Warrior Princess
May. 13th, 2005 12:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ivyficI feel I need to preface this post to avoid accusations of "reading too much" into things.
The way I see it, there are two types of couples in media that people slash. There are those where the UST is not so much subtext as text, where it is clear from actions and dialogue that the two are either involved off-screen or lusting after each other. Examples of this, I would say, are Xena/Gabriel, Fraser/RayK, even Clark/Lex.
The other type is where the two are very emotionally close - best friends, brothers, comrades-in-arms, and the slash is just a way to exagerate that intimacy. Examples of this would be Frodo/Sam, Jeeves/Wooster, Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan.
(Actually, there's a third category, where the two characters have no or very little interaction with each other in canon, or that interaction is in no way sexual or intimate. Examples would be Jason/Billy (Power Rangers), Lucas/Krieg, Simon/Jayne. In this case the slashing is purely for the fun of it.)
I have no problem with any of these types of pairings, and will argue quite fervently in favor of slashing any of them, but since my argument here is based on homoeroticism in canon, I felt the need to clarify.
Hercules and Iolaus fall squarely into the second category for most of the series. Iolaus calls Hercules brother in "Mother of All Monsters," and throughout the series they refer to each other as best friends, partners. This is an intimacy born out of long friendship. It's clear that they tell each other pretty much everything (both seem to know events in episodes where they were absent) and trust each other completely.
So keep that in mind while I address:
Homoeroticism in the episode "Warrior Princess"
Proving that the more hetyay, the more hoyay formula does not just apply to Smallville.
This is the episode that introduces the character of Xena, soon to be spun off into her own series. Xena comes to Corinth explicitly to destroy Hercules (for the fame and the challenge, presumably). She forces a meeting with Iolaus and immediately becomes intimate with him. After a week in bed, she drags him off to help fight in her 'cause,' convincing him that he doesn't need Hercules. Of course when Hercules comes to tell him she's the real menace, Iolaus strikes out at Hercules out of wounded pride. Things culminate in a fight between the two, and they eventually realize that they should be on the same side. The turn on Xena and take out her army, though she escapes.
The main plot of the episode is a heterosexual relationship. And they pour it on thick - we get a necking-in-bed scene, a necking-in-a-hottub scene, even a morning after shot of naked Iolaus in bed where you can catch a glimpse of his ass, which apparently caused a lot of controversy in the states.
Despite this, the show opens with the most homoerotic scene I've yet seen in the series. (Michael Hurst, who plays Iolaus, characterizes it as such as well.) Hercules and Iolaus are in Iolaus's forge, working together. Bare-chested, sweaty, grimy, breathing heavily ... and forging a dagger. Not just any dagger, either. This dagger is used in the episode as the symbol of their friendship. Swords and knifes are inherently phallic, but this particular dagger is short, thick, and has balls on the hilt - two where it joins the sword and three at the base of the hilt. I don't think they could have designed a more phallic object if they'd tried.
Hercules and Iolaus forge this phallic object together and Herc gives it to Iolaus promising that he'll keep the next one they make. Reciprocity. Hmmm... *quirks eyebrow*
As the episode progresses Iolaus falls more and more under Xena's sway. They come across a few merchants and Xena gets Iolaus to help in the attack with very little convincing. During the fight Iolaus tries the usual back-to-back banter-filled style of fighting he has with Hercules. Xena cuts him off - "Don't talk - fight" - proving how different she is from Hercules. Nevertheless, after it is over, Iolaus compliments her fighting by comparing her to Hercules, surely the highest compliment he can imagine.
After the fight is over, he drops the knife. This knife was tucked into the front of his belt, and as they talk and she convinces him to help her burn the wagon, it falls to the ground, a metaphoric castration if ever I saw one.
Michael Hurst says in the episode commentary that Iolaus is "pussy-whipped," and I have to agree with him. After the loss of the knife, which simultaneously shows his emasculation and the loss of his friendship with Hercules, he does pretty much anything Xena asks.
During the first confrontation between Hercules and Iolaus, after Iolaus strikes him, Hercules returns the knife, saying "I think you lost this." Lost what - his friendship, or his manhood? Probably both. The next scene with Iolaus we see him sharpening his sword. Sharpening his long, hard sword which he is holding in his lap with the handle right at the - you get the idea.
