The Rita Bennett Problem: Why Are So Many Great TV Dramas Weighed Down by Horrible, Annoying Female Characters?

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Seriously Random Lists | Comments (77)

I’m not sure how else to frame this except to say that television drama has a woman problem. In recent years, we’ve seen a huge rise in the number of television dramas that feature women in leading roles, but the way they are characterized — even in shows in which they are the major star — has been problematic. It’s nice to see women featured prominently, but why must so many of these women be so thoroughly unlikable? Why is it the female love interest we often find ourselves rooting against the most? Why are they depicted so often as selfish or narcissistic or shrewish? There are exceptions, obviously: Julianna Margulies in “The Good Wife” comes quickly to mind, as do the women of “Parenthood” and Connie Britton in “Friday Night Lights,” but nevertheless, television drama has a Rita Bennett problem, and it’s getting tiresome. Why has Rita Bennett become such a huge influence on otherwise great dramas?

Rita Bennett, “Dexter”: One of the happiest moments on “Dexter” for many viewers (SPOILERS) was when the Trinity killer finally ended seasons of whining and controlling and manipulation. She was an unpleasant, annoying character from the outset, and she only got worse as the series went on. What was her biggest sin? Protecting her family, trying to make Dexter a better father, and berating him occasionally for being an irresponsible family man or for putting his work ahead of the family. What’s so wrong with that?

Tara Knowles, “Sons of Anarchy”: I am among the many who fervently hope that Tara Knowles is killed off in this season of “Sons of Anarchy.” But why? Because she’s trying to protect he children? Because she wants to leave a dangerous situation? Because she’s attempting to extract her husband from a outlaw gang? Why are these motivations being characterized as negative? Why must her character be framed as the battle axe because she wants what’s best for her family?

Winona Hawkins, Justified: Dan Saipher wrote at length about the Winona Hawkins problem on “Justified” last season and, like Daniel, I’m one of the characters few defenders. She’s made a few bad decision (but, then again, so has Raylan) and yet, she, too, only wants what’s best for Raylan: A job where he’s not being shot at every day. (SPOILERS) She recently became impregnated with Raylan’s child and instead of celebrating this, most viewers saw it as a manipulation, a way to maintain control over Raylan. force his decisions. Why is she depicted as such an unlikable character while Ava Crowder gets in bed with a bad guy and is applauded for it?

Carrie Mathison, “Homeland”: I think most would agree that Claire Danes is turning in the performance of her career in “Homeland,” as a psychotic, neurotic, paranoid CIA agent. It’s a great, meaty role, and she’s taken incredible advantage of it, but what it isn’t is a likable character. She’s attempting to track down a terrorist, and there are a lot of hints suggesting that Damien Lewis’ Nicholas Brody is a bad person. And yet it’s Brody who the audience gravitates toward, while Carrie is just a crazy paranoid bitch. And if she’s right about Brody, well, that’s just a matter of luck, right? And not because her medication-fueled suspicions are well-founded.

Lori Grimes, “The Walking Dead”: Lori is fiercely protective of her son, but she also slept with Shane during the apocalypse. Sure, she thought her husband was dead, but then again, he’d only been “dead” for a few weeks and for such a fiercely protective mother, you’d think that she’d have higher priorities than sleeping with her husband’s best friend. She’s quickly becoming the Tara Knowles of “The Walking Dead,” a overpowering nag.

Skyler White, “Breaking Bad”: Skyler, perhaps more than any other female character on television drama, epitomizes the calculating shrew. She’s almost a villain in her characterization, and what is she so mad about? Well, her husband — the meek high-school teacher she married — is a meth manufacturer who constantly puts her and her family in danger and even got her brother-in-law shot. In the real world, she’d be the sympathetic one, but not in the world of “Breaking Bad,” where — even when she got involved in Walt’s criminal operation to help her brother in law — she’s still seen as the no-good, scolding bitch. And she is a scolding bitch, but doesn’t she have the right to be?

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Comments

WHY ON GODS GREEN EARTH IS TARA THORTON NOT ON THIS LIST?

Posted by: hamster at November 8, 2011 4:05 PM

I think a lot of it has to do with the space the male leads are occupying and the show's focus. In a lot of these cases the male lead -- a husband/boyfriend of the female lead in question -- is an anti-hero.

Walt in the real world, for example, would be the bad guy. But since the show centers around him, his motivations and intentions, we grow sympathetic to him. And as you mentioned in a previous article today (about the romances we wished would have lasted), evil is charismatic.

