Xena: Warrior Princess (1995–2001): Season 6, Episode 7 - The Rheingold - full transcript

A Norse man called Beowulf shows Xena a strange padlock which reminds her of her past in the Norselands. The next morning, Xena's gone: she's travelling with Beowulf to mend some actions from her past, and Gabrielle decides to follow them. She finally reaches the Norselands, where she meets a woman called Brunnhilda who tells her about Xena's past as an evil valkyrie and her relationship with Odin, and how he told her where the powerful Rheingold was kept.

It looks good on me...,

don'tcha think?

I'm waiting for you.

You don't get it, do you?!

As long as I wear this ring!...

ya can't win.

Come on.

Come on.

Don't think you've won anything!

These chains will hold you
for eternity,

and you will never! use
the power of the ring.



Never!

Yah! Yah! Yah!

Yah!

Ye-hah!

35 Years Later

- What?
- Ya gonna finish that?

All of it.

A drink, sir?

I thought the portions here
were kind of small.

You're not getting mine.

Come on, Gabrielle,
you're playing with your food.

No, I'm relishing it.

Hmm.

You got a problem?



I don't appreciate people staring at me
while I'm eating.

Are you Xena?

Yeah; who wants to know?

My name is Beowulf.

You got business with me,
Beowulf?

I gotta talk to this man,
Gabrielle.

In the time of ancient gods,

warlords

and kings,

a land in turmoil
cried out for a hero.

She was Xena,

a mighty princess
forged in the heat of battle.

The power.

The passion.

The danger.

Her courage
will change the world.

XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS

All right.

What's this about?

Nothing.

Hmm.

Do you want my food?

No, I've lost my appetite.

Still keeping secrets from me...

after all these years.

Look.

It's something I did
a long time before I met you.

I just don't feel
like talking about it right now.

All right.

I'm not trying
to shut you out.

You know our friendship's
the most important thing in my life.

- But in this case...
- Xena.

You don't have to tell me.

Part of being a friend is
letting people keep secrets.

I respect that.

Okay.

"Gabrielle, I've gone to take care
of some unfinished business.

This mission is so dangerous
I'm afraid I won't survive,

and I can't ask you
to die with me once again.

Whatever happens,

know that my love for you
is endless. Xena"

I know Xena
wouldn't've done this...

if she didn't feel this was
something she had to do...

by herself.

I debated whether to respect
her wish...,

but I can't.

Her path is my path.

I've been following her now
for weeks.

Her trail has taken me north...,

due north.

Farther north
than I've ever been.

Excuse me.

Does your tapestry have
a story behind it?

You're not from around here,
I take it.

- No.
- Huh, well...,

these women that, eh...,
ride the flying horses...,

they're called Valkyries.

Odin's... elite guard.

Odin?

- The king of the Norse gods?
- Mmm.

So are the Valkyrie gods?

No.

They are mortal.

But Odin teaches
his... favorite Valkyrie...

some runes.

Runes?

They are magical, old
Norse writings.

They contain chants...

that give great power...

to the one who knows them.

This one... here.

Hmm.

She looks different from the rest.

Yes.

Now, what was her name?

Xena.

Xena?

Do you know about this Valkyrie,
Xena?

Well...,

studying her has been
the passion of my life.

Have you seen her recently?

Look...,

Xena's reign of terror
ended almost 35 years ago.

She's long since disappeared.

My name is Gabrielle.

I have come a long way
to find out about this Xena.

Please, will you tell me
what you know?

She came to us
from a distant land in the East.

She called it "Chin[a]".

Yah!

We call it
"the land that sent us a demon".

Whoa.

Hey there...,

who'd you mess with?

No one is capable
of doing this to me...

without my consent.

What kind of an idiot
has himself crucified?

I don't wish to take part
in the struggle of life anymore.

Why would you wanna do that?

I am Odin.

King of the Norse gods.

It is my duty to bring peace
to the Norse country.

Yet..., as I sit in Valhalla

and watch the bitter struggle
called life on this Earth...,

I ask:
are we doomed

to live in a constant state
of endless conflict?!

Damn straight.

That's what makes life
so worth living.

You know, every day I wake up

and I feel pumped
by the knowledge

that there is always someone
around the next corner...,

someone for me to challenge,
to fight, and to conquer.

Someday...

someone may conquer you.

Precisely.

Which is why
I don't have time to waste

chatting with a god who doesn't know
what to do with his immortality.

Wait.

