From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   2-13    The Quest   
   (Or Destiny, Part 2)   
      
   First air date Feb 3, 1997   
      
   The episode starts out with Gabrielle waking up from a nightmare. Next to   
   her is a very fancy sarcophagus with Xena's body in it. She says she has the   
   same nightmare every night and every morning wishes it was a dream.   
   Four or five thugs show up and want Xena's body for possible bounty.   
      
   Gabrielle fights them off with her staff. The leader gets up and Iolaus   
   shows up and beats him up. He realizes Xena is dead.   
      
   Gabrielle says she want to hate Xena for leaving her. Iolaus asks what   
   Gabrielle would want to say to her. She says her life was empty before Xena   
   came along, she's learned lessons, and she loves Xena. Iolaus tells her she   
   just did. He leaves to give the bad news to Hercules.   
      
   Gabrielle has Argo pulling the sarcophagus. They are in a forest and Amazons   
   drop from the trees. One of them is Ephiny. She tells Gabrielle that Queen   
   Melosa was killed in a challenge from Velasca. Velasca steps up and says she   
   is now the queen.   
      
   They go back to the Amazon village.   
      
   We are now in a temple and a hooded man pulls over a stand where the dagger   
   of Helios is on display. He hides in a cabinet where the dagger is locked   
   up. It is Autolycus, and he steals the dagger. We hear Xena's war cry and   
   suddenly he has to steal a map. Xena has taken over his body. Later when he   
   looks into a barrel of water he sees Xena. She wants him to steal her body   
   before it can be burned on a funeral pyre.   
      
   Ephiny tells Gabrielle that Velasca wants to make war on the centaurs to   
   take back some land. Gabrielle says Velasca shouldn't be queen.   
      
   Velasca tells Gabrielle that she (Gabrielle) has neither the training nor   
   birthright to lead the Amazons. Gabrielle says she will think about it.   
      
   Xena tells Autolycus that she needs him to use the map and the dagger of   
   Helios to get to the ambrosia so she can return to her body.   
      
   Gabrielle is with Xena's sarcophagus and tells her she has to move on with a   
   life without her. She will take Xena's ashes back to Amphipolis and then   
   return to rule the Amazons.   
      
   Gabrielle accepts the new mask as queen and Velasca says she has no right to   
   be queen, and stomps off mad.   
      
   Autolycus is with the sarcophagus and Gabrielle finds him. He says Xena is   
   inside him but Gabrielle thinks he wants her body for bounty and has him   
   thrown in the Amazon 'jail.' The funeral pyre is lit, and Xena takes over   
   Autolycus' body. He/she throws the Chakram then whistles for Argo.   
      
   Autolycus/Xena uses the bull whip to wrap around the handle and drags it off   
   the pyre and away. Gabrielle realizes it  IS  Xena and hops on for a ride.   
   Velasca says Gabrielle is a traitor and must be killed. Ephiny and a few of   
   Gabrielle's supporters are put in the 'jail.'   
      
   When they are alone, Xena takes over Autolycus' body again. She tells   
   Gabrielle to close her eyes and when she opens them in some kind of   
   dreamscape  and Xena is in front of her. She tells Gabrielle she must get   
   the ambrosia. She leans down to kiss Gabrielle, then it is Autolycus kissing   
   Gabrielle.   
      
   Gabrielle and Autolycus put the sarcophagus in the river to float downstream   
   and they'll get it later.   
      
   Gabrielle and Autolycus go into the cave entrance of the hall of ambrosia   
   where the ambrosia is hidden. But Velasca and some Amazons capture them   
   before they can get it. Velasca tortures Autolycus, then sees the dagger of   
   Helios in his boot and realizes it is the key. She goes back to the cave.   
      
   Autolycus is thrown into the jail with a broken arm. But he manages to pick   
   the lock and they escape. Gabrielle tells Velasca to go after Xena's   
   sarcophagus and she and Autolycus go after Velasca.   
      
   Velasca uses the dagger to open a hidden compartment in the ceiling and the   
   ambrosia falls into a fire. Xena takes over Gabrielle's body and they fight   
   on ropes hanging from the ceiling. Velasca falls to the floor onto spikes.   
      
   A piece of ambrosia has fallen into Gabrielle's top. She takes it out and   
   puts it into Xena's mouth and she is brought back to life.   
      
   We see another piece of ambrosia fall and Velasca's hand creeping toward it.   
      
   Just before he leaves, Autolycus and Xena talk. She says she knows inside he   
   is really a nice person.   
      
   Gabrielle tells Xena that when Xena was inside her, she felt that Xena was   
   warm and friendly and loving.   
      
   ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''   
      
   Another great episode. Lots of good stuff in this one -   
      
   Gabrielle really kicking ass defending Xena's body.   
      
   Autolycus was a real hoot, as usual. Always glad to see him around.   
      
   Liked Gabrielle's Amazon queen outfit. Much better looking than her green   
   top outfit.   
      
   Normally, I don't tike Iolaus, but he wasn't so bad here, of course he took   
   off pretty quickly.   
      
   A couple of nice scenes with Gabrielle talking to Xena.   
      
   And the almost kiss between Xena and Gabrielle, and the real kiss between   
   Autolycus and Gabrielle (how lucky can you GET?!?!), and he gets to feel   
   Gabrielle's butt (how lucky can you GET?!?!).   
      
   And another evil female foe - Velasca. Wonder how she and Callisto would   
   react to each other. Join together or fight as rivals?   
   .......   
      
   And as usual, things to pick at -   
      
   Where did Gabrielle get the sarcophagus? Particularly with one with Xena's   
   breastplate carved into it.   
      
   Even though I was glad to see Iolaus go, wouldn't he volunteer to go along   
   with Gabrielle, at least part of the way?   
      
   I'm surprised that Gabrielle and Ephiny didn't have more supporters.   
      
   Can't quite understand the whole ambrosia bit: It was hidden in a place that   
   would assure that it would fall into the fire. Wouldn't ambrosia be kind of   
   un-destroyable since it is god food?  Unless the fire was god fire.   
      
   Xena/Gabrielle threw the Chakram the first time to cut the rope Velasca was   
   climbing, then it where did it go? And if X/G caught it, why not throw it   
   again and again to keep Velasca from getting to the top?   
      
   ........   
      
   And despite those few things, I still liked this one - an 8 out of 10.   
   .......   
      
   A final note - someone asked Renee about the kiss between Gabrielle and   
   Xena, and if it was really real. She said, "Well, we didn't actually smooch,   
   but we had the shot and we came in very close together. We were definitely   
   there. We were in front of a blue screen. They wanted to make it   
   heaven-like. That's why there probably wasn't any shadow [on Gabrielle's   
   face from Xena]. But we were definitely there together."   
      
   --   
   David   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)