Joxer and Gabrielle

This pairing has been the source of a lot of frustration on many sides for years now. I won't go into it here. ^_^ In any case, Joxer's feelings for Gabrielle have been no secret since season two; by the end of A Comedy of Eros it was obvious that he'd fallen for the bard, and he had it bad. This would at first suggest that there is no subtext for them, since his feelings are known. However, I disagree; as I see it, Gabrielle's feelings for him are not known.

After the events in Chakram, the interactions between Gabrielle and Joxer became more and more varying. In one episode she is uncomfortable around him, and in the next she is sticking her foot down his pants (Okay, okay, I know, I know *g*). Joxer became more comfortable around her, and less shy and nervous, whereas Gabrielle seemed to be growing more and more confused when she related to him. She gets jealous of his attentions to another woman and doesn't know why; she kisses him, then hits him. Either our Amazon Queen is suffering from a huge bout of inconsistent characterization, or she is struggling with some pretty widely fluctuating feelings for Our Man Joxer.

All of this is easily dismissed. Anyone would be uncomfortable around someone who just declared love for them; Gabrielle had to stick her foot down his pants because the black powder was there; anyone would be jealous if the man who had doted on them for so long started ignoring them; anyone would hit Joxer for kissing them (I disagree *grin*). In other words, what looks undeniable to some (like me, obviously- I admit I find it hard to be impartial, but I'm tryin') does have reasonable explanations and downright denials to others. Also, just as it has never been stated outright that Xena and Gabrielle are in love with each other, it has never been stated outright that Gabrielle does not find Joxer attractive, or that she wants him to leave her alone, or wants him to move on. In fact, when he did move on, after the 25-Year-Freeze, she seemed utterly stunned to find that he'd married someone else. Her mental reaction was, when you get down to it, never really stated; it has only been stated that she doesn't love him the way he wanted... "I guess."

After viewing Chakram, I was amazed to go around the Internet and read that X/G subtexters were coming up with "excuses" for things like Xena's line "You could just kiss the girl." It truly seemed that the tables had turned - many of my friends had been doing that whenever similar subtextual moments came up between Xena and Gab, and "excuses" would fly fast and furious. The road that Joxer and Gab took after that point just got more and more fun to watch.