#little problems

“What I have heard is that it’ll be more truthful in the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle in that it will show who they are and their love for each other in a new way. All I can hope for is that it keeps the layers to the characters as rich as they were with the original show in that it’s not just that they’re partners, it’s that they are everything to each other.” — Renee O’Connor about how she hoped the thankfully now scrapped Xena reboot went in how the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle would be written and portrayed.

I love so much the way the roles reversed in that as Xena becomes softer, Gabrielle becomes harder because we know it only happens in this way because of how ride or die they are with and for each other. That the depth. intensity and authenticity of the connection, relationship and friendship that they had was so immense that it influenced their personalities and changed each other emotionally and they became each other in the end as my character study thesis goes into great detail with explaining because they are one soul in two bodies for eternity. Which isn’t merely just soulmates but also twin flames in that they constantly navigate this match and mirror dynamic throughout all of their soul’s life experiences almost as if there’s an eternal dance between them where they keep shifting from the lead partner to the follower partner and there is always that equilibrium where they are just perfectly balanced as one nature and you just don’t get that in just any romantic ship. You might get a soulmate connection but you won’t get the characters irrevocably changing and evolving as individual people and as a couple because of that connection because love stories just aren’t that EPIC in TV art/entertainment. They’ll never be as profound as the one between Xena and Gabrielle where they truly were - as Renee said - everything to each other.

I think about how in the episode ‘Little Problems’ Aphrodite temporarily puts Xena’s soul essence into the little girl Daphne so that she would have a second chance at life. I’m just thinking about how that was essentially 3 individual soul essence’s in just one little girl’s physical body. That of Xena, Eve and Daphne.

As insane as the idea of that sounds in my INTP head, the plausibility of it in the Xenaverse isn’t because they do this more than once across both shows. Twice in Xena. The first time Ares is responsible (Succession) and the second time Aphrodite is responsible. And maybe the idea does require some divine intervention.

So the question is - based on my interpretation and conclusion of my thesis - who does it the third time?Who is responsible for returning them to their roots as a nondual entity? As the fundamental Yin and Yang? Because if an idea like this is ever-present in the Xenaverse as a thematic narrative in soul hopping, body swapping, reincarnation, and an exploration of AU, then what’s stopping that from being an ending?

It might be an insane idea in any other fantasy TV show - but in Xena, it’s a pretty common storyline. Temporarily, sure, but very possible as an endgame. The more I watch the show and the more I delve into the nuances and intricacies of its characters and themes and narratives, I am reminded over and over again just how much this idea makes sense because they do effectively set it up to work out that way in that Xena and Gabrielle disappear into each other.

And it’s like - okay, so they’re now just going to be one human being. One person with two legs and one head. Now what? Where does their story go on from there? Well, it can go anywhere forever. It’s like what Steven L. Sears said: They’re between the lines of the Mehndi. The body or physical manifestation of it is temporary, but what’s between those beautiful patterns is eternal. The spaces in-between which you must have to even be able to witness such beauty in the Mehndi design.

So they’ll separate in another lifetime, another Universe, another body, but then they’ll join back together and it will always be a continuous journey for Xena and Gabrielle - or whatever their names are in and at that moment - because they are the human representation of yin-yang and what you can learn through them as both individual characters and a character dynamic is love - be it whichever way you wish to interpret the nature of that love. The point is that it’s an EPIC love story first and foremost and that everything else about the show becomes far more valuable when you view it as that from episode one. That way even the early episodes are significant in terms of the trajectory of their romantic arcing, even when - especially when - they are paired with others because it is a romance what they have. It’s just that it’s not just a romance. There’s so much more to it.

And for me - that’s exactly what makes it even more of one. It’s the fact that it can’t just be pinned down as romantic love but all other different types of love too. It is that - absolutely. But it’s far more than that to the point where there really isn’t a necessity for it to arc romantically because the journey is why you want it to. And the journey is immense. Nothing could eclipse it. There’s not a single WLW love story out there in the TV art/entertainment hemisphere that can come close to what Xena and Gabrielle have. They are the ultimate. It’s bitter suite to think that the first ever WLW love story we had in a TV show was also the greatest one because they really couldn’t confirm it textually. But it’s precisely because they couldn’t why it’s so great because it forced them to have to find another way of representing a romantic relationship without any sex. And if all you care about seeing is the sex, well then this isn’t a relationship I would recommend to you because, besides from a few kisses, there isn’t any. It’s an emotional romantic relationship and it’s beautiful and well-worth watching for me - who is so tired of overtly sexual ships that have little to nothing else to them and it may be a double-edged sword, but if you asked me, they need to go back to the censorship because it’s too insulting for me to only see that between WLW/queer ships in TV art/entertainment. I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again. I have no issue with sexual intimacy in general. But I do if it’s all it is. If the only thing that ship is is sex, it’s a big no from me.

Xena and Gabrielle didn’t have any representation in a sexual context but they did have everything else that a real life WLW romantic/sexual relationship would have.

So you’ve got to take your kicks for the ticks - as I like to say. But in my view, that “kick” was barely a nudge. It did not phase me whatsoever that they had no sex on-screen. What bothers me is that they cannot be considered “canon” without showing sex on-screen because showing kisses was enough for me to see and believe of them as a canon WLW ship. But in this day and age, that would be very frustrating for people because for some reason… that is what is required to “canonize” a romantic/sexual ship - same-sex or not. And I just… I don’t know. I preferred the censorship when the intention of the showrunners was sincere and they actually cared about representing true love between two people that didn’t involve constant sex and showed you the emotional connection and how those two people relate to each other instead ‘cause for me, it is far more worthy of my time and attention.

Xena and Gabrielle were just one of a kind in such a way that they came about in a time and place where WLW representation couldn’t be so explicit in TV but, because of that, the writers built on their relationship in so many other ways that still showed the romance and at the same time made it far more than romance. And it was the most beautiful and profound ship ever.

Were a reboot to ever happen,… I wouldn’t want it to because I know they will never be able to do this again.

And if they can’t - why would I even care to watch it?

I’ve been a big fan of this show for a long fucking time. It’s not just Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship that I love about it but it is what keeps me coming back to it because even though I will come across ships that are worth my time and attention, I just know I won’t be gifted a relationship like Xena and Gabrielle’s again.

I'm not able to use Tumblr on my cell phone, so it might take me a while to post, as I'm not used to using Tumblr Web on my tablet (which is quite old)

But in the meantime, you can send me questions or suggestions for drawings for me to do with my character Mortimer Mouse

this character here:

Like if someone has sent me 20 seriously uninteresting messages that are all clear attempts to sext with me, I should feel zero qualms about blocking that person.