30 Days Relationship Challenge #7

[katikat]

Gabrielle & Xena, Xena: Warrior Princess

Has there ever been a deeper and better written relationship between two women on TV than Xena and Gabrielle's? I don't think so. I usually don't like female friendships because writers insists on making them all about emotions and girly stuff and children and relationships and braiding hair and gossiping - instead of having fun and kicking ass! But Xena: Warrior Princess was something else. Yes, there were children and relationships and they ruminated about life and the future and what was wrong and what was right but! They kicked ass and pissed off gods and ran with the best and brightest of their time and had FUN doing so!

Xena and Gabrielle went through such a beautiful character development that every writer who plans to write about women and their relationships and their lives should sit down and watch this show. At the beginning, Xena was a bitter villain turned reluctant heroine and Gabrielle was a bright puppy eager to please. Xena accepted Gabrielle's company only grudgingly and Gabrielle pretty much didn't care what Xena thought of her as long as she let her tag along. But then, they both matured, mellowed, hardened, became friends - and something more.

It was the "something more" that made the show special because it portrayed lesbianism in a very subtle, tasteful way. Because Xena and Gabrielle definitely weren't straight. Whether you see them as bisexual or "gay for you", it doesn't matter. Their love for each other was undeniable. It was shown in the way they looked at each other, in their small touches, in how much they cared... And it was beautiful, really, really gorgeous...

And once more, I think it was the casting that did it. Lucy Lawless and Renée O'Connor OWNED the parts. Their chemistry was off the charts. I've never seen anything like it since. I don't know why it's so hard to find actresses who would click so well, it seems much easier with two men or a man and a woman. No idea why. These days, people love Rizzoli & Isles but for me, Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander simply don't click, they are like two parallel roads, running side by side, acting side by side, but they never cross, never touch. Lucy Lawless and Renée O'Connor... they could convey the world with one look.

I wish there were more series with heroines like Xena and Gabrielle, who were more concerned with kicking ass and with their friendship, than with marriage and kids and family and clothes. Women do want more than procreate, writers!