From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   2-07 Intimate Stranger   
      
   First air date – Nov 11, 1996   
      
   C/X is Xena in Callisto's body   
   X/C is Callisto in Xena's body   
      
   The episode begins with Xena and Gabrielle sneaking around in the dark, on   
   the trail of Theodorus, Callisto's second in command. Xena sends Gabrielle   
   back to Argo. Xena then sees her mother, who asks if Xena is going to   
   Amphipolis, but Xena and warns her away, then realizes it's Ares, who turns   
   back into himself.   
      
       Ares says since Xena killed Callisto, she's back to her old self. Xena   
   sees Callisto sinking into quicksand, and Xena draws her sword, and against   
   her will advances on Callisto and stabs her.   
      
       Xena wakes up from a dream. She goes over to sleeping Gabrielle, who   
   turns  into Callisto.   
      
       Gabrielle shakes Xena awake from her dream. Xena asks if Gabrielle   
   thinks she executed Callisto. Gabrielle says Xena didn't show her mercy like   
   Hercules showed Xena.   
      
       Xena wakes up from a dream and sees Gabrielle sleeping. Later she asks   
   Gabrielle if she dreams. She says she used to and that was where her stories   
   came from, but hasn't dreamed since Perdicus died.   
      
       In the meantime, Joxer has been following Theodorus and is captured and   
   hung up with a rope and is being beaten by Theo's men. They hear Xena's war   
   cry and run off. Xena cuts Joxer down.   
      
       Xena is looking out into the night. Gabrielle  says Xena wishes she   
   hadn't killed Callisto. Joxer wishes he had. And she wishes Callisto hadn't   
   been born --  Callisto wins.   
      
       Xena dozes off and is then in some dream world with Callisto. Callisto   
   used Xena's guilt to bring her there. Ares appears and together, they make   
   Xena confess she is guilty of murder. Callisto throws Xena into a boulder   
   and she disappears, on her way to Tartarus.   
      
       "Xena" wakes Gabrielle up and tells her they have to go to Amphipolis   
   because Callisto is free and is heading there.   
      
       Argo is acting skittish around Xena, who is really Callisto in Xena's   
   body, and Xena is in Callisto's, still in Tartarus.   
      
       Callisto/Xena (C/X) tries to explain this to Hades, who doesn't believe   
   her until she tells him that she stabbed Marcus in the heart. Hades gives   
   her one full day to try to get Xena/Callisto (X/C) back to Tartarus.   
      
       X/C tells Gabrielle that she has to be the one to kill Callisto and   
   makes Gabrielle angry pretending to be Callisto. While Gabrielle tries to   
   regain her composure, X/C ties Xena's breast knife to the end of Gabrielle's   
   staff.   
      
       Ares tells X/C that C/X is back for one day and if she can avoid her   
   things will be fine. X/C says she wants satisfaction, and Ares obliges her   
   as they sink to the ground.   
      
       Later, X/C tells Gabrielle she is going to leave Argo behind, and sends   
   Gabrielle on ahead. Then X/C slashes Argo with her sword.   
      
       C/X finds Argo lying on her side and while trying to help her, Joxer   
   shows up to keep Callisto from doing any more harm. C/X convinces him she is   
   Xena in Callisto's body and they go after Gabrielle and X/C.   
      
       X/C goes into a village where Theodorus and his men are. They throw down   
   their swords not to give X/C a reason to kill them. But X/C kills Theodorus   
   and the rest of the men swear allegiance to her. She tells them to capture   
   all the people Amphipolis and bring them back.   
      
       X/C finds C/X and Joxer. Joxer is knocked out and X/C and C/X fight.   
   When C/X gets on top of X/C, Gabrielle comes up behind them and threatens to   
   kill "Callisto" but when she asks about Gabrielle's dreams, X/C doesn't know   
   the right answer. When C/X is momentarily distracted, X/C gets away,   
   throwing a dagger at Gabrielle, that is caught by C/X, further proof that   
   Xena is in Callisto's body.   
      
       Gabrielle tells C/X the people of Amphipolis have been captured by X/C's   
   men. They go back to the abandoned village.   
      
       Ares confronts X/C and is angry at what is happening, he tells X/C she   
   doesn't know how Xena thinks, and Ares leaves her on her own.   
      
       X/C tells the men to light torches so they can burn the people when C/X   
   shows up. Gabrielle and Joxer throw oil on the men and they put out the   
   torches so they won't be burned up.   
      
       C/X goes in to fight X/C, but starts fading away. But just in time she   
   throws a dart into X/C, who falls unconscious and is in the dream word with   
   C/X. Callisto's mother appears, as well as all the people Callisto killed,   
   making her feel guilty about their deaths. C/X throws X/C into the same   
   boulder and she disappears on her way to Tartarus.   
      
       Suddenly Xena's body in the village turns into Callisto's. Xena has   
   returned but is stuck in Callisto's body.   
      
       C/X tells Gabrielle not to think about the hate she has for Callisto,   
   but for  her love for Perdicus. Gabrielle says she finally had a dream and   
   begins to tell C/X what it was.   
      
   ……………………   
      
      
   I have to admit, there was very little about this episode I actually   
   remembered. Bits and pieces mostly.   
      
   The dream within a dream within a dream was pretty clever.   
      
   I wondered how Xena was going to come to terms about letting Callisto die.   
      
   It was good to see both Ares and Callisto, and together.   
      
   I suppose Ares had the power to impregnate, or not, Xena/Callisto during   
   their interlude. I can't recall if Ares ever brought it up to Xena later on.   
      
   Pretty obvious Gabrielle was still ready to take revenge on Callisto, when   
   the right motivation came along.   
      
   Don't recall ever seeing the knife strapped to the outside of Xena's right   
   calf before.   
      
   Why on earth did Xena give out her yell before they got there when they were   
   supposed to be sneaking up on Theodorus and his men in the abandoned   
   village?   
      
       And why did Ares let Callisto talk to him like he did? I couldn't   
   believe her let her get away with this ---   
      
           Ares:  "What do you think you're doing?  If you can just wait,   
   you'll have it all.  In a short time—"   
           Xena-Callisto:  "In a short time, Xena will be back in the   
   Underworld, and I won't have my satisfaction."   
           Ares:  "You think you know her-- but you don't.  I do, and you are   
   giving her ever opportunity to beat you!  Now, I forbid this!"   
           Xena-Callisto:  "You?!  Forbid me?!  No one, god or man, forbids me   
   from doing anything.  All my anger-- all my hatred-- it's for Xena, alone.   
   When I'm done with her, you can have what's left.  I won't care."   
           A:  "This-- was not my plan."   
      
            Some god!  Most of the time I like Ares, but when he wimps out like   
   this, not so much. One fireball warning should have done the trick. Or   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)