Who are you?

The name's Xena.

You know, you can't escape
the struggle, Odin.

Ya gotta embrace it.

Xena brought Odin out of his despair

by sharing with him
her lust for life.

He, in turn, made her
a Valkyrie.

Yah! Yah!

Xena excelled
in her new role...,

but it was only a matter of time
before she came into conflict

with the woman who was the leader
of the Valkyrie and Odin's lover:

Grinhilda.

They outnumber us two to one...,

and they have superior weapons.

Maybe we should surrender.

Wrong!

It's a Valkyrie.

Did someone say "surrender"?

What does surrender give you?

The ability to fight another day.

A chance to see their families again.

And the berserkers who were
chasing them will have an opportunity

- to show mercy.
- This is a battlefield!

The only thing to do here
is fight.

Your pursuers come over
that rise in seconds.

So you can surrender
and crawl back to your hovels

and the everlasting scorn
of your kinfolk...

or...

you can go out
in a blaze of glory...

and fight and die
in Odin's name!

Odin!

Odin!

And what exactly do you desire?

Pour me some wine and I'll have
to show you after dinner.

Ooh.

Grinhilda.

You're late;
where have ya been?

Well, I've been...

escorting slain soldiers

to their quarters here in Valhalla.

They're all good soldiers, willing
to die with Odin's name on their lips.

Escorting the dead
is our sacred duty.

There's no joy in that duty
when brave young men

are killed over a senseless
battle for greed.

Greed is one of the fundamentals
of life.

It's like sex,
it's-it's like the will to power.

It's survival.

Not their survival.

Well, no, not theirs.

But theirs
is a greater reward.

Dying with a sword in their hand
honors their lord and master Odin...

and earns them a place
at his eternal banquet.

Odin, this is madness.

Oh, I don't know, Grinhilda.

Makes some sense to me.

If you're embracing
her worldview...,

there is no room here for me.

I'll go.

I loved her once.

Trust me, sire...,

you can live without love.

Poor Xena.

Poor Xena?

You haven't been listening
very well, have you?

Xena thought that she could
live without love.

I know that she can't,
'cause she's my friend.

Is there anything else you can tell me
to help me find her?

Camp here tonight.

I'll come visit you this evening,
I'll tell you what I know.

Maybe something will help.

I'd appreciate that.

I don't know the details
of Xena's mission...,

but I'm beginning to understand
her goal.

She wants to correct some great wrong
she did in the past.

My dear friend's curse...

is to spend the rest of her life
seeking a redemption

she'll never allow herself.

Brunhilda?

Is that you?

Brunhilda?

You're pretty good.

You cut me with my own sword;
that's impressive.

I can't tell whether you're better
than me or not, though,

and to prove it, I think one of us
would have to die.

And I don't want that.

Why did you attack me?

To prove to you that I am worthy
to fight alongside Xena.

If what you're telling me is true
and Xena's still alive,

I am on the verge of realizing
a lifelong dream.

I'll be able to meet
the great Xena.

Let me help you find her.

I know these woods
like the back of my hand.

If you can tell me
everything that you know

about Xena and these Valkyries...,

I bet I could figure it out.

All right.
Where did I leave off?

Xena won Odin from Grinhilda.

Right.

And of course, that wasn't enough
for Xena.

You learn quickly.

That's the power
you're going to give me?

But couldn't I just do that
by rubbing together a couple 'a sticks?

- Well, couldn't I?
- No, no.

You've only just begun exploring it.

You can go much further.

If you keep practicing...,
one day you'll be able

to harness all your energy...
into a flame

that will burn
for as long as you wish.

Turn all of my bodily
energy into a bonfire.

Sounds like self-sacrifice;
I'm not into that, Odin.

Xena..., I have given you everything
I give to the other Valkyrie.

I want more.

Like what?

Odin...,

I'm...

Tell me about the Rheingold.

Oh, I see.

Where are you going?

I can't give my love to someone
who doesn't trust me, Odin.

I can't.

Your love?
What are you talking about?

I thought you could live
without love.

I lied.

Xena.

I had no idea
you felt this way.

The first thing
you should know...,

the Rheingold
is very dangerous

to someone
who hasn't forsaken their love.

Xena is moving up the Rhine
searching for the Rhine maidens.

How does she know about the maidens?

You told her.

She knew you wouldn't tell her

if you thought
she had forsaken love.

So she acted as if she was
in love with you, didn't she?

