The CW’s new military drama Valor premiered on Monday night and I was expecting the worst. Not only is The CW the home to many outspokenly liberal programs, but the main character is supposed to be the first female helicopter pilot in an Army special operations unit. That’s just a recipe for virtue signaling disaster.
The show centers around special ops helicopter pilots Warrant Officer Nora Madani (Christina Ochoa) and her commanding officer Captain Leland Gallo (Matt Barr) after a mission in Somalia where something went terribly wrong. They were the only soldiers to return, the others killed or captured. The pair discovers there was more to the mission than they had been told and work to uncover a conspiracy as well as get their fellow soldiers home. Alternating between present day and flashbacks to the ill-fated mission, we begin to piece together the puzzle of what really happened and why.
Surprisingly, unlike other “first female” themed shows like Fox’s Pitch, about the first female MLB player, and an episode of ABC’s The Catch about the first female Army Ranger, Valor doesn’t beat us over the head with telling us Madani's a woman in a misogynist world.
Sure, there’s mention of her having to “work twice as hard,” and “officers in command who think we shouldn’t open combat positions to women,” but, honestly, that was about it. (By the way, we shouldn’t have opened combat positions to women.)
The way liberals were pumping it up I was expecting G.I. Social Justice Warrior. Some of the laudatory headlines included: Refinery 29- Valor Is The Feminist Military Drama You Didn’t Expect; Bustle- Is 'Valor' Based On A True Story? The Female-Focused Military Drama Makes A Political Statement; and Hollywood Reporter -'Valor' "Makes a Political Statement" by Highlighting Female Army Pilot, Star Says.
You know what we really need? A military drama from a feminist perspective… said no one ever. Unless you’re one of the ninnies who complained about how there weren’t enough women and minorities in the World War II movie Dunkirk. But so far this hasn't panned out.
Now, just because this episode wasn’t bad doesn’t mean that there won’t be a hard turn to the left in the future. After all, the cast and crew have all been promoting the show like it’s some big political statement – a reaction to Trump and opportunity to resist.
According to Bustle, “[Showrunner Anna] Fricke also revealed that the series' decision to put a woman front and center of its military drama was inspired by the current political landscape, and they're hoping they can bring about some change with their positive depiction of Nora.”
The lead actress was even more outspoken: "It's incredibly timely," Ochoa said. "I'm very excited and proud to be part of a community that wants to post-election mobilize in any way they can, and for us that's storytelling. So I think that bringing strong, empowered females to the forefront in telling these stories, and their plight and showing them as nuanced and filled with subtleties and kind of the challenges and everything that they go through is incredibly important especially these days."
She went on, “[I]f we have the opportunity to take this as a our little soapbox and have a platform for that voice. I'm incredibly proud to be a part of any project that has that mission."
They’re all excited to say the show has a political statement, but the political statement seems to be that it is feminist because it simply exists. Oh, also, because Madani is such a "complex," flawed character.
When it comes to Ochoa’s character herself, the actress can’t help but gush about the "complex and intricate" fictional pilot. "Nora Madani['s journey] has not just her being a woman in a man’s world," the new CW star explained. "She has PTSD to contend with. She has the mission and rescuing one of her comrades. She has the pill popping. She has all these different layers happening at once that allow her to be more well-rounded then we see these tropes. So absolutely I think it’s a feminist statement. I think it’s a political statement."
Yay, now women can have PTSD, lie, cheat, and develop drug problems just as much as the men do, too! Feminism!
And there’s reverse sexism, too! There’s an awkward moment when the CIA agent on the case is introduced to the intel officer (Madani’s boyfriend) who is her liaison at the base. She looks him up and down and says in front of everyone, “Anyone ever tell you you look like an action figure? … You're adorable.” Yay for equal opportunity sexual harassment!
But if that's as bad as it gets, The CW is letting us off easy. Unfortunately, especially considering they've teased an upcoming episode on sexual assault, I think they're just holding their fire.
