Darkness RisingDahak Possessing the Body of IolausOverviewSeriesHercules: The Legendary JourneysSeason5AntagonistDahakSettingEireIn-Universe DateYear 3ProductionProduction #V0709Filming Dates23 June to 2 July 1998Original Air-Date16 November 1998Written ByLisa KlinkDirected ByChris LongEpisode ChronologyOrder in Series89 of 111Order in Season8 of 22Order in Franchise200 of 304Previous Episode in SeriesNext Episode in Series"Somewhere Over the Rainbow Bridge""For Those of You Just Joining Us"Previous Episode in FranchiseNext Episode in Franchise"In Your Dreams""Crusader"Title Image
Hercules returns to ire from the Norselands and Morrgan convinces him to stay permanently. Content with settling down with a new family, he later has a prophetic nightmare. Upon waking up, he finds the Druids slaughtered and learns that it was Dahak. Having also seen Nebula in his nightmare, Hercules and Morrgan travel to Sumeria to figure out what is going on. Dahak has indeed entered the world and his current host is a big surprise to Hercules.
Morrigan talks about how good she feels and how Hercules brought out the humanity in her. She asks him where he will be going next... he supposes he will be going back to Greece but he is not sure if it will be like "home" anymore, so Morrigan says to stay there with her suggesting they can make it their home "together".
Hercules is hesitant especially because everyone close to him dies--but she says then it would be her risk to take... she convinces Hercules to stay at least a few days, they do not have to decide anything at the moment.
They look at the ruins of the village left by Caesar and Hercules heard that many different tribes were coming together to help rebuild. while they are walking one of the Celts recognizes Morrigan and wants to kill her but Hercules talks him out of it.
Mabon and Hercules share a little talk about Morrigan and family. Hercules says he never realized how much he missed family. Morrigan and Bridget and Hercules are out by the shore, suddenly a storm comes and the run to a cave.
Hercules tells Morrigan about the goodness and darkness in them both. And he thinks that "this" is nice between them... but soon has dreams/visions about nebula and the druids, and they all go and find the druids all dead. Mabon is the only one still alive but is dying soon, Hercules realizes from the info that Mabon has give, that Dahak is responsible again. Morrigan says now they both have reasons to fight Dahak, Hercules for his friend; Morrigan for the death of the druids. Morrigan says that killing Dahak is justice and it is part of her responsibility now. Morrigan leaves her daughter in the care of a Celt and his wife while she will be gone. On the ship Morrigan feels she has failed the druids because she was not there to protect them, but Hercules tells her Dahak would have killed her too had she been there. Morrigan has a hard time dealing with the pain of losing those that she cared about, and asks Hercules how he stands it, he says he has had a lot of practice. Morrigan says he wrong about one thing--she says that if she was in the temple she would have died, but she was with him and her so her life was saved...so not everyone he cares about dies.
Then they reach Sumeria, where Hercules find that Nebula has gone "insane" and has been confined in a storage room for her own safety. She has been seeing and dreaming of Iolaus and it is as though he is there and only she can see him, she does not know whether it is real or her mind so she stopped trusting her own mind. Hercules is talking to her and assures her he is real because she started doubting if anything she saw was real, and she confides everything that happened to him.
Hercules looks inside the tomb and the body is not there--instead, Iolaus comes out right behind him. Hercules knows it is Dahak in Iolaus' body, but fails to harm him, then goes after Nebula while unsuccessfully trying to convince everyone he is Iolaus.
"Hercules, you've gotta help me! Please. C'mon." [laughs] "I knew you couldn't kill me. You're still holding on to what we were. Well, it's time to grow up. It'll be a whole new day in Greece, buddy!"
"I don't know where you came from, Dahak, but you're not staying."
[cries] "I come back all the way from the dead just to see you and this is the thanks I get!"
"You may have his body, but you're not Iolaus."
"Really? Then who am I? Hmm, I guess this is a question everybody asks themselves sooner or later, don't ya think? Pity I had to die to find my answer. Still, better late than never, huh?"