Hope (Xena)
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In Xena:Warrior Princess, Hope is the daughter of Dahak, born of Gabrielle. She is a recurring villainess in the third season.
[edit] Character history
When helping to defend Britannia against Caesar, Gabrielle comes into contact with an evil cult that tricks her into killing one of its priestesses, Meridian.[5] Using her, the dark god, Dahak, manages to impregnate her, just as Xena is able to rescue her.[5] Over the next two weeks, the child inside Gabrielle grows, and eventually Gabrielle gives birth to a girl. Even though she is the seed of evil, Gabrielle tells Xena that she is also a part of her and that there must be some good in her as well, she names her Hope.[6] Fearing that the child will become a danger to the world and be used as a pawn for its evil father, Xena wants to kill her, but unbeknownst to Xena, Gabrielle saves her daughter by putting her in a basket and sending her downriver.[6] This precipitates a major rift between Xena and Gabrielle, a story arc that spans several episodes and includes Gabrielle betraying Xena by foiling Xena's attempt to assassinate the tyrant Ming T'ien. Gabrielle alerts Ming T'ien to the plan and unintentionally causes Xena to be imprisoned and tortured.[7]
A few months later, Gabrielle finds Hope again, now looking like a nine year old, and already in the process of helping her father, Dahak, implement his plan to take over the world.[1] Hope allies herself with Xena's enemy, Callisto. In revenge for Xena's attempt to kill her as a baby, Hope murders Xena's only son, Solan.[1] This forces Gabrielle to accept that Hope is indeed dangerous. She kills her daughter by giving her poison, an act that continues to haunt Gabrielle throughout the series. She holds herself responsible for Solan's death, as well as for betraying Xena a second time, even after reconciliation with Xena is effected through the musical journey in the Land of Illusia.[8]
Therefore, when she once again encounters Hope,[2] who was saved from the funeral pyre by her father Dahak, Gabrielle sacrifices herself to save Xena by jumping into a lava pit and taking Hope down with her.[3] At the time, Hope was pregnant with Ares' child, the first Destroyer. It is later revealed that Ares teleported to an inner ledge inside the lava pit and saved Hope and Gabrielle, hoping to use the latter as a bargaining chip against Xena.[9]
Hope ultimately gives birth to the Destroyer.[4] Pretending to be Gabrielle, she returns to Gabrielle's hometown Poteideia. Xena later returns to Poteideia and is reunited with "Gabrielle". With news of a wild beast brutally murderering animals at night, Xena finds the Destroyer and barely escapes with her life. Discovering that she is dealing with Dahak's grandson, Xena deduces that "Gabrielle" is really Hope. Finding the real Gabrielle, the two devise a plan to kill Hope and the Destroyer.[4]
Gabrielle finds the Destroyer, who, thinking she is its mother, hugs her. Xena uses this moment to stab it in the back with her sword, fatally wounding it. When Hope runs out to help her child, the Destroyer, thinking she had betrayed it, stabbed her before realizing how it had been tricked by Xena and Gabrielle. Crying, it hugs its mother before the two die.[4]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Maternal Instincts". Xena: Warrior Princess. 1998-01-26.
- ^ a b "Sacrifice, Part 1". Xena: Warrior Princess. 1998-05-04.
- ^ a b "Sacrifice, Part 2". Xena: Warrior Princess. 1998-05-11.
- ^ a b c d "A Family Affair". Xena: Warrior Princess. 1998-10-12.
- ^ a b "The Deliverer". Xena: Warrior Princess. 1997-10-20.
- ^ a b "Gabrielle's Hope". Xena: Warrior Princess. 1997-10-27.
- ^ "The Debt, Part 2". Xena: Warrior Princess. 1997-11-10.
- ^ "The Bitter Suite". Xena: Warrior Princess. 1998-02-02.
- ^ "Soul Possession". Xena: Warrior Princess. 2001-06-04.
