Garth Maxwell! Another creator for Xena that is part of the queer community. They were few and far between but they were there. So interesting to hear that he did queer content and storytelling before he got the gig as a director on Xena. Iβm sure that played a lot into the gay subtext between Xena and Gabrielle. He mentions that there is a MLM couple in the background of βThe God You Knowβ. When Iβve gone back to rewatch it, I did notice two men on the stairs that are behind Caligula and Aphrodite in the party/orgy scene that they had when Gabrielle was doing her dance to delay Caligula.
The most clear shot of them is behind a het couple but you do see them for quite awhile after the dance scene.
Never noticed them before. Likely because I was laser focused on Gabbyβs dance and Aphrodite watching her.
But thatβs really cool and makes total sense given the director is male and queer himself. Thatβs the one thing Xena didnβt really have in it. Any MLM representation.
But then Rob Tapert himself fixed that in Spartacus and Xena was just the humble beginnings for them I guess since they were sincere and they could do a lot more in Spartacus as it was a much higher age rating than Xena.
