#fearlesssummer

I mean they’re always soulmates obviously but it takes them awhile to figure it out. 4 and a half seasons in fact. However, that is necessary because you need to feel that there’s some gravitational pull to each other before you’re given confirmation that the soulmates connection is what that is. So slow burn soulmates.

And what’s funny to me is that there’s a lot of talk about that before they actually decide to do that.

And suddenly it’s like the show makes so much more sense. It’s like “Oh, that’s why they’re telling us this!”

And then obviously once you know… you can’t really see the show any other way from that point onwards.

I mean you’ll pick up new information with each watch but you’ll constantly have in your mind “Well duh, it’s happening this way because they’re soulmates”.

And what I really like about the way they wrote the characters and their relationship together is that they didn’t just make them in love because they’re soulmates. Instead they write them as soulmates that are in love because they show you that they fall in love first before they reveal that they’re soulmates. So that helps you understand that there’s more to it than that because being soulmates doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s a romantic attraction to each other and that’s why they could get away with using the term. However, they then make it very clear that they do actually mean they’re soulmates that are in love. They don’t make it that way because they’re soulmates.

And I really like that. I really like that they establish that they’re not in love with each other because they’re soulmates. That’s just something that helps the characters deepen the relationship between them whether they be interpreted as a romance or not. It’s just the writers definitely lean on the side of romance.

But I just really like that fact that they fall in love because of their individual arcs and journeys and not because it’s destined or fated for them to fall in love.

Xena and Gabrielle in their immense journey go from:

Strangers

Travelling acquaintances

Friends

Best friends

Like family (Sisters)

Lovers

Enemies (very briefly, don’t worry about it)

Spiritual guides (as angels and guardians)

Married (reincarnated lives)

Parents

And finally… Like family (Wives/Domestic partners) and each others heroes and warrior princesses.

But throughout it all, through their lives as Xena and Gabrielle, all their past lives and all their future lives.

SOULMATES.

They’re an EPIC LOVE STORY because there’s so many different types of love they have for each other.

It’s romantic; it’s familial; it’s maternal. It’s everything.

They fulfill every role they ever need in their lives. And I think a relationship like that cannot happen twice.

You will not see a relationship like this ever again.

Certainly not in TV art/entertainment.

It really is an incredible journey. And that’s what you want with WLW representation. You want a journey.

A journey where you see everything - all the ups and downs and twists and turns and pros and cons -

You want to see it all because that’s what it’s all about.

Well, that’s Xena and Gabrielle.

That’s why they’re so iconic and beloved.

Because you see a JOURNEY of a RELATIONSHIP.

I wish I could articulate how deep and intense and profound it is but you really have to watch it yourself to know and understand how strong and substantial this ship is and why it’s them that began a legacy for WLW representation in television. They’re the OG.

And they still hold up so incredibly well to this day because I have yet to see a relationship like theirs.

You know, when the ship is actually a substantial one.

When it’s an actual relationship and not ticking boxes.

You see something like this can look so cringey unless you’ve experienced for yourself the significance of it.

The context of every emotional beat. All the depth. That it’s not just put there for the sake of it but there’s such genuine and sincere intent and heart behind it.