Women of the Week

Who doesn’t love a good binge watch? Picks in our latest edition of Women of the Week are a result of a good binge watch, whether they be old shows or new. Read on to find out what we’ve been bingeing!

Nominated by Melissa: The women of A Place to Call Home

Recently I’ve been sucked into Australian drama A Place to Call Home (I’m sure Ange is like, old news!), a rather soapy period series anchored by a spectacular female cast. Set in the early ’50s, the show explores the aftermath of WW2 in myriad ways, particularly the impact on the women who lived through it. Marta Dusseldorp is the lead of this ensemble, Sarah Adams, a Jewish nurse who fought in the Resistance and survived two years at Ravensbruck before returning home to Australia. Exuding warmth and calm, and a certain mysteriousness, she begins changing lives on the passage from England. At first I thought she was too good to be true, an impossibly perfect woman, but as the series progresses, we see her grapple with PTSD, slowly learn to trust others, stand up for herself, and deal with immeasurable grief. Dusseldorp plays Sarah with skill and depth, slowly letting the audience in, letting us share her happiness and her pain in equal measure.

The rest of the main female cast are also outstanding. Noni Hazelhurst as matriarch Elizabeth Bligh is formidable, which makes her character arc all the more compelling. Throughout the first season of the series, I legitimately hoped her heart condition would mean a fairly quick send-off for the character; by season 3 I was rooting for her to find happiness. (Note from Ange: Noni Hazelhurst is a national treasure here, we’d riot if they ever dare harm our Noni. Fictional or not!) Sara Wiseman plays Carolyn Bligh, the estranged daughter who lives a rather Bohemian life in Sydney until family matters draw her back to the estate. Carolyn could have been all harsh angles and stony expressions, but Wiseman plays her as enthusiastic about life, warm and welcoming, with an undercurrent of hurt and wistfulness for her mother’s approval. She is a joy to watch. On the flipside, Jenni Baird is deliciously villainous as Regina Standish. Her ability to morph into the character necessary for the moment is frighteningly good and the scenes between Regina and Sarah are electric. Abby Earl as Anna Bligh, the beloved daughter/granddaughter in love with “the wrong sort of man”, starts out carefree and spoiled then matures into a formidable woman herself. Arianwen Parks-Lockwood plays Olivia Bligh, husband of James Bligh, who comes to Australia from her home in England as a blushing bride bewildered by family secrets and intrigue and a marriage that’s not what she expected. Both Anna and Olivia follow a character arc of growing from pampered young women with fairy tale dreams to strong, resourceful women who have fought many battles for themselves and others. The fact that their characterizations are so different is a testament to the individual actress’s strengths.

It’s a testament to the casting director and to the writing staff that this show is stacked with skilled actresses giving outstanding performances from top to bottom. Even the secondary characters are terrific. Deborah Kennedy as resident busybody Doris Collins deserves to be singled out for taking her character from a stereotype to fully formed person. I’m only a bit more than halfway through the series, but already it’s one of my favorites thanks to these characters and the women who play them.

Nominated by Christie: Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers on Stranger Things

Stranger Things — Winona Ryder (Netflix)

The mama bear of Hawkins Indiana is back in Stranger Things season 3 and in fine form. Joyce Byers spent the last 2 seasons trying to convince everyone she wasn’t crazy, but her confidence shines through in season 3, even when there’s doubt. She is takes no crap from anyone anymore and it’s enjoyable. In the first part of my season recap I called her Sarah Connor, but less apocalyptic, and that’s true, even in the face of tragedy at the end.

Nominated by Ange: The females of Stranger Things

I’ve spent most of the weekend bingewatching the new season of Stranger Things and wow, talk about girl power! If you haven’t finished season three, stop reading now because SPOILER ALERT the females on this show are badass. As Christie mentioned, you have Winona Ryder as fierce mama bear Joyce Byers – remember when we first met her she was a bit of a mess and everyone thought she was crazy? Not so much anymore. Even Hopper admits she’d make a good detective. Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven is still bad ass as ever but what I really enjoyed this season was seeing her forge a friendship with Sadie Sink’s Max and enjoy being a teenager. The epilogue of this season as El reads Hopper’s speech also had me choking up. Max played by Sadie Sink is still full of confidence and attitude – loved her taking Eleven under her wing and advising her about Mike’s poor behavior in their relationship. As fierce as Max is, one of Sink’s shining moments was her tearful final moments with stepbrother Billy. The transformation of Natalia Dyer’s Nancy was one of my favorite things about last season and this season it was nice to see that she’s determined not to be a shrinking violet, even if it meant standing up to the misogynistic men at her internship and taking action to conduct her own investigation. Yes some of things she did were a little shifty like pretending to be an actual reporter for the paper, but you gotta admire her gumption. Robin is a new character played by Maya Hawke. She’s smart, sarcastic and doesn’t buy into the popularity bs, so yep we like her. She was a welcome addition to the cast and I will gladly watch a spin off of her and Steve working at the video store. You may have noticed Priah Ferguson’s Erica last season but this season, Caleb’s sassy little sister had a bigger role and important part to play. Sure she’s a fast talking and mouthy 10 year old but she’s also a little genius and the voice of reason who’s not afraid to tell it like it is. With the things that she comes up with (I’m talking both facts and quips), you forget that she’s only 10!

RELATED ITEMS:

Women of the Week (June 23-29)
Women of the Week (June 16-22)
Women of the Week (June 9-15)
Women of the Week (June 2-8)
Woman of the Week (May 26 – June 1)