Sins of the Past

Sins of the Past -Original Air Date September 4, 1995

Xena is riding on her horse while she remembers her dark past. She remembers that she killed lots of people there. Suddely, a boy appears and, unaware who she really is, tells her that a person called "Xena" has killed his parents, Xena gives him some food.

She is burying her breastplate, but suddely she sees some men annoying some girls.

Though she has lost her hunger for power and destruction, Xena cannot stand by when a group of warriors under the command of Hector, a vicious lieutenant of the cruel warlord Draco, threatens to slaughter the peasants of a small village. Xena single-handedly drives off the brutal attackers.

Though the villagers are grateful, they are also fearful of her reputation and ask her to leave right away. All, that is, except a spirited young woman named Gabrielle who -- bored with life in the village and the prospect of a loveless marriage -- pleads with the warrior princess to take her along on her journey. Xena refuses and leaves alone on horseback, bound for her home in Amphipolis.

That night, Xena steals into Draco's mountain encampment to confront the savage warlord. Having spared his life in their last encounter, Xena asks him to spare the peasant village. He agrees, but when she rejects his offer to join up with him, claiming she has lost her taste for the slaughter of innocents, he makes secret plans to lay waste to Amphipolis.

Meanwhile, Gabrielle sneaks away from home in the dead of night, determined to join Xena and become a warrior herself, but her sister sees her and Gabrielle has to explain her sister Lila that she wants to go with Xena because she is bored with her life in the village and she doesn't want to marry Perdicus. Her sister seems to understand Gabrielle and they say goodbye.

On the road to Amphipolis, Xena meets up with a blind, man-eating Cyclops, who has an old score to settle with the woman warrior. Evading him, she continues on her journey through fierce rainstorms and across rushing rivers.

When she realizes she's being followed by Draco's men, she sets up an ambush and forces Hector to reveal Draco's plans to destroy her home village.

 Meanwhile, Gabrielle follows Xena's trail, showing considerable resourcefulness along the way. When she is trapped by the Cyclops, she outwits him, then charms an old traveler into giving her a ride.

Xena's joy at reaching home turns to sorrow when she is met by a wave of hostility from the villagers. Even her mother Cyrene is resentful of her daughter for her sinful past and is unwilling to listen to her warnings about Draco's advance. When Draco's warriors begin torching the valley, an angry mob comes after Xena, convinced that she is in league with the evil warlord.

At the last moment, Gabrielle steps forward and convinces the villagers to let Xena go. The two gallop off on horseback, but when Draco arrives, Xena reappears and challenges him to a fight on the scaffolding surrounding the village meeting hall. They agree that the first to hit the floor will die. The ensuing battle is spectacular and evenly matched, spilling over the scaffolding and onto the heads and shoulders of those who have gathered to watch.

Finally, with a flying somersault through the air, Xena lands squarely on Draco's chest and sends him crashing to the ground. Instead of slaying him, however, she makes Draco promise to leave without harming anyone. Though Xena has saved the village and reconciled with her mother, there is too much anger over her past for her to stay.

That night, at the campsite, Xena is alone by the campfire, she heard someone from the bushes and is surprised to find Gabrielle, who reveals she has been following her.

 Gabrielle tries to get Xena to allow her to travel with her, and Xena finally relents. Followed by Gabrielle, Xena leaves to find redemption for her past misdeeds by continuing her battle against the forces of evil.

Cast

Lucy Lawless as Xena

Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle

Jay Laga'aia as Draco

Darien Takle as Cyrene

Stephen Hall as Hector

Linda Jones as Hecuba

Willa O'Neill as Lila

Geoff Snell as Herodotus

Anton Bentley as Perdicas

David Perrett as Gar

Patrick Wilson as Cyclops

Roydon Muir as Kastor


Disclaimer
No disclaimer.


Quotes 

"You've got to take me with you, teach me everything you know."

"You know, where I'm headed, there'll be trouble."

"I know."

"Then why would you want to go into that with me?"

"That's what friends do. They stand by each other when there's trouble."


Trivia

This episode marks the first appearance of Xena's default outfit, of which she will wear almost exclusively until "The Ides of March". It will later return (with a more waxed finish) in "Amphipolis Under Siege", and become her permanent costume once again from "Looking Death in the Eye" onwards.

This episode marks the first appearance of Gabrielle's "farmgirl" outfit. She will wear this until "Hooves and Harlots", 10 episodes later.

Story Recommendation 

Bridge Over Troubled Waters by IseQween - 10 pages

Cyrene has sensitive chats with Xena and Gabrielle near the end of SINS OF THE PAST, after she’s forgiven her warrior daughter and before Gabrielle appears unbidden at Xena’s camp.

http://www.ausxip.com/fanfiction/iseqween/bridgeovertroubledwaters.htm