So now you have moral inversion. You have a character that is morally questionable at best, but the focus of the show is on him, so now he is the guy you root for because the storylines are framed that way. If the bad guy is the one you root for, then the good guy -- in these cases, the woman who is trying to better her situation and her man -- is the one you don't root for. She is occupying the space of the bad guy. And the storylines have to be framed that way, they have to depict the girlfriend/wife as annoying and shrewd, because otherwise it would break the viewer's spell. If they are given the chance to be a positive voice of reason, you stop rooting for the male lead and thus stop watching the show.

In short -- she's your mom killing your fun. You hated that shit as a kid, but appreciated it when you got older. In this piece, the TV audience represents children -- very appropriate.

Posted by: Donut Plains at November 8, 2011 4:13 PM

^^^ ah. this was a rhetorical list that did not require an essay. the answer is obvious. my bad. ::embarassed::

pajiba, y'all need a comment modification feature.

Posted by: Donut Plains at November 8, 2011 4:14 PM

What does it say about me that I would easily welcome 3 of these women into my bed? And I don't mean the actresses, I mean their characters. Especially Tara Knowles and Winona Hawkins, I'd be all over that. Lori Grimes not so much because she needs a shower and I don't want to have to worry about Carl or a random zombie interrupting our lovemaking.

Posted by: sean at November 8, 2011 4:14 PM

Betty fucking Draper.

Posted by: Ace at November 8, 2011 4:16 PM

@donut plains

Donut Plains was an awesome mariokart level...stupid gophers...

Posted by: sean at November 8, 2011 4:19 PM

Because men write them.

Posted by: Meander at November 8, 2011 4:26 PM

I don't know what everyone's problem is with Sklyer White. She was the loving supportive wife for two or so seasons (except for when she thought he was cheating on her) until she found out her husband was a lying asshole of a drug dealer, and now she's trying to keep her lying asshole of a drug dealer husband from causing her children and herself to be murdered by other drug dealing assholes. The only mistake she made was still loving her lying asshole of a drug dealing husband after she found out he was a lying asshole drug dealer, so she couldn't leave him. In my mind she's the most sympathetic character on that show.

I also want to clarify your comment about The Good Wife. Not only is Alicia a wonderful and strong female character, so are Diane and Kalinda, along with almost every supporting and guest female character on that show (with the horrible exception of Celeste, may she never return). CBS has apparently concentrated all the good female characters on one show.

Posted by: Three-nineteen at November 8, 2011 4:26 PM

Xander in Buffy.

Posted by: googergieger at November 8, 2011 4:28 PM

so women that are great moms can't want random sex? what?

Posted by: sammy at November 8, 2011 4:29 PM

In addition to all the other points that put her on this list, Skyler White also gives a lousy handy.

Posted by: Groundloop at November 8, 2011 4:30 PM

The only mistake she made was still loving her lying asshole of a drug dealing husband after she found out he was a lying asshole drug dealer, so she couldn't leave him. In my mind she's the most sympathetic character on that show.

You mean aside from helping her old employer willingly commit tax fraud before she ever knew her asshole of a husband was cooking meth?

Everyone in the "Breaking Bad" world is a villain to some degree (aside from maybe Walt Jr.). Even Marie is a klepto.

Posted by: Jast at November 8, 2011 4:32 PM

Skyler White? Yep, Dustin's in troll mode again.

Posted by: Jeff in Middletucky at November 8, 2011 4:33 PM

I can't speak to Dexter, having never seen it, but Angel was enough to convince me that Julie Benz is an absolutely terrible actress, so maybe that's part of it.

Posted by: Todd at November 8, 2011 4:34 PM

Well, the short version is that most TV writers don't know how to write women. And the second issue is that the narrative doesn't allow space for them to be awesome. Most of the shows listed here involve characters making dubious or downright horrible moral choices. Well-written or not, they're escapist television--these anti-heroes make the choice we never can in our actual lives and we get to live out their dysfunction from the comfortably safe, voyeuristic distance that is our metaphorical couch. Because of the male-dominated fields these characters often roam (modern-day cowboy, outlaw biker gang vice-president, meth dealer), the women are naturally labelled as outsiders. The narrative is necessarily constructed such that you identify as an insider. You get to go to church with Clay and Jax, you get to drive out to the middle of nowhere to cook meth with Walter White. The female characters are always set up in opposition to those life choices and are therefore always going to be seen as a threat to those dramatic choices. (full disclosure: I've only seen the 1st season of Breaking Bad. I'm working on it!)

