omnia vincit amor

I started this show because I saw Rachel Skarsten was in it and it kept popping up in my recommended list on Netflix.  I was nervous at first because at that point CW shows had a tendency to pit women together and what would be more tempting than to pit Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth against each other?  Or Queen Mary and Catherine de Medici?  But nevertheless I felt drawn to it and gave it a chance.

Imagine my pleasant surprise when the show hit its stride and instead, we got the opposite.  The show became about women supporting women, building each other up instead of tearing each other down.  We saw these women find strength in each other, and discover the power within to tell the world around them “We know men run it and we will not compromise ourselves or back down.”

The show and its finale had its hiccups, as most shows do, but I stand by my belief that it is so, so underrated, and never got the attention it deserved.  It was a show that, in spite of giving us men who were sexist pigs, also gave us men who pushed for gender equality and believed in women’s right to power without portraying it as though men were needed for women to rise to power, but rather supplement it–– something missing a lot in feminist media. It was a show that never took the ‘easy’ route and was a breath of fresh air.  It was a show that, at its core, was about how being vulnerable and emotional are not something a woman should shy away from.  I will forever cherish how Adelaide Kane, Megan Follows, and Rachel Skarsten poured their heart and soul into their respective roles, and breathed life into this show with every performance.