From: davideml@bellsouth.net   
      
   4-08    Crusader   
      
      
      
   First air date Nov 16, 1998.   
      
   The story starts out with a lone rider on horseback. The rider, who has a   
   scarf over his face,   
   rides up on some men who say a warrior is beating up on them. The rider   
   gallops across the hill.   
   Looking down he sees Xena fighting two men,  and Gabrielle fighting two. The   
   rider knocks Gabrielle   
   down with his horse, then leaning off the saddle knocks down Xena.   
      
   The rider unmasks and it is a woman. Gabrielle tries to help, but the woman   
   flips over her and is   
   about to stab Gabrielle as Xena goes for her Chakram. But before she can throw   
   it, the woman seems   
   to have a vision and spares Gabrielle's life. She begs their forgiveness,   
   saying the Jinn/djinn/gin   
   told her Gabrielle has a good heart. She says her name is Najara and they are   
   on their way  to stop   
   a slave trader named Marat, and the Jinn/djinn/gin want Xena and Gabrielle to   
   join her.   
   Reluctantly, Xena agrees.   
      
   That night around a campfire Najara and her men sing. Najara then goes to talk   
   to Xena and   
   Gabrielle. Xena doesn't trust Najara, so she offers her sword and tells Xena   
   she can lead her men.   
   Xena refuses the sword but says she will lead the men.   
      
   The next day the village looks deserted. Xena goes on ahead. She finds the   
   slavers and villagers in   
   a barn. Xena shoots a crossbow as a signal and starts fighting the slavers.   
   Najara joins her and   
   the rest of the men fight the slavers as they're thrown out of the barn. As   
   they are fighting   
   outside, a slaver shoots a crossbow at Gabrielle, but before Xena can catch   
   the arrow, Najara beats   
   her to it.   
      
   Najara offers the captive slavers the chance to join her and to see the Light.   
   She tells the   
   villagers to forgive the slavers. Everyone gets a hug.   
      
   Xena is seeing the prophecy of Gabrielle being nailed to the cross in the   
   snow. Najara knows about   
   it and asks if Xena has told Gabrielle. Xena says no. Najara tells her only a   
   drastic change may   
   stop the prophecy. Gabrielle come in and Najara says she is going to Marat's   
   village the next day   
   and invites Xena and Gabrielle to come. When Xena hesitates, Gabrielle agrees.   
      
   Najara and Gabrielle ride off to look as some swans. They invite Xena but she   
   refuses, but she   
   follows them.   
      
   While Gabrielle and Najara talk, Gabrielle  says she isn't sure of her path in   
   life. Najara tells   
   her she needs to commit to Xena. Gabrielle asks about a hospice Najara   
   mentioned. And that if she   
   stays to start one, she and Xena will have to go their separate ways. Xena is   
   listening to all of   
   this.   
      
   Najara is making plans to free the slaves in Marat's village. Xena says she is   
   going after Marat.   
   When Gabrielle asks when they leave, Xena tells her to stay and make sure the   
   children are safe.   
      
   Later Xena and Najara talk. Xena tells her to start the hospice in the village   
   so Gabrielle will   
   have a place to stay. And that if Gabrielle goes with her, she will die.   
      
   Xena goes back to the camp and tells a sleeping Gabrielle goodbye and rides   
   away.   
      
   The next day, all the villagers are free and the slavers are tied up. Najara   
   offers them the chance   
   to join the Light.   
      
   Gabrielle asks about the hospice, then wants to be initiated into the way of    
   the Light.   
      
   Xena has Marat manacled, but he thinks she is Najara and tells her to kill him   
   rather than wait the   
   three days. Xena realizes Najara is executing those who won't join her and   
   hurries back to the   
   village.   
      
   Just after Gabrielle is initiated, the group hug, and the song, Xena arrives   
   and confronts Najara   
   about executing men without a trial. She denies it, then says she liberates   
   their souls, which   
   disturbs Gabrielle.   
      
   Xena and Najara fight over Gabrielle. For most of the fight, things are pretty   
   even. But just when   
   Xena thinks she has knocked out Najara, she comes up with a log about the size   
   of her arm and   
   proceeds to beat Xena unconscious. She gets a sword to kill Xena, but   
   Gabrielle throws herself over   
   Xena and tells her she'll have to kill them both.  Najara says the darkness in   
   Xena will kill them   
   someday. Gabrielle says she will go with Najara if she lets Xena live. Najara   
   knows she is saying   
   that just to spare Xena, but Gabrielle says she could never go with her if she   
   kills Xena. Najara   
   agrees and they all leave.   
      
   When Xena wakes up only the bartender and a little girl are there. Xena spits   
   out a molar Najara   
   knocked loose. She admits she got her butt whipped, and says she and Najara   
   have the same weakness.   
      
   Later Gabrielle is alone in a cave and Najara come in. Gabrielle tells her   
   that as close as she is   
   to the ultimate force for goodness, that one little bit makes her so wrong.   
      
   Najara tries to justify her actions by asking what Xena would do. Gabrielle   
   argues possibly killing   
   innocent men and Najara argues about the guilty going free if they are tried   
   in a court. Suddenly   
   they hear a man scream and Najara pulls her sword and goes to investigate.   
      
   Xena waits until Najara is gone and goes into the cave. Gabrielle wants to   
   leave but Xena has a   
   plan.   
      
   Najara sees all of her men unconscious, or dead, and sees Xena's footprints   
   leading back to the   
   cave. When she goes in she sees Gabrielle tied up, seemingly hanging over a   
   bottomless pit with a   
   candle burning the rope holding her up. Gabrielle tells her Xena has snapped.   
      
    From the other side we see Gabrielle standing on some kind of platform.   
      
   Xena and Najara begin to fight, but Najara is distracted by the possibility   
   that Gabrielle may die.   
      
   Najara goes over the edge but catches herself. Xena starts to step on her   
   hands but Gabrielle tells   
   Xena not to kill her.   
      
   Najara is chained to a post or pillar. The slavers are to be tried. Xena asks   
   if she told Gabrielle   
   about the vision. Najara say she didn't because it would hurt her, and that is   
   Xena's job.   
      
   After they leave Najara says she forgives Gabrielle.   
      
   .........   
      
   Another episode I find hard to rate.   
      
   It has some really good things in it, particularly Gabrielle's insecurity   
   about her life's path,   
   and Xena's despair about possibly leading Gabrielle (and herself) to their   
   deaths.   
      
   Wasn't a lot of humor in this story.   
      
   Some other things -   
      
   No one seems to know how Jinn/djinn/gin is supposed to be spelled.   
      
   For some reason Xena and Gabrielle are in Phoenicia.   
      
   Hard to believe Xena can take on Ares and has even bested him at times, and   
   has beaten Callisto,   
   but not Najara. Of course, it took using a small log and a kind of sucker   
   punch to do it. (But,   
   then, zealots are a particularly fanatical bunch.)   
      
   Najara was played by Kathryn Morris, who now is on the show "Cold Case" (which   
   I've never seen).   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)