As for Winonna specifically, I was actually a long-standing defender of hers until she started whining with a vengeance about Raylan changing his line of work, and therefore a huge part of his self-identity. Lady, was this not exactly what it said on the box when you purchased it?! People like Rita or Skylar have grounds to get angry because what they bought and what they have ended up getting are two very different things. But people who complain that their mate doesn't change to suit their needs even though the rougher edges are what attracted them in the first place, drive me crazy.

Posted by: SavageCats at November 8, 2011 4:36 PM

@Ace - YES.

Posted by: PerpetualIntern at November 8, 2011 4:39 PM

I like the way the Donut is rolling. There are a lot of popular shows lately that feature Prantagonists, flawed men who are nevertheless complex and interesting. It kind of started with Tony and Carmela Soprano. It makes sense that their counterparts would either be naive, dependent or have knowledge+provisional ethics. And their story arc would slide along that track of discovery and betrayal.

Some shows, like Nurse Jackie (Hey Whatup Carmela) have tried to flip this paradigm to female characters with less success. I would like to think it has more to do with the exceution of that particular show than the idea. I think we could be there someday. Maybe that show with Kathy Bates as the yelly Lawyer, Harry's Law. Maybe it was getting there.

All told I would still take where we are now over where we were in the 80's and 90's, with the Claire Huxtables and Roseannes down talking to their husbands like one of their children. That was emasculating, and spawned a whole generation of "Honey Can't Load the Dishwasher Right" advertising. I haven't been quite so disgusted since, until the Febreeze people tricked folks into sitting in dogshit and rotten meat.

So maybe it will come full circle, or we'll just get tired of Prantagonists with Problems. There will be sunny dawn, an Atticus Finchaissance. No Febreeze Neccessary.

Posted by: Stacy D at November 8, 2011 4:43 PM

And that's why everyone thinks Skyler's such a bitch, because she tried to help her boss and friend out of a jam? I didn't mean Skyler is a saint. My point is that there is no reason for her to be reviled.

Posted by: Three-nineteen at November 8, 2011 4:46 PM

Are there really people who like Skylar White? I hated her from the very beginning. She was never supported Walt, has always made his cancer about her, smoked while pregnant, and has just basically been and evil shrew. Every episode I rant to my husband that she should be the most relatable character on the show, but instead I find myself hoping that she'll get caught in the crossfire.

Posted by: McSquish at November 8, 2011 4:52 PM

This is what I can't stand about Homeland: even if Brody is in cahoots with terrorists, it's because he was "turned", which means he was physically, mentally, and emotionally tortured into it. In other words, he is not responsible for his actions. He needs help. And no one on the show even brings that up. Do they want to help Brody at all? No, they're going to wait until he passes the point of no return and then throw him in Gitmo for the rest of his life (I assume, since no one on the show has ever discussed it - hopefully I am wrong).

Posted by: Three-nineteen at November 8, 2011 4:55 PM

Why do the women have to be likable? There are certainly enough male characters that are hateful. Parity is parity, baby.

Posted by: Sara Tonin at November 8, 2011 5:01 PM

Delurking just to say: I love Rita. I've never even met anyone who DIDN'T like Rita. I didn't know Ritahate was a Thing, and now I am sad.

(Then again I only just finished season 3, so maybe she turns into a raging bitch in 4? Before dying, apparently?)

So long as Deb remains, I'll be happy. I can even take or leave Dexter, so long as my beloved Skinny Mean Bitch remains.

Posted by: Gusty Winds May Exist at November 8, 2011 5:01 PM

Seriously. You're going with felony tax evasion as "she tried to help her boss and friend out of a jam?"?

I like Skyler specifically because she is showing herself to be a shrewd, calculating bitch in a world of shrewd, calculating assholes like Walt or Saul or anyone.

See Sara Tonin's eloquent comment:
"Why do the women have to be likable? There are certainly enough male characters that are hateful. Parity is parity, baby."

Posted by: Jast at November 8, 2011 5:19 PM

I never liked Winona but when she stole that money, she made herself completely irredeemable in my eyes (and I think Raylan's eyes too). Those episodes in the middle of last season were a real low point, and I hope they don't devote too much time to her in future seasons. She's not charming in any way, and she has little to no chemistry with Raylan. How is that even possible?

