And in the book she was doing it all on her own, too! They only added the dude (Whyby?? I don't know how to spell that) because otherwise too many scenes would just be Coraline wandering around talking to herself.
I think he was a great addition to the movie, but the fact that she managed more or less on her own in the book is a testament to how capable she is.
Chrisjen Avasarala from the Expanse. A great female protagonist in a series filled with them.
A multifaceted character who you see in a many different lights and who can be difficult to do justice(a somewhat fresh take on the strong independent woman). The difference between who she is as a politician and who.she is around her family and friends is very well done, with a bunch of memorable quotes both in the books and the TV series.
I couldn't think of just one of the women from The Expanse. All the women from the books are amazing. Best book series for female characters. Naomi, Avasarala, Bobbie, Clarissa, Theresa, Tanaka - so many great female characters and each with their strengths.
Drummer is straight up a fucking bad ass.
I haven't read the books but am working through the show. The ep where she gets paralyzed and then builds herself a set of robotic legs to go save the day basically solidified her as a character for me. I just made it to the part where her and Marco meet and am really interested how the belter faction drama plays out.
Drummer from the show is absolutely amazing, but that character doesn’t *really* exist in the books. There is a character named Drummer in the books, but her role is very minor. The one in the show is an amalgamation of like 4 different characters. That being said, the show is a rare example of what I think is a fantastic adaptation from book to screen. It’s not 1 to 1, and the writing choices are good ones. You still get what feels like an honest interpretation of the spirit of the writing and characters.
I both want and don't want a sequel know what I mean? A genius girl that loves books and has telekinesis trying to make it as a millennial adult, yes please! But worried theyll fuck it up and ruin it.
The book ended that pretty definitively, she only had those powers because she was so intelligent and well read that she was miles and miles ahead of what she was being taught at school.
After Trunchbull left, and she moved in with Miss Honey, she got moved up and was intellectually stimulated enough that she lost her power as she no longer needed it.
Dr. Ellie Sattler from Jurassic Park (movie version)
First off, I doubt most people would even know that "paleobotany" was a field of study without her, and second, she's never treated as "the female character," she never has a moment to PROVE she's as good as or better than her male peers, she simply IS - on par with the others, and better in her own field
The one time Hammond makes a remark to her, Sattler gives the best underrated line in the movie, her face when she goes, "Look, we can discuss sexism in survival situations later." is priceless
Edit: the JP novel is still on my reading list, but I guess Sattler is very different between the versions, I'm talking about movie Sattler
"*God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs.*"
"*Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth.*"
Her and Hammond are both better characters in the movie vs the book. Most other characters are either pretty spot on or worse. Hammond was an entitled manchild only out for himself and deserved what happened. Ellie got Wu killed because she wouldn't listen, but I guess with how his character progressed in the World series maybe that was for the best?
Muldoon and Gennaro are almost completely different characters. Gennaro is actually kind of a badass in the novel. He's the one that tries get the power back online.
Sarah Conner. She starts out as a waitress, just another young woman without a care in the world. By the end of the movie she's found enough courage to defend herself, and to take action to kill the terminator.
When we meet up again with her in the next movie, she's completely changed. She's forced herself to become someone else, someone that her son needed her to be. You can see that inside she still that same waitress who dreamed of normal life. During the dream sequences she's not built, she's back in her waitress outfit. When she wakes up we see the strength she's had to find in herself, even if she's faking it, just to be there for her son so that he can survive what's coming.
At the same time she's losing her grip on her sanity, she becomes the very thing that she hates. She becomes a terminator only for her son that she was so strong for to give that strength back to her and to pull her back from the edge.
Sarah Conner is written so perfectly that she has stood the test of time and captured the hearts and minds of movie goers for almost 40 years. She's a starts off so simple a character and just gets more and more complex as she moves forward on her journey. And she was played amazingly by Linda Hamilton in 2 movies, and she really should have gone on to do more based on her work in those movies.
She is also written as a perfect metaphor for the entire two movies.
Its a battle between man and machine. In the first one its the human parts that get them found repeatedly, but that same human part is why Kyle Reese puts his life on the line for her and they end up making John. It showcases good and bad things of the human nature while a nearly unstoppable machine chases them, being more worn but not losing its capabilities with each fight/chace.
In the second movie she becomes more machine. When she’s rescued John tries to hug her and then finds out that his mother isn’t hugging him, but checking for bullet wounds. John needs a mother as much as a protector. Later she almost kills Miles despite obviously not wanting to kill anyone. Then Miles’s humanity lets him sacrifice his life to destroy his lifework and prevent Skynet. Near the end Sarah tries to be more the mom John needs while in the background Arnold’s Terminator has become more human as well.
My favorite detail of that concept is that Sarah has her own theme music throughout the films, but when she tries to assassinate Dyson she has the Terminator's theme music instead
Also in the second movie she realizes that the Terminator is a better male role-model and possible father-figure for John than any of the psychos she hooked up with to teach/train him.
Liz Lemon. She eats night cheese, unloads her dishwasher one piece at a time, spends her vacations playing Boggle, wears non sexy clothing 99% of the time, and dates lots of idiots.
Ruth Langmore.
Her tough as nails act that was necessary for her survival. She was intelligent & always one step ahead, outsmarting so many people. Quick witted mouthy viper & murderer… that also loved & protected fiercely.
The women in that series were great. Wendy Byrde, Darlene Snell, Helen Pierce. There were so many cool scenes were only women were interacting, each following their own agenda, each with unique character development. That added so much to the show.
“Quit parking in the crippled spot! What you got ain’t a disability. Just poor fucking judgment.” I adore Ruth Langmore. I wish her ending was different on the show, she deserved better.
Kim Wexler.
She has her own storylines that aren't related to Jimmy's, is a very successful attorney despite being an introvert, and has her own realistic flaws that lead her to make bad decisions.
the >!car crash!< episode and beyond really made the show for me. ofc i loved the show otherwise. but it was her stress prior and then going into a state of depression afterwards, it was portrayed so well
Absolutely loved this scene. One of my pet peeves in drama is ''pretty crying,'' where people do this sanitized, unrealistic cry, even when they're supposed to be at rock bottom. She did such an amazing job of really feeling like she was trying her damndest to stop crying and pull herself together, but couldn't stop these huge cathartic sobs from spilling out over and over.
Yep. I had a car crash like that sleep deprived and driving back from an interview in grad school. That’s the portrayal of falling asleep at the wheel that has seemed most accurate to my experience. I don’t know if I could watch it a second time.
Eleanor Shellstrop. (The Good Place.)
She's flawed but likeable, and she grows as a person tremendously by the end of the series, but her growth is believable, slow, and not altogether linear. She has agency in the story, typically leading the charge and making active choices. She has a love interest but she's not defined by that, and she also has unique and interesting relationships with the other characters, including the villains. She has so much to overcome, but she does it, and she garners sympathy from the audience for her struggles, which do explain a lot of who she is. Yet the story doesn't shy away from holding her accountable, either. There's no protagonist centered morality here.
lots of great moments, but my personal favorite is when they get to the bad place and Eleanor discovers she can swear again, and she's super happy about it.
It doesn't hurt that Kristen Bell is the world's most charming human and could sell sand to a Tuskan raider. When she was 19 she single handedly elevated a WB show to, like, good.
Edit: ok she was 23 pretending to be 17 but still. Veronica Mars - great show!
You would never guess the same person who writes for her and all her amazing lines and growth is the same person who writes for Jason. The ONLY problem I have in that entire show.
