Artist At Heart

There’s a huge motherfucking difference between subtext used for queerbaiting and manipulation over an actual legitimate subtext. Xena does not fall into the category of subtext for wrong or selfish reasons.

It was severely censored. They COULD NOT do it.

But if you watch the show - you’ll quickly realize that it doesn’t even fucking matter that they’re not canon.

The creators agree with you anyway that they are.

The reason why it’s still the gayest TV show ever is because the relationship between Xena and Gabrielle is the most realistic depiction of love and therefore the best lesbian or WLW representation that there is. Part of the reason why is because they are the main protagonists. They’re the MAIN characters of the show. That may exist but it’s extremely fucking rare. The other part is that the creators see them that way. You get a legitimate lesbian love story because IT IS.

So it doesn’t matter that they’re not textually canon. In fact you could ever say it’s better that they’re not.

Because in a weird, ironic and hilarious way - the fact the show is censored helps a hell of a lot because the creators used the censorship to their advantage. They were clever and creative in getting around the censorship. They built on the relationship through it. And so it’s because it’s censored why it feels so real.

You don’t get canon text like “I’m in love with you”, “marry me” or “I want to have sex with you.”

You get: “It was like I was in a dream too. I forgot everything. But even though I didn't remember you..., I felt your presence. And knew that I would never be complete unless those shadows were brought into the light.” and “Gabrielle, if I'd only have thirty seconds to live, that's how I'd want to live them, looking into your eyes.”

Which is 1000x gayer than anything you’ll get today textually, subtextually or basically any romantic dialogue in a TV show said to another character ever.

Xena is just THAT GAY. It’s extremely gay. It’s a fucking queer show about queer characters. And it is that way because the creators made it that way. They purposefully made it that way. For the right reasons!

So don’t compare it to shit like ‘Supergirl’. The creators/cast/crew ridiculed you. They didn’t represent you. They baited you in and laughed at you. Xena do the opposite. They validate and love you.