While barbarians mainly use actions to put across their thinking, Medea uses emotions and this makes it possible for viewers to come to appreciate her personality and her strength of will.
It is actually difficult to think of Medea as being a barbarian, in spite of her origins. The character appears to be perfectly able to think rationally and is, in contrast to other barbarians in the film, sensible...
It is not until the moment when she realizes that she has been betrayed that Medea comes to resort to returning to her origins. She takes on barbarian attitudes and she harshly reacts to anyone who stands in her way, virtually demonstrating that she can really be barbaric.
Medea has a series of concepts deep down inside her and this is actually what makes her unique. It is surely interesting to look at her from an impartial perspective and observe ideas like barbarianism and rationality coming together in a philosophical attempt to display a complex yet simple character. This character virtually stands as a paradox, as even though she is similar to other barbarians she manages to differentiate herself from them by expressing thinking that makes her look even more civilized than Jason and Creon.
