From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   5.6 Purity   
      
   First airing was Nov. 9, 1999.   
      
   The episode starts with Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer sleeping out in the open.   
   Gabrielle and Xena wake up because they hear something. It is a monk from   
   the Xo (or Zo) monastery whose tongue has been cut out. As he dies, he gives   
   Xena a paper with Chinese writing on it. The note says 'the hawk and the   
   dove must become one with the wisdom.' Xena says it's from Lao Ma. Gabrielle   
   mentions that she's been dead for years. Xena decides they have to find the   
   Book of Wisdom they hid the last time they were in Chin.   
      
   They arrive in an abandoned village with a huge crater in it. They don't   
   know what caused it. Then they see two rockets crash into the monastery up   
   on the hill. They rush to help fight the soldiers. Xena uses her Chakram to   
   destroy two rockets, then catches another one, turns it around and sends it   
   back to where it came from. A woman dressed in red helps them and the   
   soldiers run off. The woman tells Xena she is Lao Ma's daughter, Pao Ssu.   
   She tells them the explosive is black powder, an ancient Chin formula, and   
   the kings of Chin have forbidden to have it produced, but now someone has   
   done it. Xena says something about hearing about it in legend.   
      
   They go into a room in the monastery where Xena hid the book in a cabinet,   
   but it's gone. As they leave to find it, Xena has Joxer put another book   
   into her saddlebags in secret. Xena tells Gabrielle to take a sample of the   
   (apparently unburned) black powder to a market and buy all the spices she   
   can to discover the third secret ingredient in the powder (besides sulfur   
   and charcoal).   
      
   Xena and Pao Ssu go after whoever took the book. They send their horses in a   
   different direction to throw off whoever has been following them.   
      
   In the market, Joxer and Gabrielle buy spices. Gabrielle and Joxer buy   
   oriental clothes to blend in. Joxer lets it slip he has the black powder and   
   they are imprisoned.   
      
   Xena and Pao go into a cave and find a woman with the book. It is K'ao   
   Hsing, Pao Ssu's twin sister. Xena puts the book into her saddle bag. They   
   argue over the book and Xena realizes Pao is the evil sister.  They fight,   
   Pao throws small explosive that knocks Xena down and she grabs the (wrong)   
   book from the saddle bag and escapes.   
      
   Gabrielle and Joxer are wearing the same large blocks Xena had when Ming   
   Tien imprisoned her, except they are stuck in one place. Gabrielle uses her   
   foot to go down into Joxer's pants to retrieve the small bag of powder. She   
   tosses it to her hand, pours it on the lock. Does the same with a rock and   
   makes a spark, opening the lock so they can escape.   
      
   Xena and K'ao are walking down a path in the woods and Xena has flashbacks   
   of running from the dogs and Lao Ma saving her. She is nostalgic about Lao   
   Ma. Next they are in Lao Ma's home and Xena has more flashbacks.   
      
   Gabrielle and Joxer run into Pao, who tells them Xena sent her to find them.   
      
   Xena and K'ao recite some of the passages from the Book that they remember.   
   Pao calls them out. She has Gabrielle and Joxer tied up with barrels of   
   powder surrounding each of them. She says if she doesn't get the book, she   
   will light two trails of powder leading to each of them and they will die.   
   K'ao gives Pao the book to prevent bloodshed, but she lights the powder   
   anyway. Xena flips to the one with Gabrielle and stomps it out. She throws   
   her Chakram and frees Joxer before the explosion   
      
   Back inside in Lao Ma's kitchen, Joxer finally figures out the formula and   
   they have the back powder they need.   
      
   K'ao is having doubts about her ability to face Pao. Xena gives her a pep   
   talk. She tells her the purity of compassion is what they need to defeat   
   Pao. K'ao realizes the hawk is Xena and not Pao.   
      
   Pao is able to acquire the Book's powers from her purity of evil, and she   
   explodes some rocks.   
      
   Joxer and Gabrielle are making rockets.   
      
   Xena and K'ao face Pao in the empty army camp. Pao is wearing some   
   extra-fancy clothes with her hair done up.   
      
   The soldiers see Gabrielle and Joxer setting up the rockets. Gabrielle   
   fights most of them off. The general tells his men to fire rockets at Xena.   
      
   Pao throws red death rays at X and K, but they catch and neutralize them.   
   Xena keeps telling Pao that Lao Ma sent them away to protect them.   
      
   Pao's hatred for her mother is fading and robbing her of her power. She   
   throws one more large death ray. X and K catch it then throw it back at her.   
   She is knocked back into the area where all the powder is stored and a   
   rocket hits it and the camp explodes.   
      
   Gabrielle  and Joxer are relieved to see X & K walking out of the flames.   
      
   K'ao tells Xena she can't feel the power any more. Xena tells her it will   
   return when she needs it. K'ao tells Xena she is the strongest women she   
   ever met. Xena says she didn't know her mother. K'ao calls Xena her sister.   
      
   The story ends with the four of them walking away to somewhere.   
      
   ……………………..   
      
   Not a bad as I expected. Going down the list –   
      
   Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer must have gotten to bed pretty late because it   
   looked like broad daylight when they woke up. And where did Joxer come from?   
      
   They must have been in Chin already because I'm sure the monk didn't travel   
   all the way to Greece with his tongue cut out.   
      
   Xena still remembers how to read Chinese. (And Joxer and Gabrielle can speak   
   it!)   
      
   Neat trick – catching the rocket, turning it around, and then letting it   
   return to sender. Xena's many skills never cease to amaze.   
      
   If Xena was going to hide the Book of Wisdom, why not someplace like in a   
   strongbox buried somewhere? (And didn't Gabrielle say something about   
   protecting it when they left Chin way back in The Debt II? Got tired of   
   carrying it around, I guess.)   
      
   I guess they had plenty of money. Not only were they buying a ton of spices,   
   but Gabrielle and Joxer were able to buy some new and pretty fancy clothes   
   (as was Xena).   
      
   Gabrielle has a pretty talented foot – able to find a small sack down in   
   Joxer's pants, able to toss the bag right up to her hand, AND do the same   
   with a rock she probably couldn't even see. Got some skills of her own. Good   
   thing lock was so flimsy – broke it open with no powder burns on Gabrielle's   
   hand.   
      
   Joxer, ever the gentleman – telling Xena to save Gabrielle. The things we do   
   for love. Of course, there were so many kegs and barrels of black powder the   
   entire area would be destroyed.   
      
   Gabrielle sure was kicking some ass in this episode. She's come a long way,   
   baby!   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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