Season 6 Episode 08 - The Ring

Gabrielle, Beowulf and Brunnhilda search for Xena who was taken by the monster Grindl in the last episode. After searching through the forest that Grindl lives in Beowulf and Brunnhilda start to give up the search but Gabrielle continues looking for Xena and eventually finds her. She has been hurt quite badly but is alive. After cleaning Xena up Xena tells Gabrielle, Brunnhilda and Beowulf that they have to find Grindl and kill it. After finding it's layer Xena tells Gabrielle, Beowulf and Brunnhilda what happened all those years ago just after creating the ring from the Rheingold. She tells them how Grinhilda tried to stop her from putting it on and a fight broke out.

When Grinhilda started losing she took the ring from Xena and put it on knowing that in just a few minutes she would loose what she held dearest about herself. She fought Xena with the ring on which gave her godlike strength. But before she got the chance to kill Xena Grinhilda turned into a monster, the same monster Xena, Gabrielle, Beowulf and Brunnhilda are trying to kill now. Grinhilda loved her beauty and humanity and so both where taken away from her. Xena then cut Grinhilda's finger off and took the ring then entrapped her in the forest with the lock Beowulf returned to Xena in The Rheingold. By now Xena, Gabrielle, Beowulf and Brunnhilda have found the monster and Xena fights it after being beaten Gabrielle helps along with Beowulf, who really likes Gabrielle, and Brunnhilda. Together they manage to beat it but once it is dead Xena realizes that the monster isn't Grinhilda because this monster has all it's fingers. The monster does have the ring though so Xena takes it from the monster planning to give it back to the Rhien Maidens. When they all walk through the forest Brunnhilda is visited by Odin and it is revealed that she made a deal with Odin and was suppose to take the ring but her love for Gabrielle has got in the way of that now. So Odin sends his Valkyrie to fight Xena and get the ring as soon as they get to Xena a fight breaks out and Brunnhilda captures Gabrielle and takes her to another part of the forest using one of the flying horses of the Valkyrie. Xena and Beowulf are left to fight the Valkyrie but half way through the fight Odin interferes and offers a trade Gabrielle for the Ring. Xena refuses because she thinks that Brunnhilda is trying to protect Gabrielle not hurt her. Odin reveals that the monster Xena killed was the child of Grinhilda, she was pregnant when she was turned into the monster. Odin leaves leaving Xena to think about his offer. Meanwhile Brunnhilda tells Gabrielle about how she was suppose help Odin but admits that she couldn't because she is in love with Gabrielle! Gabrielle tells her that Xena is Gabrielle's soulmate and so Brunnhilda decides to try and prove her love for Gabrielle by killing Xena. Meanwhile Xena and Beowulf are looking for Gabrielle but Odin attacks again, this time with the Valkyrie and with the monster Grinhilda! Xena and Beowulf fight, but he gets badly hurt and Xena has to fight alone. Not even Xena is good enough to beat them all though so she puts on the ring. It gives her godlike strength and so she beats them but doesn't kill them. She them starts looking for Gabrielle again but Brunnhilda finds her first. She doesn't try and kill her though because Gabrielle managed to persuade her not to earlier. Brunnhilda notices that Xena is wearing the ring and tell her to take it off, but it is already to late. Xena has lost what she loves the most, her memory of Gabrielle, and what Gabrielle helped Xena to become. Brunnhilda takes the ring and runs back to Gabrielle after giving Gabrielle the ring Brunnhilda turns into an eternal flame surrounding Gabrielle. The only person who can get through is her soulmate, Xena.