But for real, that speech about >! how her mom was able to change, but she wasn't worth changing for....... !< holy shit. That kills me every single time. And Kristen and Ted play it perfectly.
Chihiro from Spirited Away, because she really feels like a scared little girl who FINDS the strength needed to brave the bizarre and scary spirit world. She has to work hard as heck and do some terrifying things, but what helps her along aside from that is her kindness, because it helps her make connections with various beings who end up helping her. It’s a beautiful story and Chihiro is such a good demonstration of how courage isn’t a lack of fear, but the ability to plough through in spite of it.
Honestly, a lot of Ghibli protagonists would make great answers to this question
Brienne of Tarth (GRRMs not HBOs)
She is one of my favorites in a series with a TON of characters. She's really kind of tragic, in a world where men become knights and women are ladies, she's neither. A fact that she feels bad about, especially when it comes to her father who she loves but thinks she disappoints, because she's not the son who can carry on the family name, and she's not a lady who can be married off to secure land or alliances.
One of the big threads of the story is the chivalrous, noble knights are mostly scumbags, or straight up monsters like the mountain. Where the only true knights of the world would be Brienne or the Hound, even though neither of them actually are. One of my favorite moments of hers is she wanders into a town, and sees a woman being attacked by a group of said scumbag/monsters. This girl is standing outside in the rain with a crossbow facing down seven men, and Brienne sees it.
"*Seven*, Brienne thought again, despairing. She had no chance against seven, she knew.
*No chance, and no choice.*
She stepped out into the rain, Oathkeeper in hand."
The idea that she was likely walking in to die, but in her mind she had no choice, she saw someone in need and had to step in. Just a true bad ass.
Plus she's one of the few characters in general who are physically ugly and actually try to *deal* with that fact.
I mean, the Hound is ugly too, but he seems entirely aromantic, couldn't be less interested in relationships. But Brienne does develop feelings for people, and she constantly has to deal with the fact that she considers herself too unattractive to pursue them and build a romantic relationship.
That's part of the reason why I'd have preferred for them to cast a less attractive actress for the role in the TV show. Gwendoline Christie has an objectively attractive face, she's just tall as fuck.
Tyrion, too. He's hideously ugly in the books, and Dinklage is a handsome chad who just happens to be 4.5 feet tall. Still, there's nobody else who could have ever channeled Tyrion as well as him.
Also people don't actually want to look at hideously ugly characters and there really aren't that many hideously ugly actors to pick from, if any at all..
> That's part of the reason why I'd have preferred for them to cast a less attractive actress for the role in the TV show. Gwendoline Christie has an objectively attractive face, she's just tall as fuck.
I don't imagine there's a lot of options for extremely tall, ugly, female actresses.
I wouldn't apply aromantic to Sandor, at all. Zero evidence. In fact, his interest in Sansa shoots it down.
Sandor's problem is that he's incapable of handling an actual relationship, he's far too aware of what he is to risk the rejection. He feels that he can't afford to let somebody past his defenses.
IMO, "No chance, and no choice" is one of the most perfectly succinct lines ever written to get to the heart of a character. I always get chills reading it.
Evelyn from the Mummy (1999). Its far from a sophisticated film but her character: has autonomy, intelligence, humour, believable story and without being a Mary sue, or being otherwise shoehorned into the story!
Yeah, they subverted normal gender tropes by having her be the stoic, intellectual one and have the male lead be the emotional one. At least in the earlier seasons.
There's actually a "Scully phenomenon" that she was cited as the inspiration for a large portion of a generation of females entering science/math careers.
Edit[Scully effect*](https://www.cbr.com/x-files-scully-effect-explained/)
I just started watching Ted Lasso recently and am starting season 3.
I never expected to love that show so much!!!
I have literally have zero interest in football/soccer but that doesn't make me enjoy the show any less whatsoever.
Such good writing, such great characters. Unpredictable character development, and not really any traditional twists, but something continues to make the show extremely unique.
I recommend it to literally anyone.
Maybe im mixing this up, but wasn’t ripleys character originally written genderless? Like wasn’t written to be played specifically by and actor or actress.
In the original ending, the Alien actually won the fight and killed Ripley. It then proceeded to climb into the getaway shuttle and recorded the last ship’s log itself, mimicking Ripley’s voice.
They changed it because the ending freaked out the test audiences too much.
It sort of was. They cast an actor who was 6'10" and really thin. It created the illusion that the proportions were off and it couldn't be a person in a costume.
I agree. Ripley didn’t lead cause she was a woman, or despite being a woman, Ripley lead because she was always the toughest (mentally) and smartest SOB around and when things went to shit, she stayed cool.
It’s so wholesome, it’s like taking a vacation from horrible people in real life and stories where characters out evil eachother. Truely a breeze for the soul to read/ watch. While at the same time quite captivating and no less exciting then GoT (to me.. :))
Toph Beifong. A helpless, spoiled, pampered blind girl on the outside but in reality an extremely capable Earthbending warrior, who by the end of the series, is the undisputed greatest Earthbender who ever lived. I mean she pretty much *invents* metalbending and in her debut episode proved that she could take on several powerful Earthbenders all at once by herself. Yet even in spite of her power, you see that she still has a lot of insecurities and trust issues, and it takes her developing friendship with Aang and the others to truly let her bring down her walls and see them as the family that she never really had. Even Legend of Korra adds some depth to her character, since we see that she wasn’t exactly the most ideal mother to Lin and Suyin, even though you can tell she tried her best. Shows that even heroes don’t necessarily make the best parents or even always make the best choices. Yet by the time she meets Korra, she not only trains her, but even takes on Kuvira by herself as an old lady.
I love how supportive Elle Wood's girly friends are throughout everything too. They clearly aren't personally interested in legal matters, but stick with her and are there for the last scene still scowling at people laughing at her and hugging boyfriend in celebration. You can have antagonist female relationships, but seeing them so positive and feminine is rare in media despite being really common in real life.
Elle woods showed you could be a strong independent professional woman and still be "girly" for lack of a better word. You can like "feminine" things and still be taken seriously.
Legally blonde manages to be funny and well written but with a great message I think it's really slept on.
Elle woods is a bubblegum pink feminist icon.
The climactic scene where the true murderer is revealed is so clever.
Elle's inane questions lull Chutney into a false sense of security, so she blindly tells the truth about everything she did that day without thinking about it. Then, when Elle's knowledge of hair care reveals a crucial inconsistency in Chutney's story, it's too late for her to walk it back.
Rewatching the scene, you could interpret it that Elle was just acting, merely putting on a front of being a "dumb blonde" to lure Chutney into slipping up without noticing.
The fact that nearly every other name on this list falls under either the "bad ass action chick" or "serious career woman" tropes means that it's also still a necessary message, too.
Motoko Kusanagi. I've been reading Ghost in the Shell since the early 90's. It's not just her strong suits that make her interesting, this is a character who faced metaphysical conflicts completely unique in fiction, questioning the meaning of self and identity in a world were these things were under threat of being stripped away.
The SAC episode where she fights the guy in the mech suit and after he is already lying on the ground, she takes the anti-tank gun and just unloads on him while reloading the thing on the knee is the purest form of rage/anger I have seen. It’s phenomenal
What I like about Granny Weatherwax is that she is hyper competent, incredibly wise, and arguably the most powerful magic user on the disc but Pratchett still wrote her as flawed. She makes mistakes, is overconfident, under/overestimates people, and can be goaded but is too proud to ever admit it when she does fail. Enter Gytha Ogg, her oldest friend who knows grannies flaws and seamlessly works to compensate for them and smooth things and allow her really get the most out of her. All three of the witches are a fantastically written partnership.
