'V Wars' Season 1: Ian Somerhalder's Netflix adaptation is a men's show where women exist only to serve the male protagonist's story
*Warning: Spoiler alert*
The Netflix adaptation of the V Wars comics franchise released on December 5, and despite all its wokeness about politics and global warming, it makes the fatal mistake of fridging. We had hoped that the trailer would be deceptive, but it turns out, not really. In the trailer itself, while the world is fleeing from the threat of vampires, of course, a female vampire has to make a move on the male protagonist, because...
Dr Luther Swann (Ian Somerhalder) is a brilliant scientist, living a happy life with his wife Jess and kid, Dez. Unfortunately, his best friend Michael Fayne (Adrian Holmes) becomes exposed to a deadly virus that meddles with his genes and causes him to turn into a vampire on a feeding rampage. Jess gets infected by the disease, and almost kills Dez. Luther saves Dez in time and kills her quickly, horrified at what he's done. And of course, he is taken in for questioning.
But here's the basic problem: This eternal concept of fridging that Hollywood and television shows continue to indulge in. The wife is killed, and so the single father has to take on the job of protecting his son. What's more jarring is that Jess had barely any defining characteristic in the show before she was disposed off, apart from acting seductive or displaying her sexual side with Luther.
'V Wars' comes out as unfair with its women, as Luther even admits that he threw away his first wife's birth control pills without telling her while on holiday because he wanted to have kids. If that's not disturbing, then what is?
We are in the 21st century, and there's much hope that films have come a long way from reducing women to just those who haplessly grieve by the side, or as just those to be fridged, in order for the men to have more incentive for revenge. 'V Wars' is mostly a men's show, with the women somewhere in the background, just for aesthetic presence.
There's even a scene where a journalist interviews Luther's ex-wife Rachel (Nikki Reed) just about her failed relationship with Luther and asks if she has a message for her son. There are vampires running around the country, and this is what takes priority for the journalist! Sigh. They're just there for drama. Rachel is even portrayed as practically unstable and is there to serve Luther's story.
'V Wars' starring Ian Somerhalder and Adrian Holmes released on Netflix on December 5. The series is now four episodes in and women still serve no purpose. Will Danika and Kayla have a better role?