The Debt II

Xena: Warrior Princess episode
“The Debt II”
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 7
Guest star(s)	Jacqueline Kim (Lao Ma); Marton Csokas (Borias); Grant McFarland (Ming Tzu); Daniel Sing (Ming Tien); Daniel Lim (Ming T'ien, 12 yo)
Writer(s)	R. J. Stewart (teleplay); Robert Tapert and R. J. Stewart (story); Robert Field (editor)
Director	Oley Sassone
Production no.	#V0407
Original airdate	1997 Nov. 10
Episode chronology
← Previous	Next →
"The Debt"	"The King of Assassins"
List of Xena episodes

The story begun in The Debt continues. Xena, betrayed by Gabrielle and captured by Ming T'ien, must free herself before she is executed.

Summary, notes, spoilers, dialog

Continuing from The Debt, Xena is now under arrest; although Gabrielle pleads for her, Ming T'ien is a "man of law", and will keep her under arrest. Leading her to a pit, with her hands and neck in a horizontal stock (a pillory?), the guards say:

Guards: Hey Xena, I hear you were betrayed by a friend.

X: No, not by a friend.

They throw her into a pit filled with water — and other prisoners, also in wooden stocks, some of whom may be dead.

Gabrielle continues to negotiate with Ming T'ien. He tells her frankly that she betrayed Xena, and Xena will want to kill her; he does not believe that Xena can have changed, and explains that Xena taught him how to rule. She understood how to send fear flooding into your very soul. And when that kind of terror lives deep inside people ... they're yours forever. My father didn't understand this. He was too soft. We now realize that Ming T'ien is yet another of the people who Xena influenced to evil. When he ransomed me that night, he held me to him like a foolish woman, tears in his eyes.

Xena in the pit/flashback

Xena, in the pit, hears more of Ming T'ien's atrocities, including the fate of Lao Ma, Ming T'ien's mother. Her fellow prisoner says, Like you, many of us had heard of her great powers, and thought she would use them to escape. Perhaps, they were all a lie. Xena protests: No—no. Her powers were real. And remembers Lao Ma teaching her control, and deadly powers, and demonstrating deep mental powers. Xena wants Lao Ma to teach her how to use her mind, but fails miserably. Lao Ma laughs:

M: I'm sorry, Xena — but you're trying to attack the bottle with your will.

X: What else is there?

M: Exactly.

X: What?

M: The entire world is driven by will, blind and ruthless. In order to transcend the limitations of that world, you need to stop willing. Stop desiring. Stop hating.

X: How do I do that?

M: Heaven endures, and the Earth lasts a long time, because they do not live for themselves. Therefore, she who would live a long time, should live for others; serve others.

X: I could serve you, if that's what you mean.

M: Of course you can. It's easy to serve someone you love. You feel it will make them love you more. It's like a good business investment.

Later:

M: To conquer others, is to have power. To conquer yourself, is to know The Way.

Lao Ma shows Xena her husband, whom she keeps semi-conscious. She lets him awake sometimes, to allay suspicions that he might be dead. She rules in his name, the only way a woman could rule in the Kingdom of Chin. This is her gift to him, Lao Ma says; he was a vicious tyrant, but she is making him the most beloved of rulers.

X: Don't you get sick of him getting the credit for everything that you do?

M: Not at all, as long as good is done.

X: Hmm. You write down all that wisdom stuff, huh?

M: Yes, in his book.

X: You give him credit for that, too?

M: This wisdom comes from heaven. What differences does it make who gets credit for it, Lao Ma, or Lao Tzu?

Gabrielle entreats and beats

Back in the pit, Gabrielle strikes Xena, yelling at her, and then beseeching her to promise that she will not kill Ming T'ien. Xena stares coldly and silently into the distance, but when Gabrielle leans close and begs her to speak, tears fall silently from her eyes. She pulls her head away and retreats to the memory of Lao Ma healing her broken and poorly healed legs, that Caesar had broken.

In her memory, Lao Ma, healing Xena on a platform; Xena drifts off, and then wakens when Lao Ma says, "Come to me, Xena." She stands, and walks, and then runs from Lao Ma's outstretched arms — to run up the wall and do a backflip. She turns to face Lao Ma with joy; Lao Ma gestures, and a banner flies toward Xena, wrapping around her, and spinning her toward Lao Ma. They come into each other's arms and embrace, and look into each other's eyes with love.

