Xena: Warrior Princess (TV Series) Cradle of Hope (1995) User Reviews

Xena does her fire breathing trick for the first time. Cool. Xena does a sexy dance. Definitely a plus.

[reb-warrior · 8/10 · 4 December 2014]

Gabrielle finds a baby in a basket. Xena seems a little uncomfortable around the baby. Foreshadowing for future stories perhaps? They meet up with the granddaughter of Pandora, also named Pandora, who guards "The Box" which has a special lock that only Pandora can reset. Otherwise, hope for mankind escapes. It turns out there is a hunt on for the baby. An oracle has foretold he would sit on King Gregor's throne one day. Gregor's smarmy adviser, Nemos, leads the hunt for the baby and manages to get his hands on the box.

This is another A to B episode with no personal consequence for either Xena or Gabrielle. It does have its moments, however. Xena does her fire breathing trick for the first time. Cool. Xena does a sexy dance. Definitely a plus. The actress that plays Pandora does a fine job in her role. There are some really great fight scenes. And, as always, clever banter between Xena and Gabrielle. Xena wraps up the plot with a nicely done solution that solves everyone's worries about the throne, the box, and the baby.

Cradle of Hope

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 19 June 2018]

Probably the best episode so far of Xena. It has action, campy fun and an interesting story.

King Gregor gets a prophecy from a soothsayer that a motherless baby will one day become king. Like Herod he orders the capture of a newborn so he can decide for himself what to do next. His advisor would rather have the baby killed.

Xena and Gabrielle find the baby first as those looking after him took the baby away and left it somehere safe. Gabrielle wants to keep the baby.

Xena also saves a woman from being hanged by local villagers, she turns out to be the granddaughter of Pandora also called Pandora who carries a mysterious box.

Xena finds that the king is not all bad, he is grieving the loss of his own wife and child. His rule might also be at risk from his treacherous advisor.

The Battling Bard - A Biblical Greek Mash Up

[bennetts-16344 · 7/10 · 30 March 2019]

This storyline is set in motion by an octogenarian trouble maker who stirs the pot by prophosising that a newly born child will succeed the throne from King Gregor.

King Gregor, whose serious countenance is at odds with his amusing mullet, is a widower whose wife died during childbirth. Whispering in his ear is the nefarious advisor Nemos who convinces Gregor he needs to 'King Herod' the baby to stop the prediction coming true. This babies mother also died in child birth which makes you wonder whether King Gregor really should really be investing in better maternity provision. One of the servant girls catches wind of what's going to happen, bundles the infant up and floats him down the river Moses style. Please don't try this at home.

The baby is discovered by Xena and Gabrielle. The latter is pleased at the discovery, the former not so much and they vow to try and find the child's mother. On the way they break up the impromptu hanging of Pandora, a woman who not only possesses a box that contains the hope of all mankind but also the whitest, nicest teeth in all of Greece.

They find an Inn but are very quickly ratted out by the innkeeper who informs the local militia that they've turned up with a baby. Nemos arrives with troops, Xena, who is without weapons, improvises by igniting the fluid from her cup with a torch (what the hell was she drinking?) and sprays it over her enemies. In the chaos that follows Nemos escapes with the box. This is a problem because the box is attached to an egg timer that needs to be reset by Pandora every few hours.

They arrange a sit down with the King and Nemos to discuss a box / baby exchange. Gregor arrives dressed for a nativity play. Xena gets a measure of the man and decides Gregor is misguided but not a bad person. No trade is made.

The plan is to break into the castle and snatch the box back. Xena tries to achieve this by dressing up as an exotic dancer and gyrating her way to the box. She doesn't initially succeed because the King comes in, puts a downer on the party atmosphere and takes his box back. After making short work of Nemos in his four poster bed Xena sneaks into the Kings bedroom and then bungee jumps out the window with the box.

A chase and courtyard battle ensue with great action and plenty of baby tossing. Xena takes the baby and places it in the crib of the King's bedroom. Xena tells Gregor that if he accepts the baby as his heir then the prophecy can come true without Gregor being opposed. Everything is tied up nicely. Nemos is dead, the baby becomes his son, the King falls for Pandora and vows to protect her box.

The episode finishes with Xena and Gabby realising that the box is empty! Oh the irony. They decide its best not to let anyone know.

This is a solid episode but lacked the trade mark humour present in other light touch Xena episodes. The action sequences are good but there was just a little something missing from the script.

Pinch count: 1

Memorable scene: The baby tossing fight scene and Gabbys face when she thinks Xena isn't going to catch him in time.

Quote: Nemos - "You spoke of pleasure?" (Xena back smacks him in the face) Xena - "And you spoke of pain...."

