I get why the term “subtext” originated on Xena forum boards because lol
To be fair - it wouldn’t be called “subtext” now.
It would be called less explicit or less obvious.
Xena is very main text. It’s just quiet about it.
yeah that’s why I put with “thirty years of hindsight” in the tags of my post. I’m not judging a show from 1995 using the media environment of 2026.
but also the Xena web forums of the ‘90s was literally the origin of the term “subtext”. and definitionally it is subtext. we’re more used to calling out queer subtext now, but it’s not explicit even by the standards of today. (I’m watching an episode as I type where Xena is making out with Hercules and Gabrielle kisses whatshisface and they call each other their best friends.)
conversations on those forums were some of the first conversations talking about non-explicit queer representation in media and what that meant for queerness on screen generally. it was kind of really important and groundbreaking.
Obligatory response to 'whatshisface'
As for the topic on hand, even when the subtext can be considered canon by the end I agree it's still subtext for the sheer fact that it is never said explicitly, no matter how obvious. (And I do love it exactly as it is.)
Unbelievable as it is, the subtext still managed to go above the heads of thousands of people watching the show. Which probably says more about the hetronormative of the 90s/00s than of the show.
poor Iolaus 😂
