Written by Steven L Sears
Directed by Garth Maxwell
Gabrielle becomes trapped on the ship of Cecrops, who is cursed to never be able to come back on land.
Tropes
- Call-Back: As before, Gabrielle suffers from seasickness. Since they're going to be aboard a ship longer than last time, Xena resorts to a remedy and explains why she didn't do so before.
- Continuity Nod: Cecrops jokingly likens Xena to Sinteres.
- Departure Means Death: The fate of anyone who tries to leave Cecrops ship without breaking the curse.
- Despair Event Horizon: Cecrops gave up hope 27 years after he had been cursed.Cecrops: I was on my way to see Terai when Poseidon arose from the waters. He cursed me at that moment. Terai was watching from the shores. Then Poseidon created Charybdis, the mighty whirlpool, as a reminder. For many years, I stayed in the area, sailing the coastline. And every evening, Terai would come to the cliffs, and we would look at each other. Even as she grew older, she grew more beautiful. And then, one evening, she didn't come and... and I knew... I knew I would never see her again.
- Disproportionate Retribution: In the contest for Athens, Cecrops ruled in favor of Athena, so Poseidon cursed him into never setting foot on land again and ensured no one could leave his boat alive, either.
- Due to the Dead: Cecrops mourns Hidsim's death.
- Flying Dutchman: Cecrops is cursed to sail the sea by Poseidon "until love redeems him." The curse began 300 years earlier when Cecrops ruled that Athena had beaten Poseidon in the contest for Athens. The reason Cecrops has been alive ever since is because of Athena; she sympathized with his situation, so she granted him immortality and gave him the clue to how to break the curse. Of course, being left sailing for 300 years has left him quite bitter and resigned to it all. His crew isn't so lucky; they're stuck on the ship until they grow old and die, and they'll be struck dead if they attempt to abandon ship. Cecrops hunts down pirate ships and press-gangs their crews to replenish his own. Xena gets involved, and manages to figure out how to break his curse and get them all off the ship. Cecrops breaks the curse by attempting to sacrifice himself to save his crew, proving he loved them. When it's all over, viewers see the curse has been passed on to Basculis.
- Godzilla Threshold: Xena using a Pressure Point to help Gabrielle's seasickness. It has side effects (such as numbing the taste buds), but Xena had to resort to it since they're going to be on the ship longer than they were with Ulysses.
- Hope Bringer: Cecrops remarks he hates Poseidon for cursing him and Athena for giving him immortality, saying it's a toss-up who he hates the most. Gabrielle points out that Athena was trying to help him and give him hope. After he's free, Cecrops admits he was wrong and owes Athena an apology for all the times he cursed her name.
- In a Single Bound: Xena has her most infamous example here, swinging all the way from a cliff onto the netting of the ship.
- Love Redeems: How the curse can be broken, and Cecrops figures out the meaning during the climax.Cecrops: It isn't that someone loves me; it's my love for others! The love you had for Gabrielle, Xena, when you risked your life for her! The love Hidsim had for me, when he died! You're right! It really is just that simple!
- Oh, Crap!: Gabrielle gets two in quick succession: first when she realizes where she is, then when she realizes she can't leave.Gabrielle: ...I'm on the cursed ship of Cecrops. For eternity.Cecrops: No, that particular part of the curse only applies to me. You'll just be here until you die.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: For much of his tenure, Cecrops targeted pirates.
- Pet the Dog: Athena granted Cecrops immortality so that he would have time to figure out how to break the curse and also gave him a clue.
- Platonic Declaration of Love: Hidsim declares this before dying under crushed debris.
- Plot-Irrelevant Villain: Basculis and his underlings are chasing Xena in order to collect a bounty from Mordecai, but they're of little concern after Xena gets on the ship.
- The Power of Friendship: Xena knows what ship she's trying to board, but she's not about to let a cursed mariner sail off with her best friend.
- Pressure Point: Xena reveals a pressure point to Gabrielle that can cure seasickness.
- Properly Paranoid: Xena is certain Athena wouldn't have granted Cecrops immortality if there wasn't a way to break the curse.
- Shrouded in Myth: Everyone has heard the stories of the Lost Mariner, but no one knew he came to be this way because of Athena and Poseidon's contest for Athens, as well as little details about that contest.Gabrielle: Poseidon brought forth a spring on the Acropolis, and Athena made a beautiful olive tree sprout on the rocky soil. So, the arbiter chose in favor of Athena. That's all I know.
Cecrops: That's all anybody ever knows. Nobody remembers that Poseidon was very angry or that the arbiter was just reflecting the will of the people. Nobody remembers that Poseidon placed a curse on the arbiter or that the arbiter's name was Cecrops. - Stupid Sacrifice: As a crate comes loose and slides down the deck, Hidsim pushes Cecrops out of the way and gets hit himself. Cecrops lampshades this by asking what Hidsim was thinking, pointing out he's immortal and would've survived. Dying, Hidsim says he just reacted instinctively. However, this sacrifice and Cecrops's reaction to it provide the last clue to figure out how to break the curse, so Hidsim didn't die for nothing.
- This Cannot Be!: The man rescued along with Gabrielle over being on the Lost Mariner's ship.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: Cecrops is cursed to live forever until he is redeemed by love.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Basculis is absolutely certain that Xena went to Cecrops's ship in order to claim the riches aboard it.
- You Fool!: Cecrops when Hidsim sacrifices himself for him.