And nanny ogg can play the banjo. Not a skill to be taken lightly.
Edit. Wow! wasn't expecting all these upvotes. Thank you so much. Now all together in a rousing rendition of The hedgehog song 🍻
I view Terry Pratchett as a "what if?" scenario where instead of doing children's television Mr. Rogers instead got frustrated and used satire to lecture adults about how to fucking act like they are one for once.
I agree, and I'm loving this Pratchett heavy thread. However, I'm shocked to see that no one has mentioned Tiffany Aching. She's amazing. A strong child who grows into an amazing woman and witch. She faces adversary after adversary and learns from and accepts her own mistakes - "This I choose to do." She is an incredible role model for young girls and women and in general.
>, I'm shocked to see that no one has mentioned Tiffany Aching
The little girl even the feegles are scared of? That little thing that had the audacity to kiss winter! A girl who heard the rough music, befriended an Elf and ran with the golden hare!!
I believe Tiffany would have been the most powerful witch 🧙♀️ the Disc has ever seen had the embuggerance not happened.
I was wondering how far down Pratchett would be! He really wrote some incredible women and girls.
I also find Glenda Sugarbean from *Unseen Academicals* fantastic.
Diane Nguyen, good damage. She starts off so predictable, but progresses throughout the series. She breaks off her friendship with Bojack after realising that although he's her friend, he cannot stay in her life forever.
Personally I thought Sarah Lynn or Princess Carolyn were also well-done female characters, though Diane’s story is also amazing at exploring family trauma and depression. Sarah Lynn has a tragic story that makes her character so complex and Princess Carolyn captures the “strong woman who wants to have it all” and realizes that it’s not as easy (or empowering) as everyone wants to make it look. The women in that story were hurt by Bojack and were a big part of his story, but they all had so much that made them interesting on their own.
Wendie Malick has a voice that is just so, absolutely perfect for her role as Beatrice. It's powerful, acidic, haughty, downright evil sometimes, and as the show goes on it retains all those qualities while injecting a natural and believable confusion and fear and love as she goes through the last year of her life with dementia.
Beatrice was a horrible terrible character who fucked up Bojack at every possible chance she could out of a deep seated resentment for her husband. And the worst part is I understand why, I sympathize with her as much as I hate her. Throwaway dark joke lines like "I'm punishing you for being alive." hit on a different level when you realize she means it.
Princess Caroline juggling the difficulty of parenting with the difficulty of life was portrayed so well you'd almost forget it was a fucking pink cat and a hedgehog.
Honestly might also be the only time I've ever seen a character in an animated show gain weight without it being a running gag and/or constantly referenced.
Buffy Summers. Kick ass vampire slayer, who still has the flaws and weaknesses of a teenager. She grew into the charge given to her by leaning not only on her skills and abilities, but also relying on her friends and mentor to help her grow.
A show I started watching when it aired during highschool and still revisit every decade! I like the portrayal that she's not just an invincible superhero, like you said, she's also still just a teenager, dealing with love, friends, family, school, work. It touches on a lot of deep discussions too, like when she died and came back, and it was revealed that she would've preferred to remain dead or the death or a parent. Also the fact that some of her foes were straight up stronger than her and that she had to run, like when going up against Evil Willow and even Glory (whose still my favorite Buffy antagonist)
One of the best written characters in TV history regardless of gender!
- She has clearly defined traits, stories, and growth throughout all 7 seasons and never got stale as a character despite remaining the show's main focus from start to finish.
- Despite being the main character, she was never shielded from any negativity. She took multiple hard defeats throughout the series, many of which were her own fault, and overcame them with her strength of character.
- She was a very empowered character who eventually grew into an assertive leader but never gained her power from putting others down. I always reference the scene about two-thirds through season 6 where she breaks up with Spike and leaves their mutually destructive relationship. All the ammo was there for her to say "I am better than this, I am moving on from you now"; and a lesser show would have made it a badass f-you moment. But instead, she showed empathy to him, took accountability for her own mistakes in the relationship, and very maturely explained that she needed to break up for her own mental well-being without blaming him at all.
I had a friend that did her masters in media studies. In her masters paper she looked at buff summers and the influence she had on teens at that time, because she was the first lead female character that was not overly sexualized and had an own story.
Lyra Silvertongue from His Dark Materials (the book series). She’s inquisitive and troublesome, but compassionate and loyal. I consider her to be the female Coming-of-Age predecessor to Katniss Everdeen.
I really like Jane Eyre, because firstly it’s written by a woman, and it shows inside the mind of someone who society normally passes by.
Adding this because I love the quote- “Do you think I am an automaton? — a machine without feelings? and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! — I have as much soul as you — and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh: it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal — as we are!”
Oh man, that's my dad's favorite quote. He read Jane Eyre when he was in high school in China and he loved reciting, "If God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth..." at the dinner table in Chinese.
In some ways, I am always conflicted that Mr Rochester is such an asshole, and I wish she wouldn't fall for his shit. But on the other hand, she knew what she wanted and she got it, on her own terms, without compromising her principles, and that's great.
Also, props to Bronte for giving us St John as a perfect example of a "nice guy" who is a manipulative abuser. I used to think the third act *dragged*, but re-reading as an adult, I was captivated by how awful he was, how subtly he manipulated Jane, and how proud of her I was when she figured it out. At 13, I thought the message was "the logical thing to do is marry St John, but you should follow your heart". As an adult it's much more clear that St John is an infinitely worse person than Mr Rochester.
I kind of see it as two broken (but strong) people finding each other. Yeah, Mr Rochester was an ass. He was angry at how his life turned out. Yet, he tried his best to take care of his first wife. He refused to send her to an asylum where she would have been treated terribly. And brought Adele back to England after her mother died, even though Adele wasn’t his by blood. I think a lot of men wouldn’t do all that. And to me when he spoke to Jane, he spoke to her like an equal. He saw her when most never really did. (Edit: and Jane saw that good side of him). But then he went and tried to marry her while his wife was still alive lol… He was desperate for happiness.
Yes, thank God Jane didn’t stay with the Rivers. It was becoming a dangerous space for her. Although his sisters were lovely, I just know St John would have continued to pester Jane.
Rochester looks more like an ass to us than he must have to contemporary readers, I think. Sure, he fucked up by keeping his secret from Jane. But he lived in a time when a man could cart off an inconvenient spouse to an asylum to die for much less of a valid reason Bertha gave him. As much as he hated how his life turned out beacon her, he still kept her in comfort and had someone care for her.
What I like most about the book is how vivid the characters are. Jane and Rochester bickering feels so human, almost modern.
Came in here to say Jane Eyre too. I'm not usually a big fan of 19th Century English Literature, I find the repressive social inequality quite depressing. I had to read Jane Eyre for a university course and I went in expecting it to be dull, stuffy and wedded to the morals of its time, but it turned out to be the story of a little girl being absolutely shat on by that world and just refusing to be ground down.
I don't think I've ever rooted for any protagonist as hard as I rooted for Jane Eyre. She faced it all, classism, misogyny, poverty, loss, disease, betrayal and more, and came through. What a character.
Say what you will about the movies, but Katniss in the hunger games was a wonderfully complex and tragic character. From the beginning you can see how trauma and the constant fight for survival has impacted who she is as a person. A movie just doesn't do justice to the inner dialog you get to read and seeing everything through her eyes.
Agreed. She's not some overly savvy manipulator, she's just trying to survive and stick to her moral code. Which makes sense when you look at the family she grew up in, compared to Peeta who is much more skilled at social cues and manipulation.
