Story by Robert Tapert and Jedd Vlaming
Teleplay by Jedd Vlaming
Directed by Rick Jacobson
Xena returns to the land of Chin when a mysterious benefactor revealed the secret of black powder to a warlord.
Tropes
- Artistic License – Chemistry: Xena sucks the air out of the tent holding Gabrielle and Lin Chi, dousing out the fire on the powder trail. Since the powder alone is a good enough oxidating agent without oxygen, sucking out the air wouldn't have cut out the fire.
- Barrier Warrior: Xena manages to hold off multiple barrages of fireworks to protect villagers.
- Duality Motif: Ming Tien and Pao Ssu are one and the same, switching faces when they turn around.
- Mighty Whitey: Despite reading the same book and being the daughter of Lao Ma, K'ao Hsin doesn't use any of her abilities she learned from in the previous episode. It's Xena who had the best luck in learning Lao Ma's powers.
- Powder Trail: Khan lights up a powder trail with the intention of blowing up Gabrielle and Lin Chi.
- Taken for Granite: Xena keeps unintentionally turning rabbits to stone while trying to get the hang of her newfound powers. It later turns out to be a useful ability as she turns 100,000 troops to stone. It's implied that she's responsible for the creation of the Terracotta Army.
- Tall Tale: Joxer may have exaggerated a little bit in how many soldiers he defeated.
- A Villain Named Khan