Melding 3 myths into one.

[Joxerlives · 6/10 · 27 April 2021]

The Good; Xena dancing and the endgame of toss the baby, the music very reminiscent of the chase through Cairo scene in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'.

The Bad; does Nemo really have to be quite so obviously villainous? Couldn't he be genuinely trying to help his king?

Best lines-Xena; "He belongs with his mother" (a line which has much more impact when we consider later revelations).

Plus-Xena; "Hope has been and always will be safe, within every one of us".

Xena cliches; Xena puts the pinch on the innkeeper. We have the first of many traitorous aides.

The pinch; 2 Village threatened by warlord; 2 Xena wounded; 1 Xena doppelganger; 1 Traitorous aide; 1

Calling Captain Subtext; Gabby and Xena just stumble across a baby to raise as their own, the lesbian dream (in the days before IVF).

Twisted history; actually some dispute as to whether Pandora had a box at all, the Greek translation is 'container' so it may actually have been some form of jar? The rest of the story is fairly accurate in terms of the grandmother at least. We also have the biblical legend of Moses and Oedipus which the writers seem very fond of.

Bodycount; Nemos and 6 guards killed by Xena

Xena; 14

Notes; Here we have Falefal, the recurring street vendor comic relief from Hercules who'll pop up quite a few times over the series. I did actually have a dancing Xena doll but eventually gave it away to my niece. Xena's strapless top doesn't half make her look like Wonder Woman, not to mention her skill in dismissing the King's dog. First time Xena uses her whip to the fetishist's delight. Xena actually congratulates Gabby on her "Good work" in finding a way into the castle. Xena does the catch the sword with your hands trick several years before Buffy does it in 'Becoming'.

Now of course when we find out about Solan we understand exactly why Xena takes such exception to Gabby wondering what sort of mother would abandon her baby? This obviously cuts close to home for her.

6/10.

Salute to Xena - A 25th Anniversary Review

[skullface2020 · 8/10 · 3 March 2020]

Hope is in every one of us. This episode is inspired by an ancient Greek tale and two well known biblical stories that involve newborn babies and finding hope during difficult times.

SYNOPSIS

Xena and Gabrielle find a baby floating down a river in a basket, and they go into a nearby village seeking it's mother. This region's sovereign King Gregor has heard from an oracle that a newborn from some random family will take his throne one day, and his security chief Nemos enacts an aggressive plan to detain this child. Escaping security forces and hiding out in the peasant district of Gregor's kingdom, Xena and Gabrielle are joined by a young woman who they saved from a marauding band out in the woods. This woman is none other than Pandora's granddaughter, and she has the box that contains hope for all mankind. Unfortunately, a dicey encounter at a local tavern results in Nemos' men taking Pandora's box to the king.

Xena seeks a meeting with king Gregor to discuss the return of the box. This is important since Pandora explains that only she can keep it locked and thus protect hope. The king and Nemos want the baby, and no agreement is made. Xena returns to the hideout she shares with Gabrielle, Pandora, and the baby to learn that Gabrielle has discovered that Nemos will be entertaining exotic dancers at a party at the palace this evening. Xena puts her dancing skills to the test, and of course they work.

Once inside the palace, and after ditching Nemos who does not recognize her, Xena captures the box from King Gregor's quarters and escapes. However, she has come to realize that the king is a good man, and has recently lost his wife and newborn child. Xena knows that she must take this orphaned child to King Gregor, and she succeeds in getting him to realize that the child should be in his care so as to one day inherit his throne as foretold by the oracle. Nemos of course has a fit and decides to move toward a violent coup, but Xena easily defeats him and the men loyal to him.

Xena and Gabrielle leave the good King Gregor with the newborn and Pandora who will act as a mother figure and possibly as a royal consort. Upon leaving, Xena and Gabrielle learn that hope is not something locked in Pandora's box, but rather in the hearts of all people. The newly adopted prince will be named Gabriel.

NOTES

For two traveling spinsters, Xena and Gabrielle have a strong understanding and appreciation of family dynamics. They know that a peaceful world relies on helping good people retain positions of influence while also getting rid of those who would undermine the righteous in order to pursue their own greedy ambitions.

Enter: King Gregor, Nemos

Cradle of Hope... SKIP IT!

[Guy148939 · 4/10 · 28 April 2019]

The Duo stumble upon an abandoned infant and aim to protect it until finding It's parents. Soon after the encounter a woman with a mysterious lineage joins them.

While this episode does handle an important Myth it's shoved to the background for a pretty lame story overall. Which is a shame, I would've liked to see the King's clash with Xena be the focus and build upon her character like 'Dreamworker' did.