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Do you know that at this point saying ‘that’s gay’ is starting to lose all meaning for me?

I’ve said it soooooo much when it comes to this show, it’s ridiculous. I swear, this show is gayer than what we get on TV today.

How many other shows have their leading ladies who are actively in a relationship lay eyes on one another and say ‘that’s a sight for sore eyes?’

I can think of one, it’s Legends of Tomorrow. And that wasn’t quite the line Sara went with when she regained her sight, it was calling her girl beautiful and being relieved to see her face.

But you know what? The lines might be different but it’s certainly the same vibe of THAT’S GAY.

Yes, I’m aware Sara, Xena, and Gabrielle are all arguably bisexual, but it fits here. I’m sorry, ‘that’s gay’ just works. Although, like I said, it’s starting to lose all meaning.

Also, who else do you give up your sight for?

I mean, that’s the choice Xena made here. As pointed out by the warlord wannabe, most people would have been running in the other direction. Not Xena.

No, Xena is willing to do anything to get to Gabrielle. Die. Chain herself to a total stranger who has repeatedly said he would like to kill her. No, I’m not going to take into account that he hadn’t yet. He could change his mind.

People are weird.

Xena may have been right about him. But what if she wasn’t? What if he decided to kill her just to prove her wrong in a fit of rage?

Things happen!

Except, she decided to trust him when he made his offer to help her save Gabrielle for a fair fight later. Even though he already had a fair fight and didn’t kill her when he had the chance, you know like every actual warlord would have done.

Regardless, she couldn’t know for sure she was safe with him. Or that putting Gabrielle’s fate into his hands was a good thing. But she was desperate enough to try and convince him not to be an idiot and follow the wrong footsteps.

I did enjoy Xena’s guidance here.

Because she went down the wrong path and she very clearly wanted to stop him before he became what he was boasting to be. Because there are some things you cannot come back from. As he came to the realization at the end of the episode. We all become what we pretend if we pretend long enough.

I love Xena’s advice to make it something you can live with.

Because no one else truly lives with your choices about yourself like you have to.

And I’m sure there’s plenty of things Xena might like to undo.

Except the choice to follow after Gabrielle or lose her sight. She’ll throw her eyeballs in the trash every time to save her ‘friend.’

Because yeah, sure. I’m not buying the party line anymore.

There have been countless pieces of media where someone chucks safety and reason away for their love of their life.

Burn Notice. Smallville. Superman. Spider-Man. Star Wars. Arrow. Flash. Hawaii 5-0. Charmed. The list is endless. I’m sure there’s a few more that come to your mind, but you get the point. There are dozens of couples that do this. There’s no argument for friends here because I can’t really think of friendship where people do shit like this for each other and didn’t end up together.

Bones. There’s another one right there.

Jeez.

So we’re moving on from that. They’re a couple.

And Xena couldn’t let them run off with the love of her life like that. So she did everything she had to, to get to her in time. For her good deed, someone had the cure she needed to regain her sight.

Which Gabrielle lovingly administers for her. Like you do for your wounded significant other. Gently dabbing her eyes and smiling so widely when Xena’s sight returns, and she compliments her.

Everything about this screamed couple to me.

Even the teasing at the end when Xena does a curtsey and then a fake wave.

I love that Gabrielle giggles along, relieved to be reunited with her love. Because let’s be honest, she wasn’t talking about her dead husband, was she?

He died at the beginning of the season, you were together for two seconds, she’s not still mourning him. Nope. No way. She meant Xena.

She’s in love with Xena and using the dead husband that line aired because the sensors thought it was about a boy.

Nope, it’s about a girl.

Like everything else in this show, it’s about a girl. It’s about two women who have forged a relationship together. They value each other over everything.

So much so, that even in a smoke induced haze after nearly dying and being sort of forcibly married to a dead guy, Gabrielle noticed there was something wrong with Xena immediately. She was still coughing from the smoke! Yet she noticed something was wrong.

How in tune do you have to be?

Pretty damn close, I’d say.

How close do you have to be, to clear a room with just a few looks? Because mister warlord wannabe definitely felt like he was intruding on a private moment. He even left. He walked away to give them space.

Why didn’t the other guy?

Well, he doesn’t appear to have any tact and likes to insert himself, soooo that makes sense actually.

I love Gabrielle encouraging the other guy who was clearly gay to follow the formerly wannabe warlord to get some ‘sidekick work.’

Is that what we’re calling it?

The euphemisms in this show. They will turn anything into a secondary meaning. Anything.

Overall, I loved this episode. It had a great message with Xena stopping another warlord, this time before he starts. I even like that she felt redeemed a bit because she stopped someone from following her wrong example and instead to follow her right one. She changed the world that day with one good action.

I love that.

Mostly, I love that even ripped apart, Xena and Gabrielle make a compelling pair.

They each fought in their own way to get to one another. Xena with her sword and strategy and allying herself where she could.

While Gabrielle tried to talk her way out of the situation multiple times. To the weird dude dressing her up like a doll. To the wannabe king. Then to the dead king himself, although she did not realize he was dead at that time.

Gabrielle and Xena were each at their peak, doing what they do best.

Even if things never quite worked out for Gabrielle getting out of the situation, she bought herself time, and someone to help her. Because he led the way. The other soon-to-be sidekick. He showed Xena where she was and helped break in.

Each of them helped in their own way.

It really highlights how good they are together, even when they’re not physically together.

After all, Gabrielle knew even if she didn’t escape, Xena would be coming for her.

Isn’t that why Gabrielle was targeted in the first place? To goad Xena into a fight to the death? To enrage her so much that she would fight someone to the death even though she doesn’t do those things anymore for fun?

I love that all of Greece is like, want to get to Xena? Go after Gabrielle.

What’s going to happen if Gabrielle keeps improving though?

She wasn’t as helpless as she has been before. She talked her way through the kidnapping, but also tried to sneak out the window herself. She fought back. She wasn’t scared. She kept trying new things. She didn’t Xena every moment to get through it.

What happens when she doesn’t need Xena at all?

Throughout the first season, Gabrielle was often a liability, slowly gaining skills to protect herself. It was slow going, but by the end I was no longer terrified of Xena leaving her alone.

Season two has only grown on that, meaning that it stands to reason the next four will as well. I think the bad guys will need a new tactic one day to get to Xena.

I can’t wait.

Well, onto the next! Hopefully, I’ll be watching Xena more regularly letting these reviews come out more regularly as well! What do you think, honey? Can we do it?

Thanks for reading! Spread the love and read on!