Directed by John T Kretchmer
Written by Chris Manheim
Xena and Gabrielle impersonate The Fates in order to change the heart of a tyrant king in order to save an orphanage.
Tropes
- And I Must Scream: Per Gabrielle, this was the fate of Cresus.Gabrielle: So, the gods turned him into a spirit, doomed to walk the Earth forever, as invisible to others as they were to him in life.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Lynal does this deliberately, as part of the plan: "This is an orphanage. And, 'cause we can't pay our taxes, King Silvus is kicking us out of here at midnight. What kind of king does that to kids on Solstice Eve?"
- Chimney Entry: Senticles uses this at one point to enter the chimney.
- "Eureka!" Moment: Telling the orphans the story of Cresus gives Gabrielle an idea on how to deal with Silvas in a non-violent way.
- Heel Realization: Faced with who he thinks is Atropos, Silvas laments that he doesn't want to die alone and insists he can change his ways.
- Morality Chain: According to Senticles, Silvas was always a hard man, but Analia tempered him. Without her around, though, he became worse.
- Pals with Jesus: At the end of the episode, Xena and Gabrielle give Mary and Joseph, along with the baby Jesus, directions to get to Egypt.
- Santa Claus: Senticles is the clear Santa equivalent.
- Shadow Archetype: Lynal remarks that Silvas is far worse than King Midas was before Hercules helped him. Whereas Midas could be grumpy and was definitely greedy, he was never cruel to his subjects and always kept good relations with his family.
- Slippery Skid: Marbles are used to trip up a few soldiers.
- The Weird Sisters: Xena and Gabrielle play the first two fates respectively. King Silvas thinks he saw the third. It is in fact Analia, his long lost wife.
- Wrong Genre Savvy:
- Everyone thought Analia was dead, as Silvas only talked about her being gone for good. She actually walked out on him for his miserly ways.
- The final fight occurs, as Silvas is mistakes the caretaker for Atropos. He thinks the screams from the fight are lost souls crying out in pain.
- Yet Another Christmas Carol: In this case, it's 'A Solstice Carol' as the events of Christmas haven't caught on in popularity. In-universe, the characters are taking a cue from Cresus, who was put through this by the Fates, but he didn't change his ways and suffered for it.
