- How many weeks has it been since we’ve seen Rachel? Three? four? :-/ WTF. Dear Show: you have an excellent character played by a talented actor and you’re not giving her enough to do. Point of fact, right now you’re not giving her anything to do. AARRRGGHH.
- Ava. Securing her own power base and source of criminal enterprise while creating a safer environment for Harlan County sex workers. ILU AVA. I love you so much. I love that you’re doing this with your eyes wide open and, holy shit, you could run that town better than Mags ever did in a few years. Raylan cast her in the role of the stupid girl who thinks she can change the bad boy, which was insulting. And then he cast her in the role of the criminal’s gilfriend who isn’t really responsible for her boyfriend’s actions. Also insulting. And then Johnny tried to coerce her into kissing up to him and doing whatever he wanted. But HOLY HELL, she fought her way out of all that shit.
- I thought the actor who played Tanner’s mom did an excellent job. She worked as another example of how women can relate to crime through men. Her approach, being off to the side as a protected beneficiary of crime, was contrasted with the way women like Ella Mae and her friend get chewed up and used by male criminals. In either case, even though a woman might be better treated, she’s not allowed agency and ownership — she’s stuck in the categories Raylan and Johnny tried to put Ava into. Object of use, whether polite or impolite.
- Of course the point is that Ava chooses a different path than either of those. It’s very clear by the time she makes her choice why she’s doing it and why it’s morally “justified” to her. In the same way that Boyd’s moral justifications for what he’s doing and the way he’s doing it come across in his little speech at the debate. They’re out for themselves, it’s true, but that’s nowhere near all that they’re out for. They’ve both got the hearts of leaders — would Ava sacrifice Ella Mae if it really came down to it one day? Yes. Same way Boyd killed Devil when he had to. But it’s not their preference; ultimately they want to rule a kingdom that’s good for its subjects too. Boyd wants to be better than his daddy and better than the coal men. And Ava wants to be better than the pimps who treat sex worker women like they’re shit.
- I am not ashamed about the satisfaction I took in seeing her gun down that abusive, woman murdering pimp.
- I want Ella Mae to get her shit together a bit now that she’s not working for a crazy abusive asshole who’s constantly traumatizing her. I really, really do. And I want all kinds of plots involving the power dynamics and loyalties among Ava’s new crew of women as she sets herself up in criminal enterprise.
- I wanted to punch Johnny in the face. The only good thing about what he did was that it inspired Ava to make her final decision about being all in and all in for her own ends with this crime stuff.
- It was a good episode, from the perspective of women, I think. You know what, though? It could have been 100% more awesome and stronger if Rachel had been there. She represents another choice a woman can make, which is to be the law. She balances out Ava the same way Raylan balances out Boyd, thematically speaking. They’re law enforcers and criminals who consider themselves in the right as far as that goes and find themselves in opposition because of how the law is structured. Rachel needed to be there for a lot of reasons. OKAY SHOW?
This entry was originally posted at http://mswyrr.dreamwidth.org/352514.htm