I have been fascinated with Detective Sarah Linden’s femininity (or lack thereof) since the The Killing premiered on AMC last year. It is blatantly obvious to this former English major that the writing staff strictly adheres to their character bibles, and I love it! (see ’ma? My degree was worth it! Sorta…)
Most serial drama lady cops have a particular duality to them: they’re the tough gal at work, but they have another defining quality underscoring their “femaleness”—usually their sexuality, motherhood, or the estrogen-driven emotional irrationality that comes with ladydom, of course. For example, Dexter’s Lieutenant María LaGuerta is a demanding boss in the field, but she flirts and uses her sexuality to sustain her power (and subsequently ends up undermining it). Or there is Detective Olivia Benson from Law and Order: SVU. I won’t harp on the amount of makeup she wears nor how attractive Mariska Hargitay is (although I guess that’s what happens when this is your mother), but it should be noted that even she gets pinned down as a “mother figure” in the twelfth season when she is appointed with a guardianship. More importantly, Benson has a reputation for getting too emotionally involved in cases—because that’s what ladies in law enforcement do, right? Continue reading “Woman on the Run”