From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
       The story starts out with a Seer foretelling that a child will have King   
   Gregor's throne. And his advisor, Nemos, who obviously is the bad guy here,   
   wants the baby dead. And the baby is put into a basket and sent downstream.   
   Which, I'm sure was why Gab did the same to Hope in a future episode.   
       Of course the baby is found by Xena and Gabrielle (who is still in   
   peasant garb, but different ones. I suppose Gabrielle would have more than   
   one set of clothes, but these must be her back-up, older, nearly worn out   
   ones, because they sure looked like they've seen better days).   
       And they come across a mob trying to hang a woman from horseback. It   
   turns out she is Pandora, granddaughter of the original Pandora.  (And why   
   were they trying to hang her? No explanation that I heard.) And she has the   
   infamous Box.  And the woman who played Pandora - Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, is   
   GORGEOUS!   
           They go to a tavern to find milk for the baby, and while there, they   
   are accosted by Nemos and his men. Xena's only weapon is a mouth full of   
   wine and a torch, to spit fire at the soldiers. After the ensuing fight,   
   Nemos runs off with the Box, leaving Pandora holding the baby.  It seems to   
   me I heard that after Lucy did this on one or two more eps, Rob decided she   
   was too valuable to perform such a dangerous stunt, and she never did it   
   again.   
       Xena goes to the Quarter Moon Festival as a dancer. Naturally, Nemos   
   wants Xena for the night and has her taken to his room. She knocks him out   
   so she can search the king's room for the Box. She knocks HIM out while he's   
   talking to his dead son empty cradle. She steals the box and dives out of a   
   window as Nemos starts to take it from her. She gives the Box to Pandora and   
   takes the baby and puts him in Gregor's son's crib (how EASY it must be to   
   just come and go in the palace). But she runs away with the baby when Nemos   
   and his loyal guards want the baby to kill.   
       Outside the palace, Xena has a fun time fighting the soldiers while she   
   and Gabrielle play Toss the Baby. (And the soldiers and townspeople also   
   fighting each other.)   
           Xena kills Nemos. And all his soldiers run away.   
       Gregor decides to keep the baby as his own, and tells Pandora he needs   
   her help taking care of the baby.   
       Xena finds Gabrielle with the box, and as they are leaving, Gabrielle   
   accidentally knocks the box off its pedestal. It opens up and is empty, much   
   to Gabrielle's surprise.  But Xena says, "We all carry hope around inside of   
   us."   
         End of episode.   
      
       I can't be sure, but the room with all the gold and jewels, and   
   Pandora's box looked a lot like the room where Xena's brother's body was in   
   Sins of the Past, especially the doorway and the background outside the   
   door.   
        I didn't think this one was quite as good as 'Dreamworker'.  It had   
   quite a bit of comedy in it – Gabrielle's comments about naming the baby,   
   Xena asking Gabrielle if she's holding the baby wrong when he won't stop   
   crying, Xena waving off the growling dog, the Baby Toss fight (even the   
   fight music wasn't the one we usually hear. It had a lighter, bouncier   
   tune).   
      
       On a scale of 1 – 10, I would give this a 6.   
   Sins of the Past  - 7   
   Chariots of War – 7   
   Dreamworker ---   8   
   Cradle of Hope --   6   
   Average...............   7   
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
   http://daviderl.com/ .   
   http://daviderl31.blogspot.com/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)