Takes One to Know One

For me, the best scene was the very beginning where it is a "dark and stormy night" where Xena doesn't "get wet" for a change. The green grass lit up by the lightning was a good effect. Xena arrives at her mother's inn. It is dark inside, and she is surprised by Cyrene, Joxer, Minia, and Lilla, who think it is Gabby who just came in. They planned a surprise birthday party for her, even tho the birthday is the next day.

How did all the candles get lighted at once, since it had just been completely dark? We see a rough but attractive-looking blonde woman sitting with a drink, and Autolycus is there, wearing a hood, which Xena takes off him. Good reason---he now has a short haircut. He is there for the party, too, he says.

Xena is tired, so Cyrene says Xena's new room is next to mommy's. Xena looks puzzled at this. Also, since when did she visit to HAVE a room, since Amphipolis was destroyed by Cortese, and Xena went home in SINS and FURIES, and did not stay.

At night, Xena is awakened by the storm; she gets up, still fully-dressed, and looks out the window to see a woman passing by below. She then hears a noise, puts on her armor and sword, and checks Cyrene's room. Cyrene is gone, and Xena then runs to the blonde woman's room, and kicks in the door to see Ravenica, the woman, dead on the floor with a dagger stuck in her chest.

There is a man in the room, and Xena punches him. A dark-haired woman, Discord, is there on the bed and stops Xena by using her goddess powers to knock Xena away. For no apparent reason, Rav's room was used by Discord and her boy-toy, who was shirtless and wearing leather shorts and a leather collar. It seems as if this pint-sized woman had an itch that needed scratching.

Discord announces she is Ares' Goddess of Retribution on her first assignment. She must bring the killer to justice, or kill the killer. Xena says she is unaware of whom the killer is, and is told by Discord "it takes one to know one". Somebody is going to pay. Xena has until sunrise to produce the killer.

The rest of the gang see the body on the floor and the inane comments begin. The problem with this episode is that there are too many characters who have little to say or do. They look as if they are waiting for their turn up at bat to say their lines.

Xena looks into Rav's pack to check for clues. She sees that Rav was a bounty huntress. Knowing that Cyrene may have killed to save her Little Girl, Xena suspects mommy. Cyrene said she couldn't sleep and was in the kitchen. Lilla, with few lines at all, says to look at the wanted poster...Xena's face is on it.

Minia knew who Rav was at a stables she once was. Rav hamstrung horses so her prey couldn't get away. This appalls a few characters and they hate her for that.

Note: Rav collects killers and thugs like Xena for the bounty. Wasn't Xena the one who kept goading Najara last ep. about being brought to justice? Xena destroyed nations, so there are a lot of people in different countries who want her captured so SHE can pay for her crimes.

Joxer picks up a piece of paper. He says to Minia that she likes horses a little too much (note how she ogled the Centaur in PLAY) and she did it in the bedroom with the knife.

Note: We already know it was in the bedroom and with a knife. The question is "who?" I wished that the sarcastic Auto said 'No...you're wrong. I saw Minia do it in the kitchen with a HORSE." That would have been funny, since Minia makes a like comment towards Discord at the end.

Joxer says his dumb line ad nauseam. Too bad he was not the victim.

Gabby arrives and tells Xena they have troubles, but sees the dead woman and is told Xena didn't do it. Note: Ravenica and Cyrene have bodacious ta-tas. I always thought Cyrene was a looker.

Ares tries to leave the inn but is stopped by Discord. She aims the arrow at Cyrene, thinking she has the killer, but Xena stops her arrow by deflecting it with the Chakram. Discord gives them a sandglass, and when it is empty, she will take SOMEBODY. Discord says she is Ares latest find and wants to impress him. WAIT! She was his girlfriend, even called her own name by Ares in DELIVERER.

Gabby gets Lilla some water as if the woman was a weakling. What about these two sisters who fought together in PRODIGAL?

Gabby finds some diamonds, some scrolls, which are bounty posters, and an empty scroll holder. The mixed-up pack has the fruit on the bottom. Cyrene says "maybe she liked her pears bruised." I won't do an outrageous pun about that...it is too easy.

Gabby rolls her eyes at Xena saying, "she's your mother."

Lilla uses lavender perfume as shown by its scent in the pack. Lilla is really cute in this ep, better-looking than Gabby.

In the death room, Gabby picks up a stick thinking it is a clue. Cyrene could have said it was to hold the window open. Gabby has no clue about it. There are three candles on the floor and only two spots on the candelabra for them. Someone brought one in later, it seems to Xena.

Rav has a rash on her skin, ink on her hair, and a bump on the back of her head.

Auto's turn: he says there were no pick marks on the lock. Note: As we will see, Rav didn't lock the door all the time since so many were in her room that night. Who had the key? Xena did...she had it in her breast key-rack. However, she kicked in the door.