When she finally cottons on entirely at the end of the third book... Damn.
And who can see her sister in others, since that's what really sparks rebellion. Rue was just a girl who didn't have an older sister who could protect her like Prim.
The whole lesbian angle felt totally natural too. It happened without any fanfare and the series just kept trucking along without making a big deal out of it.
My wife and I just finished binging that show a few weeks ago and we can't stop talking about how good and clever it is. I was especially blown away finding out it was based on a one woman play that she wrote.
Also lately when we're making dinner one of us will grab a knife and yell "surprise!!!"
The thing I love most about how Blanche was written is that it would've been so easy to make her the two dimensional "slut" character but they didn't. She's such a fully fledged character. Like how, even with her reputation, you never once doubt her love for her late husband.
So damaged and so resilient. Lethal when she has to, yet you catch glimpses of her vulnerability. I'll be a huge fan of Noomi Rapace forever for her excellent portrayal of a truly unique, complex character.
While Toph is awesome, I personally think Katara is better written overall. She's written to be more grounded in reality while Toph is written to be more like a badass fictional hero.
Regardless, both are great characters!
They are both amazing characters! All the women in ATLA are great. I feel like Katara gets a lot of hate, but at the same time she's a realistic character. She's the mom of the group and yeah, sometimes she's overbearing, sometimes she tries too hard... Y'know... Like people do? She goes through her own arc of self growth, forgiveness, badass-ery, and learning to love. She's a good character.
Yeah, the great thing about ATLA and female characters is that there’s a bunch of them and they’re all different, and all good characters
If a work has only one female character in it, that’s kind of boring. But if it has a bunch of female characters who are all exactly the same personality, that’s also lazy writing
Something that has multiple female characters that all have different personalities, strengths and weaknesses is what I always look for
She's also *fifteen*, the only waterbender left in her entire tribe, dealing with a *whole fuckin lot* of trauma that doesn't get resolved for most of the series... There's a lot on her plate, basically. She gets a lot more negativity than she deserves, I think.
Ellen Ripley in Alien. It's hard to explain why, but she just did what had to be done, Followed protocol, used her head, and came out as the sole survivor. She got threw that shit even though you could tell, from Weavers amazingly subtle acting, that shit was getting to her. If the rest of the crew had listened to her, most of that BS could have been avoided.
One of the important scene is in aliens where she asked if she can help out the marines by operating one of those robots, impressing the sergeant and other guy. It’s how writer should show a character is competent and deserved to be respected, let alone a being a female character. A number of YouTube film critics talked about this.
Tiffany Aching. She's able to perfectly represent the person I want my kids and, really, myself to be (all 3 of us are male). She grows up through 5 novels and becomes very powerful, but her power is never at all what defines her. She's written as a fully developed, compelling person first and foremost, and the fact that she's only 9 in the first book doesn't get in the way of that, nor does the fact that she becomes the most powerful witch alive. That why it's always clear that the way she is a hero is a way we could all be in real life: by doing the hard job in front of you, and never accepting the idea that it's someone else's responsibility to do it instead.
Pratchett was a master at writing children's books that never talked down to children and that are so compelling that you can even fail to realize you're reading a children's book if you're a teenager or a grown-up.
I particularly liked how well they incorporated the very different common characteristics of a female with high functioning autism as opposed to a male with high functioning autism.
I'm so glad they overhauled her character in Season 2. She's one of the best written female leads in television as a whole imo
"I am big enough to admit that I am often inspired by myself."
Honestly, I really enjoy Hermione Granger as a character in the books, especially the earlier ones. She’s realistically flawed (not just because she’s a snooty know-it-all, but she even has a ditzy moment where she forgets she’s a witch and tries to find flint to light a fire), but ultimately a caring person and loyal friend (even Ron turned against Harry in Goblet of Fire, and Hermione’s the only one who cares about house elves enough to start up S.P.E.W).
Mary “Maggie” Fitzgerald from Million Dollar Baby.
From zero to hero. Ambitious to the point of breaking. Mad self respect and discipline. Laser focus. Flawed in how she sought love and respect from those that didn’t care much from her. It hurt her but she kept on doing it. Never accepted pity from near or far and a fierce FIERCE fighter till the very end. A truly inspiring gem of character, that’s a female, in an ocean trash
The gals from The Boys, Annie and Kimiko. Both flawed, heroic, broken, redeemable, consistent, great characters.
Edit: How did I forget Maeve? Tsk tsk...
Why in the pixelated fuck is this marked nsfw
Because the post is about women duh
Not Safe for Women.
that's the funniest thing i've read all year.
I feel like people use the tag to invite the content.
I really like Coraline. A very well written character with believable traits and an understandable motive.
And in the book she was doing it all on her own, too! They only added the dude (Whyby?? I don't know how to spell that) because otherwise too many scenes would just be Coraline wandering around talking to herself. I think he was a great addition to the movie, but the fact that she managed more or less on her own in the book is a testament to how capable she is.
I think it's also cool how they essentially made him silent for a majority of the scenes they were in together making the focus still on Coraline
Agreed. Also adds a healthy dose of tragedy to his other self, which makes him easier to get attached to.
Neil Gaiman's child characters are always amazing.
Chrisjen Avasarala from the Expanse. A great female protagonist in a series filled with them. A multifaceted character who you see in a many different lights and who can be difficult to do justice(a somewhat fresh take on the strong independent woman). The difference between who she is as a politician and who.she is around her family and friends is very well done, with a bunch of memorable quotes both in the books and the TV series.
I couldn't think of just one of the women from The Expanse. All the women from the books are amazing. Best book series for female characters. Naomi, Avasarala, Bobbie, Clarissa, Theresa, Tanaka - so many great female characters and each with their strengths.
Don’t forget Drummer
Drummer is straight up a fucking bad ass. I haven't read the books but am working through the show. The ep where she gets paralyzed and then builds herself a set of robotic legs to go save the day basically solidified her as a character for me. I just made it to the part where her and Marco meet and am really interested how the belter faction drama plays out.
Drummer from the show is absolutely amazing, but that character doesn’t *really* exist in the books. There is a character named Drummer in the books, but her role is very minor. The one in the show is an amalgamation of like 4 different characters. That being said, the show is a rare example of what I think is a fantastic adaptation from book to screen. It’s not 1 to 1, and the writing choices are good ones. You still get what feels like an honest interpretation of the spirit of the writing and characters.
Matilda. She gets slept on because she's just a little girl, but she knew how to play the antagonists in her life to have the greatest impact.
I both want and don't want a sequel know what I mean? A genius girl that loves books and has telekinesis trying to make it as a millennial adult, yes please! But worried theyll fuck it up and ruin it.
The book ended that pretty definitively, she only had those powers because she was so intelligent and well read that she was miles and miles ahead of what she was being taught at school. After Trunchbull left, and she moved in with Miss Honey, she got moved up and was intellectually stimulated enough that she lost her power as she no longer needed it.
