In honor of March being women’s history month, we are going to take the time to highlight and celebrate some of our favorite ladies in TV and Film.
The Expanse does a lot of things right and on top of the list is the compelling, incomparable women who run the show. Multifaceted and extremely complex, the women on this show are beacons of strength and hope. They are versions of all of us. They are representative of so many different types of women, each in their own way pulling the reigns and calling the shots. They are imperfect. They are trying. And in every way, they are worth celebrating.
Naomi Nagata
This has been Naomi Nagata’s season and it’s been exceptional to watch. What a woman. What a journey. Naomi’s heart is unmatched, but more than that, it’s her ability to care—it’s her decision to consistently try even in the face of darkness and turmoil that has been the turning point for this season. Watching her fight and pull through this darkness that she found herself in has been so tough at times, but watching her come out on the other side knowing she’s done everything she possibly could to save her son has been rewarding given Dominque Tipper’s impeccable performances. Naomi’s heart and expansive courage even in the midst of this harrowing vulnerability has been thrilling and the growth she’s gone through to finding her truth is everything to us as viewers.
Chrisjen Avasarala
Avasarala also has gone through her own darkness and turmoil this season. As one of the most complex politicians to grace our TV screens, her journey has been incredible. We watched her lose Arjun and struggle in the face of uncertainties all while she held her head high in an attempt to lead by example. We watched her crack and break with subtle hints of such palpable pain it nearly broke us. And then we watched her reunite with the team as the beacon of hope who’d remind them all of how they’d go through this. A woman who started off with so few in her corner not only has multiple people now, but she’s fighting the good fight to ensure that they strive towards something worthwhile and rewarding that’d save all planets with unity. She’s trying her hardest and in the process, she’s flooring us with the complexities.
Clarissa “Peaches” Mao
If you had told me during season three that I’d come out of season five adoring every bit of Clarissa Mao, I’d “sure, Jan” you. But I’m thrilled beyond words to have been so wrong because she has been an absolute peach (pun intended) this season. Clarissa’s journey as a woman whose grown up trying only to find her way into monstrosity and so much chemical darkness has been remarkably telling of what a complexity looks like. She’s done unspeakable things and she’s paid the price for them. She was turned and broken and in the midst of her own war, she turned everything around in order to find something bigger, something better. And even as her body fights against her, even as all the odds stand against her, Clarissa fought like hell this season and reminded viewers of just what it means to be a woman at wits end who’s trying. Of all the characters, we say this with utmost love, but we cannot wait to see where she goes now that she’s with the Roci crew.
Bobbie Draper
Every show has at least one female character where we firmly believe we cannot trust anyone who doesn’t like them. Bobbie Draper is one of those women. She is fierce and complicated and she’s damn near tired of back and forth. She’s one hell of a pilot and she’s one force of a woman who does things her way. She’s gone off in a few different directions throughout the season but it’s fitting given the fact that people are often trying to find their place. And that’s what Bobbie has represented so beautifully—the people who’ve yet to find their place. The people who are still trying, still figuring things out. The people who are still learning every step of the way. And we can’t wait to see where the final season takes her. (Let’s not forget the remarkable moment during the finale where it felt like in calming Naomi down, she was speaking to the audience too. A voice of reason. A voice of hope.)
Camina Drummer
By the end of the season, I didn’t need Camina to be the one breaking my heart as badly, but God, this season has been brutal for her. We started off watching her at a place where she was finally happy, where it seemed she was complete through her stunning polyamorous space family, and then we watched her break at the thought of having lost another person she loved (Naomi), and with team members leaving because the decisions she made didn’t appeal to them. But much like all the women on this show, Drummer is someone who’s trying to lead as best as she can—still learning and still fighting every step of the way to do the things she believes are best. And if she isn’t smiling next season, we riot at dawn.