From: davideml@bellsouth.net   
      
   4-02 Adventures in the Sin Trade Part 2   
      
      
      
             First air date Oct 5, 1998.   
      
             The story starts out with scenes from Sin Trade I.   
      
             Xena and Otere are in a sweat hut made from tree limbs. Xena tells   
   her that to defeat   
   Alti they need to find a new Holy Word.   
      
             Flashback to Xena looking down on the Amazon Queen Cyane, who is   
   wearing only a thong   
   bottom in a sweat hut. Xena falls through the roof and before she can kill   
   Cyane, Cyane rips Xena's   
   clothes from her and puts them on herself. Xena grabs a robe and runs away.   
   Cyane is running   
   thorugh the tree tops after her, and then jumps down on her. But before she   
   can kill Xena, Borias   
   rides up and convinces her it wouldn't help the alliance he's trying to form   
   with the Amazons. He   
   tells Cyane Xena will be punished and she takes him at his word.  Xena decides   
   she need to learn   
   Cyane's fighting techniques.   
      
             Back to the present and Xena appoints Yakut the new shamaness. And   
   she says they have to   
   do a Spirit Dance to leave their bodies to defeat Alti.   
      
             Alti dances around a fire in her own hut and draws souls from it to   
   go to destroy the   
   spirits of Xena and the Amazons.   
      
             Only Xena's spirit leaves her body. Alti's spirits enter the bodies   
   of the Amazons. Xena   
   goes back into her own body and fights them. When they are unconscious, the   
   evil spirits leave   
   them.   
      
             Later, on the way to Alti, Xena realizes Alti's power is where the   
   Amazons ascend to the   
   Land of the Dead. They camp for the night. Xena has them make a Charm Ring   
   made of animal skulls   
   and blood to keep the evil spirits out.   
      
             Xena starts telling them about when Cyane wanted her to join the   
   Amazons.   
      
   Alti tells Xena if she will join her she will  be unstoppable, and anything   
   could be in her reach -   
   Greece, Egypt, Rome . . . and Caesar.   
      
   Alti and Cyane had a spiritual duel and Alti was defeated. Cyane tells Xena   
   not to put her soul   
   into Alti's hands because she will destroy her.   
      
             Xena falls asleep and a spider with Alti's spirit inside it gets on   
   her face. The   
   spider's face changes to Gabrielle's face. Then it expands to become   
   Gabrielle, and then she   
   changes into Alti. Alti wants to know who the blond woman is. Xena tells her   
   she's goodness and   
   innocence and she represents what Alti can't defeat. Alti shows Xena a scene   
   where she cursed   
   Xena's unborn child so he would never know the love of either parent. Then   
   Alti turns back into the   
   spider and bites Xena's face.   
      
             The next morning, Xena won't wake up so they put her on a litter and   
   use the Berserker's   
   horse to drag it. Later Xena wakes up and tells them Alti cursed her son   
   because the light from his   
   face would turn her from the darkness.   
      
             They come to the place where Cyane was killed. The Amazons don't   
   know how to pay tribute   
   to her and Xena shows them. When they want to give the tribute to Xena she   
   tells them that she was   
   the one who killed Cyane.   
      
             Flashback to Xena telling the Amazon leaders she killed the dead   
   Amazon they were   
   honoring and she'll out-Amazon them. They go to the trees and one by one Xena   
   kills them with   
   spiked booby traps she has set. Then she kills Cyane by impaling her on a tree   
   limb. She tells   
   Cyane Alti offered her a better deal (Caesar).   
      
             Alti catches Cyane's blood to give her great power.   
      
             Xena tells Otere and the rest that without leaders, the rest of   
   Amazons were easy to   
   kill.   
      
             Suddenly Xena puts the Pinch on all of them, and then herself. Their   
   spirits join with   
   Xena so she can fight the spiritual Alti. As they fight, Alti shows Xena   
   futures scenes of her life   
   where she is being beaten up.   
      
   Then she shows her a snowy scene where Xena and Gabrielle are lying down on,   
   and tied to, crosses.   
   Gabrielle's hair is very short. Xena tells Gabrielle she is the best thing in   
   her life and   
   Gabrielle says she loves Xena. Spikes are driven into their hands, and   
   present-day Xena's palms   
   start bleeding.   
      
             When Alti asks how it makes Xena feel that her friend is dying with   
   her, Xena says it   
   makes her feel good because it means Gabrielle is alive now. With renewed   
   strength and   
   determination, Spirit Xena kills Spirit Alti.   
      
             Back in her body, Xena tells Yakut the new Holy Word is Love.   
      
             In the Land of the Dead Cyane realizes Xena did as she promised and   
   they are now able to   
   cross over to Eternity.   
      
             Xena leaves the Amazons in Otere's hands as their new leader and   
   heads back home, still   
   with bloody holes in the palms of her hands.   
      
   ...........   
      
             Good episode. Not as many flashbacks, so it was easier to follow the   
   story.   
      
             Renee's name wasn't in the credits again even though she had a   
   couple of wee-small   
   talking parts.   
      
             I thought Cyane was able to defeat Xena a bit too easy, but maybe   
   Xena wasn't expecting   
   her to be so tough and resourceful.   
      
             Typical Evil Xena - wanting to know about the Amazons fighting   
   techniques, and then using   
   them against them.   
      
             I guess Otere's group didn't know much about the Amazon culture   
   since they didn't know   
   the Amazon tribute. I'm sure Xena, or even better, Gabrielle, could teach them   
   what they should   
   know. Maybe for a future show.   
      
             Alti must not have realized that by showing Xena she had a future it   
   meant that she   
   (Alti) didn't kill Xena.   
      
             I have a feeling that we'll be hearing from Alti again. Evil like   
   that doesn't die so   
   easily (re: Callisto).   
      
             Not too sure about Gabrielle's short hair. Certainly a different   
   look for her. Not   
   necessarily bad, but like most guys, I like long hair on women.   
      
             Looks like the Holy Word for Xena was 'Caesar' - she'll do anything,   
   and betray anyone,   
   to get to him for her vengeance.   
      
             ** Where was Borias when Xena was killing the Amazons? And after? **   
      
             Have to mention Cyane's (Victoria Pratt) choice of Amazon underwear.   
   Nice thong, and even   
   nicer butt!   
      
             We still don't know where Gabrielle is. Or how she survived the fall   
   into the lava pit -   
   we DID see two flashes where she and Hope hit the lava! But hopefully, all   
   will be explained in the   
   next episode or two.   
      
             In the interview clip, Lucy said that if Gabrielle had been dead,   
   Xena would have stayed   
   in the Land of the Dead to be with her. Rob didn't think so.   
      
   Renee said she was shadowing the director (except when the cast and crew went   
   to the cold, snowy   
   mountains) to learn what she could about directing.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)