implies that it’s simply enough to just throw in a few strong women, cut down the explicit sex scenes and references, and that’s enough. Except it’s not. The maintenance of many problematic elements: romanticising Stockholm syndrome, presenting women as unable to lead without men’s guidance, and taking out the little moments of feminism we got continues the franchise’s poor treatment of women.has the story to do better by its female characters.
Unlike the Korean series, the Spanish version had feminist moments led mainly by Nairobi. Nairobi’s “Let the matriarchy begin” line, her friendship with Tokyo, and her boosting Alison Parker’s confidence when she tells her to “Look at yourself, the super female you are,” are iconic. While it’s inadvertently true, the way the series portrays this conversation between Captain Cha Moo-hyuk and the Ministry of State Security by punctuating it with a sex scene between Seon Woo-jin and the Professor, with her in her bra, reiterates how this show sexualises women and suggests women are easily controlled through sex.The show uses serious moments for comic relief or as a dramatic device instead of addressing issues.
Yoon Mi-seon’s storyline is another example of this. We never learn anything about her beyond her relationship with Denver, the man who shot her and holds her hostage, and her affair with the married Cho Young-min. Her movement from one negative relationship to another is never addressed, causing the presentation of Stockholm syndrome in the series to be even more romanticised.