The Power: Season 1
Based on: 2016 novel of the same name by Naomi Alderman
Developed by: Raelle Tucker, Naomi Alderman, Claire Wilson, and Sarah Quintrell
Written by: Naomi Alderman, Claire Wilson, Sarah Quintrell, Raelle Tucker, Sue Chung, Stacy Osei-Kuffour, Brennan Peters
Starring: Toni Collette (Mayor Margot Cleary-Lopez), Auliʻi Cravalho (Jos), John Leguizamo (Rob Lopez), Toheeb Jimoh (Tunde), Ria Zmitrowicz (Roxy), Halle Bush (Eve), Nico Hiraga (Ryan), Heather Agyepong (Ndudi), Daniela Vega (Sister Maria), Eddie Marsan (Bernie Monke), Archie Rush (Darrell Monke), Gerrison Machado (Matt), Pietra Castro (Izzy), Zrinka Cvitešić (Tatiana)
The Power season 1 trailer:
The entire premise of this show is quite clearly pushing feminism, but honestly, I'm down for that.
Put succinctly, in the series pilot, all women in the world gain the innate ability to produce and manipulate electricity. It develops naturally, as a biological function similar to electric eels, occurring first in adolescent women and then spreading to older women.
The show basically functions as something of a cultural study that asks the question, "What would happen if?" We zoom in on a female American mayor (Margot, along with her family) who becomes an advocate for girls with the power, the wife of the Russian president (Tatiana), a male journalist documenting instances of the power in Nigeria (Tunde), a daughter of a London crime boss (Roxy), and an American teenager who goes on the run after killing her abuser (Eve).
I think the show's only detriment is that it focuses a tad much on Mayor Margot and her family, zooming in on their family drama and political sexism. Granted, I'm not in a position (as a guy who is not in politics) to say how much screentime the latter does or doesn't deserve, but it came to feel a little overdone. I feel more confident in speaking to the family drama: Margot's politics serve to push away her family, her son comes to associate with an extremist political party that opposes his mother, she decides to keep a very unnecessary secret from her husband, and by the end of the season, her marriage is threatened. I understand that drama keeps the plot interesting, but this seemed to be just too much, especially when there was already plenty of sexism and drama in her political career.
The plot that got the second-most screentime was that of Eve, whose story was very interesting. Oddly, a consistent aspect of Eve's story was a voice she heard in her head from the onset of her power. It was a confident female voice that gave her instructions throughout the entire season on what to do next and encouraged her in following through with the instructions. But the voice wasn't just a "you should do this, it would be good for you" kind of voice-- it was more of a "God" voice that seemed to know things. For example, it knew of the existence of an all-female convent in her region and gave her directions on how to get to it. I would have very much liked an explanation for what the voice was and how it seemed to know things that Eve probably wouldn't naturally know, but the show never gave it. The voice is mostly a positive presence: it pushes her to escape her abusers, help others, push back against unfair treatment, and gives her tips on how to use her electricity with greater skill. However, toward the end, I found myself questioning its wisdom as it seemed to have an agenda to put Eve into a position of ultimate power without much regard for others.
The other stories were almost entirely entertaining and very satisfying to watch. Roxy's was exciting as she uncovers the truth behind her mother's murder. Plus, when she's taken into her father's crime ring, she's initially treated as a lowly pawn but quickly takes initiative and leadership, not hesitating to use her power to torture or even kill those who push her aside. I don't think this is righteous or good, but there's definitely a satisfaction in watching human justice dolled out so unflinchingly. Tunde's journalism is honestly kind of boring at the beginning, but toward the middle and end, he documents a fascinating movement in the Middle East where women push back against a country's sexist laws and then, toward the end, an all-woman rebel faction that springs up in South America (if I remember correctly). Tatiana's story is much harder to watch as it's almost entirely about her life as pretty object on her husband's arm, forced to play her role of perfection in the face of emotional abuse and her husband's disgusting mannerisms. Due to her functional imprisonment in the palace, limited access to outside information, and the severe repercussions of rebellion, it takes her basically the entire season to learn what the power can do and then take action. Interestingly, however, the show doesn't paint her as a victim of her culture who craves freedom. Instead, she appears more interested in revenge.
In conclusion, I think the pitfall this series is prone to is prioritizing politics over plot. It seems more interested in pushing feminist angles, serving its women more power, and placing sexist characters in their way, instead of giving the women more meaningful or personal goals to achieve. Still, I find it to be a lot of fun to watch, and it helps that I mostly agree with its message.
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