What are your thoughts on Gabrielle and Argo's dynamic beginning with "The Greater Good"?

Posted by jdpm1991@reddit | xena | View on Reddit | 17 comments

I also think this is the first episode where Argo was more than just Xena's horse; Argo is a warrior just like Xena and Gabrielle are.

[-]

Cesarsghost123@reddit

Interesting thought...what if it was Gabby's horse that got to argo and fathered argo 2?

[-]

J-B5@reddit

I liked it, I like the fact she doesn't usually ride him, it makes it seem more like a partnership.

[-]

Agent8699@reddit

Except in Sins of the Past, yes she was.

[-]

Agent8699@reddit

In SOTP, Xena refers to Argo as boy / he.

In every episode thereafter, Argo is a girl / she.

Just one of many YAXIs in the series.

[-]

J-B5@reddit

Ah, that's probably why I thought that then.

[-]

J-B5@reddit

Thought Argo was a dude! Reading her wiki, she is cuter than I thought. !Dying of old age is great!

[-]

I never knew Gabrielle's horse had a name! In The Official Guide to the Xenaverse from1998, ROC's profile says she enjoys horseback riding, "in sharp contrast to Gabrielle." (Also, I don't have it memorized, but I did just finish reading it for the first time!)

[-]

jdpm1991@reddit (OP)

so if ROC knew how to ride was it just budget for why they didnt Gab her own horse

[-]

Agent8699@reddit

Budget is one possible reason.

Keeping Xena and Gabrielle unique is possibly the bigger reason, especially as Gabrielle became a warrior.

It also helped the big / small dynamic for Xena to be up on her horse and Gabrielle walking along.

And the old rule about working with animals and children. Working with one horse was probably a lot, although Tilly and the others were all very well trained. Trying to wrangle two horses may have been extra challenging.

[-]

Agent8699@reddit

It was cute. And somewhat made sense after we learned about … Tempany (?). And Gabrielle’s love for animals was also shown with Tobias the donkey.

I do wish we’d learned more about … Amber (?). It was nice they tried to give Gabrielle a horse of her own, but it didn’t really seem to stick. Especially with the 25 year sleep!

[-]

freakitikitiki@reddit

Is that what Gabrielle’s eventual horse was named? I never caught whether it had a name or not. I thought it was a boy, though?

[-]

Agent8699@reddit

Unofficially, yes. But, I don’t think we ever heard it onscreen. It might have been the name ROC coined since she’s very “method” and in her mind, Gabrielle would name her new horse.

The horse’s real name was Flash from vague memory.

[-]

jdpm1991@reddit (OP)

Idk if this is confirmed but ROC didn't know how to ride or something

[-]

Agent8699@reddit

I’ve seen that mentioned before, but I haven’t read anything direct from ROC. Given her love of the outdoors and all sorts of fitness - rock climbing, hiking, etc … it seems a little strange. Especially given her dedication to the role.

I think it was probably more due to cost (Argo was what … four different horses, each with special skills), an inability to locate the right horse/s with training and a desire to keep Xena and Gabrielle as distinct as possible, including visually.