In their final swordfight, the battle continues until Iolaus draws the knife. At this point he looks at it, presumably thinks "Duh! Hercules is my friend!" and turns on Xena. The actual words he uses are "This knife wasn't meant to draw your blood." I don't want to read too much into the impotence of that object against Hercules, but it bears mentioning.
The final exchange between the two where they reaffirm the friendship has Hercules saying, "You're a little more important than she is." You can't get much clearer than that.
By introducing a threat to the friendship of Hercules and Iolaus, this episode explicitly defines their relationship in parallel to the sexual relationship between Xena and Iolaus. Although this is the age-old story of the woman coming between two men, the introduction of the phallic knife as the symbol of male friendship changes they way we view that relationship. In addition, the normal course of this sort of story is the creation of a love triangle. In this case Hercules shows no interest at all in Xena except as a love interest for Iolaus (though he later becomes involved with her in "Unchained Heart" - but the odd incestuousness of that little liason should be the topic of another post).
The conclusion of the episode is that Hercules and Iolaus' relationship is stronger and more precious than any relationship with a woman. This is a theme that has appeared in the series since the very first telemovie, "Hercules and the Amazon Women." We need no better proof than that Hercules has resurrected Iolaus from the dead four times over the course of the series, at least twice by pleading with the Gods on his behalf, and only resurrects his wife, Deianeira, once. Hercules actually turns down an offer to bring his wife and family back to life. This is mostly a concession to the format of the show - two comrades having adventures together works in episodic TV, a happily married man settling down doesn't. Whatever the reason, Hercules' actions support the idea that in the world of the show a close same-sex friendship is more dear than a heterosexual romantic relationship.
An aside on Xena:
It is interesting that in introducing the Xena character, which they had already decided to spin off before this episode aired, they pigeon-holed her into the role of seductress. The series, "Xena," portrays her as a ferocious warrior who held her own against men on the battlefield in the bad old days before she reformed. Although she is shown as fierce in battle in this episode, the danger her character presents comes exclusively from her womanly wiles. She is a siren. That's how she controls her army, that's how she makes her soldiers take on suicide missions, that's how she brings men into her fold. Her only power as a warrior comes from spreading her thighs. Certainly an interesting way to introduce a supposedly strong female character.
Edited to correct a few misquotes after rewatching the ep.
The way I see it, there are two types of couples in media that people slash. There are those where the UST is not so much subtext as text, where it is clear from actions and dialogue that the two are either involved off-screen or lusting after each other. Examples of this, I would say, are Xena/Gabriel, Fraser/RayK, even Clark/Lex.
The other type is where the two are very emotionally close - best friends, brothers, comrades-in-arms, and the slash is just a way to exagerate that intimacy. Examples of this would be Frodo/Sam, Jeeves/Wooster, Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan.
(Actually, there's a third category, where the two characters have no or very little interaction with each other in canon, or that interaction is in no way sexual or intimate. Examples would be Jason/Billy (Power Rangers), Lucas/Krieg, Simon/Jayne. In this case the slashing is purely for the fun of it.)
I have no problem with any of these types of pairings, and will argue quite fervently in favor of slashing any of them, but since my argument here is based on homoeroticism in canon, I felt the need to clarify.
Hercules and Iolaus fall squarely into the second category for most of the series. Iolaus calls Hercules brother in "Mother of All Monsters," and throughout the series they refer to each other as best friends, partners. This is an intimacy born out of long friendship. It's clear that they tell each other pretty much everything (both seem to know events in episodes where they were absent) and trust each other completely.
So keep that in mind while I address:
Homoeroticism in the episode "Warrior Princess"
Proving that the more hetyay, the more hoyay formula does not just apply to Smallville.
This is the episode that introduces the character of Xena, soon to be spun off into her own series. Xena comes to Corinth explicitly to destroy Hercules (for the fame and the challenge, presumably). She forces a meeting with Iolaus and immediately becomes intimate with him. After a week in bed, she drags him off to help fight in her 'cause,' convincing him that he doesn't need Hercules. Of course when Hercules comes to tell him she's the real menace, Iolaus strikes out at Hercules out of wounded pride. Things culminate in a fight between the two, and they eventually realize that they should be on the same side. The turn on Xena and take out her army, though she escapes.
The main plot of the episode is a heterosexual relationship. And they pour it on thick - we get a necking-in-bed scene, a necking-in-a-hottub scene, even a morning after shot of naked Iolaus in bed where you can catch a glimpse of his ass, which apparently caused a lot of controversy in the states.
