Lady Business

Hardened Gabrielle makes Xena very, very sad. Which is interesting, because it reinforces something that shows up in other episodes ("Dreamworker" forex): that Xena wants to protect Gabrielle, not just from physical harm, but from the same kind of moral darkness (sin? sometimes I think the show itself casts it in those terms, in the early seasons, with the emphasis on atonement) that Xena herself has experienced.

That Xena will, at this point in time, go to great lengths to do that, even if Gabrielle doesn't want her to.