1.04 - Herc and Seek

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Title Herc and Seek Episode # Season 1, Episode 4 First aired September 18, 1998 Directed by Charlie Haskell Written by Jim Fisher & Jim Staahl Summary The Lowacks gang tries to lure Iolaus back while they steal the Academy's tuition fees.

FoxKids Spoilers

• Iolaus' old gang breaks into the academy, hoping to make a quick score of the tuition money, Instead, they get trapped in a Die-Hard like situation with Iolaus and Lilith trapped inside, Jason attacking from outside, and Hercules sneaking in to diffuse the crisis.
• Iolaus's former gang breaks into the academy and takes him, Lilith (Jodie Rimmer) and Fiducius (Ross Duncan) hostage.

TV Guide Promo

• Iolaus, Lilith and Fiducius are being held hostage by Iolaus' old gang and Hercules has to rescue them.

Synopsis

Title card - End credits can be found here.

      The cadets have rented out Kora's Inn for a party. Hercules, Jason, Iolaus, and Lilith talk to Kora, ironing out the details. Two shady characters eavesdrop on the conversation, "The boss is right. This couldn't be easier. While the toy soldiers are here partying, we'll be at the Academy, stealing all the tuition money." They toast to their plan.

      Fiducius is slowly counting out the dinars, occasionally losing track and having to start over at the beginning. Members of the Lowacks, one of the most dangerous gangs around, are hiding in the tall grass, watching the cadets milling around the Academy.

      Tired of waiting for Fiducius to finish counting, Hercules tells Lilith to send the cadets ahead to Kora's. Iolaus stays with Fiducius, while Hercules and Jason head to the stables to get the hidden party supplies.

      Lilith sends the cadets ahead to Kora's Inn. Coming out of the hiding, the Lowacks capture Lilith and enter the Academy. Hercules and Jason see the gang going in, and Hercules recognizes them.

      Iolaus greets the leader of the Lowacks, Cratus, confused by his appearance. Cratus orders one of his lackeys, Meletus to saddle up the Academy's horses. Outside, Hercules and Jason realize that the gang must be here for the tuition money. Jason leaves to fetch the magistrate and the rest of the cadets from Kora's, while Hercules stays to stall the gang from leaving.

      Meletus heads to the stables, only to be distracted by a shiny amulet on the ground. Herc appears behind him, hanging upside-down from the roof of the stables. Inside, Cratus checks the tuition money, and orders Lilith and Fiducius to be tied up and gagged. Iolaus objects, and Cratus orders Iolaus to be tied up too.

      Outside, Hercules has Meletus gagged and sitting on a horse, with the rest of the horses tied to him. Herc ties Meletus's hands to the saddle of his horse, and sets them all off and running away from the Academy. Hearing the sound of hoofbeats, Cratus heads outside with some of his gang and Iolaus. Hercules hides as they storm outside in time to see the horses running away. Seconds later, an army of cadets come running towards the Academy. Refusing to leave without the money, Cratus orders his men and Iolaus back into the Academy, and they bar the door against the cadets. Hercules uses a horse yolk as a grappling hook to scale the a wall and climb into the Academy through a second-floor window. Cratus orders his lackeys to spread out and post someone at every opening. He calls out to Jason, warning him not to attack. Jason agrees to wait.

      Hercules eavesdrops from a second floor window that looks out onto the gym as Cratus's gang gets restless. Cratus tries to talk Iolaus into helping them, bringing up their shared past, but Iolaus refuses. Cratus leaves to check on the others. Hercules catches Iolaus's attention and uses charades to tell Iolaus to lure the gang to the back of the Academy. Cratus returns, and Iolaus fakes having a change of heart to convince the Lowacks to follow him out of the gym. Cratus confesses to Neolun that he also plans to set a fire to cover their escape.

      Iolaus distracts the Lowacks. Jason worries about losing sunlight. Cratus, Neolun, and Iolaus return to the gym, and Cratus finds out that the tuition money is gone. Hercules rescues Lilith and tells her to warn Jason about the fire. Cratus finds out that Fiducius has been freed also and realizes that another cadet is lurking around. Cratus offers to trade Iolaus's life for the money, and Hercules taunts them unseen.

      Back in the gym, the Lowacks spread out but are unable to find the tuition money. Cratus ties Iolaus to the Warrior Dummy and spreads oil in a circle around him, intent on setting him on fire. Nezzas leaves to get a torch. Hercules gets the jump on Nezzas, stealing his clothes and sending a signal to attack to Jason. The cadets begin to attack.

      Hercules returns to the gym in Nezzas's clothes, revealing himself when he refuses to set Iolaus on fire. Neolun sets fire to the oil around Iolaus. As the Lowacks begin to attack Hercules, the cadets run in to back him up. Fighting breaks out around the gym as Hercules and Cratus face off.

      Hercules defeats Cratus and jumps over the ring of fire to cut Iolaus (mostly) loose. Together they jump back over the ring of fire. Jason picks Cratus off the floor and uses him as a hostage to get the other Lowacks to stop fighting. Cratus asks Iolaus for help, but Iolaus refuses. The cadets escort the Lowacks out of the Academy.

      Fiducious panics when he sees the tuition money is missing, but Hercules reveals that he hid the money inside the Warrior Dummy. Fiducious reaches for the money but Hercules holds onto it, "I should count this out for the party." Jason and Lilith join them, leaving Iolaus alone to try to bite through the rope still tying his wrists together.

Characters (in order of appearance)

• Kora
• Hercules
• Iolaus
• Jason
• Lilith
• Cadet Argyros
• Woman in the Blue Dress
• Neolun
• Nezzas
• Woman in the Orange Dress
• Fiducius
• Lowack 01
• Lowack 02
• Lowack 03
• Lowack 04
• Meletus
• Lowack 05
• Lowack 06
• Cratus
• Lowack 07
• Lowack 08
• Guillen
• Lowack 09
• Cadet Jason

Characters (mention only)

• Cheiron
• The Magistrate
• Dorfus
• Skourous

Places

• Kora's Inn
  
• Cheiron's Academy
• Corinth - (mention only)

Items

• Lowack Gang Pendant
• Lowack Gang Tattoo
• Distraction Medallion
• Warrior Dummy
  • More items from this episode...

Plot Arcs

• Jail or Cheiron's Academy
• When Good Plans Go Bad

Other Pages

• Lowacks

Television Tropes

• To Be Added

Quotes

Jason: Well, I guess that dummy’s got a heart of gold.

Trivia & References

Aired Out Of Order - Lilith appears in this episode, although she won't be officially "introduced" to the main characters until 1.05 - Girl Trouble.

Reality Check - Cratus says, "You left us for this? Schoolbooks and playing warrior.". The first bound book was described by 1st-century AD Roman poet Martial (source), which is a long time after Hercules would have lived. Cratus should have said "Schoolscrolls"!

Guides, Scripts, Transcripts, & Reviews

• Herc and Seek Transcript (Dialogue Only)
• Whoosh.org's transcript.
• Whoosh.org's Episode Guide
• IMDB's Episode Guide
• TV.com's Episode Guide
• ShareTV's Episode Guide
• Watch the full episode online at Hulu.com.
• Ty's Reviews: 1.04- Herc and Seek

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