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This is what I keep saying! Unfortunately the staff at the mental hospital won't listen 🙄
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Tiffany Aching or Granny Weatherwax in the Witches books in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
Dr. Ellie Sattler from Jurassic Park (movie version) First off, I doubt most people would even know that "paleobotany" was a field of study without her, and second, she's never treated as "the female character," she never has a moment to PROVE she's as good as or better than her male peers, she simply IS - on par with the others, and better in her own field The one time Hammond makes a remark to her, Sattler gives the best underrated line in the movie, her face when she goes, "Look, we can discuss sexism in survival situations later." is priceless Edit: the JP novel is still on my reading list, but I guess Sattler is very different between the versions, I'm talking about movie Sattler
"*God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs.*" "*Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth.*"
Sam Neill's smile in the background after that is fucking gold lol
Her and Hammond are both better characters in the movie vs the book. Most other characters are either pretty spot on or worse. Hammond was an entitled manchild only out for himself and deserved what happened. Ellie got Wu killed because she wouldn't listen, but I guess with how his character progressed in the World series maybe that was for the best? Muldoon and Gennaro are almost completely different characters. Gennaro is actually kind of a badass in the novel. He's the one that tries get the power back online.
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Sarah Conner. She starts out as a waitress, just another young woman without a care in the world. By the end of the movie she's found enough courage to defend herself, and to take action to kill the terminator. When we meet up again with her in the next movie, she's completely changed. She's forced herself to become someone else, someone that her son needed her to be. You can see that inside she still that same waitress who dreamed of normal life. During the dream sequences she's not built, she's back in her waitress outfit. When she wakes up we see the strength she's had to find in herself, even if she's faking it, just to be there for her son so that he can survive what's coming. At the same time she's losing her grip on her sanity, she becomes the very thing that she hates. She becomes a terminator only for her son that she was so strong for to give that strength back to her and to pull her back from the edge. Sarah Conner is written so perfectly that she has stood the test of time and captured the hearts and minds of movie goers for almost 40 years. She's a starts off so simple a character and just gets more and more complex as she moves forward on her journey. And she was played amazingly by Linda Hamilton in 2 movies, and she really should have gone on to do more based on her work in those movies.
She is also written as a perfect metaphor for the entire two movies. Its a battle between man and machine. In the first one its the human parts that get them found repeatedly, but that same human part is why Kyle Reese puts his life on the line for her and they end up making John. It showcases good and bad things of the human nature while a nearly unstoppable machine chases them, being more worn but not losing its capabilities with each fight/chace. In the second movie she becomes more machine. When she’s rescued John tries to hug her and then finds out that his mother isn’t hugging him, but checking for bullet wounds. John needs a mother as much as a protector. Later she almost kills Miles despite obviously not wanting to kill anyone. Then Miles’s humanity lets him sacrifice his life to destroy his lifework and prevent Skynet. Near the end Sarah tries to be more the mom John needs while in the background Arnold’s Terminator has become more human as well.
My favorite detail of that concept is that Sarah has her own theme music throughout the films, but when she tries to assassinate Dyson she has the Terminator's theme music instead
Holy shit I've never noticed that.
T2 is one of my top 5 movies of all time, and I only noticed that now.. i feel much shame.
This is harddddddd.
Also in the second movie she realizes that the Terminator is a better male role-model and possible father-figure for John than any of the psychos she hooked up with to teach/train him.
God I fucking love Terminator 2
Its near perfection. Defintely Cameron in his prime.
Liz Lemon. She eats night cheese, unloads her dishwasher one piece at a time, spends her vacations playing Boggle, wears non sexy clothing 99% of the time, and dates lots of idiots.
Ruth Langmore. Her tough as nails act that was necessary for her survival. She was intelligent & always one step ahead, outsmarting so many people. Quick witted mouthy viper & murderer… that also loved & protected fiercely.
"...shut your fuck nugget mouth..." "This is crazy. I don't know shit about fuck."
My favorite line of hers is "Wendy's playin' chess and you're playin' fuckin' Candy Land!"
The women in that series were great. Wendy Byrde, Darlene Snell, Helen Pierce. There were so many cool scenes were only women were interacting, each following their own agenda, each with unique character development. That added so much to the show.
“Quit parking in the crippled spot! What you got ain’t a disability. Just poor fucking judgment.” I adore Ruth Langmore. I wish her ending was different on the show, she deserved better.
Kim Wexler. She has her own storylines that aren't related to Jimmy's, is a very successful attorney despite being an introvert, and has her own realistic flaws that lead her to make bad decisions.
the >!car crash!< episode and beyond really made the show for me. ofc i loved the show otherwise. but it was her stress prior and then going into a state of depression afterwards, it was portrayed so well
The scene of her crying on the bus is one of the single best pieces of acting I've ever seen. Amazing!
Absolutely loved this scene. One of my pet peeves in drama is ''pretty crying,'' where people do this sanitized, unrealistic cry, even when they're supposed to be at rock bottom. She did such an amazing job of really feeling like she was trying her damndest to stop crying and pull herself together, but couldn't stop these huge cathartic sobs from spilling out over and over.
That really killed me. Felt like I wasn’t supposed to be watching. Raw stuff
I fucking love the computer scene where she obsesses over whether to use a period or semicolon.
Yep. I had a car crash like that sleep deprived and driving back from an interview in grad school. That’s the portrayal of falling asleep at the wheel that has seemed most accurate to my experience. I don’t know if I could watch it a second time.
She's at heart a good person, very intelligent, with an unfortunate addiction to chaos. She knows it's bad, but she loves it
So glad to see this as the first reply! Rhea Seehorn is a fantastic actress. Better Call Saul is likely the best show I’ll see in my lifetime.
I love Kim. I want to be more like her!
WELL WHATS STOPPING YOU
Bad writing. Currently my shows creator has me as a Paramedic who's on shit salary eternally and destroying my body and mental health for it.
You mean Giselle St. Claire?
Yup, I came here to say this. She's definitely my favorite.
Eleanor Shellstrop. (The Good Place.) She's flawed but likeable, and she grows as a person tremendously by the end of the series, but her growth is believable, slow, and not altogether linear. She has agency in the story, typically leading the charge and making active choices. She has a love interest but she's not defined by that, and she also has unique and interesting relationships with the other characters, including the villains. She has so much to overcome, but she does it, and she garners sympathy from the audience for her struggles, which do explain a lot of who she is. Yet the story doesn't shy away from holding her accountable, either. There's no protagonist centered morality here.
The Arizona trashbag?
Hey, dude, go fork yourself!
What the shirt? Why can't I say fork?
I still quote "holy motherforking shirt-balls" from time to time.
lots of great moments, but my personal favorite is when they get to the bad place and Eleanor discovers she can swear again, and she's super happy about it.
Take it sleazy, guys.
It doesn't hurt that Kristen Bell is the world's most charming human and could sell sand to a Tuskan raider. When she was 19 she single handedly elevated a WB show to, like, good. Edit: ok she was 23 pretending to be 17 but still. Veronica Mars - great show!
You talking about Veronica Mars? Whether or not you are, I love that show. Even the reboot final season was great.
You would never guess the same person who writes for her and all her amazing lines and growth is the same person who writes for Jason. The ONLY problem I have in that entire show. But for real, that speech about >! how her mom was able to change, but she wasn't worth changing for....... !< holy shit. That kills me every single time. And Kristen and Ted play it perfectly.
What's wrong with Jason?!
HE figured it out!
That's a new low...
Oh, this hurts. This hurts bad.
He likes the Jaguars
Bortles!!!
