The First Lady Review: That White House (Season 1 Episode 1)
“A woman is like a tea bag, you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.”
The first outing of The First Lady is a lovely look into the more interesting other half of three of our nation’s presidents: Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama. Their stories are compelling but it’s the cast and portrayals that draw you in and take hold.
Powerhouses Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Gillian Anderson step into these incredible women’s big shoes and deliver. Each actor makes these well-known figures their own and grounds them as well, showing a whole other side of these women whose lives were and are so public.
Much like The Crown, the series is historical fiction and should be viewed as such. Well-researched dramatization makes for excellent television. Add in these extraordinary performances and TV magic is made.
Gillian Anderson is Eleanor Roosevelt
It’s apparent that all three women hold the woman which they are portraying in high esteem. That admiration is quite obvious when Anderson is on the screen, and it shines through even as she disappears completely into the role.
Capturing Eleanor Roosevelt’s humanity and brilliance requires more than just looking and sounding the part, and Anderson is more than up to the task. Coming off a winning award season for her turn on The Crown as another female political figure, Margaret Thatcher, Anderson applies the same level of thought and care into playing the formidable Eleanor.
From Iron Lady to First Lady, Anderson delivers stunning performances, back-to-back, in period dramas, and those two women could not be more different. Eleanor Roosevelt was amazingly feminist for her time and Margaret Thatcher was amazingly anti-feminist for a woman in her postion.
Anderson is able to bring great humanness and depth to both hero and villain alike.
Michelle Pfeiffer is Betty Ford
Betty Ford is the First Lady depicted on the series that I know the least about. What a gift it is to learn about her through Pfeiffer’s strikingly tender portrayal.
She crafts a well-developed, fully-formed character full of nuance and vulnerability with a fiery edge. It’s difficult to take your eyes off of her when she’s in a scene—you don’t want to miss any of the bold choices Pfeiffer makes in her turn as Betty.
Much of Betty’s story on the first episode relates to mental health and the importance of taking the stigma out of mental illness. Thus, making it relatable for those who suffer similarly. There’s a comforting warmth that radiates out of her, but her fierce tenacity also comes through.
Simply put, I am left wanting more.
Viola Davis is Michelle Obama
Viola Davis certainly has the most pressure to get her role of living legend Michelle Obama right. It’s a good thing that Davis is, herself, a living legend.
Michelle’s move into the White House is uniquely more complicated than any First Lady to come before her has had to deal with. It’s an advantageous move to focus on this stage of their position as First Lady, and to really take the time with Michelle’s portion of it.
The way she wanders at her own pace as retiring First Lady Laura Bush gives her the tour has the confidence and independence that we know Michelle possesses. She goes out of her way to warmly greet the Black employees she sees along the way which movingly illustrates the gravity of this moment in history for Black Americans.
Both the overt and disguised racism that Michelle and her daughters have to contend with gives the necessary intersectionality to the feminist throughline of the series.
If you compare The First Lady to The Crown, you might find The First Lady to be tamer in the drama department. At least it is on the first episode. The First Lady is a quieter account of history through the eyes of three remarkable women.
What did you think of this episode of The First Lady? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The First Lady airs at 9/8c on Showtime.
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Erin Allen
Erin is a former script supervisor for film and television. She's an avid fan of middle aged actresses, dark dramas, and irreverent comedies. She loves to read actual books and X-Files fan fiction. Her other passions include pointing out feminist issues, shipping Mulder and Scully, and collecting pop culture mugs.