Spoiler & Content Warning: This review contains spoilers for the first three episodes of Furious. It also discusses sensitive topics, including human trafficking, domestic violence, physical abuse, sexual assault, and violence against women. Reader discretion is advised.
On July 27, Hulu debuted the three-episode premiere of its crime series Furious, and it’s guaranteed to have you on the edge of your seat. The show follows FBI agent Alice Black (Emmy Rossum) as she tries to track down suspected serial killer Catherine (Lola Petticrew) with the help of fellow FBI agent Nora (Quincy Tyler Bernstine). As Alice tries to find Catherine, it becomes clear that they have both been abused by men and never received justice. However, with Alice building a case, that may soon change. What happened to both Alice and Catherine in the past will shock viewers, but it will also leave them questioning why crimes against women aren’t taken more seriously.
Catherine and Alice both suffered physical abuse in different ways. In the first three episodes, it’s revealed that Catherine was trafficked as a child. This traumatizing experience causes her to track down the men who participated in her trafficking and kill them as revenge. Alice, on the other hand, was a former cop but left that field to become an FBI agent. Why, you might ask? She was in a relationship with her coworker, Marshall, who physically abused her. That situation causes Alice to become more aggressive when investigating crimes to bring the bad guys to justice. The connection between Alice and Catherine makes Furious unlike your typical crime series.
How Alice and Catherine Search for Their Own Meaning of Justice
Based on the plot, Alice and Catherine have very different ideas of what justice looks like. Catherine embarks on a suicide mission fueled by revenge. After having her youth stolen and her body exploited without consent, she tracks down the men connected to her past. One by one. Using multiple aliases, including Jinny Allen, Isabel Luna, and Marta Dreznick, she carefully gains their trust before exacting her revenge.
Oliver Charles serves as one of the clearest examples of Catherine’s method. After tracking him down online, she poses as the submissive woman he desires. She gains his trust. She waits until he is completely vulnerable. Then she drugs him. Once he can no longer move, she forces him to confront the assault he committed years earlier and the excuses he used to justify it. Rather than portraying revenge as simple entertainment, Furious questions what happens when survivors lose faith in the legal system.
Alice is still spooked by her abusive relationship with Marshall. It causes her to neglect herself and seek justice only through the crimes she investigates, not for herself. There is a reason for her self-neglect. After Marshall physically abused her, she reported him to her lieutenant. Instead of supporting her, everyone she worked with and grew up with stopped talking to her. After transferring, she stopped showering because the last time Marshall beat her, she passed out in the shower, and he left the water running. With the people and environment she once trusted turning against her, Alice appears to use her work to heal from her trauma and regain a sense of control by seeking justice for others.
However, Alice’s trauma also affects the way she approaches her investigations. She pushes everyone she questions a little too hard. One example is Mira, Oliver Charles’ daughter, who claimed she did not remember Catherine or what she looked like after Catherine spared her life. Mira found Catherine in the bedroom where she killed her father. Alice continued pressing Mira about why Catherine let her go until Mira finally handed over a photograph Catherine had given her. It showed an underage Catherine with the three men she had already killed. Alice continues searching for justice through the legal system, even after her own experiences have shown her how deeply that system can fail survivors.
Misogyny and Patriarchy Shape Every Corner of Furious
Furious repeatedly shows how women are blamed for the violence committed against them, while the men responsible often escape accountability. The male FBI agents and detectives, except Danny Kelly, refuse to view men involved in human trafficking as abusers. Alice presents evidence connecting Caleb Easton, Adrian Murado, and Oliver Charles. All three died from fentanyl overdoses and were linked to Catherine. Despite evidence that Catherine had been trafficked since she was 12 or 13 years old, FBI Agent Frank Choi dismisses her as “an attractive young woman with a history of prostitution.” He questions whether she was simply taking advantage of wealthy men for money. Alice immediately shuts down that narrative. She points out there were no withdrawals or bank transfers. Catherine was never profiting from the abuse she endured.
The show’s commentary on misogyny also extends to Alice’s storyline. Marshall manipulates Alice into visiting his sick and dying mother. Marshall’s mother pressures Alice to retract her statements about Marshall’s abuse so he will not lose his promotion or damage his career. She reminds Alice that they dated for 10 years, grew up together, and that she once cared for her. She also uses guilt to convince Alice to protect her abuser. Marshall later asks Alice to call his lieutenant so he can move forward with his promotion. His apology was never about taking accountability. It was about preserving his reputation. Furious shows how abusive men can become more concerned with the consequences they face than the harm they caused.
The show’s commentary on misogyny extends beyond its investigation through Nora’s retelling of the Medusa myth while Catherine gets her next victim, Oliver. Nora reminds Alice that after Medusa was raped by the god of the sea in Athena’s temple, Athena punished Medusa instead of her attacker by turning her beautiful hair into snakes. As Nora explains, “She’s a victim, but it doesn’t make her a good person. It turns her into a monster.” The parallel is impossible to ignore. Like Medusa, Catherine is first victimized, then blamed, and ultimately transformed into someone society fears. Rather than excusing her actions, Furious uses the comparison to question how much responsibility belongs to the individual and how much belongs to the systems that failed her long before she became a killer.
Is It Worth a Watch?
If you have not binged the first couple of episodes, then yes, you need to tune in! Aside from the show being centered around serious topics like human trafficking and physical abuse, it really pulls you in through its mystery and slowly reveals each character’s motives. The series also balances these heavy moments with dark humor, particularly through Catherine’s sarcastic remarks after killing her victims. We also get plenty of comedic relief through characters like Nora and Danny, who both make jokes despite their jobs being miserable. So, if you enjoy watching women fight to get the justice they deserve while being mischievous and holding dangerous men accountable, this show is just right for you!
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