From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   5-05  Them Bones, Them Bones   
      
       First airdate was Nov. 1, 1999.   
      
       The episode starts out with Gabrielle digging in a swamp with one of her   
   sais trying to find a mushroom Xena says will stop her (Xena's) nausea. She   
   eats it then has severe stomach pains. Gabrielle rushes her to a healer.   
   Xena thrashes around on the bed. They tear open her clothes to expose her   
   belly. Something is moving under the skin. Then a baby's skeleton hands and   
   skull pops out.  Xena wakes up and the healer tells her she gave her a   
   sedative. Xena thinks someone is trying to kill her baby. Gabrielle says   
   it's a dream but Xena says it's a vision. She wants to go see Yakut, a   
   northern Amazon shamaness. Amarice with still with them.   
      
       The three of them ride hard until they get to the camp of the northern   
   Amazons. Yakut says she had a vision they were coming. Yakut tells Xena her   
   baby's life force is being drained in the spiritual world. Xena know its   
   Alti. Gabrielle insists she should be the one to go fight Alti in the spirit   
   world. She puts on hunting leathers and with a bow and arrow kills a large   
   stag and smears its blood on her face. She goes back and there is a tribal   
   dance while Gabrielle gets ready to go into a trance. Xena gives her a   
   dagger and tells her to never let it go. They cut each other's palms and let   
   their blood mix so they will be linked.   
      
       Gabrielle crosses over during a psychedelic trance. Everything she looks   
   at freezes – fire, water, a bird. Alti appears and beats on a version of   
   Gabrielle without the dagger, while the 'real' Gabrielle lies on the ground.   
   Xena sees the REAL Gabrielle being killed. She gives Gabrielle mouth to   
   mouth and Gabrielle is resuscitated.   
      
       Gabrielle tells Xena Alti wants the baby to be born. Xena says Alti   
   wants to trade her soul for the baby's. Xena and Yakut go to dig up Alti's   
   bones while Gabrielle and Amarice go to find sacred amber guarded by an   
   Amazon mystic. Yakut tells Xena there is a golden tree with so many branches   
   even the gods can't count them. Each branch has a baby's soul and when a   
   woman accepts she is about to become a mother, the baby sends a thank you in   
   the form of a dove.   
      
       Xena and Yakut find the bones but the skull is missing because Yakut has   
   it. She took it for her ritual, but only unleashed Alti's soul. Xena is   
   pissed Gabrielle almost got killed because of it.   
      
       That night Xena wakes up and sees Yakut bleeding. She is in the spirit   
   world. Xena drinks some of the blood and crosses over. Alti is there and   
   reaches into Xena's belly and pulls out the soul of her baby. Alti says she   
   will return the soul if Xena and the Amazons will return her to the physical   
   world.   
      
       Gabrielle and Amarice go into  a cave and they find Ch'iah, the Amazon   
   mystic. She tells them Amarice isn't a real Amazon, but she lets Gabrielle   
   pass. Gabrielle gets the sacred amber and they head back to camp.   
      
       Xena tells them Alti has her baby's soul, and plans to bring Alti back.   
   Back in the spiritual world Xena tells Alti to take her hand and they will   
   be back in the physical world. Alti's skeleton is on an altar or stone bed   
   surrounded by candles. The skeleton gets up and Xena tells her they are in   
   Xena's dream world. Xena pulls off her skin and clothes and the two   
   skeletons fight.   
      
       In the real world Xena's body is taking the worst of it. In her dream   
   world, she manages to retrieve her baby's soul. In the real world Gabrielle   
   and Amarice feel Xena's belly jump. They know it's the signal and Gabrielle   
   pours the amber on Alti's bones. It blows away in a mini-whirlwind.   
      
       Gabrielle gives Amarice an Amazon necklace from her own tribe. Amarice   
   decides to stay with the Amazons.   
      
       Yakut and Xena say their goodbyes. Yakut tells her she and her baby will   
   be targets again. Xena says she's going to head east to learn a few new   
   tricks. Xena sees a dove as a sign she has accepted her motherhood.   
      
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       Well, an episode that didn't suck.  And for the most part, it wasn't too   
   bad. Found a lot of it I liked, and not so many things I didn't.   
      
       If I had been Xena or Gabrielle, I would have thought that just MAYBE it   
   was the mushroom that caused Xena's stomach pains.   
      
       The scene with the baby's skull popping out was cool. I watched it three   
   times.   
      
       I assume the romance with Amarice and Armand didn't last very long.   
   Maybe he was a lousy  lover.   
      
       I really liked Gabrielle in the leathers and with the bow and arrow.   
   Maybe that's what she should be wearing. But, then we wouldn't be able to   
   admire the Gab-Abs.   
      
       I did think the psychedelic crossing over was a bit long even though   
   some of the images were pretty cool. (In the interview, Donald Duncan said   
   the green flames were real, by using blue vitriol (or bluestone) -- copper   
   sulfate pentahydrate.) The green and purple lighting was nifty.   
      
       I didn't think Gabrielle was going to be able to defeat Alti. But   
   apparently, Alti was a bit afraid of the dagger, which is why she never let   
   the real Gabrielle get near her with it.   
      
       I never have understood why, oh WHY do people cut their palms when they   
   want to shed blood? I've had my hands cut more than once (I'm a sheet metal   
   worker), and not only can you NOT use that hand for a long time, but every   
   time you try, it just breaks open the cut and it takes even longer to heal.   
      
       I almost missed it, but when the Amazons were dancing. Amarice seemed   
   like she didn't know what the hell was going on.   
      
       In one way I thought the skeletons fighting was kind of dumb, but in   
   another, some of it was pretty good. I didn't understand why skeleton-Alti   
   swallowed the soul when all she had to do was stick it right up under her   
   ribs.   
      
       Bringing Alti into her dream world was a clever thing to do. Xena's   
   always got one trick or another up her sleeve.   
      
       So Amarice wasn't a real Amazon. Thinking back on it, every time she   
   mentioned HER tribe (was it in 'Ides of March'?) why didn't anyone think to   
   ask her just WHAT tribe she came from?   
      
       Didn't remember the story about the tree of souls and the dove.   
      
       A lot more blood in this episode. But mostly to drink and to face-paint   
   with.   
      
       Next to Callisto, Alti is the best nemesis for Xena. Always like to see   
   Alti show up.  (Would Callisto and Alti be allies? Or enemies, fighting each   
   other over who gets to kill Xena?) Liked the line – "Xena's little bitch."   
   Never heard THAT from Callisto!   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)