Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Who Run the World? Girls!

I've been saving this post for a quite long time, but because today is the International Women's Day, I finished this one off for you to ignore read. So, am I gonna talk about Beyonce's song? Nope, I just borrowed the title from my twin-by-13-years. This post is going to be about my favorite female TV characters. No, you didn't read it wrong. I do want to talk about my favorite TV heroines. HEROINES. Women. Not men, women
Okay, I'm still a fangirl, but this time I will show you that I can fangirl over actresses too! Since I watch too much TV, it's hard not to have favorite characters. Men aside, I will honor my favorite female characters aka my TV heroines in no particular order:

1. Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars)


Oh my. I freaking love this girl. I can't talk about my favorite TV shows without mentioning her at least once. The sassy teenage detective who is actually smarter than any of the police in the show. She's brave and easygoing, despite suffering the rough times after her best friend Lilly was murdered. Once being in the circle of exclusive group in Neptune High, she had a 180-degree life change. She was drugged and raped at a party hosted by one of the members. The event turned her to be cynical, filled with anger and disgust toward the wealthy life of Neptune. Not just that, people looked at her as if she was a pariah because she stood with her father, the then-Sheriff Keith Mars, who wrongly accused Lilly's father of the murder. It wasn't any better as her mother abandoned them. Soon after, Keith became a private investigator and have his own agency, Mars Investigations, where Veronica worked at between school time. Apart from it, she also accepts investigating jobs from her friends and other people, and can easily solve the cases with helps from her best friends Wallace and Mac.
Kristen Bell became one of my favorite actresses because of this series. God, please bring back Veronica Mars (again)!

2. Spencer Hastings (Pretty Little Liars)
  

Before you say anything, let me say it first: I know Pretty Little Liars has been going downhill since... a very long time ago, but that doesn't make me stop watching it. I was one of those people who felt betrayed after that awful season 6 mid-season finale. But, hey, I don't want to be reminded by that episode again, ever, so let's just proceed to the brain of the squad: Spencer Hastings. I like her a lot, not just because she's like the Veronica Mars of PLL, but she also stands up for herself. I won't talk about her bad habits (stealing her sister's essay, boyfriend... ugh, drama). She's the brightest, bravest, richest Liar. She was the only one who could disagree with what Alison, their queen bee, said. She only cries if the situation is unbearable to her, otherwise she's strong as rock. There's one time when she broke down and started to get addicted to drugs. It really broke my heart to see how stressful she was. Troian Bellisario is just that good to portray Spencer, in any kind of emotions.

3. Emily Thorne (Revenge)


How many reasons to like Emily? Infinity times infinity! She's beautiful, mysterious, smart, the type pf girl you just can't mess with. She can take you down, I mean take you down, once she set her aim at you. She always look calm and rather cold, with that smile you don't know the meaning of. Her main purpose of the series was to, of course, get revenge, especially to those who have wronged her and her father. Even so, she has flaws--mainly her vulnerabilities and unstable emotions, which often gets in her own ways to get vengeance. But, let's don't forget how confident, independent, and well-organized she is. She has prepared everything to get her revenge done, including training herself to become quite a fighter. That's probably why I also like Emily VanCamp. Gorgeous girl!

4. Joan Watson (Elementary)


When it was first announced that the new Sherlock Holmes adaptation would have female Watson, the world was going crazy. They were judging even before the series aired. But, once it did, look what happened. Everyone loves Joan Watson! Lucy Liu even got several awards for her portrayal of Watson. Starting as Sherlock's sober companion, Joan learned to be a detective as the series progressed. Well, if you have Sherlock Holmes as your mentor, nothing would go wrong, right? Yeah, not really. She's always frustrated because of Sherlock's behavior. But because of that, she tries to not depending on him and often solves cases of her own. Sometimes her snarky comments make people shut their mouths off. She's also the one who can stand Sherlock and eventually the one who can 'tame' him, making them one of my favorite dynamic duos of all time. I love this Watson as much as other Watsons, and I will always defend her from those ignorant haters!

