The Show:Imposters, Season 1, Episode 1
The Moment: The ice cream cone
Gorgeous, ruthless con-woman Maddie (Inbar Lavi) is working a rich banker, whom she hopes to wed and then rob blind. But at a coffee shop, she’s distracted by Patrick (Stephen Bishop), a handsome tech entrepreneur.
Together they watch this scene outside the window: A little girl wants some of her brother’s ice cream cone. He refuses. She wails, “Evan hit me.” Her mother gives her Evan’s cone. Gleefully, she licks it.
“I find that inspiring,” Maddie says. “If I were her mother I’d give her a prize.”
“For being manipulative?” Patrick asks.
“For taking care of herself,” Maddie replies. “Most girls take a long time to learn a trick like that.”
“Not very feminist of you, but OK,” Patrick says.
“I don’t agree at all,” Maddie says. “But are you really talking to me about feminism? We just met.”
I just met this show and, three episodes in, I like it. It’s silly enough to keep things fleet, yet clever enough that you don’t lose IQ points by watching it. But I still want to talk about feminism.
The femme fatale, the Black Widow: these archetypes play on men’s fears of how dangerous women are. A few new series are trying to flip those tropes into positive evidence of female power. (See also: Bravo’s Good Behavior, which I’ll tackle Monday.)
The rationale: it’s a man’s world. I’m allowed to claim my piece of it any way I can. If men are stupid enough to fall for this, it’s their fault.
But is that feminism? Let’s discuss.
Imposters airs on W Network. Johanna Schneller is a media connoisseur who zeroes in on pop-culture moments. She usually appears Monday through Thursday.
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