Home Episode Guide Reviews Cast & Crew Articles Features Links

[Season One] [Season Two] [Season Three ] [Season Four] [Season Five] [Season Six]

Cradle of Hope

Director: Michael Levine
Writer: Terence Winter

Starring:
Lucy Lawless
Renee O'Connor

Guest Stars:
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Pandora)
Edward Newborn (King Gregor)
Simon Prast (Nemos)

In an episode that mixes mythology with the bible story of Moses, we see Xena and Gabrielle save a baby from a misguided King with the help of Pandora (and her box!) King Gregor(Edward Newborn) has recently lost his wife and son, and when an old woman tells of a prophesy about a baby that will take his throne, Gregor`s conniving minister Nemos (Simon Prast) is determined to kill the child. Xena and Gabrielle find the baby in the rushes by a river after someone in the palace tried to save him by floating hime downstream. When they meet Pandora(Mary Elizabeth McGlynn), she also becomes involved. Then when Nemos captures her box, the trouble really begins. We see Xena do her veiled dance from the opening credits, as she tried to retrieve the box and the episode has a very funny climatic baby throwing fight!

Notes: For UK fans, the hanging scene when Pandora is almost lynched is one we have never seen properly on TV. Edited in various ways, it was things round necks often seem to get edited here.

This episode is notable for having the very first of the disclaimers that always give fans a laugh. It was also the first episode where we see Lucy Lawless do her fire breathing trick. Yes, that IS Lucy herself doing it. Cool or what! Eventually she stopped after there had been accidents to other people trying it on the set.

Disclaimer:-
No babies were harmed during the production of this motion picture

Go to my review of this episode

Back to Episode Guide page
Back to Main Xena page