Posted by: Mel C. at November 8, 2011 5:22 PM

I don't know who I hated more on Dexter: Rita or Deb. I almost wish Trinity had taken Deb and her stupid face instead of Rita. It is almost painful to watch her try to be all badass and complex when she can't even curse right.

Posted by: Lake at November 8, 2011 5:22 PM

What Donut Plains said. I think this is the majority of it.

Though, even in shows where the "hero" is a cop or firefighter or something like that (a heroic type of character) the wife/girlfriend is often a nag or a bitch. If he acts like a dick, it's because he's under pressure or stress or whatnot, but when she does it, she's just a bitch.

Also, what someone else said: because men write the parts. Very few male writers portray women very sympathetically. At least as far as I can tell. YMMV.

Posted by: Slash at November 8, 2011 5:35 PM

Um, yes, I guess I am. Someone does something like that, I think "what an idiot". Sklyer didn't have anything to gain from it, so it doesn't seem shrewd, calculating, or bitchy to me.

I like shrewd, calculating, bitchy female characters. I love Nurse Jackie, for example, and I don't think Carrie on Homeland is dragging down that show at all - she doesn't belong on this list. I just don't think that characterization fits Skyler - not until this past season, anyway. People were hating her long before that.

Posted by: Three-nineteen at November 8, 2011 5:40 PM

I like all those women (except for that Homeland lady because I've not watched it yet. Gonna do a back-to-back episode binge once the season is all aired) and have never paid much attention to all the negative bile that gets spewed at them online. Seems narrow-minded to me.

Posted by: MurderBot at November 8, 2011 5:43 PM

I adore Deb Morgan and her big crazy Bobblehead Face.

Posted by: Stacy D at November 8, 2011 5:45 PM

Hmm, I don't really agree with this premise. On each of the shows mentioned (I've never seen Homeland, so I can't speak to this), there are really awful, annoying male characters, as well as really awesome female characters aside from the one shrewish one you picked out.

Dexter: Man, I hate Masuka, he's horrifying, he's an offensive, obnoxious idiot. On the other hand, Deb is badass.

SOA: Sometimes I think that Jax is a little bitch. On the other hand, Gemma is tits.

Justified: Okay, so all the male characters are pretty great. But then again, other than Winona, so are all the women: Ava, Rachel, Mags, Loretta, Helen...

The Walking Dead: Are you kidding me? Every character, male or female, with the exception of Glen, Daryl, and maybe Rick, is completely unbearable and useless and fills me with rage. Shane in particular.

Breaking Bad: Uh, Ted was a little bitch. Just the worst. And so is Walt, on occasion. As was Hank during the whole recovery story line. Marie, klepto though she is, is fairly excellent all the time.

And I can think of countless other tv shows that are much worse off due to mawkish, whiny male characters: Apollo on Battlestar Galactica, Nate Fisher on Six Feet Under,Jack on Lost, Dawson on Dawson's Creek, every character on Entourage...

Posted by: Kowala1000 at November 8, 2011 5:52 PM

Rick on The Walking Dead is the most annoying and unbearable main character in any drama on today. He and Lori deserve each other.

Posted by: Three-nineteen at November 8, 2011 5:57 PM

I've never seen a single one of these shows. My television viewing is limited to what's on basic cable on the monitor attached to the elliptical that I'm working out on when I'm fortunate enough to have a gym membership.

That said, I have a character to counter this list: Brenda Johnson of The Closer. Goddammit I love Kyra Sedgwick, her character, and that show.

Posted by: Rest In Peace at November 8, 2011 6:00 PM

I wish you'd thought through this a bit more in the body of the article. I feel like this list could've just gone on and on, there's so much material, and the phenomenon deserved a little analysis - like, why are these characters this way? Is it because people automatically write male-centric stories and then have to shoehorn in their female characters? Is it because when writers think of "strong women", lame and unfun characters are the only ones they can come up with? Neither of those?

Hm.

Posted by: encre at November 8, 2011 6:06 PM

Funny you mention Battlestar Galactica, Kowala1000, because I'll always maintain that Starbuck was the most unpleasant female character in TV history. I like Katee Sackhoff, and think she did the best she could with what she was given, but Starbuck was a wreck of a human being who emotionally destroyed everyone she came in contact with.

Posted by: Todd at November 8, 2011 6:06 PM

BECAUSE TARA THORNTON ISN'T CENTRAL ENOUGH TO TRUE BLOOD. SHE'S JUST THERE TO BE A WHIPPING GIRL.