That's ridiculous!

How would she know
that the power of the Rheingold

is only available to those
who have forsaken their love?

Everybody knows what the gold does
to a loving heart.

The local bards
sing songs about it.

The local bards know this?

You ought to mix with the people
more, Odin.

What they don't know
is how to find the Rheingold.

Now, however...,

Xena does.

Give me back...
the command of the Valkyrie.

I can stop her.

So Xena headed
for the Rhine river...

in hope she could get the Rhine maidens
to lead her to the gold.

Yah!

But Grinhilda and the other Valkyrie
weren't far behind.

They couldn't stop her, though,
could they?

Yah! [...]

Get her!

Yah!

Yah!

Yah!

Yah!

Hyah!

Yah!

Yah!

Yah!

Yah!

Yah!

Yah! [...]

Yah!

Yah! Yah!

Yah!

Yah!

Yah! [...]

Yah!

Xena!

Yah!

Yah!

So now, only the Rhine maidens
stood between Xena...

and ultimate power.

Sister, come join us.

Our new friend is delightful.

I think I love her.

You fall in love too easily, sister.

I love her too.

Be quiet! She's my friend.

Hmm.

- I can't show you that.
- Come on, just a peek.

It's strictly forbidden.

Well..., how can I be a Rhine
maiden if I don't see it?

You want to become
a Rhine maiden?

Sure.

Then I can play with you
all day.

Follow me.

Where is it?

All right.

The Rheingold.

You mustn't touch it.

Yes, I must.

Are you mad?

The Rheingold
will only bring about your destruction.

Only if I haven't forsaken love.

Have you?

Yep.

A ring forged from the Rheingold
would give Xena ultimate power.

And once she put it on...,

she became invincible.

Xena wouldn't need a ring.

She's a great fighter.

She's probably the best.

You love her very much, don't you?

She's my best friend.

I know her like I know
my own heart.

A friendship like that
is something to be envied.

It has a price, like everything.

A price you love paying.

Yeah.

She feels the same?

I hope so.

She must.

She must be
on a very dangerous mission,

otherwise she probably
wouldn't have left you behind.

That's what her note said.

You miss your friend, don't you?

- Sure.
- She is very beautiful.

Yes, she is.

I only saw her the one time, but...

she seems special.

Who knows how I'd feel
if I got to know her.

Oh, you'd like her.

Huh. Of course, neither one of us
will live long enough

to-to see her again, anyway.

We'll be there soon.

Good.

The people up here
think of you as a demon.

So they should.

Can you think of anything yet?

Any reason
she would have come north?

No.

Ever since that Beowulf came.

Beowulf?

Are you Xena?

Yeah.

Yeah, he had this-this lock,
it had two ravens on it.

Two ravens?

Yeah.

Then I know why she came north,
Gabrielle.

She's on a suicide mission.

Well, this is it.

The end of the line.

Stay strong, Gabrielle.

23 warriors...

ripped apart.

The lucky ones died
right here.

The unlucky ones...,

dragged back
to the beasts's lair...,

eaten alive.

Friends of yours?

Many friends.

Two brothers.

I will do anything
to avenge them.

I'm ready to die myself.

Whatever happens, Beowulf...,

I'm with you.

What do they call this beast?

Grindl.

Maybe we can take Grindl
down with us.

It's big and it's slow.

You know this monster
pretty well.

I should.

I created it.

I'm sure they went
to the Eastwyn bog.

How far are we?

Well...,

we should camp here
tonight.

- That way, in the morning...
- No, no, we're not gonna camp.

We're going to travel
through the night.

Then we'll be there
by morning.

I just hope we don't run
into Grindl along the way.

Who's Grindl?

"What's Grindl's"
a better question.

All the while I was growing up
I heard stories about a monster

trapped in an abandoned mine
above the bog.

- Held by a raven lock?
- Exactly.

Ravens are the sign of Odin.

He crafted that lock himself;

supposedly, it was unbreakable
by human hands.

What happened?

The ring happened.

The one that Xena made out
of the Rheingold.

That ring's gotta go back
to the Rhine maidens.

If one of us survives.

The ring.

Get ready for round two.

This is it, isn't it?

You do realize this
may mean your death?

Xena's path is my path.

I wish I had a friend
like you.

You do.

It dragged her off.

I don't know
whether she's dead or alive.

Xena?

No.

Xena...

TO BE CONTINUED

Subtitles: @marlonrock1986 (^^V^^)