THE CHAIR

After falling in love with Killing Eve instantly, I was quite excited about this one. But as much as I want to praise it, I’m not going to lie, this was disappointing. The only good thing about The Chair was Sandra Oh and they didn’t even draw out her emotional prowess to its full potential. I get that it’s supposed to be a little more light-hearted than Greys or Killing Eve and the fact that it’s supposed to emulate VEEP vibes but I’m not sure if I would even have watched the entire series if it weren’t for Sandra Oh. It’s like I was waiting for that moment for her to take over the show and except for one or two moments at the end, I’m not sure she did.

My question is, other than the fact that Bill did not have his shit together, why was Ji-Yoon named chair in the first place? I wanted to see more of that. The only time we truly get to see her in her full Sandra Oh glory was when she was teaching that class IN THE LAST EPISODE. Yes, I get that we want to show Ji-Yoon as this character with flaws but the show could have really used the classic Sandra Oh badassery. I want her to take life by the balls and run headfirst into things because that’s what we women of color want to do. Especially when we get to a position to do things. Change. Instead, we have her running away from love, running away from firing three senior professors which were long overdue. I’ve been in very few systems where they’ve kept old traditions and things and it’s somehow made everything better.

One of the professors that were supposed to be fired/forced to retire was falling asleep and farting everywhere. Don’t tell me a character like Ji-Yoon spent years on the sidelines and didn’t take note of things like this. When you’re in a system that’s designed against you, you take notice of these things. And it’s not even in a vengeful “I will have my way!”, but as a person who rises up to be a leader.

The last-ditch attempt to pull the rug out from underneath us and make Joan the chair? I don’t know about using Sandra Oh to sell a show about a minority woman being The Chair and then changing The Chair. Hmmm.

The most annoying part of a show that is supposed to be about the first female chair of her department is the series arc revolving around tackling the politics of a white man. Yes, Bill, I know that you’re not a nazi but you’re an English teacher —you know the meaning of context. You know the meaning of being taken out of context. You know the meaning of a sincere apology. And as a person who used to be Chair, you also know how your actions are going to implicate The Chair. I get you trying to screw the system and have a townhall on your own, but when faced directly with the people you say that you care so much about, your students (and Ji-Yoon), I think you can do better than “I’m sorry for how you felt”.

Of course, I love a show like this for doing what it was trying to do, especially if you’re reading this, please do go watch the show — just to form an opinion of your own. And to support Sandra Oh — not that she needs it but because I refuse to have another show statistic reflect that shows with minority leads don’t do as well. and also because it was something that was so poorly planned/plotted out but Sandra Oh still shined.

I loved the scene of her crying in the toilet. It reminded me of why I was so excited about The Chair in the first place, that’s the reason why you have Sandra Oh in a show, you get pulled in all the emotional directions and you feel what she feels. When her daughter finally replies in Korean proving that she was right all along. (See this is what I mean, she’s supposed to be a character that’s acutely aware of the human condition, how people behave and react, there is no way that she could have stood by and kept three old professors who didn’t even know how to engage their students.)

Something I also wish had more screen time was the friendship between Yaz, Joan, and Ji-Yoon. If you’re going to be a show that celebrates women give me more of that! Show me that Joan is more than just a professor with low enrolment, show me that she is someone that captivates even in the classic way. Teachers don’t have to try to be your friend to keep you enrolled in their classes.

I admire what this show came here to do for diversity and representation and to show what “diversity” actually looks like in real life, but damn it kind of missed the mark everywhere else.

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