Despite this, the show opens with the most homoerotic scene I've yet seen in the series. (Michael Hurst, who plays Iolaus, characterizes it as such as well.) Hercules and Iolaus are in Iolaus's forge, working together. Bare-chested, sweaty, grimy, breathing heavily ... and forging a dagger. Not just any dagger, either. This dagger is used in the episode as the symbol of their friendship. Swords and knifes are inherently phallic, but this particular dagger is short, thick, and has balls on the hilt - two where it joins the sword and three at the base of the hilt. I don't think they could have designed a more phallic object if they'd tried.
Hercules and Iolaus forge this phallic object together and Herc gives it to Iolaus promising that he'll keep the next one they make. Reciprocity. Hmmm... *quirks eyebrow*
As the episode progresses Iolaus falls more and more under Xena's sway. They come across a few merchants and Xena gets Iolaus to help in the attack with very little convincing. During the fight Iolaus tries the usual back-to-back banter-filled style of fighting he has with Hercules. Xena cuts him off - "Don't talk - fight" - proving how different she is from Hercules. Nevertheless, after it is over, Iolaus compliments her fighting by comparing her to Hercules, surely the highest compliment he can imagine.
After the fight is over, he drops the knife. This knife was tucked into the front of his belt, and as they talk and she convinces him to help her burn the wagon, it falls to the ground, a metaphoric castration if ever I saw one.
Michael Hurst says in the episode commentary that Iolaus is "pussy-whipped," and I have to agree with him. After the loss of the knife, which simultaneously shows his emasculation and the loss of his friendship with Hercules, he does pretty much anything Xena asks.
During the first confrontation between Hercules and Iolaus, after Iolaus strikes him, Hercules returns the knife, saying "I think you lost this." Lost what - his friendship, or his manhood? Probably both. The next scene with Iolaus we see him sharpening his sword. Sharpening his long, hard sword which he is holding in his lap with the handle right at the - you get the idea.
In their final swordfight, the battle continues until Iolaus draws the knife. At this point he looks at it, presumably thinks "Duh! Hercules is my friend!" and turns on Xena. The actual words he uses are "This knife wasn't meant to draw your blood." I don't want to read too much into the impotence of that object against Hercules, but it bears mentioning.
The final exchange between the two where they reaffirm the friendship has Hercules saying, "You're a little more important than she is." You can't get much clearer than that.
By introducing a threat to the friendship of Hercules and Iolaus, this episode explicitly defines their relationship in parallel to the sexual relationship between Xena and Iolaus. Although this is the age-old story of the woman coming between two men, the introduction of the phallic knife as the symbol of male friendship changes they way we view that relationship. In addition, the normal course of this sort of story is the creation of a love triangle. In this case Hercules shows no interest at all in Xena except as a love interest for Iolaus (though he later becomes involved with her in "Unchained Heart" - but the odd incestuousness of that little liason should be the topic of another post).
The conclusion of the episode is that Hercules and Iolaus' relationship is stronger and more precious than any relationship with a woman. This is a theme that has appeared in the series since the very first telemovie, "Hercules and the Amazon Women." We need no better proof than that Hercules has resurrected Iolaus from the dead four times over the course of the series, at least twice by pleading with the Gods on his behalf, and only resurrects his wife, Deianeira, once. Hercules actually turns down an offer to bring his wife and family back to life. This is mostly a concession to the format of the show - two comrades having adventures together works in episodic TV, a happily married man settling down doesn't. Whatever the reason, Hercules' actions support the idea that in the world of the show a close same-sex friendship is more dear than a heterosexual romantic relationship.
An aside on Xena:
It is interesting that in introducing the Xena character, which they had already decided to spin off before this episode aired, they pigeon-holed her into the role of seductress. The series, "Xena," portrays her as a ferocious warrior who held her own against men on the battlefield in the bad old days before she reformed. Although she is shown as fierce in battle in this episode, the danger her character presents comes exclusively from her womanly wiles. She is a siren. That's how she controls her army, that's how she makes her soldiers take on suicide missions, that's how she brings men into her fold. Her only power as a warrior comes from spreading her thighs. Certainly an interesting way to introduce a supposedly strong female character.
Edited to correct a few misquotes after rewatching the ep.