5. Detective Sarah Linden (The Killing)


What I like most about Detective Linden is how determined she is. She's too faithful to her job that it cost her the relationships she has built to several people. Pain and deaths seem to affect her, explaining her determination to catch the killers in each case. She is paired with Detective Holden, whom she didn't trust at first, but soon to be the only one who could actually understand the troubles she went through. She always acts cold towards anyone, sometimes scornful. But I gotta say, I love how badass she could be with that poker face. Mireille Enos really did a good job at it.

6. Thea Queen/Speedy (Arrow)


Spoiled brat! That's what I thought about Thea when Arrow first started. She was the typical spoiled rich kid who wasted her money on drugs and party. But, she did it for a reason: she was devastated by the loss of her father and brother, Oliver. After Oliver got back, she started to get away from that life. I can say that she's one of few characters on Arrow who actually shows some character development. After a major turning point in the show, she changed. Under Malcolm Merlyn's training, she learned to fight and became a warrior like her brother did. Eventually, she joined Team Arrow under the name Speedy. She was no longer the crybaby, she's strong and can take care of herself. I felt bad on how people treated her at first (lying to her, even drugged her and made her kill someone), while she herself had already gone through worse things. I sure miss Thea/Willa Holland's long and curly hair from early seasons, but I love her new look even more. She's clearly not more boring than Felicity and Laurel. Sorry for those who like them, I'm team Speedy!

7. Liv Moore (iZombie)


I know I've said I don't like anything with zombies in it, but this show is an exception. Coming from the same genius man who brought Veronica Mars to live, iZombie is not your average zombie show. Forget The Walking Dead, this is actually a detective show. Well, how many show with crime-solving zombie as the main character? That's why I like iZombie (apart from it was also created by Rob Thomas). Olivia 'Liv' Moore was an ordinary medical student until she came to a party and ended up waking as a zombie. To hide her identity, she works at medical examiner's office, where she can also eat brains without actually killing anyone. However, it has impacts on her, as she can absorbs the memories and traits of the dead people whose brains she's eaten. With the visions and such, she comes to work with Detective Babineaux, who thinks she has psychic powers. Of course, the job has its own twists and turns. I always laugh seeing Liv changes characteristics every episodes, and Rose McIver is just so lovely. Aside from that, Liv also tries to find the cure for her zombie-ness, with the help of her co-worker Ravi, while trying to 'live more'. Get it?

8. Jessica Jones (Jessica Jones)



As I've explained before, Jessica Jones is a former superheroine who becomes a private investigator after being under the influence of a mind-controlling freak named Kilgrave. As a result of the experience, she suffered from PTSD that turns her into a sarcastic, cynical, and sharp-tongued woman, with fears still fill her whole body. When she finds out that Kilgrave is back, she almost breaks down again and tries to run away, but then she realizes that if she does this, she will never win and will always feel insecure. She decides to confront the fears, be tough, and brave because she, however, was once helping people with her ability of super strength and flying.
A little trivia: Krysten Ritter was starring as Gia Goodman in Veronica Mars season 2 and the movie. Both Jessica and Veronica are private investigators. Ah, I love PIs and detectives!

Honorable mention: Ran Mouri (Meitantei Conan/Detective Conan/Case Closed)


Who doesn't know this girl? Yes, the girl who waits so long for her boyfriend best friend to come home when actually he's been by her side all along. By appearance, Ran Mouri or Mouri Ran is a sweet and caring 17 years-old girl. Because of that, not many people know that she's in fact a national karate champion and physically strong. Not many people also know that behind that strength, she has a vulnerable heart and often cries for smallest reason, mostly because of Shinichi Kudo (who shrunk and became Conan Edogawa), that boyfriend best friend I'm talking about. They both like each other, but they're also friendzoned. That sucks, huh? But, even though she's in manga and anime form, Ran is an amazing character. She has both strengths and flaws, it makes her even more interesting. I can't wait to see her reaction of the revelation of Conan being Shinichi--must be both heartbreaking and exciting.

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Believe me, I watch so many TV shows and have so many favorite characters, but these nine are the ones I can think of right now. Alright, hope you enjoy this long post! Do you have any favorites of the women I mentioned above? Or you have anyone else? Let's share!

Oh, and happy International Women's Day to us girls and women!!!

All the gifs shown here are not mine, just taken from Google. Credits to all the makers and uploaders.