Gabrielle sees the error of her ways

In the present day, Ming T'ien sentences Xena to death, and laughs at Gabrielle: I would've executed her no matter what she said. It's amazing, really. She did all this out of some fool gratitude to Lao Ma for saving her life. I suppose even wild beasts have a sense of loyalty some times. His words strike Gabrielle, but he permits her to see Xena because "he's not a monster."

Gabrielle, entering the watery pit, sees the prisoners and comes more fully to understand her error. "Can we talk?" Xena says nothing. "Of course not. I betrayed you. The pathetic thing is, I thought I was saving you." She is sad and bitter. "My reverence for life kept a brutal tyrant in power and led to my best friend's execution. ... I know you hate me, Xena. No more than I hate myself." Xena finally turns to her and looks at her with devastated eyes. "Scratch my nose, will ya." Gabrielle sobs with relief and humor. "Come on," Xena urges her. The two stand as close together as they can, touching; Gabrielle lifts the burden of the stock from Xena.

X: I know you only did what you thought was right. I was angry with you, but I didn't hate you. ... I never could.

G: I think I understand why you thought you had to kill Ming T'ien. It was Lao Ma's last request, and she saved your life.

X: Not just my life. She saved my soul, my spirit, my entire being.

Xena remembers: After the healing, the two women floated in the air together to the sound of flowing vocal choral music — until Borias returned to inerrupt their idyll. Xena kicks his ass, and Lao Ma reproves her. Xena reflects on a lost opportunity:

X: That was the moment. I could have done it right there. I could have just ... let go, and buried all my hatred forever. That was my chance.

But she didn't take it, holding on to her passion and desire to kick Borias' ass. Lao Ma watches in sadness as Xena loses her control, until she steps in. Lao Ma offers Xena the chance to help run the kingdom of Lao, as her warrior princess, and help create peace in the land. But in the exchange with Ming, he refuses to accept her apology, and Xena takes the upper hand by challenging them all to a game of chance. The winner gets Xena, and a body part from each of the losers.

Lao Ma: I don't want anyone's body part.

Xena: Then I'm sure we all pray that you win.

They shake, and Xena wins. Borias gives her his heart, and Xena accepts. Lao Ma looks sickened. Xena kills Ming Tzu, but Lao Ma stops her from killing Ming T'ien.

Xena, back in the pit, recalls: She had such dreams of peace for her land -- and for my soul. I ruined them all. It was years before I understood, finally, what she wanted from me. Not long before I met you, I was at the end of my rope, and ... was ready to give up. And then I thought of her, and what she taught me, and I was reborn. That's the debt.

The execution

As they come to execute Xena, and free her from the stock, she gets that dangerous glint in her eyes. They strap her to the same execution block that Lao Ma was on, and Xena recalls Lao Ma's lesson: The entire world is driven by will, blind and ruthless. In order to transcend the limitations of that world, you need to stop willing. Stop desiring. Stop hating. ... To conquer others is to have power. To conquer yourself is to know the way.

Xena opens her eyes, and blades fly to kill the executioner. Her manacles loosen. She is free to fight Ming T'ien's guards, and she, now, has the mystical energy powers that we saw Lao Ma use before. She turns to Ming T'ien, after destroying the building, but does not destroy him. Ming T'ien, still alive, has something to tell her:

MT: You made me, Xena. You taught me to be the monster I am.

X: I know. It's part of the reason I'm here. I've learned to clean up after myself.

Ming T'ien knew that Lao Ma was his mother; he killed her himself, knowing that she wouldn't use her powers to kill her "little boy." Her last request was that he return to Xena the hair broach, the same one that Lao Ma taught her could be a deadly weapon.

But instead of killing him, Xena tells him: You're powerless now. You've lost face in front of your people. They won't follow you any more. Xena takes Lao Ma's book of wisdom (the Tao Te Ching, we can wonder?). She says to Gabrielle, You were right. I didn't have to resolve this with murder. I finally understood Lao Ma's message, and I made him small again.

G: Xena, your not killing him made you exactly what Lao Ma wanted you to be.

A strange look crosses Xena's face.

X: A memento of Lao Ma. (showing Gabrielle the book)

G: I'll take good care of this. ... I love you, Xena.

X: I love you too, Gabrielle.

As they leave we see that Ming T'ien is indeed dead, with the deadly hair pin buried in the side of his head.

Disclaimer

"Xena and Gabrielle's relationship suffered another blow (although Gabrielle doesn't know it yet) during the production of this motion picture."

Further reading

• Whoosh! episode guide