From: davideml@bellsouth.net   
      
   5-06    Purity   
      
      
      
   First airing was Nov. 9, 1999.   
   The episode starts with Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer sleeping out in the open.   
   Gabrielle and Xena wake   
   up because they hear something. It is a monk from the Xo (or Zo) monastery   
   whose tongue has been   
   cut out. As he dies, he gives Xena a paper with Chinese writing on it. The   
   note says 'the hawk and   
   the dove must become one with the wisdom.' Xena says it's from Lao Ma.   
   Gabrielle mentions that   
   she's been dead for years. Xena decides they have to find the Book of Wisdom   
   they hid the last time   
   they were in Chin.   
      
   They arrive in an abandoned village with a huge crater in it. They don't know   
   what caused it. Then   
   they see two rockets crash into the monastery up on the hill. They rush to   
   help fight the soldiers.   
   Xena uses her Chakram to destroy two rockets, then catches another one, turns   
   it around and sends   
   it back to where it came from. A woman dressed in red helps them and the   
   soldiers run off. The   
   woman tells Xena she is Lao Ma's daughter, Pao Ssu. She tells them the   
   explosive is black powder,   
   an ancient Chin formula, and the kings of Chin have forbidden to have it   
   produced, but now someone   
   has done it. Xena says something about hearing about it in legend.   
      
   They go into a room in the monastery where Xena hid the book in a cabinet, but   
   it's gone. As they   
   leave to find it, Xena has Joxer put another book into her saddlebags in   
   secret. Xena tells   
   Gabrielle to take a sample of the (apparently unburned) black powder to a   
   market and buy all the   
   spices she can to discover the third secret ingredient in the powder (besides   
   sulphur and   
   charcoal).   
      
   Xena and Pao Ssu go after whoever took the book. They send their horses in a   
   different direction to   
   throw off whoever has been following them.   
      
   In the market, Joxer and Gabrielle buy spices. Gabrielle and Joxer buy   
   oriental clothes to blend   
   in. Joxer lets it slip he has the black powder and they are imprisoned.   
      
    Xena and Pao go into a cave and find a woman with the book. It is K'ao Hsing,   
   Pao Ssu's twin   
   sister. Xena puts the book into her saddle bag. They argue over the book and   
   Xena realizes Pao is   
   the evil sister.  They fight, Pao throws small explosive that knocks Xena down   
   and she grabs the   
   (wrong) book from the saddle bag and escapes.   
      
   Gabrielle and Joxer are wearing the same large blocks Xena had when Ming Tien   
   imprisoned her,   
   except they are stuck in one place. Gabrielle uses her foot to go down into   
   Joxer's pants to   
   retrieve the small bag of powder. She tosses it to her hand, pours it on the   
   lock. Does the same   
   with a rock and makes a spark, opening the lock so they can escape.   
      
   Xena and K'ao are walking down a path in the woods and Xena has flashbacks of   
   running from the dogs   
   and Lao Ma saving her. She is nostalgic about Lao Ma. Next they are in Lao   
   Ma's home and Xena has   
   more flashbacks.   
      
   Gabrielle and Joxer run into Pao, who tells them Xena sent her to find them.   
      
   Xena and K'ao recite some of the passages from the Book that they remember.   
   Pao calls them out. She   
   has Gabrielle and Joxer tied up with barrels of powder surrounding each of   
   them. She says if she   
   doesn't get the book, she will light two trails of powder leading to each of   
   them and they will   
   die. K'ao gives Pao the book to prevent bloodshed, but she lights the powder   
   anyway. Xena flips to   
   the one with Gabrielle and stomps it out. She throws her Chakram and frees   
   Joxer before the   
   explosion   
      
   Back inside in Lao Ma's kitchen, Joxer finally figures out the formula and   
   they have the back   
   powder they need.   
      
   K'ao is having doubts about her ability to face Pao. Xena gives her a pep   
   talk. She tells her the   
   purity of compassion is what they need to defeat Pao. K'ao realizes the hawk   
   is Xena and not Pao.   
      
   Pao is able to acquire the Book's powers from her purity of evil, and she   
   explodes some rocks.   
      
   Joxer and Gabrielle are making rockets.   
      
   Xena and K'ao face Pao in the empty army camp. Pao is wearing some extra-fancy   
   clothes with her   
   hair done up.   
      
   The soldiers see Gabrielle and Joxer setting up the rockets. Gabrielle fights   
   most of them off. The   
   general tells his men to fire rockets at Xena.   
      
   Pao throws red death rays at X and K, but they catch and neutralize them. Xena   
   keeps telling Pao   
   that Lao Ma sent them away to protect them. Pao's hatred for her mother is   
   fading and robbing her   
   of her power. She throws one more large death ray. X and K catch it then throw   
   it back at her. She   
   is knocked back into the area where all the powder is stored and a rocket hits   
   it and the camp   
   explodes.   
      
   Gabrielle  and Joxer are relieved to see X & K walking out of the flames.   
      
   K'ao tells Xena she can't feel the power any more. Xena tells her it will   
   return when she needs it.   
   K'ao tells Xena she is the strongest women she ever met. Xena says she didn't   
   know her mother. K'ao   
   calls Xena her sister.   
      
   The story ends with the four of them walking away to somewhere.   
      
   ..........   
      
   Not a bad as I expected. Going down the list -   
      
   Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer must have gotten to bed pretty late because it   
   looked like broad daylight   
   when they woke up.   
      
   They must have been in Chin already because I'm sure the monk didn't travel   
   all the way to Greece   
   with his tongue cut out.   
      
   Xena still remembers how to read Chinese. (And Joxer and Gabrielle can speak   
   it!)   
      
   Neat trick - catching the rocket, turning it around, and then letting it   
   return to sender. Xena's   
   many skills never cease to amaze.   
      
   If Xena was going to hide the Book of Wisdom, why not someplace like in a   
   strongbox buried   
   somewhere? (And didn't Gabrielle say something about protecting it when they   
   left Chin way back in   
   The Debt II? Got tired of carrying it around, I guess.)   
      
   I guess they had plenty of money. Not only were they buying a ton of spices,   
   but Gabrielle and   
   Joxer were able to buy some new and pretty fancy clothes (as was Xena).   
      
   Gabrielle has a pretty talented foot - able to find a small sack down in   
   Joxer's pants, able to   
   toss the bag right up to her hand, AND do the same with a rock she probably   
   couldn't even see. Got   
   some skills of her own. Good thing lock was so flimsy - broke it open with no   
   powder burns on   
   Gabrielle's hand.   
      
   Joxer, ever the gentleman - telling Xena to save Gabrielle. The things we do   
   for love.   
      
   Gabrielle sure was kicking some ass in this episode. She's come a long way,   
   baby!   
      
   I thought the death rays were ??? - something. But I guess the old standby -   
   fireballs, were   
   getting old.   
      
   Clever of Xena to tell Pao about Lao Ma's sacrifice to save her and K'ao from   
   ---who?  A young Ming   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)