4-12 If The Shoe Fits

First air date was Jan 25, 1998.

The story starts out with a naked Gabrielle taking a shower with water coming out of the
bottom of a copper pot with holes in it.

Xena wakes up late muttering about Gabrielle not waking her up when she has a warlord
named Zantar where she wants him.

We see Gabrielle from a distance still showering and her blouse is stolen, leaving only
her skirt.

Cut to Zantar and two henchmen. He says he's not going back to prison. Suddenly Xena
slides down a rope from a tree and captures him and back up they go.

Back to Gabrielle who is now wearing a long sack dress because her blouse was taken. Then
she sees Zantar is gagged with it. Xena says she had no more rope.

Cut to Xena, Gabrielle, Joxer and Zantar waking past a temple and they hear an explosion. Going
inside they hear Aphrodite chewing out someone for playing with a bottle marked Passion, which is
explosive. When Xena asks Aphrodite what is going on, a little girl comes out and goes to Xena, who
recognizes her as Princess Alesia. Xena knows her father. She begs for Xena to save her from the
evil fairy godsmother -Aphrodite. Aphrodite says she wandered in talking about an evil stepmother.
Alesia said she ran away from home because of her. Xena decides to take her home.

Cut to the king and queen. He's been looking for Alesia and goes back out. The queen
blames herself because Alesia hates her.

Gabrielle volunteers to scout ahead. Xena asks Alesia why she ran away. Then starts to
tell her about her own stepfather. Gabrielle falls out of a tree and wants to know about Xena's
stepfather. She blows her off. Gabrielle says she saw Zantar's men following. Xena says she will go
back to stop them and for Gabrielle to tell Alesia a story. Alesia wants a happy ending.

Gabrielle starts with a Cinderella story with ugly Xena as the stepmother and ugly
Aphrodite as the stepsister. Gabrielle is Tyrella, the sweet, over-cheerful stepdaughter.

Cut to Aphrodite in her temple. She finds Alesia's shoe and begins to miss her. She looks
in the mirror and her image talks her into making Alesia her mascot - a demigoddess of puppy love.

Back to Gabrielle telling the story again, but Aphrodite interrupts, and begins telling
the story her way. She is the beautiful stepmother and Xena is her almost attractive daughter.
Gabrielle is the goofy looking stepdaughter with a missing front tooth. Joxer is the king's
messenger announcing a royal ball for the king to pick a bride.

Xena stops the story and tells Aphrodite she thought she was out of it, Aphrodite
disappears.

Xena volunteers to cook supper so Gabrielle can finish the story. But Xena can't find
anything so Gabrielle tells Joxer to finish it so she can cook.

In Joxer's story he is Tyrone, the handsome stepson/brother who wants to go to the ball.
His ugly stepfather and stepbrothers make fun of his clothes. Tyrone's fairy godsmother (Xena)
shows up and gives him social skills and fine clothes to go to the ball. But the sands of the
'hourglass' run out at sunup.

Tyrone goes to the ball but his stepfather and brothers don't recognize him. He sees a
beautiful woman (Gabrielle -the princess?) and dances with her. They waltz and then he does a disco
number by himself. They sing a duet, then the sands run out and he runs away, taking her shoe with
him by mistake.

Xena comes back and Alesia is gone. She blames Gabrielle even though she was cooking.
Zantar says she ran away. Xena goes looking for her.

Aphrodite disguised as an old woman tells Gabrielle Zantar's men attacked her and
Gabrielle goes off to fight them. Aphrodite kisses Joxer, he faints and she frees Zantar.

Xena finds Alesia hanging onto a vine on the side of a cliff. She saves her.

At the camp they find Joxer tied up and Zantar is gone. Joxer says Aphrodite said
something about going to an old castle.

Xena starts telling the story. But Tyrella is a no-nonsense butt-kicker. The prince
(Joxer) comes to have the shoe tried on. She sees Tyrella and passes by the others. But Tryella
tells him she doesn't need a man to make her happy. Just then her fairy godsister (Gabrielle) comes
in and tells her that her stepmother and stepsisters are going to rob the kingdom of the crown
jewels. She asks Tyrella if she needs help and she tells her to wash the dishes.

Gabrielle interrupts the story, insulted that that is all Xena thinks of her - as the
fairy godsister of dishes. Xena says it's because she thinks of her as family, but she stomps off
saying she needs her space.

Xena, Joxer and Alesia go to the castle and the king and queen are tied to their thrones.
Zantar and his men have stolen the crown jewels.

Xena locks Alesia and her stepmother in a room so they can talk out their issues, then
goes after Zantar and his men.

Gabrielle comes upon an outdoor shrine to Aphrodite and knocks a couple urns over until
she appears. She berates Aphrodite about confusing Alesia so she doesn't realize she misses the
family who loves her.

Alesia and the queen come to an understanding.

Xena fights, Gabrielle helps, and they recover the jewels. Xena finishes the story,
telling Alesia Tyrella and the prince didn't get married but she and her fairy godsister made a
pact to help the other to be all they could be.

Xena asks Gabrielle why she came back and she tells her they are family and they have to
stay together to work things out.

.......

Another comedy episode.

No nitpicks because it wouldn't make sense in a story like this. So I will mention the
things I liked and other comments -

Naked Gabrielle taking a shower with the never emptying water pot. The close up on
Renee's back and shoulders showed some real definition. She was in SHAPE!

Gabrielle as the princess at the ball was as beautiful as I've ever seen. I HAVE to find
some screencaps of her.

Gabrielle's sack dress kept getting smaller and smaller as she snipped away at it.

Gabrielle telling Xena she didn't wake up Joxer because she was topless.

Alesia looked an awful like Aphrodite.

Xena's comment after Gabrielle asked what she wanted next from her - skirt, boots,
underwear? Xena answered, "Oh no, that would be too cruel." (I was waiting for Gabrielle's comeback
but there wasn't one.)

But I didn't understand what Gabrielle was talking about when she surmised her blouse
might have been taken by a "fashionable beaver."

Gabrielle thinking about a story of a wooden boy whose nose grows when he tells a lie,
then Joxer suggesting a monkey whose tail grows shorter with each lie.

The interview footage was with Lucy and Rene