      
   Darnelle and Glaphyra leave together.   
      
   Xena has the answer to Gabrielle's question about who she is. No one made her   
   who she was, it was   
   already there. But then she asks  who would she (Xena) be without Gabrielle?   
   Gabrielle says heroic   
   since she was already on the path.   
      
   .........   
      
   Not too shabby. Some good action scenes. And some good, meaningful   
   conversation between Xena and   
   Gabrielle.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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