by Allison Whitehead

Created on: January 15, 2008

Well for me it would be Xena and Gabrielle, the two heroines of Xena Warrior Princess. What made these two so watchable was the chemistry between them.

Now think what you will about the 'subtext'... you might be for or against it but that isn't what I'm writing about here.

I wanted to draw attention to the fact that these two would (and did) die for each other. Now that is a friendship and partnership to er, well, die for.

Within the Xenaverse they inhabited each storyline, each villain and each twist and turn of the plot made us fans care even more about these two characters, and in turn they cared even more about each other.

The most fascinating thing about these two was how they changed throughout the course of the series. Xena started out as a warrior, battle hardened and cynical, while Gabrielle was barely out of her teenage years and about as far from being a warrior as you could get.

You wouldn't have thought Gabby would have had much to teach someone like Xena, and yet that's exactly what she did. They both taught each other how to become better people, and their friendship, mutual trust and respect grew because of it.

Whether or not you believe they were a couple in the biological sense is really a moot point. They were certainly a couple in every other way, shape and form, and the great thing about this show was that it had something to teach us all. Who wouldn't want a relationship like this in their lives - someone you could always count on, someone you could rely on when the going got tough, someone who would support you, look after you, nurture you and respect you. And in turn you would do all the same and more for them.

Even in the comic episodes the main thread running through the whole show was their relationship. There was one story which didn't have Gabby in it - Xena had gone in search of her - and it felt empty. It was a great story, very enjoyable, but at the same time you felt the same emptiness Xena must have felt.

Okay it's only a TV show, but these characters were voted in around sixth place a few years back in a British Top Ten TV Couples survey, so they were obviously doing something right.

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