Posted by: Jerry at November 8, 2011 6:09 PM

The thing is...a lot of really great guys are attracted to utter pills.

Posted by: samantha t at November 8, 2011 6:11 PM

Also, something worth considering: lots of actual women are really fucking annoying. And/or horrible people. In fact, I'd say most women in real life are, at best, annoying. Granted, I haven't met most women, so I could be wrong, but maybe writers create annoying female characters because many actual females are annoying. And a show with no annoying or repellent female characters would be even more unrealistic than TV usually is.

Posted by: Slash at November 8, 2011 6:23 PM

I liked Rita too, I don't understand the group think about her here. She was sweet and thoughtful and generally seemed like a lovely person. Julie Benz's voice is mildly irritating though, so that might be part of the problem

Anna Gunn. I've disliked her through two TV shows, Deadwood and Breaking Bad. It's the constant bitch face, she does judgmental and disapproving better than anyone. She's mellowed in the last season though and I don't find her so imminently slappable. Lori Grimes falls into this same category, she's judgmental. When she threw that look at Carol for admiring a blouse when they were searching through cars? Really irritating.

I think Tara is one of the most likeable characters on SOA, I don't understand the hate for her either. I'm gonna be pissed if they kill her, I want Clay to kick the bucket. In some really gruesome manner.

Posted by: snapnhiss at November 8, 2011 6:39 PM

I feel like I should defend Rita.

In Season 1 of Dexter, she wasn't annoying at all, and certainly doing well considering her back story.

Season 2 had her take control over her life, finally free from the fear of her husband. I felt all her actions were completely justified, again given her situation.

If she became a bit annoying in seasons 3 and 4, it's only because she finally had the confidence to ask for the normal things in life, protect her family, and become a strong woman. At the end of season 4, when her character reached its logical peak, they ended her character justifiably.

I think you're seeing an unpleasant character when there's just a fully developed character.

Posted by: amy at November 8, 2011 6:39 PM

Oh, absolutely, Todd, Starbuck was awful, too. But man, did Apollo ever deserve that mess. What a spineless wreck of a man in a lot of ways.

Posted by: Kowala1000 at November 8, 2011 6:43 PM

I certainly wouldn't discount misogynistic writers, but a common theme would seem to be that the male characters court the drama that makes for...a drama. Part of the dramatic tension arises from having a force resistant to the very notion of drama, typically embodied by a nurturing female character. There is, by definition, no drama in a nurturing environment, and so said female character's role ends up being to resist the notion that there should be a television show at all.

But we like the television show, so we hate the person telling us there shouldn't be one.

Posted by: sansho1 at November 8, 2011 6:56 PM

This would be the link of work in which people try to kill him a few dozen times a year?

Posted by: Duvall at November 8, 2011 6:56 PM

I think it's just bad writing. Lets face it men are the leads of these shows and the lead gets the best, most well-rounded character. The writers also make sure the lead character is a sympathetic one. The female character is secondary and supporting so that character tends to be less well written and less sympathetic. In fact the female may well be written as a shrew, or a bitch to make the male lead more sympathetic. Heck look at Walt and Don Draper they are both bad men yet people on here revile the wives more than the murdering drug dealer, or the fraudulent, drunken womanizer.

Posted by: logan at November 8, 2011 7:00 PM

Duvall--say what you want about the occupational hazards, he looks damn good in the hat.

All kidding aside, she knew that he was in a dangerous line of work when she met him, married him the first time, called on him to get her out of multiple jams because of the life skills he learned being a man people regularly want to kill, and got involved with the second time. I'm not judging his choices, I'm judging her willful blindness to them when she chooses.

In any event, we could say the same thing about any dangerous occupation. Would we like a character who constantly harangues his Marine wife to get out of the military because IEDs exist?

Posted by: SavageCats at November 8, 2011 7:19 PM

I always loved Rita, she was a good character, and Dexter was a better show when she was around.

Posted by: zito at November 8, 2011 7:29 PM

I second the Betty Draper comment. She ruined January Jones for me.

Posted by: B.Kaiser at November 8, 2011 7:43 PM

Take Dana Scully, strip away the humor, up the "I'm a professional and a serious person so listen to me" quotient by a factor of 5, put on a professional suit, add a bad haircut, and you get 90% of the female characters in primetime drama. These women have no joy, no dimension, no character, and for the most part, are completely unwatchable.

I miss Scully...

