UNEDITED: Xena Warrior Princess 1x19 Reaction
Added 2024-04-28 14:03:13 +0000 UTC
Comments
I would like to add that you have had the best response I've yet seen from any reactor to my favorite joke in this episode: that the rock's voice was a little gravelly.
Koz
2024-04-29 10:29:32 +0000 UTCStraight-baiting is more like it.
Girl4Music
2024-04-28 23:49:10 +0000 UTCWhen the show came out it was still very rare to see two women one kicking ass, two by themselves, (hence the first season they were trying to keep the peace with all the men and moments of helplessness), none the less seeing two women in a "Romantic" relationship was still skirting the line of taboo lol. The LGBT community jumped on it and claimed them lol.
Bo D
2024-04-28 22:48:14 +0000 UTCWithout spoiling anything,, I'll just say that there's a pretty strong consensus among the queer community that Xena does not fall into the queer baiting category
Greta mudie
2024-04-28 22:17:53 +0000 UTCGlad you loved this one! There are SO many more great episodes to come. Also fun to see Karl Urban for the first time, I think?
Michael
2024-04-28 21:24:39 +0000 UTCI would also like to put it as if those that did imagine that Xena and Gabrielle were a thing - it can’t have just came out of nowhere. They obviously saw some sincerity in the relationship to imagine it that way. It’s not like now where everything involving same-sex lead characters is just interpreted as romantic/sexual when it’s not meant to be. Back then - when this was airing, there wasn’t much reference for queer relationships in art/entertainment. The difference with the Xena creators really is that they took the fans that viewed Xena and Gabrielle romantically/sexually seriously and we all had fun taking the piss out of the subtextual queer narrative together. In other words: They weren’t laughing AT us. They were laughing WITH us. It’s a huge difference compared to - say the likes of SwanQueen or SuperCorp where the queer subtext was intended but they never took it seriously at all and instead - it ended up being really quite insulting to their queer fans because that was queer-baiting. Xena and Gabrielle is the complete opposite of queer-baiting. It’s more like straight-baiting to be honest.
Girl4Music
2024-04-28 18:05:43 +0000 UTCXena and Gabrielle are definitely NOT queer baiting. The show puts as much as it can into it without being able to say girlfriend or wife and in doing so come out being one of the most romantic relationships out there.
Alfredo
2024-04-28 17:52:41 +0000 UTCI would differentiate intentional and non-intentional subtext. You're completely right that this episode was the first time that the writers intentionally put subtext into the script. But i wouldn't say there was none before, as it doesn't have to be intentional to be there. For instance the look Xena had after catching gabrielle cuddling with the guy in titan, gabrielle noting xena's dangerous breasts or how pleasant xena's beauty is on several occasions. I do appreciate how everyone involved (Lucy, Renee, Rob, all the writers) ran with and encouraged it once they realized lol.
mary smith
2024-04-28 17:18:25 +0000 UTCBaby Karl Urban! Also this story is based on the story of Abraham and Isaac in the Bible. You'll notice that Xena takes place and takes part in a lot of famous historical stories.
mary smith
2024-04-28 17:10:26 +0000 UTCLet's get this out of the way: as far as "lesbian subtext" in Xena is concerned, initially, there was none. Zero. It didn't exist. It ONLY existed in the imaginations of some viewers. (Most of whom were very possibly teenage boys and young men.) Producers actually expected some members of the audience to read this into the show, but both Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor thought that was nonsense. It wasn't written that way, and they weren't playing it that way. But, sure enough, some people imagined that Xena and Gabby might be a thing. And the fact that some of these people were lesbians (they even began having "Xena Nights" in lesbian bars in New York City and elsewhere) led to increased media attention. Anyway, by the time of this episode, they began deliberately playing with the perception, really for fun more than anything. That's pretty much the state of things in season one. ... So, I guess this isn't as obvious to some people as was expected, but Antias, Icus and Mael are analogs of the Biblical figures Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael. In a very famous account, God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, but halts him at the last moment, now that Abraham's faith has been shown. This episode obviously has a different situation, but the resolution is the same, as God makes a cameo appearance and saves the day (and Antias' arm.) After The Royal Couple of Thieves, this is the second indication that YHWH, the God of the Bible, exists in this universe. ... I'm glad you have a new favorite. 😆
Koz
2024-04-28 16:26:05 +0000 UTCOne of my absolute favorite episodes. Xena coming up out of the water in slow motion is my favorite 2 seconds of film ever.
Amiee Stahlman
2024-04-28 16:12:27 +0000 UTC
