From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   3-06  The Debt   
      
   First air date was Nov 3, 1997   
      
   The episode starts out at night, Xena turns over in her sleep reaching for   
   Gabrielle. But she isn't there and Xena wakes up and goes looking for her.   
   She finds Gabrielle sitting on a rock, a dreamy look on her face. Xena asks   
   if she is all right and  Gabrielle says yes, then thanks Xena for standing   
   by her through everything she had just gone through (with Dahak and Hope, we   
   presume).   
      
   Someone is in the bushes. Xena pulls him out, It is an oriental man who is   
   badly wounded. Suddenly Xena is attacked by four or five ninja-type   
   warriors. Eventually Xena defeats them, including killing one with her   
   Chakram. The man gives Xena a message – "The Green Dragon has become too   
   large, and must be made small again." And he dies.   
      
   Xena tells Gabrielle she is going on a long journey, to Chin, to kill the   
   Green Dragon. Gabrielle can't understand why, so Xena tries to explain.   
      
   There is a flashback to Xena on the cross and Caesar ordering her legs   
   broken. Then we see Xena saying a new Xena is born with a new purpose in   
   life – death.   
      
   She tells Gabrielle she went east seeking vengeance.   
      
   Flashback to a group of soldiers or bandits or mercenaries on horseback   
   chasing and killing soldiers. Xena wants to kill them all, but  Borias, the   
   leader, tells her if they do, who will be left to be terrified? Xena wants   
   the dead bodies. She puts their heads on pikes in front of the Great Wall of   
   China as a message to the House of Ming.   
      
   There is a meeting between Borias and Ming Tzu, but Xena insults him and   
   intimidates his son, Ming T'ien, and the alliance doesn't happen. Borias   
   decides to make a treaty with the House of Lao.   
      
   He meets with the beautiful Lao Ma, wife of the ruler of the House of Lao.   
   While having dinner, Xena smokes an opium pipe while observing Borias and   
   Lao Ma making nicey-nice. After Lao Ma goes into her tent for the night,   
   Xena comes in and tries to kill her with knives, but Lao Ma throws them back   
   at her. When Xena charges, Lao Ma uses some kind of mystical force and Xena   
   is thrown through the air and is knocked out. Lao Ma tells Borias the   
   alliance can't happen and after whispering something in Xena's ear, she   
   leaves.   
      
   Borias tells Xena she has until sun up to leave camp or he will kill her.   
      
   Xena tells Gabrielle she wanted to kill Lao Ma because she would civilize   
   Borias and she wanted him wild like her. When Gabrielle asks what Lao Ma   
   whispered, Xena tells her, "'Fill yourself with desire and see only   
   illusion. Empty yourself of desire and understand the great mystery of   
   things."   
      
   Xena kidnaps Ming T'ien and has Borias broker the exchange of ransom. But   
   Borias betrays Xena to Ming Tzu.   
      
   Gabrielle decides she can't go with Xena just to watch Xena kill someone.   
   Xena boards a ship and leaves Gabrielle with Argo.   
      
   Xena is in a bamboo cage when Ming Tzu and his men meet Lao Ma. She gives   
   him permission to use her land to hunt down Xena for entertainment. She   
   gives Ming T'ien a gift she made but he throws it down without looking at   
   it. Ming Tzu looks at it and it is an embroidery of a green dragon, his   
   nicknamed for Ming T'ien.   
      
   Xena is hobbling through the forest with a crutch, running away from hunting   
   dogs. She runs into Lao Ma who takes her to her house to hide her. Ming Tzu   
   comes into Lao Ma's bath looking for Xena, who is hiding in a tub full of   
   water, holding her breath. Ming Tzu stays so long, Lao Ma dips her head into   
   the bath, giving Xena a kiss of life -- more air.   
      
   After Ming Tzu leaves, Lao Ma bathes and dresses Xena in fancy clothes.   
      
   Flash forward to Xena covering herself in back grease or mud and sneaking   
   into Ming T'ien's castle. She has flashback images of Gabrielle trying to   
   get her to stop the cycle of hatred, alternating with her own visions of   
   killing and death, including letting Callisto sink in the quicksand.   
      
   Xena sneaks into Ming T'ien's bed chamber and is about to stab him, but it   
   is Gabrielle in the bed. She tells Xena she is sorry, but she couldn't let   
   her do it. Xena is stunned into inaction and Ming T'ien orders her locked   
   up.   
      
   Xena and Gabrielle can only stare at each other.   
      
   To be continued. . . .   
      
   ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''   
      
   First I have to apologize for the synopsis, but there is no way I could do   
   justice to everything that was happening.   
      
   So where to begin?  Maybe with the absolutely gorgeous costumes? Or with the   
   stunning scenery? Or the outstanding acting by Lucy, Reneé, Jacqueline Kim,   
   and Marton Csokas? Or the direction? Or the writing (R.J. Stewart has done   
   it AGAIN!)?   
      
   But I have to say something besides gushing on and on about how great this   
   episode is, so a few items –   
      
   Even though it came last, this has to be said first – HOW did Gabrielle get   
   to Chin before Xena?! And how did she know where to go to find Ming T'ien?   
   But since this is continued, I’m sure we'll find out next time.   
      
   Xena is so much fun when she's evil!  She revels in and celebrates her   
   wickedness. And more than once Lucy's said how much she enjoys it as well.   
      
   And the underwater kiss between Xena and Lao Ma was probably the most erotic   
   scene so far.   
      
   Once again, Gabrielle has lied to / betrayed Xena. And although this time   
   her reason may be honorable – not wanting Xena to commit murder. But is   
   betraying Xena, and possibly condemning her to death any more honorable?   
      
   Maybe if Xena had told Gabrielle the WHOLE story (which even we don't know   
   at this point), perhaps Gabrielle would have understood, and maybe even gone   
   with her to try to talk her out of it along the way.   
      
   I was trying to figure out where Xena caught a ship going to Chin, but the   
   closest place she could have done so would have been near Calcutta, India,   
   into the Bay of Bengal (would it have been that cold?), then sailed south   
   around Malaysia and then north past Viet Nam to land either in the Gulf of   
   Tonkin or near Hong Kong.   
      
   And one other small thing – sometimes Xena and Gabrielle are sleeping under   
   blankets, and sometimes under furs. In this one it was furs.   
      
   ''''''''''''''''''''''''''   
      
   But who cares? This was a great episode. A definite 9.5 out of 10.   
      
   ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::   
      
   3-06 The Debt                         9.5   
   3-05 Gabrielle's Hope             9   
   3-04 The Deliverer                  9   
   3-03The Dirty Half Dozen       8   
   3-02Been There, Done That   9   
   3-01 The Furies                      6.5   
   Average score so far    ----    8.5   
      
   David   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)