Posted by: funtime42 at November 8, 2011 7:44 PM

If one more person talks smack about Julie Benz or her portrayal of Rita, the claws are coming out.

Regarding Skyler White... her emasculating bitchy tendencies began long before she knew anything about Walter's elicit activities. Once you hate a character, it's really tough to stop hating unless they experience a major personality shift.

Posted by: Leaf at November 8, 2011 7:47 PM

God yes, I hate Skyler. She's one of the reasons I almost gave up on Breaking Bad five episodes in.

The problem with Tara on True Blood is that she has the potential to be a great, strong female character, but the fucking writers keep throwing shit at her that would drive anyone insane.

And Lori isn't the only problematic female on Walking Dead. I actually hate all of the females on that show. And most of the males. That show is kind of terrible at making likable characters. It kinda makes me want to root for the zombies most of the time.

Posted by: figgy at November 8, 2011 7:59 PM

I like Tara (SoA) and Winona (Justified). I'm going to be pissed if either of them gets offed. Lori (Walking Dead) is less defensible. But the writing this season has been pretty bad. I dislike a lot of the characters this season. Darryl is the only engaging one this season.

Posted by: TylerDFC at November 8, 2011 8:00 PM

MY BAD.

Posted by: hamster at November 8, 2011 8:02 PM

I hated Skyler from the start. She was just such a controlling cow, needing to know Walt's every move. She made Walt's cancer all about her, and she didn't like it one bit when Walt stopped being a doormat. I'm actually starting to like her a little more now though. Walt's gone off the deep end, so her behavior is reasonable now, in a way it wasn't when she thought he was a just a high school teacher who'd found out he was terminal.

I didn't hate Rita, but I did find her annoying. Maybe she would have gotten what she wanted from Dexter if she actually told him exactly what that was, instead of making him guess. But I know a lot of women like her, so it's not bad writing.

Winona is just so bland. I'm angry at Ava for going down the wrong path with Boyd, but at least she has some personality. As for the money, Raylan makes mistakes, but he doesn't go running to other people asking them to fix it for him. That's what bothered me about that. She just expected him to clean up her mess and wasn't even particularly grateful. Also, Raylan IS his job and she knows that. If she can't deal with that, she's with the wrong man. Again, if she had some personality it wouldn't be as bad.

Carrie's a great character, love watching her, but whether Brody is a terrorist or not, illegal surveillance is unforgivable imo. And yeah, if he's been turned he needs help, not an obsessive watching him 24/7. I have more of a problem with Brody's wife.

I don't think this is about men writing the women's characters. Justified and Dexter have some stronger female characters, and I think Carrie and Skyler are wonderfully written.

Posted by: Kate at November 8, 2011 8:59 PM

For starters there is a brilliant female writer on Justified, Wendy Calhoun.

I am one of those that likes Winona as a character. I think she has made some really dumb stupid decisions in her life, but I could see why she had made those decisions. The money was a stupid, stupid thing but how many people wouldn't have been tempted? Raylan was just as much a dumbarse for hiding it too.

Weirdly, I have found that I am really enjoying Once Upon a Time and that fact that Regina and Emma do not even bother to hide their antipathy towards each other with faux niceness, which is a generic standard of female interaction on tv shows. They just downright dislike each other and show it.

Posted by: noo at November 8, 2011 9:18 PM

I hated Skylar until season 4. I just loved the way she talked shit to her dumbass ex-lover. And the way she scammed the car wash owner. She's just awesome, now.

Posted by: kayla at November 8, 2011 9:21 PM

Skyler White, Carrie Mathison, and Betty Draper are currently my favorite three female characters on television. Admittedly, Skyler was an underdeveloped character in the first two seasons (as was pretty much every character besides Walt & Jesse), but in terms of writing and portrayal, they're incredibly complex. I root for all of them unreservedly.

I think someone over at AV Club talked about this as the "mean mom" phenomenon. This is why I did an honest to Godtopus fist pump when Skyler called out Walt for putting her in exactly that position by buying Walter Jr. that car. It was a reality check aimed at every viewer who sees her and other "mean moms" (or just wives in some cases) without any sense of context or perspective about the anti-hero protagonist. Sorry--I don't think this is a problem with the shows, but rather inattentive viewers.

Posted by: bravesjade at November 8, 2011 9:35 PM

Yeah I'm with the loved Rita group. I thought she was a great character and really liked her.

The only other show I've seen on th elist is breaking bad and Skyler White is a straight up bitch.

