From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   3-12 The Bitter Suite   
      
   First air date Feb 2, 1998.   
      
   This episode starts out with Gabrielle lying naked inside an Amazon sweat   
   hut being flayed by one of them. Outside the hut Ephiny tells Joxer   
   Gabrielle has been inside for three days. Joxer thinks she needs to get out   
   of there but Ephiny tells him she needs to work through the pain.   
      
   Cut to Xena on a mountain top in a snow storm singing her pain. Ares appears   
   and says she needs to take revenge on the one who betrayed her – Gabrielle.   
   And she knows who she needs to kill.   
      
   Back inside the hut Callisto appears to Gabrielle, who knows she isn't real.   
   Callisto says Xena's hatred of Caesar took them to Britannia where Xena   
   abandoned her to Dahak. She asks if Gabrielle hates her and Gabrielle   
   screams out YES! but outside they hear Gabrielle scream NO! and Joxer runs   
   inside the hut to get her.   
      
   Xena comes into the Amazon village riding hard, then flips off the front of   
   the horse. She is looking for Gabrielle. Ephiny tries  to stop her but Xena   
   breaks her arm. Joxer carrying Gabrielle from the hut sees Xena. Gabrielle   
   starts to run away but Xena gets her whip and lassos Gabrielle's ankles.   
   Joxer tries to help but get punched in the face. Xena gets on her horse and   
   drags Gabrielle away from the village and across the countryside (did I have   
   to mention the Gab-Drag?) until she comes to a cliff overlooking a large   
   sea.   
      
   Xena lifts Gabrielle over her head intending to throw her over the cliff.   
   Gabrielle wakes up, realizes what is happening and kicks Xena in the head.   
   Xena drops Gabrielle. They face off. Gabrielle screams she hates Xena and   
   rushes her. They fall over the cliff into the sea.   
      
   Xena is pulled from a river by Callisto wearing a strange green outfit.   
   Callisto revives Xena with a peck on the lips. Xena is naked but Callisto   
   covers her eyes and then she is dressed.   
      
   Callisto tells her she is in the Land of Illusia.   
      
   Xena wants to know what is going on. Callisto tells her she is only Xena's   
   guide in Illusia. Callisto throws the Chakram and it turns into a Wheel of   
   Fate on a blue rectangular background. Callisto and several animals sing to   
   Xena about how Xena has to pay a price for her past actions. Xena says she   
   doesn't trust Callisto. Callisto says she isn't the one who betrayed her.   
   Xena asks if Gabrielle is there.   
      
   Gabrielle is floating down a river and an upside down Joxer pulls her from   
   the river. He sings about being the master of geography then gives her a   
   dress to wear.   
      
   Callisto leads Xena to a large gray castle with soldiers singing about her   
   being back with her friends. Ares is sitting on a throne.   
   The soldiers surround Xena and next she is wearing some kind of battle   
   dress. Ares throws her a helmet.   
      
   Joxer had led Gabrielle to Poteidaia. All the villagers sing about her lost   
   blood innocence because of Xena, and welcome her back.   
      
   The scenes switch back and forth between Xena and Gabrielle. The soldiers   
   singing about war and the villagers singing about peace.   
      
   Xena takes a sword as she walks toward a set of stairs. Gabrielle gets a   
   two-handed scythe from a villager then walks to another set of stairs. Both   
   Xena and Gabrielle climb the stairs and go through doors to a common area.   
   Gabrielle attacks Xena with the scythe but Xena is more experienced and   
   easily disarms Gabrielle as she falls to the floor.   
      
   Xena plunges her sword into Gabrielle, killing her.   
      
   Ares appears and sings to Xena about now being her rock and support as they   
   dance. Callisto appears and asks Xena if killing Gabrielle eased her   
   suffering. A black and gray dressed Joxer pronounces her dead.   
      
   Ares, Callisto and Joxer fade away as Xena cradles the dead Gabrielle.   
      
   A door opens and Gabrielle walks in as the Gabrielle in Xena's arms fades.   
   Gabrielle accuses Xena of killing her.   
      
   The Wheel of Fate appears and Xena says everything in Illusia is about her   
   and Gabrielle. Lightning strikes from the Wheel and Xena and Gabrielle find   
   themselves in a dark hall with pillars. As they begin to argue about who is   
   at fault, echoes become so loud neither can hear the other. Xena figures   
   this out and asks Gabrielle how she feels right now. Gabrielle says she   
   hurts inside, and asks Xena doesn't she (also)?   
      
   Xena sings about the pain tearing up her soul. Gabrielle sings a similar   
   song. But when they begin accusing each other in song the echoes return.   
   Suddenly the Wheel burst into flames and two tongues of fire wrap around   
   Gabrielle's ankles and starts dragging her into it. Gabrielle screams it's   
   Dahak and begs Xena to save her. Both Gabrielle and Xena are dragged through   
   the center of the Wheel.   
      
   They are now in the temple of Dahak, and Gabrielle is on the bloody altar   
   near where she killed Miranda. Blood covers her hands.   
      
   There is a stone coffin and several upright Egyptian-like sarcophaguses. A   
   ghost flies out of the stone coffin and hooded figures come out of the   
   sarcophaguses. They are Ares, Callisto, Khrafstar, and Caesar.  They begin   
   singing about hatred.   
      
   Gabrielle (now in her BSBG outfit) is on the altar with her hands and feet   
   chained. Xena is tied to a cross. An evil Gabrielle with a sledge is ready   
   to break Xena's legs. And evil Xena has a knife ready to sacrifice   
   Gabrielle.   
      
   Gabrielle and Xena begin singing about how they never believed that hate   
   could have come between them and their love for each other. The evil Xena   
   and Gabrielle explode and Xena and Gabrielle are free.   
      
   Khrafstar, Callisto, Ares and Caesar explode. One wall of the temple   
   disappears and water is falling along it. Beyond is a forest with Solan   
   standing there. Gabrielle surmises it was Solan who created Illusia.   
   Gabrielle runs though the falling water but Xena is hesitant. When she tries   
   to take Gabrielle's hand the water burns her hand.   
      
   The remaining ghost reveals himself to be Ming Tien. Xena confesses she   
   killed Ming Tien and lied to Gabrielle about it to protect her from the   
   truth and to spare her innocence. She sings to Gabrielle about forgiving   
   her. She then sings to Solan about not telling him she was his mother and to   
   forgive her for not being there for him.   
      
   Ming Tien explodes.   
      
   Gabrielle reaches out her hand and pulls Xena through unscathed. Xena is   
   back in her warrior leathers. Xena goes to Solan and they embrace, and each   
   say I love you. Suddenly Xena is holding Gabrielle and they are sitting on   
   the beach of the sea. Gabrielle says they're home.   
      
   …………………………….   
      
   So where to begin? Well, first of all, I realize the synopsis could never do   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)