The third series of the TV drama Mistresses is nothing like the first or second, mainly because the writers have stopped trying to be a cheap imitation of SATC, and discovered their own voice.
For me this means talking about taboo subjects like, ‘mother dares to say you have become reduced by flagging ambition and chasing your best friend’s husband!’, is quite a lot to cram into the first episode. But it works, partly because Joanna Lumley has joined the show and upped the ante, and also because it is starting to say that female friendships are more complex than swopping sob stories over a glass of Chardonnay about men!
As women we all carry so much guilt: am I good enough, thin enough, clever enough, successful enough, that our voices become compromised and, dare I say it, yes, reduced.
I want characters who not only insight me to throw 100 yogurts at the telly, but also make me question my own point of view. I don’t want stereotypes or mannequins, but real women with voices.
I was cheering Trudie on when she told her husband that it was her baking business that was supporting them financially, and that she needed his engagement not his winging. Bravo. I suppose she could have bashed a few pots and pans instead of saying that, but her words coupled with her emotion were powerful. Her voice was powerful because she was speaking the truth.
