Back in the Bottle – Director: Rick Jacobson/Story: Steven L. Sears, Rob Tapert/Teleplay: Steven L. Sears
This one starts with Xena trying to use the inner power she mastered last episode to cook a rabbit, but all she can do is turn it to stone (and a pile of stone rabbits testifies to her failure). Joxer discovers he still has a pouch of black powder left and when Xena
takes it (to destroy it), she has a vision of a big battle where Gabi, Joxer, and an unknown Chinese dude are all blown up by explosive rockets. She realizes the vision is a warning and says they have to head back. Meanwhile, we see that Pao Hsu has joined (literally) with her brother Ming Tien in a weird netherworld between life and death. Their hatred of Xena lets them manifest in the living world and Pao Hsu promises to give the secret of black powder to a warlord named Khan … and to every one of his ten thousand soldiers.
Xena, Gabi, and Joxer run into a bunch of refugees heading away from the 
temple. Kao Hsin tells them Khan’s army attacked the temple, causing the villagers to flee. Xena mentions tunnels under Lao Ma’s palace that everyone could hide in and sends Gabi to let the people in the palace know. Xena realizes Pao Hsu must’ve given Khan the secret of black powder, and she must’ve had help to transcend the realm of death. In the palace, Gabi meets Lin Qi, who’s kind of a dick to her until she helps him fight off Khan’s advance party and tells him about the tunnels. Khan brands all his men with the sigil of the Green Dragon (Ming Tien)
before giving them the secret of black powder. Khan’s men have left black powder mines in the courtyard and Joxer almost walks into them. Xena prepares to lead him and some refugees through the minefield, but Khan shows up with a bunch of his soldiers. Ming Tien and Pao Hsu appear next to him, showing Xena their newly bonded state.
Xena uses the power to deflect Khan’s rockets and she clears a path through 
the minefield with her chakram. Gabi and Lin come out to fight Khan’s men and Xena worries her vision might be coming true. But Gabi and Lin get away and everyone retreats to the tunnels. Xena practices using the power, but Kao Hsin tells her she can’t help this time because whenever she uses the power, it just makes Ming Tien and Pao Hsu stronger. Lin apologizes to Gabi and they talk about her being a bard and how she’s kinda stopped writing lately (which gets Joxer
all jealous). Gabi and Lin head for Khan’s camp (after Gabi talks Xena out of going) to blow up his stash of black powder. They’re caught in a net and Khan decides to blow up the powder stash with them in it, saying he has plenty more elsewhere. Xena senses Gabi’s fear and knows she’s in trouble.
Xena uses the power to pull all the oxygen from the tent, snuffing the fuse. 
Gabi and Lin escape, blowing up the powder tent to complete their original mission. Xena complains that she can’t use the power at will … in fact, it almost seems like the power has a will of its own. Kao Hsin points out that Xena’s ability to use the power seems dependent on love instead of hate or anger, but Xena’s skeptical, saying she’s never seen a war ended by love. (Strangely, Gabi actually agrees with that sentiment.) Joxer bonds with a kid
named Tei, whose parents are missing. Lin lets Gabi know he’s interested in her, but she shuts him down right away. Khan’s army attacks, using villagers as human shields. Xena goes out to face them, wondering if she can control the power well enough to take out ten thousand men.
Xena uses the power to deflect the rockets while Gabi, Lin, and Joxer fight Khan’s men and free the villagers being used as shields. As Gabi and Lin are 
surrounded, Xena weakens and realizes her vision is close to coming true. She notices the dragon sigils on Khan’s men and uses the power to turn all of them to stone. Ming Tien and Pao Hsu freak out and explode. Later, Joxer reunites Tei with her parents (who he freaks out by describing all his fictional bloody deeds during the battle) and Gabi says goodbye to Lin. Xena tells Kao Hsin she can’t feel the power anymore, but admits she finally has seen a war ended by love.
This episode isn’t great (which is why it’s #118 on my all-time list), an
opinion that seems to be shared by most fans and even the creators. Apparently, the episode was supposed to highlight the moral dilemma Xena faced over wiping out ten thousand men. That might’ve been an interesting character study for her, since she’s been trying to redeem herself for years, but the only nod to it was a casual mention by Gabi at the end of the third act and looks of contrition on 
Xena and Gabi’s faces after the army turns to stone. So, whatever vision the creators had for the episode didn’t come out in the final version (which could explain why Steve Sears used his Buddy Williers pseudonym for the teleplay, although he claimed it was because his script was heavily rewritten and he didn’t want to take either praise or blame for someone else’s work).
It is interesting that Xena uses love to defeat the army, accessing the power through her positive emotions instead of the hate Ming Tien and Pao Hsu
feel. More specifically, it’s Xena’s love for Gabi that lets her use the power so effectively. We also see their bond when Xena senses Gabi’s plight in the powder tent, where she’s actually able to see through Gabi’s eyes (and when the air is being withdrawn, Gabi knows immediately that Xena is responsible). I’m not sure if we’re supposed to believe that connection just came from the power, but I think it’s more from Xena and Gabi being soulmates. Speaking of romance, the whole thing with Lin and Gabi is apparently another place where the episode failed to achieve its goals. I guess there was supposed to be some 
heavy romantic tension between them, but Renee and the guy playing Li didn’t have much chemistry (which is weird, since Renee usually has chemistry with everyone). But for me, it worked out perfectly; Gabi is deeply in love with Xena at this point (in my mind, they’re basically married), so it makes no sense for her to be suddenly attracted to some random dude. I have no problem with his attraction to her, and the way she subtly let him know she was unavailable was perfectly in character for Gabi.
Noticeable Things:
- We get a quick shot of a nice hand-drawn map of the known world as
Khan’s army moves into Chin. - Joxer mentions sandworms, which could be a Dune reference, or could refer to the old legend of the Mongolian Death Worm.
- While cooking for the refugees, Joxer repeats his flatulence joke from In Sickness and in Hell, substituting the Theban army for the Trojans this time.
- I’m wondering if Khan’s soldiers being turned to stone is supposed to represent the Terracotta Army discovered in China in 1974. There is a certain resemblance, and the terracotta soldiers were supposedly buried in the 200s BCE, so the timeline is close.
Favourite Quotes:
- “Thank you, I already have a mother.” Xena’s response when Gabi talks her out of going to blow up the powder tent. But I think Gabi’s acting more like a wife than a mother.
- “You know, sometimes people think that a home is a place. It can be a person.” Gabi letting Lin know that she and Xena are each other’s home … and much more.