Plot summary
Cleopatra is killed by an asp hidden in a message from Rome. Before dying she sends a note to Xena, who travels to Egypt with Gabrielle to discover who ordered the murder.
With Antony and Brutus competing for control of Cleopatra's navy, Xena impersonates the queen to draw them out. Antony is attracted to her, and the apparent seduction becomes emotionally complicated for Xena too. Brutus claims concern for Cleopatra and warns against both Antony and Caesar's adopted son Octavius.
An attack on the palace leaves Octavius looking suspicious, and Xena has him confined while she investigates. Gabrielle talks to him and concludes that he is more trustworthy than the other Roman contenders. Antony, meanwhile, wants Octavius and his rivals killed despite professing love for the woman he believes is Cleopatra.
Xena eventually identifies Brutus as Cleopatra's murderer. She lets him know that she has been impersonating the queen and appears to offer an alliance against Antony. Separately she promises Antony the Egyptian fleet. In reality she places the fleet with Octavius and uses the rival leaders' expectations to bring them into battle.
Brutus' ship strikes Antony's, and both men discover the deception. Gabrielle kills Brutus in the fighting. Antony turns on Xena in fury, forcing her to kill him despite the feelings she developed for him.
With the two immediate threats removed, Xena announces Egypt's new alliance with Octavius. Cleopatra is still dead, but her navy has not become either rival's weapon. The Egyptian court is left to choose its next leader.
Credits
Adapted from Legendary Journeys Wiki contributors, Antony & Cleopatra. Complete episode narrative, rewritten and condensed for clarity; causal developments and the episode's ending retained. Illustrations, dialogue quotations and non-story metadata omitted.