Rob Tapert and Lucy Lawless on Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship
This is why Xena was never queer-baiting. When they decided to go with having Xena and Gabrielle be soulmates (and lovers) they did everything they possibly could to make it a clearly illustrated love story between two women, but they were forced to make it subtext by the censors and the networks. Despite all this they still succeeded, over the course of the series, with having Xena and Gabs explicitly declare their love for one another, having more than one entire episode dedicated to the strength of their love and their willingness to fight and die for one another in any world or time, literally saying over and over that they were soulmates, showing them married (in a roundabout way) in a future life, and having them kiss more than once. They didn’t dangle the illusion of a romance in front of our eyes and then undercut it, they didn’t play with our feelings just to rob us of any real love between these two women. And, despite Xena’s death in the end, they not only showed her soul remaining with Gabrielle but they had already done several episodes that assured the audience that Xena and Gabrielle’s souls would be reincarnated together for all of eternity. Yes, there were the obligatory male romances thrown in here and there, but they became less and less frequent over the years until they were all but gone by seasons 5 and 6, and in the end not a single one of those romances proved more important than the bond between Xena and Gabrielle.
Lastly, from the very moment the idea of this relationship was presented to the cast they supported it. Lucy and Renee were happy to be seen this way, they never mocked their shippers, they never shied away from it in fear of what it could do to their reputations or careers. They treated questions about Xena and Gabrielle’s romance with honesty and respect at conventions (though Lucy is often a sarcastic ass-and I love her for that- so sometimes she can be interrupted as being snarky), and they acknowledged the importance of showing love like this on tv.