Posted by: Benza at November 8, 2011 9:52 PM

You want to see some strong female characters, you should watch Revenge. Goddamn, those are some scary bitches.

Posted by: TWoPFan at November 8, 2011 10:40 PM

Tara on SoA: She's NOT portrayed as a shrew. She really isn't. Some people have this kneejerk dislike for her, but she's portrayed as someone who has spent the last ten years of her life making good decisions, and the last ten minutes making really, really bad ones for love.

Skyler: Skyler was a bitch -out of the gate- when she had nothing to bitch about. She has been unrelenting, to the point where her being a shrew has nothing to do with the meth, it's just who she is.

Posted by: Kat at November 8, 2011 11:15 PM

Can we put Sookie in there since Tara is dead? Unless Sookie has some secret fairy power that's gonna put Tara's head back together.

Posted by: Candy at November 8, 2011 11:38 PM

I think my problem with Rita had more to do with the fact that I can't stand Julie Benz's acting. Then again I wish they would get rid of everyone from Dexter.

I'm not too fond of most of the characters on The Walking Dead either.

I like Carrie from Homeland despite how psychotic she is.

Posted by: Uda at November 9, 2011 12:55 AM

I really like Tara. It never even occurred to me that she is a character that people hate. There are many characters on SOA that I would love to see die fiery deaths (Clay and Gemma for starters). I want to see Tara ride off into the sunset at the end of the series. I might be alright with Jax riding along with her, if he stops being a little bitch.

Posted by: Cris at November 9, 2011 2:05 AM

Methinks television viewers have a woman problem. Apparently female characters are not allowed to have complexities -- many comments here have explained that "they're not nice because..." or "they're not nurturing because..." Any discussion of, say, Dexter or Shane of the Walking Dead that started in such terms would be ridiculous anywhere by an eighth-grade English class.

Re: Lori, it was the DAMN APOCALYPSE. I'd say a girl needs all the comfort she can get.

Posted by: J. K. B. at November 9, 2011 3:44 AM

I think Starbuck from BSG is sort of an argument against this (for some people, at least). She did spectacularly shitty, selfish things a LOT, but she also did things that were badass and funny and interesting. I liked her, at least, even though I completely disagreed with her behavior most of the time.

I also never hated Rita, but most of my Dexter-watching friends did. I didn't really blame her for her demands most of the time. But she never really got to have fun, you know? You didn't get to see her be herself. She was always just reacting to Dexter and her kids.

I also wonder if the problem isn't just a lack of women writers, but writers who understand how to write an older, assertive female character without her being insufferable and treating everyone like a toddler.

Posted by: blorft at November 9, 2011 8:27 AM

The biggest problem with Skyler White is that she has a disgusting face, like that of a shapeshifter trying to approximate the look of a female human. It's all lumpy and weird, and her pupils are too black...

And to be honest, I don't mind the wife from The Walking Dead at all compared to that depressive blonde wench who does nothing but whine about being alive.

Posted by: Pfft at November 9, 2011 9:39 AM

I haven't seen all of these shows, at all, but in the ones I have seen, it seems that as secondary characters (Rita/Skyler) their relation to the story line is framed by how much room they are allowed in the main character's brain space.
In BB, for example, Walt and Skyler seemed disconnected from the start, with the whole eBay/handjob and keeping cancer a secret. I think that was part of setting Walt up to become what/who he is. And because they were isolated from one another, Skyler's character comes off as inscrutable or annoying and is one for whom empathy is hard to muster, even though empathy is every way you should feel.
It's a plot/character device that is pretty common. As all these shows are written with male leads, it's the ladies who get to play the set up roles,rather than those drive the show.

Posted by: Agogagogo at November 9, 2011 10:54 AM

Margaret Schroeder from Boardwalk Empire. Can't believe she wasn't on the list.
Her storylines are the only dull part of the show.

Posted by: Jeff at November 9, 2011 11:10 AM

I kind of love Skyler White. She can be a total bitch, but I love Anna Gunn's portrayal and I love that she doesn't take shit from anyone.

And Carrie Mathison (Homeland) is one of my favorite characters right now. The definition of a flawed protagonist, but I find myself really liking her and rooting for her -- so glad Claire Danes is getting a chance to show what she can do. I'm with @Kate: for me, Brody's wife is the unlikeable one. I'm not sure if it's the actress or the writing, but she rubs me the wrong way.

I got bored of Dexter after two seasons, but good GOD was Rita irritating. I'm not a fan of Deb either. Two reasons I gave up on the show, even though I know Rita ended up getting offed.