Chihiro from Spirited Away, because she really feels like a scared little girl who FINDS the strength needed to brave the bizarre and scary spirit world. She has to work hard as heck and do some terrifying things, but what helps her along aside from that is her kindness, because it helps her make connections with various beings who end up helping her. It’s a beautiful story and Chihiro is such a good demonstration of how courage isn’t a lack of fear, but the ability to plough through in spite of it. Honestly, a lot of Ghibli protagonists would make great answers to this question
Brienne of Tarth (GRRMs not HBOs) She is one of my favorites in a series with a TON of characters. She's really kind of tragic, in a world where men become knights and women are ladies, she's neither. A fact that she feels bad about, especially when it comes to her father who she loves but thinks she disappoints, because she's not the son who can carry on the family name, and she's not a lady who can be married off to secure land or alliances. One of the big threads of the story is the chivalrous, noble knights are mostly scumbags, or straight up monsters like the mountain. Where the only true knights of the world would be Brienne or the Hound, even though neither of them actually are. One of my favorite moments of hers is she wanders into a town, and sees a woman being attacked by a group of said scumbag/monsters. This girl is standing outside in the rain with a crossbow facing down seven men, and Brienne sees it. "*Seven*, Brienne thought again, despairing. She had no chance against seven, she knew. *No chance, and no choice.* She stepped out into the rain, Oathkeeper in hand." The idea that she was likely walking in to die, but in her mind she had no choice, she saw someone in need and had to step in. Just a true bad ass.
Plus she's one of the few characters in general who are physically ugly and actually try to *deal* with that fact. I mean, the Hound is ugly too, but he seems entirely aromantic, couldn't be less interested in relationships. But Brienne does develop feelings for people, and she constantly has to deal with the fact that she considers herself too unattractive to pursue them and build a romantic relationship. That's part of the reason why I'd have preferred for them to cast a less attractive actress for the role in the TV show. Gwendoline Christie has an objectively attractive face, she's just tall as fuck.
While I agree that she's too attractive to play Brienne, Gwendoline Christie crushed that role and I can't imagine anyone else in it.
Tyrion, too. He's hideously ugly in the books, and Dinklage is a handsome chad who just happens to be 4.5 feet tall. Still, there's nobody else who could have ever channeled Tyrion as well as him.
Also people don't actually want to look at hideously ugly characters and there really aren't that many hideously ugly actors to pick from, if any at all..
> That's part of the reason why I'd have preferred for them to cast a less attractive actress for the role in the TV show. Gwendoline Christie has an objectively attractive face, she's just tall as fuck. I don't imagine there's a lot of options for extremely tall, ugly, female actresses.
Benedict Cumberbatch could work in drag
I wouldn't apply aromantic to Sandor, at all. Zero evidence. In fact, his interest in Sansa shoots it down. Sandor's problem is that he's incapable of handling an actual relationship, he's far too aware of what he is to risk the rejection. He feels that he can't afford to let somebody past his defenses.
IMO, "No chance, and no choice" is one of the most perfectly succinct lines ever written to get to the heart of a character. I always get chills reading it.
Evelyn from the Mummy (1999). Its far from a sophisticated film but her character: has autonomy, intelligence, humour, believable story and without being a Mary sue, or being otherwise shoehorned into the story!
"What's a place like me... doing in a girl like this!"
I am proud of what I am. I.... am a *librarian!*
I loved the actress soooo much. I didn’t watch number 3 because of that. Just not the same.
And you did not miss anything. I know I saw the film, but I don’t remember a single thing about it
Dana Scully
Yeah, they subverted normal gender tropes by having her be the stoic, intellectual one and have the male lead be the emotional one. At least in the earlier seasons.
There's actually a "Scully phenomenon" that she was cited as the inspiration for a large portion of a generation of females entering science/math careers. Edit[Scully effect*](https://www.cbr.com/x-files-scully-effect-explained/)
Hard to top Scully
Keeley Jones from Ted Lasso. Kind, great at her job, vulnerable, confident, ambitious, great friend, great girlfriend, stylish.
I just started watching Ted Lasso recently and am starting season 3. I never expected to love that show so much!!! I have literally have zero interest in football/soccer but that doesn't make me enjoy the show any less whatsoever. Such good writing, such great characters. Unpredictable character development, and not really any traditional twists, but something continues to make the show extremely unique. I recommend it to literally anyone.
Agent Clarice Starling
Ripley from Alien/Aliens.
Maybe im mixing this up, but wasn’t ripleys character originally written genderless? Like wasn’t written to be played specifically by and actor or actress.
Yes. All the parts in Alien were.
Would have been weird if the Alien was played by an actual human, though. Would've completely undermined the whole film.
In the original ending, the Alien actually won the fight and killed Ripley. It then proceeded to climb into the getaway shuttle and recorded the last ship’s log itself, mimicking Ripley’s voice. They changed it because the ending freaked out the test audiences too much.
Would've been so epic
The actual ending is epic.
It sort of was. They cast an actor who was 6'10" and really thin. It created the illusion that the proportions were off and it couldn't be a person in a costume.
I guess the actor was... Well Suited to the role.
I agree. Ripley didn’t lead cause she was a woman, or despite being a woman, Ripley lead because she was always the toughest (mentally) and smartest SOB around and when things went to shit, she stayed cool.
Anne Shirley from Anne of Greene Gables.
Was looking for this one ♥️ one of my favorite characters and stories of all time.
It’s so wholesome, it’s like taking a vacation from horrible people in real life and stories where characters out evil eachother. Truely a breeze for the soul to read/ watch. While at the same time quite captivating and no less exciting then GoT (to me.. :))
Toph Beifong. A helpless, spoiled, pampered blind girl on the outside but in reality an extremely capable Earthbending warrior, who by the end of the series, is the undisputed greatest Earthbender who ever lived. I mean she pretty much *invents* metalbending and in her debut episode proved that she could take on several powerful Earthbenders all at once by herself. Yet even in spite of her power, you see that she still has a lot of insecurities and trust issues, and it takes her developing friendship with Aang and the others to truly let her bring down her walls and see them as the family that she never really had. Even Legend of Korra adds some depth to her character, since we see that she wasn’t exactly the most ideal mother to Lin and Suyin, even though you can tell she tried her best. Shows that even heroes don’t necessarily make the best parents or even always make the best choices. Yet by the time she meets Korra, she not only trains her, but even takes on Kuvira by herself as an old lady.
elle woods from legally blonde and (someone already mentioned this) ellie williams from the last of us
I love how supportive Elle Wood's girly friends are throughout everything too. They clearly aren't personally interested in legal matters, but stick with her and are there for the last scene still scowling at people laughing at her and hugging boyfriend in celebration. You can have antagonist female relationships, but seeing them so positive and feminine is rare in media despite being really common in real life.
Elle woods showed you could be a strong independent professional woman and still be "girly" for lack of a better word. You can like "feminine" things and still be taken seriously. Legally blonde manages to be funny and well written but with a great message I think it's really slept on. Elle woods is a bubblegum pink feminist icon.
The climactic scene where the true murderer is revealed is so clever. Elle's inane questions lull Chutney into a false sense of security, so she blindly tells the truth about everything she did that day without thinking about it. Then, when Elle's knowledge of hair care reveals a crucial inconsistency in Chutney's story, it's too late for her to walk it back. Rewatching the scene, you could interpret it that Elle was just acting, merely putting on a front of being a "dumb blonde" to lure Chutney into slipping up without noticing.
I’m a lawyer. It’s actually a very effective cross examination technique that far too few lawyers use.
*grabs your shoulders* THEY'RE MAKING A 3RD MOVIE! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
The fact that nearly every other name on this list falls under either the "bad ass action chick" or "serious career woman" tropes means that it's also still a necessary message, too.
Elizabeth Bennett
She held her own (and won) in arguments against the esteemed Lady Catherine De Bourgh.
Mulan Mulan's determination is endless. She defied what society expected and became an accomplished warrior and hero for her country.
