We recently bought the Xena: 10th Anniversary Collection. The episodes on it were chosen by fans, so it’s a little different than your typical collection.

The popular thing (back when the show was on) was trying to decide if Xena and Gabrielle had a lesbian relationship or not. My dad said that it was smart of the producers not to say if they did or didn’t — because either way, they would alienate a group of watchers. By keeping it ambiguous, the show kept both sides of the issue.

But that isn’t the point of this post. What I really want to talk about is close same-gender friendships. I think that there is something absolutely beautiful, almost heartbreaking, in friendships between two women or two men that are so close that they induce absolute loyalty and devotion — so close that misguided fans think that the relationship should move into a romantic atmosphere, as if that would make it better.

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