Between the Lines
| Xena: Warrior Princess episode | |
|---|---|
| “Between the Lines” | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 15 |
| Writer(s) | |
| Director | |
| Production no. | #V0616 |
| Original airdate | 1999 Nov. 15 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Devi" | "The Way" |
Still traveling in India, Xena and Gabrielle encounter a future life — and an old enemy, Alti.
The third in four episodes set in Xenaverse-India.
Notes (& spoilers)
The episode starts with Gabrielle & Xena shopping for Indian-style clothes. They see a procession, which turns out to be a ritual sati (aka "suttee"); Xena interrupts it.
- X: What has this woman done?!
- Man: Naima's husband is dead. She must join him.
- G: Has she been found guilty of murder?
- Man: Her? Our custom has been passed down and can only be changed by a darsham — an enlightened one. Her husband died. She must join him. That is the law.
- X: Well, the law is about to be broken!
After rescuing the woman Naima, the three run into a nearby building to evade pursuit. Suddenly Naima begins a magic ritual, with strange lights toward Xena, and a voice is heard: "Have courage, Xena. I'm sending you on a journey into your future — a journey to save your karmic circle."
Suddenly Xena wakes up in "A future life", as the old woman Arminestra, the "Mother of Peace"; negotiating with a warrior woman. Xena/Arminestra is an advocate of peace, and her rival is a warrior. Battle breaks out, and Xena/Arminestra realizes that the woman warrior Khindin is her old enemy and mentor, the shamaness Alti. As Alti murders her followers, Xena/Arminestra is sent to safety.
Back in present-day, Gabrielle, too, has a mystic encounter with Naima. She begs to be sent into the future, too, but Naima tells her she must learn the art of mehndi, the path to enlightenment, and that will help her save Xena and defeat Khindin. The crowd starts to break down the doors, and Naima sends Gabrielle into the future: she is in the body of her future incarnation, Prince Shakti, who is one of Xena/Arminestra's allies. In this future, Xena observes, Gabrielle is the warrior, and she is the advocate for peace.
They set up an encounter with Alti/Khindin, with Xena/Arminestra rescuing a little girl whom Alti/Khindin was about to sacrifice and letting herself be captured. Gabrielle/Shakti leads a fight and finds the mehndi kit that Naima left for her. Gabrielle/Shakti is wounded, and Xena/Arminestra tends to her, and now they are both in the hands of Alti/Khindin. Gabrielle/Shakti does some sexy mehndi painting on Xena/Arminestra and when Alti/Khindin comes in they do some ritualistic posing and, boom, they all suddenly reappear, with Naima, escaping from the sati fire into which Naima had just been thrown.
In normal Xenaverse continuity time again, Xena and Alti/Khindin are fighting. Unfortunately, Alti can use the images of past battles to strike them down. She assaults Xena with numerous battlescenes from her past, and Gabrielle with the vision of the crucifixion. Xena saves Gabrielle, who is being held by her hair by Alti, by throwing her chakram and cutting off Gabrielle's hair.
After both Xena and Gabrielle are virtually unconscious, Naima and Alti/Khindin face off. Naima awakens Gabrielle's mehndi, and she and Xena use their mystical mehndi to fight off and defeat Alti/Khindin. Naima does more mystical mojo, tells Gabrielle and Xena that their karmas are intertwined, like the mehndi, separate lines but always connected; then she disappears in a blaze of glory.
As Xena and Gabrielle leave town, they discuss the vision, and that Gabrielle's hair is now as it was in the vision. They discuss how they will know each other in the future and Xena says we need a sign, and adds to a circular mehndi design on her feet, a plus sign; the Greek Venus woman-sign. This way, she says, we'll always remember the women we were.
Disclaimer
"Xena's Chakram got Gabrielle by the short hairs during the production of this motion picture."