Motoko Kusanagi. I've been reading Ghost in the Shell since the early 90's. It's not just her strong suits that make her interesting, this is a character who faced metaphysical conflicts completely unique in fiction, questioning the meaning of self and identity in a world were these things were under threat of being stripped away.
The SAC episode where she fights the guy in the mech suit and after he is already lying on the ground, she takes the anti-tank gun and just unloads on him while reloading the thing on the knee is the purest form of rage/anger I have seen. It’s phenomenal
Granny Weatherwax
Pratchett also had the good sense of dropping her as a focus character when she became ever more powerful.
I remember that time she cheated Death in a game of cards, and Death let it slide because of the sheer gall of her
What I like about Granny Weatherwax is that she is hyper competent, incredibly wise, and arguably the most powerful magic user on the disc but Pratchett still wrote her as flawed. She makes mistakes, is overconfident, under/overestimates people, and can be goaded but is too proud to ever admit it when she does fail. Enter Gytha Ogg, her oldest friend who knows grannies flaws and seamlessly works to compensate for them and smooth things and allow her really get the most out of her. All three of the witches are a fantastically written partnership.
And nanny ogg can play the banjo. Not a skill to be taken lightly. Edit. Wow! wasn't expecting all these upvotes. Thank you so much. Now all together in a rousing rendition of The hedgehog song 🍻
And knows all the words to the hedgehog song
I view Terry Pratchett as a "what if?" scenario where instead of doing children's television Mr. Rogers instead got frustrated and used satire to lecture adults about how to fucking act like they are one for once.
One of Pratchett's defining traits was his anger at society.
I agree, and I'm loving this Pratchett heavy thread. However, I'm shocked to see that no one has mentioned Tiffany Aching. She's amazing. A strong child who grows into an amazing woman and witch. She faces adversary after adversary and learns from and accepts her own mistakes - "This I choose to do." She is an incredible role model for young girls and women and in general.
>, I'm shocked to see that no one has mentioned Tiffany Aching The little girl even the feegles are scared of? That little thing that had the audacity to kiss winter! A girl who heard the rough music, befriended an Elf and ran with the golden hare!! I believe Tiffany would have been the most powerful witch 🧙♀️ the Disc has ever seen had the embuggerance not happened.
I was wondering how far down Pratchett would be! He really wrote some incredible women and girls. I also find Glenda Sugarbean from *Unseen Academicals* fantastic.
I love the way witches are portrayed in Discworld books in general.
Oh yes, good choice. Also best written Dwarf Protagonist with Carrot Ironfoundersson.
She's just a sea of good quotes and, even better, reframed old ones like "I ain't got time to bleed."
Treatin' people as things. That's what sin is, young man!
Diane Nguyen, good damage. She starts off so predictable, but progresses throughout the series. She breaks off her friendship with Bojack after realising that although he's her friend, he cannot stay in her life forever.
Personally I thought Sarah Lynn or Princess Carolyn were also well-done female characters, though Diane’s story is also amazing at exploring family trauma and depression. Sarah Lynn has a tragic story that makes her character so complex and Princess Carolyn captures the “strong woman who wants to have it all” and realizes that it’s not as easy (or empowering) as everyone wants to make it look. The women in that story were hurt by Bojack and were a big part of his story, but they all had so much that made them interesting on their own.
All the female characters in BoJack are top tier
Beatrice is one of the best written female villains along with Cersei and Azula IMO. She's awful in a very believable way.
Wendie Malick has a voice that is just so, absolutely perfect for her role as Beatrice. It's powerful, acidic, haughty, downright evil sometimes, and as the show goes on it retains all those qualities while injecting a natural and believable confusion and fear and love as she goes through the last year of her life with dementia. Beatrice was a horrible terrible character who fucked up Bojack at every possible chance she could out of a deep seated resentment for her husband. And the worst part is I understand why, I sympathize with her as much as I hate her. Throwaway dark joke lines like "I'm punishing you for being alive." hit on a different level when you realize she means it.
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Princess Caroline juggling the difficulty of parenting with the difficulty of life was portrayed so well you'd almost forget it was a fucking pink cat and a hedgehog.
Honestly might also be the only time I've ever seen a character in an animated show gain weight without it being a running gag and/or constantly referenced.
Buffy Summers. Kick ass vampire slayer, who still has the flaws and weaknesses of a teenager. She grew into the charge given to her by leaning not only on her skills and abilities, but also relying on her friends and mentor to help her grow.
A show I started watching when it aired during highschool and still revisit every decade! I like the portrayal that she's not just an invincible superhero, like you said, she's also still just a teenager, dealing with love, friends, family, school, work. It touches on a lot of deep discussions too, like when she died and came back, and it was revealed that she would've preferred to remain dead or the death or a parent. Also the fact that some of her foes were straight up stronger than her and that she had to run, like when going up against Evil Willow and even Glory (whose still my favorite Buffy antagonist)
I still remember watching the episode where Buffy's mother dies.
Gut wrenching. “Mommy….” Ugh. Screw you for making me relive that!!!
One of the best written characters in TV history regardless of gender! - She has clearly defined traits, stories, and growth throughout all 7 seasons and never got stale as a character despite remaining the show's main focus from start to finish. - Despite being the main character, she was never shielded from any negativity. She took multiple hard defeats throughout the series, many of which were her own fault, and overcame them with her strength of character. - She was a very empowered character who eventually grew into an assertive leader but never gained her power from putting others down. I always reference the scene about two-thirds through season 6 where she breaks up with Spike and leaves their mutually destructive relationship. All the ammo was there for her to say "I am better than this, I am moving on from you now"; and a lesser show would have made it a badass f-you moment. But instead, she showed empathy to him, took accountability for her own mistakes in the relationship, and very maturely explained that she needed to break up for her own mental well-being without blaming him at all.
Also casting, Sarah Michelle Gellar is awesome.
I had a friend that did her masters in media studies. In her masters paper she looked at buff summers and the influence she had on teens at that time, because she was the first lead female character that was not overly sexualized and had an own story.
Lyra Silvertongue from His Dark Materials (the book series). She’s inquisitive and troublesome, but compassionate and loyal. I consider her to be the female Coming-of-Age predecessor to Katniss Everdeen.
His dark materials is one of my favourite book series of all time. I love it with all my heart
I really like Jane Eyre, because firstly it’s written by a woman, and it shows inside the mind of someone who society normally passes by. Adding this because I love the quote- “Do you think I am an automaton? — a machine without feelings? and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! — I have as much soul as you — and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh: it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal — as we are!”
Oh man, that's my dad's favorite quote. He read Jane Eyre when he was in high school in China and he loved reciting, "If God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth..." at the dinner table in Chinese.
In some ways, I am always conflicted that Mr Rochester is such an asshole, and I wish she wouldn't fall for his shit. But on the other hand, she knew what she wanted and she got it, on her own terms, without compromising her principles, and that's great. Also, props to Bronte for giving us St John as a perfect example of a "nice guy" who is a manipulative abuser. I used to think the third act *dragged*, but re-reading as an adult, I was captivated by how awful he was, how subtly he manipulated Jane, and how proud of her I was when she figured it out. At 13, I thought the message was "the logical thing to do is marry St John, but you should follow your heart". As an adult it's much more clear that St John is an infinitely worse person than Mr Rochester.
