Have you been watching TV lately? You might have noticed some new faces alongside some familiar ones, especially when it comes to female leads. Television networks are starting to take notice of the need for strong female characters. These are the women who take charge under their own terms, and definitely ones you should be watching.
Jessica Jones
No list of impactful females list would be complete without Jessica Jones. And before you say it, yes Netflix totally counts as television. This unpolished superhero that no one heard about has taken over Netflix since season 1’s release in November. The main reason this character works is because Jessica is relatable. She is not perfect, she questions things, and has to deal with a number of tragedies from her past and present. The series works as a whole as well; every character is fully developed with a captivating story and a villain that nightmares are made of. I could go on and on about this character (well actually I wrote a whole article about why you should be watching the series here).
Agent Carter
We first met Agent Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger and since then she has gained a lot of fans, even landing her own spinoff show simply titled Agent Carter. Peggy Carter goes from your average love interest to Captain America to the main character in her own series. The show takes full advantage of the time period being the 1940’s and all of the sexist issues that a female spy would have to deal with. When you really think about it, it’s amazing that Agent Carter exists and is doing so well. In Marvel’s powerhouse male-driven properties, Agent Carter has come to put a spin on that. She is witty, clever and delivers one-liners that will have you laughing out loud.
Dana Scully – X-Files
From one agent to another, agent Sully is back with Fox’s revival of the popular series The X-Files. I am happy to report that things are still the same with this revival, she is still the independent medical doctor and FBI agent from before. Dana is someone who followed her passion in the medical field, never gave up and continues to learn. She questions her male counterpart Mulder daily instead of sitting back and following orders. However, despite disagreeing with him at times, she is extremely loyal to their partnership and the job at hand. A classic role model for anyone.
Michonne – The Walking Dead
Now onto a character we do not know everything about. When we first met Michonne she was wearing a hood, armed with a katana, and towing two jawless “pet” zombies behind her. She was an introvert and did not want to deal with people, but Michonne has come a long way since then, even joining Rick and the rest of The Walking Dead family as one of their own. What we know about her has been tough and it explains her reasonings for wanting to isolate herself. Slowly but surely, she has grown into a character with a main role in plot points. While her full story hasn’t been told yet, Michonne is one of the main reasons to be watching the current season of AMC’s The Walking Dead, and we are very excited to see how The Walking Dead: Michonne series by Telltale Games plays out.
The Ladies of Game of Thrones
Do you really expect me to pick JUST ONE? Game of Thrones has strong female characters all over the place. The Mother of Dragons herself, Daenerys Targaryen, who has gone from a quiet girl sold into marriage to a strong minded leader leading an army of over 40,000 men who are willing to do anything for her; this alone is quite the transformation. Oh and she has dragons. How about Brienne of Tarth? The stereotype breaker of a lady’s “proper role” in the series. She is a knight, wears armor and could probably take down any of her male counterparts. Another character I need to bring up is Sansa Stark, who started off as a political pawn based on her last name, has gone through some of the worst things imaginable and finally now is starting to learn how to play “the game of thrones” herself. But there are so many more! Margaery Tyrell, Cersei Lannister, Arya Stark. I could go on, but you just need to tune into the new season on HBO to see what I mean.
Television is finally taking notice that strong female characters are not only wanted but needed. Women who are in control of their own fates, instead of relying on tropes from the past. I really believe that the majority of these well written characters would still be just as good if their gender was switched. Plus, it’s just awesome to see some of them in action regardless of gender.