The original post: /r/television by /u/turninin2wnotice on 2026-03-11 18:37:47+00:00.
I have no idea where to start, because the praise I have for this show cannot be fully summed up in words. The murder mystery trope before this show has been - a white man comes in - notices and remembers every detail, without any effort or hardwork - and by the end he has figured who is the killer and the audience plays catch up. Not this show. No.
Cordelia Cupp, a black woman - a self-assured, confident, intelligent black woman - approaches the murder with patience and observation. She does not want to look ‘cool’. She is not chasing the gasps from other people of ‘how did you figure this out’. No, she wants to SOLVE the murder, because that is her job and because she believes in the importance of that job. While some people think it was a weird quirk, I believe her birding is one of the reasons why she is so damn amazing at her job. (Side note: I have been doing some amateur birding myself thanks to Cordelia Cupp).
She is interested in the story. She wants to know what happened. She understands that human beings act in complex ways, and she is able to hold that complexity without getting confused. I absolutely love the character of Edwin Park (i.e. the archetype detective trying to look cool) as a juxtaposition to her new approach to detective work. Several times, he gets impatient because it’s “too complicated” but at no point do I see him sit and do the work to understand what is happening. Everyone - from the committee chairman, to the FBI Director, to the President - are rushing her and telling her she is not doing her job right. Well, not sure about how much it has to do with being a black woman in a position of power that makes a lot of white dudes uncomfortable, but I have a suspicion it was partly the reason.
However, no matter the pressure or discrimination or paternalization, she knows very well who she is. She knows herself, and she has faith in herself. And THAT is female representation - for all the dudebros on this website insulting this show.