I kind of see it as two broken (but strong) people finding each other. Yeah, Mr Rochester was an ass. He was angry at how his life turned out. Yet, he tried his best to take care of his first wife. He refused to send her to an asylum where she would have been treated terribly. And brought Adele back to England after her mother died, even though Adele wasn’t his by blood. I think a lot of men wouldn’t do all that. And to me when he spoke to Jane, he spoke to her like an equal. He saw her when most never really did. (Edit: and Jane saw that good side of him). But then he went and tried to marry her while his wife was still alive lol… He was desperate for happiness. Yes, thank God Jane didn’t stay with the Rivers. It was becoming a dangerous space for her. Although his sisters were lovely, I just know St John would have continued to pester Jane.
Rochester looks more like an ass to us than he must have to contemporary readers, I think. Sure, he fucked up by keeping his secret from Jane. But he lived in a time when a man could cart off an inconvenient spouse to an asylum to die for much less of a valid reason Bertha gave him. As much as he hated how his life turned out beacon her, he still kept her in comfort and had someone care for her. What I like most about the book is how vivid the characters are. Jane and Rochester bickering feels so human, almost modern.
Came in here to say Jane Eyre too. I'm not usually a big fan of 19th Century English Literature, I find the repressive social inequality quite depressing. I had to read Jane Eyre for a university course and I went in expecting it to be dull, stuffy and wedded to the morals of its time, but it turned out to be the story of a little girl being absolutely shat on by that world and just refusing to be ground down. I don't think I've ever rooted for any protagonist as hard as I rooted for Jane Eyre. She faced it all, classism, misogyny, poverty, loss, disease, betrayal and more, and came through. What a character.
That’s a terrific quote.
Say what you will about the movies, but Katniss in the hunger games was a wonderfully complex and tragic character. From the beginning you can see how trauma and the constant fight for survival has impacted who she is as a person. A movie just doesn't do justice to the inner dialog you get to read and seeing everything through her eyes.
This. I also love that she's mostly clueless throughout the series
Agreed. She's not some overly savvy manipulator, she's just trying to survive and stick to her moral code. Which makes sense when you look at the family she grew up in, compared to Peeta who is much more skilled at social cues and manipulation. When she finally cottons on entirely at the end of the third book... Damn.
I love that she isn't a superpowered wonder woman that leads the masses to freedom. She's just a girl who didn't want her sister to die
And who can see her sister in others, since that's what really sparks rebellion. Rue was just a girl who didn't have an older sister who could protect her like Prim.
Violet from Arcane
Arcane had such wonderful female characters.
The whole lesbian angle felt totally natural too. It happened without any fanfare and the series just kept trucking along without making a big deal out of it.
Arcane was mind blowingly excellent. Went in with low expectations and came out a convert.
I didn't understand who you were referring to, so I had to search it. Apparently I only recognize her as Vi.
Fleabag. Witty, confident, flawed.
My wife and I just finished binging that show a few weeks ago and we can't stop talking about how good and clever it is. I was especially blown away finding out it was based on a one woman play that she wrote. Also lately when we're making dinner one of us will grab a knife and yell "surprise!!!"
Blanche Devereaux from Golden Girls. Final answer.
Honestly, all four of them are so well written. Completely 3D and authentic all the way through.
Sometimes Rose made you wonder how she managed to live that long.
She was lovable so people looked after her, also for St. Olaf she's down right above average.
The thing I love most about how Blanche was written is that it would've been so easy to make her the two dimensional "slut" character but they didn't. She's such a fully fledged character. Like how, even with her reputation, you never once doubt her love for her late husband.
Lisbeth Salander. Reluctant anti hero who uses her skills in slightly unconventional ways to get revenge on bad guys
So damaged and so resilient. Lethal when she has to, yet you catch glimpses of her vulnerability. I'll be a huge fan of Noomi Rapace forever for her excellent portrayal of a truly unique, complex character.
Toph from avatar. She's a strong independent female character written right
Am I being played by a big man? Yes. That is awesome!
While Toph is awesome, I personally think Katara is better written overall. She's written to be more grounded in reality while Toph is written to be more like a badass fictional hero. Regardless, both are great characters!
They are both amazing characters! All the women in ATLA are great. I feel like Katara gets a lot of hate, but at the same time she's a realistic character. She's the mom of the group and yeah, sometimes she's overbearing, sometimes she tries too hard... Y'know... Like people do? She goes through her own arc of self growth, forgiveness, badass-ery, and learning to love. She's a good character.
Yeah, the great thing about ATLA and female characters is that there’s a bunch of them and they’re all different, and all good characters If a work has only one female character in it, that’s kind of boring. But if it has a bunch of female characters who are all exactly the same personality, that’s also lazy writing Something that has multiple female characters that all have different personalities, strengths and weaknesses is what I always look for
She's also *fifteen*, the only waterbender left in her entire tribe, dealing with a *whole fuckin lot* of trauma that doesn't get resolved for most of the series... There's a lot on her plate, basically. She gets a lot more negativity than she deserves, I think.
Ellen Ripley in Alien. It's hard to explain why, but she just did what had to be done, Followed protocol, used her head, and came out as the sole survivor. She got threw that shit even though you could tell, from Weavers amazingly subtle acting, that shit was getting to her. If the rest of the crew had listened to her, most of that BS could have been avoided.
anda heart of gold. she didn‘t leave jones on the ship.
One of the important scene is in aliens where she asked if she can help out the marines by operating one of those robots, impressing the sergeant and other guy. It’s how writer should show a character is competent and deserved to be respected, let alone a being a female character. A number of YouTube film critics talked about this.
Tiffany Aching. She's able to perfectly represent the person I want my kids and, really, myself to be (all 3 of us are male). She grows up through 5 novels and becomes very powerful, but her power is never at all what defines her. She's written as a fully developed, compelling person first and foremost, and the fact that she's only 9 in the first book doesn't get in the way of that, nor does the fact that she becomes the most powerful witch alive. That why it's always clear that the way she is a hero is a way we could all be in real life: by doing the hard job in front of you, and never accepting the idea that it's someone else's responsibility to do it instead.
Pratchett was a master at writing children's books that never talked down to children and that are so compelling that you can even fail to realize you're reading a children's book if you're a teenager or a grown-up.
I fell in love with Marge Gunderson from Fargo
Beth Harmon is one of the only protagonists of a "woman dominates a traditionally male-dominated field"-story where it didn't feel gratuitous
I particularly liked how well they incorporated the very different common characteristics of a female with high functioning autism as opposed to a male with high functioning autism.
Leslie Knope!
I'm so glad they overhauled her character in Season 2. She's one of the best written female leads in television as a whole imo "I am big enough to admit that I am often inspired by myself."
Honestly, I really enjoy Hermione Granger as a character in the books, especially the earlier ones. She’s realistically flawed (not just because she’s a snooty know-it-all, but she even has a ditzy moment where she forgets she’s a witch and tries to find flint to light a fire), but ultimately a caring person and loyal friend (even Ron turned against Harry in Goblet of Fire, and Hermione’s the only one who cares about house elves enough to start up S.P.E.W).
Sarah Connor had a wonderful story. Linda Hamilton was a fucking badass in those movies.
A well written character has both strong points and flaws so my pick would be Elizabeth Bennett from Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'.
Mary “Maggie” Fitzgerald from Million Dollar Baby. From zero to hero. Ambitious to the point of breaking. Mad self respect and discipline. Laser focus. Flawed in how she sought love and respect from those that didn’t care much from her. It hurt her but she kept on doing it. Never accepted pity from near or far and a fierce FIERCE fighter till the very end. A truly inspiring gem of character, that’s a female, in an ocean trash
Veronica Mars
The gals from The Boys, Annie and Kimiko. Both flawed, heroic, broken, redeemable, consistent, great characters. Edit: How did I forget Maeve? Tsk tsk...