Dumb blonde Gabby: If Rav was short enough, she could have been stabbed thru the keyhole...hey, Xena...she's YOUR friend. Also, what about the whole dagger being at Rav's corpse?

Minia: "This is not some sort of game, you know." Like CLUE? The movie and board game?

Xena asks who owns the knife. It is Minia's. She says Rav was already dead when she came upon the knife.

Now Gabby thinks she herself killed Rav. She substituted Joxer's recipe in Rav's water bag when she saw her days ago, and wanted to give extra time to Xena by slowing Rav down with the "trots." Discord appears again to kill Gabby. Xena explains about Rav not drinking her water, but drank form a spring instead. Discord makes more sand run out to be mean.

Xena thinks...she needs answers, so makes everyone tell the truth. Joxer grabs a slip of paper...it was part of a scroll he had written. He got a love note from Lilla, loves Gabby, and was writing to Lilla to let her down easily. He had one of Gabby's scrolls to write some ideas from.

Rav had come in on Joxer, thinking he was Jett, the killer brother. She tells "Jett" he better stay away from her bounty-hunting or else. She rips the scroll Joxer was writing and takes it, later putting it into her pack. Joxer tosses the inkpot at Rav, hitting her on the back of the head and spilling some ink on her hair. She just gives him a dirty look and goes.

Joxer; "When I left her, she was stained but standing." I can't possibly say the obvious pun here.

Joxer went to Rav's room to get the paper, and he bangs his head on the low candelabra after getting his foot stuck in a bucket. In the pack is Jett's wanted poster...hey! Wasn't he in prison for murder since King Of Assassins? Joxer tells Xena he heard Rav's and Auto's voices. Auto says Rav wanted him sexually, but really, he later tells he held a dagger to her throat, telling her to leave Xena alone. Auto says he knew and helped her from before in another caper. Rav knows he stole her diamonds, but Auto denies it.

Discord arrives AGAIN, ready to kill Auto...knows he didn't do it, and says if Xena doesn't produce the killer, she will "kill 'em all" as Xena says.

Xena again tells the inept group to tell the whole truth. Cyrene says she heard Minia and Lilla talking at the table. Xena somehow guesses that Lilla left as Minia pretended to hold up both ends of the conversation. Cyrene looks at them, but sees only Minia.

Lilla was the woman Xena saw outside in the storm. She had Minia's dagger to release Rav's horse to protect Xena from pursuit. Rav, no dummy, stops Lilla and scares her off. She then hears "voices". It is Minia in Rav's room, again making noises as if it were two men talking. Rav comes in to witness it, Minia runs off, dropping the extra candle.

Dumb Blonde Gabby: We know the facts....Ravenica is dead and somebody killed her. Brilliant!

Yawn...AGAIN we see Discord with her boy-toys, about a dozen of them. She sure has one HECK of an itch to scratch...take a number, boys.

She orders the boys to attack, and Cyrene, Gabby, and Lilla run and hide in the kitchen. Xena, Auto, Joxer (for what he's worth) and Minia fight back. No deadly weapons are used. Mostly, the place gets trashed and the furniture is broken on each other's backs.

Discord: to a boyfriend..."you may be good in bed, but you're hopeless in a fight."

She has one HELL of an itch to scratch.

Xena stops the fight and says she knows who killed Ravenica. She explains that the window in Rav's room was propped open by the stick. Rav was leaning out to hamstring Argo, but the horse kicked Rav backwards, and she went back into the room, bumping her head and hitting it on the candelabra. The dagger, flipping in the air, stuck slightly into Rav's chest, not killing her. She got up woozy, and the back swing on the candelabra hit her again as she rose, making her fall upon the dagger, pushing it further in, finally killing her.

Discord sneers at this until she gets hit in the same way. Argo "did it" and Discord can't bring the horse to Ares. "I don't do animals", she says. Minia says, "that's not what I heard."

At the end, Lilla says "you're a real hero" to Minia. Again, that word is so overused. Why does she say this? Cyrene fought a little by breaking a pot over a guy's head. Lilla, who can fight, didn't do a thing, like Gabby.

Gabby is still mad about Joxer borrowing her scroll, but kisses Joxer's cheek. Cyrene finds the diamonds Auto "accidentally" left for her to find...It can pay to fix the destruction from the fight.

Xena thanks her mother for trying to save her. Cyrene would have killed to protect her Little Girl, the Destroyer of Nations.

Out comes the cake, and Gabby blows out the candles, the most action she did in the whole show.

This would have been a better ep if they were seated around a table and made it a talky ep, with some witty dialogue and some real detective-work. This show could have stood that, since the "action" and special effects are taking over a lot in this and the next two years.