Reversing Expectations

I love it when a show or story takes me down a path and then completely surprises me in a way that’s plausible. If a story can do that, I’m in and it will take a lot to lose me. I especially love when a story plays with gender expectations and turns them on their head.

It’s what I loved about Battlestar Galactica (the reboot), how they almost ignored gender and it’s role on behaviour and the show’s expectations of what their characters were capable of, so the women could be the hero, and damaged and the strongest in terms of will, and the men could bring the central core of humanity and warmth.

Another show that’s doing this right now is The Americans. I’m catching up on the first season, and it’s smart, well written and really well acted and in the show, in the quiet war between the Americans and the Russians, the soldiers are both men and women. Both use their sexuality to get what they need, and both are ruthless. But the core of the show is basically a marriage. A marriage of convenience, two KGB spies brought together and sent to 1980′s American to spy, while under the pretence of a normal, American family.

The husband is the one who is the central core of warmth in the family, he’s ruthless to be sure, but also the most conflicted about his family and their reasons for being there. The wife is the one who is the most loyal to Mother Russia, but also ruthless and hard, and stubborn. Played by Keri Russell, she is gorgeous, and tiny and yet, Russell brings a ferociousness to her fight scenes that makes it almost believable could she defeat a man twice her size.

Her husband is the warm beating heart of the show and she is the hard edge and the writers have done a great job making me believe in both. It’s a really good show, and getting better with each episode.

Anyone else watching it. I’m trying to come up with other shows that reverse expectations in such a believable way.