Creating Subtext in a Story?

Meg Ryan: "I think oftentimes those are the armor that we can put on our characters to sort of bury some of that lava a little bit" When you talk about subtext, I think one of the quickest ways to help create subtext if you're having trouble is what kind of joke would the character make about this? And I find at least in my own writing, like trying to find the funny way in is sometimes a really helpful way to help make that lava feel a little more entertaining.