Recap / Hercules The Legendary Journeys S 5 E 12 Sky High

Written by Paul Robert Coyle

Directed by John Laing

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This episode provides examples of:

• Accidental Murder: Kurth is in jail for killing Nagus's son, Oakin. Hercules knows it was just a Bar Brawl that got out of hand.
• An Aesop: Revenge isn't justice, and it's better to show forgiveness to those owning up to their mistakes instead of hatred.
  Nagus: I was a poor father, Hercules. I should've learned from my mistakes.
  Hercules: Have you forgiven Kurth for his?
  Nagus: [beat] Yeah.
  Hercules: Then you learned the most important lesson of all.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: Ephiny expresses disbelief that Atlantis ever existed in the first place.
• Breather Episode: A stand-alone outing coming off the Dahak arc and right before Hercules gets a new partner.
• Call-Back:
  • Ephiny heard what happened to Iolaus and offers her condolences to Hercules. She later cites this and Hera killing Herc's family to demonstrate to Nagus how the guy knows about loss.
  • The crystals used for this episode came from Atlantis.
  • Ephiny references her relationship with Phantes and her regret over being unable to protect him while with child.
• Didn't See That Coming:
  • Opakus over a Centaur saving the life of an Amazon.
  • Nagus is surprised to learn that Ephiny is the Amazon that Phantes settled down with.
• I Just Want to Be Badass: Liesas volunteered for the mission, as he longs for something more than being a mundane farmer. Ephiny tells him that farming is nothing to be ashamed of and (as he's an only child) convinces him to go home to his parents.
• Irony:
  • Nagus over Ephiny (an Amazon) saying revenge isn't justice. He later prevents Opakus from killing her, despite the long-running bitterness between their groups.
  • Hercules agrees to argue on Kurth's behalf if the mission succeeds, though he notes he's still going to be punished for what he did. Kurth is incredulous over taking part in a deadly mission for the chance to spend the rest of his life in a cell, though he acknowledges it's preferable to the noose.
• Meaningful Echo: "People aren't always what they appear."
• More Expendable Than You:
  • Ephiny convinces Liesas to go home so that his parents won't suffer outliving their only child.
  • Having lost too many crystals during the trip, Hercules figures he'll have to get them into the crater instead, which Nagus says is a suicide mission even if he succeeds. Hercules insists he'll make it, but Nagus refuses to let him try on the grounds that the world needs him so much. While they're arguing over who goes, Kurth grabs the crystals and heads to the crater himself.
• My Greatest Failure:
  • Ephiny admits she hated the people who killed Phantes before realizing that she hated herself more for being unable to protect him.
    Nagus: You were with child. There was nothing you could do.
    Ephiny: Easy to say. Harder to believe.
  • By his own admission, Nagus was a lousy father. He blames himself for Oakin falling in with Opakus's gang.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Nagus mourns the loss of his son and feels Hercules doesn't appreciate that kind of grief. Ephiny talks to him about Hercules losing his family and Iolaus, as well as what she went through when Phantes died.
• Race Against the Clock: The group has to get the crystals to the volcano before it erupts.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The safety of the village hinges on a half-god, an Amazon, a man facing execution, a young farmer, and assorted single men in the village. What's left of the group is later joined by a bitter Centaur.
• Real Life Writes the Plot: Ephiny was included in the episode because Paul Robert Coyle felt she had been underused in her last couple appearances on Xena. The decision came after other potential picks (Nebula, Dirk, Jason, and Atalanta) were discussed by the writing team and dropped for different reasons.
• Redemption Equals Death: To atone for killing Nagus's son, Kurth ultimately takes the crystals up the volcano side and throws himself in to set them off.
  Nagus: He won't make it.
  Hercules: He already has.
• Required Spinoff Crossover: Ephiny from Xena: Warrior Princess makes her second and final appearance on the show.
• Revenge Before Reason: Opakus aggressively pursues the heroes in order to kill Kurth, but he gets so warped and self-destructive about it that even his own men question the point of all this and want to turn back.
• Sanity Slippage: Opakus throughout the episode.
• The Scapegoat: Ephiny says it took her time to process how she actually hated herself for what happened to Phantes more than she did the people who killed him. This strikes a chord with Nagus, who later admits to Hercules that part of his anger over Oakin's death was being a rather poor father that didn't set a better example for his son.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The rest of Opakus's gang over his increasingly unhinged efforts to plague the heroes. Attacking one of them for raising these concerns, he tells them all to either fall in line or leave, and they don't hesitate to take him up on that.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Ephiny has no love for Kurth for what he did and makes that known immediately. Nagus naturally doesn't care for his son's killer or an Amazon for that matter, though he ultimately forgives the former and ends up relating to the latter.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Hercules saves Nagus by punching out Opakus and leaving him on the ground. Though the remaining heroes note he's no longer a threat to their mission, what became of him afterwards is unknown.
• What You Are in the Dark: Thinking no one else is around, Nagus has the opportunity to kill Kurth and avenge his son, but he hesitates on his own before Ephiny intervenes. He just doesn't have it in him to commit murder.
• Whole-Plot Reference: To The Wages of Fear, according to Paul Robert Coyle.
• With Friends Like These...: Nagus recalls trying to talk Oakin out of joining the gang, saying they really only wanted him around because of a Centaur's inherent strength and durability. Though repeatedly claiming that he wants to avenge his fallen friend, Opakus tells Nagus that he never actually liked Oakin and tells him to say that to him when they're both in Tartarus.
• Written-In Absence: Xenan doesn't appear in-person, though he's mentioned to be nearby with some cousins. Part of Ephiny's motivation in helping Hercules is to ensure her son won't get hurt during the eruption.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When Liesas says he wants more than to be a farmer, Ephiny tells him that Amazons deeply respect such skills.