From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   4-11  Daughter of Pomira   
      
       First air date Jan 18, 1999.   
      
       The story starts out with Xena having flashbacks of  a brutal battle   
   between her army and a band of barbarians, who turn out to be the Horde.   
   When one of Xena's men calls for a retreat, she stabs him in the gut with a   
   knife, then realizing the battle is going against them, she calls for the   
   retreat.   
      
       Back to the present and she is telling Gabrielle about the fight. She   
   intends to take a different route to go around the battlefield. Suddenly   
   they duck down because they see three Horde men and a young Horde girl. Two   
   Horde hatchets fly past them and kill one of the Horde. A man tries to take   
   the scalp from another Horde when Xena interferes. The three remaining Horde   
   escape in a dugout canoe. Xena says the girl looks familiar. Gabrielle finds   
   a leather sling with a Roman design. Xena says they got it from her.   
      
       Xena says they will go to the parents to see if she could be their   
   daughter.  Milo wants to kill them  all and collect the scalps for the   
   bounty.   
      
       Xena and Gabrielle go the fortified village where Raul and his wife   
   live. They tell Xena the Horde kidnapped their daughter, Vanessa, six years   
   ago. Gabrielle says she and Xena will find her and bring her back.   
      
       Milo wants to go with Xena and Gabrielle to hunt down the horde, but   
   Xena tells him to get lost.   
      
       Xena tells Gabrielle that getting Vanessa back could start trouble, but   
   Gabrielle says she deserves to be with parents who love her.   
      
   It is night and they are following a band of Horde. Gabrielle steps on a   
   twig, snapping it. The Horde backtrack but they are hiding in a tree. They   
   follow them to a hidden entrance to a cave.   
      
   Xena disguises herself as a female Horde. When Vanessa goes for water at a   
   spring, Xena follows. But when she says she is there to rescue her, Vanessa   
   starts to scream. Xena puts a variation of the Pinch on her neck to keep her   
   from screaming, then drags her away as the Horde chase after.   
      
       They crawl down a small tunnel. One of the Horde throws a hatchet and   
   Xena catches it, then throws her Chakram to make it cause a cave in to stop   
   the pursuers. She then uses the hatchet to break through up to the surface.   
   She has Gabrielle take Vanessa to the river while she lays a false trail   
   with the sling Vanessa had.   
      
       While waiting for Xena, Gabrielle tries to talk to Vanessa. When she   
   finally gets her voice back, she tells Gabrielle he name is Pilee (or Pelee,   
   or P'lee). She says the Horde call themselves Pomira and they honor life.   
   Xena says they have a funny way of showing it -- they killed hundreds. Pilee   
   says the other people are killers, of trees and earth. But when the Pomira   
   tell them to go away, they kill the Pomira.   
      
       Xena is having second thoughts about taking Vanessa, but Gabrielle is   
   adamant about taking her to her parents.   
      
       When they get back to the village, Pilee tells everyone one her 'father'   
   Cirvik will come to get her and kill everyone.   
      
       Xena talks to the townspeople and tells them killing Vanessa won't stop   
   the Horde, that they must prepare to fight them to total annihilation.   
      
       Later, Vanessa is wearing a blue dress but when Raul tries to bond with   
   her, she scratches his face, and he decides she is a savage.   
      
       Xena tells Gabrielle that Vanessa is the only way to forge peace between   
   the town and the Horde since she is the only one who can speak both   
   languages. Gabrielle is confused about how things are working out. Xena   
   tells her Pilee wasn't a slave but the Horde chieftain loves her.   
      
       At night Vanessa is sneaking away, She has a sword and starts to kill   
   her parents, but instead takes a doll and leaves. Milo almost kills her but   
   Xena stops him. She tells Vanessa if she doesn’t help many will die on both   
   sides.   
      
       The next day the Horde tribe are outside the village calling for Pilee.   
   Xena tells someone to open the gates. Then Vanessa, her parents and others   
   walk outside to meet the Horde. Suddenly Milo jumps up from a hidden foxhole   
   and starts to kill Cirvik. Xena flips off the top of the wall to land   
   between them. She and Milo fight. He gives her a pretty good run for her   
   money. But in the end Xena stabs him in the gut.   
      
       Pilee tells everyone she has two fathers, and decides to go with Cirvik   
   but says she will come back to visit. Cirvik yells to his men that there   
   will be no war since they are all family now.   
      
       Gabrielle is convinced it was wrong to interfere, but Xena tells her   
   that now Vanessa's parents know she is alive, and there is now peace with   
   the villagers and the Pomira.   
      
   ………………………….   
      
       Didn't remember too much about this episode. I can see why. I didn't   
   think too much of it. It had a couple of good things, like the fight right   
   at the beginning, and Xena's silencing Vanessa with a modified Pinch to the   
   neck. And the Chakram's 90 degree turn upward to cause the cave in.   
      
       Once more it looked like Gabrielle was going to screw things up because   
   she didn't use "good judgment" (Hope, Solan's death, the Green Dragon), but   
   in the end she was vindicated (this time).   
      
       But she sure was certain Xena was going to go along with her non-plan to   
   get Vanessa back (but what was Xena going to do – tell them no?).   
      
   It felt kind of like Gabrielle was giving Xena low blows when she kept   
   bringing up the fact that children need to be with their REAL parents.   
      
   I was surprised Pilee put on the dress, washed her face, and combed her hair   
   with no protest/tantrum.   
      
       What I didn't care for or didn't think made sense –   
      
       How did Xena recognize Vanessa after six years with her face painted red   
   and the wild hair? And, surely, the sling wasn't a one-of-a-kind.   
      
       How did Xena know there were no other blond Horde girls?   
      
       But I think the worst was the fight with Milo. Even though he had two   
   hatchets, a sword and a knife he never should have given Xena the trouble he   
   did. And the worst of the worst – when they both jumped up to kick each   
   other, they drove each other back ten or fifteen feet through the air – how   
   lame was THAT?! I would have expected something like that between Xena and   
   Callisto, or Xena and Ares, but with Milo????  But I did think Xena saying   
   "I hate that" was kind of funny. I also liked Xena using her sword to   
   deflect the first hatchet Milo threw at her.   
      
       There haven't been any extras with the last few DVD eps (interviews),   
   probably because they weren't that important to the overall season scenario.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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