So much happens in ‘Return Of Callisto’ but despite the pacing being very rushed, none of it feels heavy-handed except the stuff that is supposed to be. Like how they show you Gabrielle and Perdicas getting married immediately after Gabrielle excepts his proposal and all the quick pacing of that intercut with the long lingering shots on Xena looking all kinds of conflicted and then the even longer shots of Xena and Gabrielle together saying goodbye. It’s very clear what the writer and director wants to represent here. Of what they consider more important. How such quick, unexpected changes affects these lead female characters and their ever-evolving relationship together. In any other love story between female characters that is truly platonic, that wouldn’t even be an element of the story even worth highlighting because the m/f relationship matters more.
But the tension there before the main drama happens (Perdicas getting killed by Callisto after their wedding and Gabrielle going on a venge-streak to avenge him) is palpable. It’s something they really hone in on. That focus on tension and awkwardness between the leads.
Obviously it’s because it’s not purely platonic at all.
It’s romantic. Even if nothing is being said outright.
R.J. and T.J. as this episode’s respective Writer and Director make it clear that it’s still X&G even when other love interests (Perdicas) are involved because they don’t really focus too much on anything else but how things are changing between the female leads and what it might mean now there’s a love interest in the way.
And even if those changes happen to go ahead, once again fate steps in to “save them” by way of killing off the man in the narrative. Instead of one of the women.
Well… that’s Xena.
That’s how it works in Xena.
The complete total opposite to how it works elsewhere.
Unless… of course… the romance between the female characters is fully canon maintext and not subtext.
Does it really make a difference when the creators make it look canon regardless of it being subtext?
No, not in Xena it doesn’t. It really doesn’t because they don’t make you sit through all the heteronormative bullshit. And they use the “man-insert” as a vehicle to drive them to the storytelling they actually want to have. To get on to the real deal. The WLW love story.
But at the same time - they don’t diminish the impact.
Good creators don’t sacrifice honesty for an agenda.
Even if the agenda happens to miraculously be ours when that’s never the case in anything else ever made unless it’s purposefully made to be canonically queer.
We know the creators are in our corner. But at the same time, they know there’s arcs that need to be concluded. These creators want the WLW love story just as we fans do, but they also want to do right by the lead female characters’ individual representation and development.
They don’t play on it too long. Just as long as they need to to get across what they need to. Gabrielle’s turmoil. Regardless of whether she loved Perdicas or not, this man layed down his life for her. She feels that guilt probably more so because she wasn’t being honest with him or with herself that she wanted to marry him. It was the easy way out and it had grave consequences. The ironic thing is, is that she probably thought the opposite would be the case. That he was safer with her in the way that she was always much safer with Xena.
Besides the grief and bloodlust, the driving force in Gabrielle was more so out of guilt than it was in love.
If she couldn’t protect him in life, the least she could do was average his death. And she couldn’t even do that.
Thus even more guilt piled on top of that mountain of guilt she was already feeling at being dishonest with him about her feelings for him and about saying “yes”.
One huge mistake. That’s what they choose to focus on in ‘Return Of Callisto’. Not the m/f relationship. Not even necessarily the f/f one. But the relationship with the self. What a smart and honestly admirable choice.
Especially considering they’re playing both sides of the chess board on what they’re supposed to be delivering.
I hope all I’ve just said makes sense. R.J. and T.J. are two of Xena’s creators that are the most “ship-friendly”.
But they’re also two of the most authentic as well. They won’t play by an agenda if it compromises storytelling.
Now go watch literally anything else ever made that isn’t completely canonically queer where the agenda is the opposite. Do they do the same? Do they intend it?
Xena is such a unique experience. I can’t even explain it.
It’s the one WLW show that did even when it couldn’t. But it’s also the one WLW show that wouldn’t put too much focus on WLW if there’s a greater story to tell.
As a queer female as well as an enthusiast of sincere storytelling in TV art/entertainment, I am very grateful for this because I don’t ever want to be pandered to if the result of it is an inauthentic and nonsensical mess that only ever damages or invalidates female stories - especially when it comes to using queer storytelling.