As for The Walking Dead, it is a sad fact that none of the characters save Darryl are really worth caring about at this point. A real shame, because Andrea in the books is a total badass. I'm thinking she'll get there on the show but it's a slow process. I feel Lori is miscast, but to be fair I wasn't a huge fan of her in the books either. I won't give up on the show yet because I still think it has tons of potential, but the second season has been really, really weak so far.

Posted by: Colin at November 9, 2011 2:15 PM

It's more an issue with the actress than the character for me.

I fucking HATE Tara on SOA, but not the character, just the one-note acting. She has one expression, semi-frown, and that got old really quick.

Rita was annoying because Julie Benz is an annoying, shitty actress. I think another actress in that place may have made a world of difference.

Posted by: Riles at November 9, 2011 2:20 PM

Tara most certainly does not weigh down SoA. She's the only character who still retains an outsider's perspective and not only does she ground Jax, she's the mother of his kids, Gemma's only girlfriend and the only other old lady on the show. Also, up until last night, she was a huge asset to the club when they needed to be patched up. Not to mention Maggie Siff is a fucking amazing actress. I also don't get how people can legit say she only has one expression, especially after seeing last night's episode, which she owned. Killing her off would leave a gaping hole in the show.

Posted by: snrub at November 9, 2011 2:45 PM

Ok, last night Tara had a semi-frown, a smile in the park, semi-frown cry, full frown, and a yell. Great range. But maybe I need to see her in something else to see her actressin at work.

Posted by: Riles at November 9, 2011 3:48 PM

I'm only new to Breaking Bad and still trying to get through Season 1.

But...

Skylar and her god damn sister are making it a difficult task. And not in the good way. They grate me all sides of f*cking annoying shrew.

Posted by: layla at November 9, 2011 4:21 PM

Riles, check her out in season 1 of Mad Men.

Posted by: Snrub at November 9, 2011 5:17 PM

I like Skyler. She and Walt are both devious and dangerous, it's just taking her longer to realize that about herself.

Posted by: Lucas at November 9, 2011 6:44 PM

There is no way that Rita Bennett started out as annoying on Dexter. Before she and Dexter got married she was a kind, caring woman who was working hard to make a connection after enduring an abusive husband. She gets married to Dexter and whammo! She becomes a nag like I haven't seen in years.

My theory is that the writers knew they wanted to kill off Rita so they made her horrible that season so that her murder wasn't a huge blow.

Posted by: El Cid at November 9, 2011 6:51 PM

Funny thing is, my wife hates Skyler much more than I do. The first time through, I watched Breaking Bad alone and recently started re-watching it with my wife. I actually got in an argument with her because she started fast-forwarding every scene with Skyler.

I have to say, on my first time through I was quite a bit sympathetic to Skyler but this time I found her infinitely more annoying. No matter what Walter says or does, she will unfailingly roll her eyes, stare at him accusingly, inquire in a distrustful way or do a combination of the above.

Posted by: Qualtinger at November 10, 2011 7:53 AM

Why does every woman on every drama have to be superwoman for the average feminist to not get riled up about it? I mean you're going to give Rita a hard time? A woman who was in an abusive relationship, found a way to get herself and her children out of it, and became a strong successful person? I never felt like Rita was a shrew, she just had a tendency to call at really inappropriate times. Who also exists on a show where all of the men are incredibly flawed self destructing characters, and majority of the women are in positions of power that they achieved soley on their own merit?
Tara? Can she be a little annoying with her hey "Let's not get killed today" thing? Sure, But she's also kind of a badass. She's a damn fine doctor that has totally killed people and kept quiet about it to protect her "family". Let's be fair on a show with Gemma, everyone else looks like a bitch. Even Clay. I've never really seen these characters as Simply plot devices, and in a world where most shows use women as prizes, I think all of these ladies are a step in the right direction.

Posted by: Blank at November 10, 2011 3:58 PM

I think Carrie is the opposite. She makes, arguably, nothing but bad decisions and yet I root for her anyway. I think of her and Brody as equal in terms of being "main" characters.

I agree with the above. The wife of Brody sucks it. But I just think it's because that actress is terrible. She always has the "deer in the headlights" expression.

Posted by: ninetwenteetoo at November 14, 2011 2:26 PM

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The Rita Bennett Problem: Why Are So Many Great TV Dramas Weighed Down by Horrible, Annoying Female Characters?

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