5 Reasons I Will Miss Rizzoli And Isles

For those of you not familiar with the show, Rizzoli and Isles is a crime drama set in Boston that centers on Detective Jane Rizzoli and Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles. The show recently aired its final episode. Some have criticized the show for bad gender politics, and while there are a few instances where the strong female leads are turned into damsels in distress, overall, I can’t agree. The show has its problems, like basically every show ever, but as a lover of crime dramas, I found it refreshing, and I am going to miss it. Here’s why:

1. Detective Rizzoli wears actual suits to crime scenes. Lots of crime dramas put their female characters in ridiculous outfits at crime scenes and in laboratories (think CSI). I’m all for tiny dresses and sky high heels if that’s what makes you happy, but they seem impractical for police officers and crime scene techs. How do you get on the ground to look for clues or chase a suspect in that crap? Sometimes the characters look more like the “sexy” Halloween costume versions of the characters they play than real officers or scientists. Detective Rizzoli wears real suits that she can move around in. She looks like she belongs at the crime scene.

2. Both Rizzoli and Isles are, generally speaking, single. They date, but neither ever has a love story that is central to the ongoing plot. The show has two strong female leads who are happy, fulfilled, and single. This is somewhat of a rarity for a genre plagued by the protracted “will they or won’t they” storylines of shows like Castle and Bones.

3. The show has great male characters. Crime dramas are riddled with male characters who sexually harass their female coworkers under the auspice of being charming. Think Tony Dinozzo of NCIS or Richard Castle in the early seasons of Castle. The men who work with Detective Rizzoli and Dr. Isles treat them with respect. Over the years, their professional relationships turn into personal friendships, but I can’t ever recall seeing something condoned and normalized on this show that would constitute sexual harassment in the real world.

4. They smash the patriarchy. Both of these women are working and finding success in traditionally male-dominated fields. They are living happy, fulfilled lives without male partners. And to top it all off, they address misogyny head-on. For example, toward the end of the last season (Season 7, Episode 7), Detective Rizzoli is confronted by a student at the FBI academy where she is guest lecturing, who obviously has a problem with her, because she is a woman in authority over him. She has such a bad feeling about him that she does some digging and discovers he has a checkered past, where the treatment of women is concerned (during his time as editor for his college paper he drove a younger female student to suicide). She brings it to the FBI’s attention and he is kicked out of the academy. She sees a sexist asshole who is about to be handed a badge, gun, and all the power that comes along with them, and she does something about it. Detective Rizzoli: 1,000,000; The Patriarchy: zero.

5. They are truly BFFS.

Most shows stick either with shallow relationships between female friends filled with conflict, or one that flirts with sexual or romantic undertones. Rizzoli and Isles have a real, honest to god, best friendship. Like the kind of best friendship that women all over the world actually have with each other. They have the emotional intimacy that comes from being open and honest with one another; from supporting each other through tragedy. When I first started watching the show I thought for sure the writers were going to reveal that the women were romantically involved. And while I am all for more three dimensional gay characters in television, I’m glad that they didn’t. Because there is also a lack of happy stable genuine female friendships on television. I guess catty backstabbing just makes for better TV -- or so they want us to believe. But it doesn’t reflect real life, at least not for me. It was so refreshing to see a friendship that actually looked like the ones I have in real life and I’m going to miss it.