From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
                                   5.13 Eternal Bonds   
      
   First air date was Feb 7, 2000   [19 years ago minus a week]   
      
   The story starts out with Xena and Gabrielle riding hard across a desert   
   trying to avoid lighting bolts from Zeus. Then they are chased by a tornado.   
   A figure in a dark hooded robe points in a direction. They ride that way   
   into some woods with the lighting bolts and tornado chasing them. The come   
   to a cave, dismount and go inside.   
      
   Gabrielle says the gods are scared and are fighting for their lives. They   
   hear a noise from the back of the cave. It is Joxer and he has brought three   
   friends – Magi who have come with gifts for Eve. One gives a bowl of grain   
   the second gives fruit, and the third, a woman, offers an urn of  laurel   
   oil. Xena knows the laurel is sacred to Artemis and kicks the urn away. The   
   three Magi say the child must die and they attack. Gabrielle knocks one of   
   them out, Xena kills two of them. Joxer is cut on the arm.   
      
   Xena asks Gabrielle to take Joxer outside and clean his wound. Xena says she   
   smells a rat, and Ares appears. He says he was the one who led them to the   
   safety of the cave.  She says right into the hands of assassins. He says he   
   knew she could take them. From their amulets they agree the Magi came from   
   the temples of Artemis, Poseidon and Apollo.   
      
   Xena is concerned that Joxer may have been cut by the poisoned sword of   
   Apollo's priest. She runs out and tells Gabrielle to take Joxer to the   
   mandrake tree at the north end of the valley where the antidote is, and   
   she'll meet them there.  Gabrielle and Joxer have been arguing about Joxer   
   rushing to help Gabrielle, but mostly he just gets in her way.   
      
   In a temple, a priestess cuts out a man's heart and it is covered with   
   worms. She and the other priests know their Magi failed and they will have   
   to send their armies to kill Xena and Eve.   
      
   Gabrielle and Joxer leave on Gabrielle's horse and Argo. Later, Gabrielle is   
   not sure which way to go. Gabrielle sees a red line going up Joxer's arm -   
   the poison is going to his heart.   
      
   Xena is alone in the woods nursing Eve, and singing to her. Then she hears   
   soldiers sneaking up on her. She fights them off. Eve gets a spot of blood   
   on her. Ares appears and says it's baptism by blood. He says he's there to   
   help because he is dying and wants to fight along side her, and he admits he   
   loves her. She says he's lying.   
      
   Gabrielle and Joxer are taking a rest break. She says the poison is not   
   spreading. She apologizes to him for being so short tempered and admits she   
   can be a real bitch sometimes. Joxer agrees without coming right out and   
   saying so.   
      
   Xena and Eve are resting for the night. Ares appears and wants to make   
   amends. He wants her back like before. And wants her to forgive him. A   
   soldier tries to kill Eve. Xena has a rope rigged to pull Eve up out of   
   harm's way, and Ares throws a fireball at the assassin. Ares and Xena get   
   closer and closer to each other and they kiss.   
      
   Xena suddenly wakes up from a dream/nightmare.   
      
   Gabrielle has a hard time waking Joxer up the next morning. The poison's   
   worse. They are on horseback again when they are stopped by the female   
   warriors of Artemis. Before they can be killed by them Gabrielle says they   
   are on the way to Artemis' temple to pray to her. Joxer says she was injured   
   by Xena. The women split up, going east, and west, and a couple to take   
   Gabrielle and Joxer to the temple.   
      
   Xena is hacking her way through some underbrush and talking to Eve about not   
   being able to trust dreams or visions or prophesies. And she is having   
   erotic flashbacks to her dream.   
      
   Joxer falls off his horse. Gabrielle goes back to a pond to fill their water   
   skins. She has to hide from more soldiers. Xena arrives at the mandrake tree   
   but Gabrielle and Joxer aren't there. She climbs the tree to look around.   
   She sees the armies approaching. Ares appears and says he is willing to   
   fight beside her, to  be a father to Eve, and to a child of their own. Xena   
   realizes he wants an heir since he is supposed to be dying. He says he will   
   make all the problems with the gods disappear. She refuses. He asks even if   
   it means Joxer's life, or Gabrielle's, or Eve's. Xena doesn't answer.   
      
   Joxer has hidden in a hollow log. He tells Gabrielle to go get the   
   resin/antidote to the poison, but she refuses to leave and says Xena will   
   find them. He reminds her they are far off the trail.   
      
   Xena is looking for them and spots one of Gabrielle's scrolls in the air,   
   flying like a kite.   
      
   Joxer is worse and Gabrielle cradles him. He wants to know why she doesn't   
   love him. She say she does, but not like he wants her to.   
      
   Xena finds them, but all three armies attack. The soldiers are frozen and   
   Ares appears and once again tells Xena he can make it stop if she will give   
   him a child. She refuses and he lets the armies attack. Xena and Gabrielle   
   fight them. Xena is using a spear as a battle staff. Xena ties Eve to a rope   
   and throws it over a tree limb while she fights. Gabrielle is fighting with   
   a sword and then with a shield.   
      
   Ares gets Eve and brings her down. Xena is facing him waiting to see if he   
   starts to kill her, or not. He doesn't and disappears. The priestess of   
   Artemis shoots an arrow at Eve, but Xena throws her Chakram.  It splits the   
   arrow into two pieces, killing two warriors, and continues onto kill the   
   woman. Eventually enough of the solders are beaten and they run off.   
      
   Xena gives the resin to Joxer and he gets better in a hurry.   
      
   They are walking away and Joxer tells Gabrielle he knows she only loves him   
   as a friend but he will always love her more than that.   
      
   Xena wonders if it is wrong to expose Eve to all the violence and bloodshed.   
   Gabrielle say yes, but sometimes it's their only resort. Xena says maybe the   
   greater wrong is to never  fight. And it doesn't matter where they make a   
   stand just as long as they make one.   
      
   ………………………..   
      
   Another pretty good episode.   
      
   Loved the erotic flashbacks and the looks on Xena's face as she was   
   remembering them. Maybe she feels more for Ares than she wants to admit??  I   
   also noticed in her dreams, she is wearing her old leathers and breastplate.   
      
   Some pretty good fight scenes. Gabrielle isn't just using her sais, but   
   whatever she can. Wicked looking sword.  Xena fighting with a baby hanging   
   from a rope has been done before, but it slows down the action.   
      
   Gabrielle finally admits she loves Joxer, but not like he loves her, which I   
   think we all knew.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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