From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   4.8 Crusader   
      
   First air date Nov 16, 1998.   
      
   The story starts out with a lone rider on horseback. The rider, who has a   
   scarf over his face, rides up on some men who say a warrior was beating up   
   on them. The rider gallops across the hill. Looking down he sees Xena   
   fighting two men,  and Gabrielle fighting two. The rider knocks Gabrielle   
   down with his horse, then leaning off the saddle knocks down Xena.   
      
   The rider unmasks and it is a woman. Gabrielle tries to help, but the woman   
   flips over her and is about to stab Gabrielle as Xena goes for her Chakram.   
   But before she can throw it, the woman seems to have a vision and spares   
   Gabrielle's life. She begs their forgiveness, saying the Jinn/djinn/gin told   
   her Gabrielle had a good heart. She says her name is Najara and they are on   
   their way  to stop a slave trader named Marat, and the Jinn/djinn/gin want   
   Xena and Gabrielle to join her. Reluctantly, Xena agrees.   
      
   That night around a campfire Najara and her men sing. Najara then goes to   
   talk to Xena and Gabrielle. Xena doesn't trust Najara, so she offers her   
   sword and tells Xena she can lead her men. Xena refuses the sword but says   
   she will lead the men.   
      
   The next day the village looks deserted. Xena goes on ahead. She finds the   
   slavers and villagers in a barn. Xena shoots a crossbow as a signal and   
   starts fighting the slavers. Najara joins her and the rest of the men fight   
   the slavers as they're thrown out of the barn. As they are fighting outside,   
   a slaver shoots a crossbow at Gabrielle, but before Xena can catch the   
   arrow, Najara beats her to it.   
      
   Najara offers the captive slavers the chance to join her and to see the   
   Light. She tells the villagers to forgive the slavers. Everyone gets a hug.   
      
   Xena is seeing the prophecy of Gabrielle being nailed to the cross in the   
   snow. Najara knows about it and asks if Xena has told Gabrielle. Xena says   
   no. Najara tells her only a drastic change may stop the prophecy. Gabrielle   
   comes in and Najara says she is going to Marat's village the next day and   
   invites Xena and Gabrielle to come. When Xena hesitates, Gabrielle agrees.   
      
   Najara and Gabrielle ride off to look as some swans. They invite Xena but   
   she refuses, but she follows them.   
      
   While Gabrielle and Najara talk, Gabrielle  says she isn't sure of her path   
   in life. Najara tells her she needs to commit to Xena.   
      
   Gabrielle asks about a hospice Najara mentioned. And that if she stays to   
   start one, she and Xena will have to go their separate ways. Xena is   
   listening to all of this.   
      
   Najara is making plans to free the slaves in Marat's village. Xena says she   
   is going after Marat. When Gabrielle asks when they leave, Xena tells her to   
   stay and make sure the children are safe.   
      
   Later Xena and Najara talk. Xena tells her to start the hospice in the   
   village so Gabrielle will have a place to stay. And that if Gabrielle goes   
   with her, she will die.   
      
   Xena goes back to the camp and tells a sleeping Gabrielle goodbye and rides   
   away.   
      
   The next day, all the villagers are free and the slavers are tied up. Najara   
   offers them the chance to join the Light.   
      
   Gabrielle asks about the hospice, then wants to be initiated into the way of   
   the Light.   
      
   Xena has Marat manacled, but he thinks she is Najara and tells her to kill   
   him now rather than wait the three days. Xena realizes Najara is executing   
   those who won't join her and hurries back to the village.   
      
   Just after Gabrielle is initiated, the group hug, and the song, Xena arrives   
   and confronts Najara about executing men without a trial. She denies it,   
   then says she liberates their souls, which disturbs Gabrielle.   
      
   Xena and Najara fight over Gabrielle. For most of the fight, things are   
   pretty even. But just when Xena thinks she has knocked out Najara, she comes   
   up with a log about the size of her arm and proceeds to beat Xena   
   unconscious. She gets a sword to kill Xena, but Gabrielle throws herself   
   over Xena as tells her she'll have to kill them both.  Najara says the   
   darkness in Xena will kill them someday. Gabrielle says she will go with   
   Najara if she lets Xena live. Najara knows she is saying that just to spare   
   Xena, but Gabrielle says she could never go with her if she kills Xena.   
   Najara agrees and they all leave.   
      
   When Xena wakes up only the bartender and a little girl are there. Xena   
   spits out a molar Najara knocked loose. She admits she got her butt whipped,   
   and says she and Najara have the same weakness.   
      
   Later Gabrielle is alone in a cave and Najara comes in. Gabrielle tells her   
   that as close as she is to the ultimate force for goodness, that one little   
   bit makes her so wrong.   
      
   Najara tries to justify her actions by asking what Xena would do. Gabrielle   
   argues possibly killing innocent men and Najara argues about the guilty   
   going free if they are tried in a court. Suddenly they hear a man scream and   
   Najara pulls her sword and goes to investigate.   
      
   Xena waits until Najara is gone and goes into the cave. Gabrielle wants to   
   leave but Xena has a plan.   
      
   Najara sees all of her men unconscious, or dead, and sees Xena's footprints   
   leading back to the cave. When she goes in she sees Gabrielle tied up,   
   seemingly hanging over a bottomless pit with a candle burning the rope   
   holding her up. Gabrielle tells her Xena has snapped.   
      
   From the other side we see Gabrielle standing on some kind of platform.   
      
   Xena and Najara begin to fight, but Najara is distracted by the possibility   
   that Gabrielle may die.   
      
   Najara goes over the edge but catches herself. Xena starts to step on her   
   hands but Gabrielle tells Xena not to kill her.   
      
   Najara is chained to a post or pillar. The slavers are to be tried. Xena   
   asks if she told Gabrielle about the vision. Najara say she didn't because   
   it would hurt her, and that is Xena's job.   
      
   After they leave Najara says she forgives Gabrielle.   
      
   …………………..   
      
   Another episode I find hard to rate.   
      
   It has some really good things in it, particularly Gabrielle's insecurity   
   about her life's path, and Xena's despair about possibly leading Gabrielle   
   (and herself) to their deaths.   
      
   Wasn't a lot of humor in this story.   
      
   Some other things –   
      
   No one seems to know how Jinn/djinn/gin is supposed to be spelled.   
      
   For some reason Xena and Gabrielle are in Phoenicia.   
      
   Hard to believe Xena can take on Ares and has even bested him at times, and   
   has beaten Callisto, but not Najara. Of course, it took using a small log   
   and a kind of sucker punch to do it. (But, then, zealots are a particularly   
   fanatical bunch.)   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)