Locked Up and Tied Down – Director: Rick Jacobson/Story: Rob Tapert, Josh Becker/Teleplay: Hilary J. Bader
This one starts with Gabi giving Xena a massage, but before they can achieve a happy ending, they’re accosted by some guys. Xena and Gabi pound them, but one of their attackers has an arrest warrant for Xena, accusing her of killing a woman named Thalassa years ago. Xena remembers Thalassa and admits she did kill her … not because she was a threat, but just because it suited her purposes at the time. Xena hands her chakram over to Gabi and surrenders.
At her trial, Gabi tries to defend Xena (without excusing any of her bad deeds), but the eyewitness testimony about what happened to Thalassa is
damning. Xena wanted the town’s money and threatened the girls, so Thalassa offered herself and Xena chained her where some flesh-eating crabs could get at her. The townmaster gave in, but Xena didn’t trust him so she left Thalassa chained while she went to get the loot. When they returned, Thalassa was gone (except her forearm, which the crabs had chewed off). Since Xena admits what she did, she’s convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on Shark Island. Gabi tries to talk her out of being a martyr, arguing that she can do more to redeem 
herself on the outside, but Xena says she’s done with redemption and just wants to accept her punishment. After a tearful goodbye, Gabi goes to a tavern and runs into the healer for Shark Island, who recently quit. That gives Gabi an idea and she learns the next boat to Shark Island leaves in a week. Xena and the other new prisoners meet the guard Captain, who welcomes them with a little demonstration: the hanging of a prisoner who tried to escape.
Xena runs into an old enemy (Ursina) and beats the shit out of her posse to keep them from bothering another inmate (Clysemene); I guess even in
prison, Xena can’t help standing up for the oppressed. Ursina offers to team up with Xena to escape, but Xena turns her down. The next day, the Captain is ready to toss the hanged prisoner to the sharks, but Xena asks if she can give her a proper burial. The Captain agrees, as long as she doesn’t mind missing dinner. Xena buries the woman (in a raging downpour) as the Warden watches from her office. (The 
Warden is a woman draped entirely in black.) The next day, Xena gets in trouble with the Captain, who knocks her around a bit. She takes it without complaint, but when he tries to whip Clysemene for helping Xena, she fights back, beating the shit out of the guards. The fight is stopped by the Warden, who reveals she’s actually Xena’s “victim” Thalassa, sporting a scar on her face and a wooden arm to replace the one the crabs chewed off.
Thalassa has Xena thrown into a deep pit filled with rats (who soon learn not to mess with Xena when she starts biting them to death). Gabi arrives
pretending to be the new healer and Thalassa is instantly taken with her compassion (and probably her good looks, since there seems to be a definite vibe there). Gabi realizes who Thalassa is and tries to get through the anger and pain to the good person she used to be. Gabi ends up pounding the guard Captain, getting away from him long enough to find Xena’s cell. She tosses the chakram, but it ends up sitting precariously on the bars of the trap door as Gabi is hauled away by the guards.
Thalassa is pissed off that Gabi lied to her, but is reluctant to sentence her 
to death for trying to aid in an escape. Meanwhile, Xena tosses a dead rat (with her mouth) and knocks the chakram down, cutting her chains. (Some people wonder how Xena hit the chakram right away, but I’m assuming she tried numerous times and we just saw the final, successful attempt.) Gabi is taken to the gallows and it seems like she was right about Thalassa rediscovering her warmth because she can’t give the order to kill Gabi. The Captain does give the order, but Xena’s chakram cuts the rope at the last second. The prisoners attack the guards (with Ursina killing the Captain) and start a riot. Xena tries to calm things
down while Gabi takes Thalassa to her office to keep her safe. Ursina and some of her posse bust in and Gabi takes some of them out, but gets knocked out by Ursina. Xena busts in and kicks Ursina’s ass, saving Thalassa. Later, Thalassa thanks them both and tells Xena not to let her past deeds define who she is now. Xena’s not ready to forgive herself, but agrees that she can do more good outside prison than inside … and Gabi promises to keep reminding her of what a good person she is now.
This is a really good episode (#14 on my all-time list); it’s kind of a 
combination of Papillon and Caged Heat. Lucy does a great job showing Xena’s guilt and has some cool moments (the rainstorm burial, the rat-filled dungeon). We get to see more of Xena’s past, and she’s pretty intense. I think Xena probably was bluffing about killing Thalassa (in the flashbacks, she does look horrified by what happened to her), but she was at a point in her life where she just didn’t care that much anymore. It’s interesting that Thalassa offered herself in place of the other villagers (as Gabi did in Sins of the Past) and
Xena took her up on it. She says Thalassa reminds her of Gabi, so maybe that’s adding to her guilt. Xena obviously does feel guilty and is trying to make up for what she did, but I think some part of her might be willing to spend her life in prison to keep Alti’s vision from coming true. After all, if she’s in prison, she and Gabi can’t be crucified by Roman soldiers. I don’t think Xena’s too worried for herself, but she doesn’t want Gabi to die with her.
On the other side, Gabi is willing to do anything to be with Xena. I love how 
she has this emotional goodbye with Xena, then a couple of hours later is already planning a way to get to Shark Island and see her again. There’s a definite vibe between Gabi and Thalassa, who’s apparently quite attracted to her new “healer”. It’s too bad same-sex stuff was so constrained back then … it would’ve been interesting to see how far Gabi would go to help Xena. If Thalassa put the moves on her, what would Gabi do? I don’t think she’d fuck Thalassa, but she might let her
sneak a kiss or two (and probably feel guilty afterwards for leading her on). Apparently, there were fifteen or twenty minutes cut from this episode, with scenes showing Gabi and Thalassa getting closer, plus Gabi talking to the prisoners (which explains how she found out where Xena was), and more stuff with Xena, Ursina, and Clysemene. I’d love to see the director’s cut of this one, just to get all that extra character-building stuff.
Noticeable Things:
- When Gabi arrives on Shark Island, she’s wearing the same outfit the old healer had on. Did she steal it from him, or maybe ply him with booze to get it off him?
- According to an interview I read, Thalassa’s crabby adventure happened before the burning of Cirrha, but after the Battle of Corinth, which explains why there’s no sign of Borias (and Xena doesn’t look pregnant).
- Xena mentions Gabi being on a spiritual quest to find answers about her life’s purpose, which is a running theme this season.
Favourite Quotes:
- “Those people haven’t lived my life.” Xena’s reply when Gabi says an unexamined life isn’t worth living.
- “A healer’s knife? No. Many knives … many hungry little knives.” Thalassa’s reply when Gabi asks about her missing arm.
- “My ability to do good had been crippled. The Evil Xena, she did that to me. Don’t let her do it to you.” Thalassa telling Xena not to let the person she was define who she is now, or who she could be in the future.