Season 5, episode 06
CAST
CREDITS
Xena, Gabrielle and Joxer are asleep by a fire in the daylight. Xena and Gabrielle wake up. Xena looks like she hears something when a man comes and falls at her feet someone has cut out his tongue. The man, who Xena calls a monk, hands Xena a message and dies. The message says "The hawk and the dove must be made one with the wisdom". Xena says the message is from Lao Ma. And they must go to Chin to retrive Lao Ma's book.
Xena says they have to go to the monastery. This is where Xena put Lao Ma's book of wisdom. They wander into a village below the monastery and find a huge crater and no villagers. The monastery, up above the village on a hill, is suddenly bombed with rockets. Xena and Gabrielle fight. All while more bombs/rockets come torwad the monastery. Xena throws her chakram and slices the rockets so they don't hit the monastery. Xena catches one rocket in her hands and tosses it back toward the invaders. A young woman leaps from the roof and joins in the fray. She fights and the army retreats. The woman introduces herself as the daughter of Lao Ma, Pao Su.
Joxer comes into the monastery through a hole left by the blasting. Pao Su says the fireworks are caused by black powder, a forbidden item that an evil warlord is using. Xena goes into the monastery and finds that the book is gone. When Pao Su leaves, Xena asks Joxer to take a book from the monastery and put it in Argo's saddlebag. And not to let anyone see him. She'll explain later. Then Xena sends Joxer and Gabrielle to the village to buy spices to mix up with sulfer and charcoal so they can discover the formula of the black powder. Xena and Pao Su track the person who stole the book. Xena and Pao Su talk; Pao Su is not happy with her mother, Lao Ma, because Lao Ma left her.
Gabrielle and Joxer buy spices. Xena and Pao Su walk through a stream to lose their followers. Xena sends the horses off in the other direction, but she carries a saddlebag with her. Joxer gets arrested for having the forbidden black powder. Xena and Pao Su track the book thief to a cave. Inside a young girl who looks a lot like Pao Su sits with the book. She says "hello sister" to Pao Su. She is Kao Sing. The sisters talk and argue about who is the stronger. Kao Sing gives Xena the book and Xena puts it in the saddle bag. Xena then tells Pao Su that she knows Pao Su is evil, and Xena knows that is really her army down there with all the black powder. Xena and Pao Su fight. Pao Su throws some black powder at Xena and blows her back. Pao Su grabs the book from the saddle bag and runs away. Xena doesn't chase after her.
Pao Su opens the book to find she's been duped; Xena switched books. Pao Su is not happy. Xena and Kao Sing talk about whether or not Pao Su will have to die. Xena says Pao Su will destroy herself.
Joxer and Gab are in a chinese prison, chained up. Gabrielle asks Joxer where the black powder is; he says it is down his pants. Gabrielle runs her foot down in his pants (no further comment necessary) and eventually emerges with the black powder. She flips it up and manages to blow her stocks open.
Xena and Kao Sing go to the temple where Lao Ma lived and died. They start to study the book. Gabrielle and Joxer run into Pao Su, who says Xena sent her to get them. They follow her. Pao Su interrupts Xena by calling from outside the palace. Pao Su says to give her the book or Gabrielle and Joxer will both be blown up. Pao Su has them tied up with lines of black powder running to them. Xena chats with Pao Su a bit but then Kao Sing runs out and gives Pao Su the book. Pao Su drops her torch on the powder, and both Gabrielle and Joxer are facing imminent booms. But Xena runs over and stamps out the powder going toward Gabrielle. She throws her chakram and frees Joxer from his bonds, he runs away just before things blow up. He gets thrown to the ground but he is okay.
Joxer works in the kitchen and figures out the secret of the black powder. Kao Sing cries because she fears her sister's hatred. Xena comforts Kao Sing and they decide to work together to defeat Pao Su, because they are the hawk and the dove, and must join to get the power to stop Pao Su. Xena and Kao Sing do tai chi and recite the passages from the book that Xena remembers.
Pao Su reads the book and learns its secrets, too. Xena and Kao Sing have a vision together. They see how Lao Ma saved the girls from the Green Dragon. Pao Su continues to study and she burns the arm of her general and then blows up rocks with her mind in front of him, causing him to bow before her superior powers. All while Joxer and Gabrielle make black powder.
Xena and Kao Sing do a lot of contemplating. Gabrielle comes and tells them the army is moving. Xena and Kao Sing walk through the army camp. Pao Su appears, all decked out and looking very majestic in the latest Chin fashions. She throws a bolt at Xena and Kao Sing, but they catch it and deflect the power. The three do a lot of talking. Every now and then Pao Su tosses a brain bolt and Xena and Kao Sing catch it.
Pao Su's army find Gabrielle and Joxer setting up black powder rockets and attack them. Gabrielle fights and once again Gabrielle does an excellent job. Pao Su's army starts sending rockets toward Xena and Kao Sing, but they don't flinch too much. Gabrielle and Joxer go and watch Xena.
More rockets land around Xena. Pao Su tosses more bolts. Xena and Kao Sing tell Pao Su about their vision, how Lao Ma loved them and had to protect them. Pao Su says she had a vision, too; she's supposed to follow in the footsteps of the Green Dragon. Xena pleads with Pao Su to stop hating and start loving, but Pao Su says she ain't having none of that. She tosses more bolts. Xena and Kao Sing toss some bolts of their own and Pao Su gets tossed backwards a good long way. Her army sends out its rockets and accidently blasts her and the rest of the camp to little pieces. Gabrielle is looking a little anguished as she watches but Xena and Kao Sing walk out of the flames and then Gabrielle looks relieved.
Kao Sing tells Xena they are sisters and both are the legacies of Lao Ma. They all walk off through the rice fields.
THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR
These things are by Beth Gaynor.
The writers of this episode REALLY needed to study their Debt source a little closer. Major whups #1: Xena says the woods were where she first met Lao Ma. Never mind that whole "that's my piece of meat you're reaching for" and wee assassination attempt in Borias's camp. Major whups #2: Xena blisses out over Lao Ma's floaty-scarf, says that Lao Ma hid her, AND that Lao Ma died in Ming's palace. But the first two were in Lao's palace, not Ming's.
The set designer, on the other hand, had no such problems with staying true to the Debt. It was neat to see the same sets now with dust and debris scattered in them, especially when Xena and Kao Hsin stood where Xena and Lao Ma stood before in that silhouetted room in front of the bonsai tree. Nifty!
It looks like Pao Tsu got about five miles away in the two seconds between dropping the torch on the gunpowder and the explosion. Even before getting the book, she knew how to teleport.
Disclaimer:To obtain a copy of Joxer's recipe for Moo Shu Sauce and other Chinese delicacies visit your local bookstore or look for it at the tavern.
Something that bothers me:
Previous episode, Them Bones, Them Bones
Next Episode, Back In The Bottle
