Trish was very selfish this season. I’ve talked about that before myself. Most of her actions came from power-hunger rather than an actual desire to help. I think she believed her intentions were selfless and heroic, as most people with a knight-in-shining-armor complex do. I don’t think she researched IGH with a long-term evil moustasche-twirling villain plan to get powers- I think she genuinely thought she was digging up all this past information to help Jessica.

She was, after all, justifying it to herself and Jessica already in the first episode, admitting she wants powers and fame, claiming it was because it gave her the ability to help people.

I’m quite surprised by the number of posts I’m seeing saying that she was acting out-of-character. I actually find this development of her character very believable and well-written. While this doesn’t excuse any of the awful things she did this season, I think it does explain her actions, and why Trish isn’t “evil” per se, but rather someone who suffered at the hands of others and grew tired of being powerless, literally and figuratively.

It started with the little things. In this post and upcoming posts, I will take a look at these things. For this post, let’s look at Episode 1 and 2.

Not being able to open the door because she lacks strength. It happens. It’s frustrating. No big deal, right?

A few scenes later, her boss shows up and tells her that if she doesn’t do her radio show in the way he wants to attract viewership, she is going to die. While he intends to refer to her reputation, her character, her fame, it still comes across as threatening. As if Trish didn’t already feel powerless.

Said boss also plants the seeds of jealousy that Trish develops for Griffin, by telling her to get him on the show and mentioning how much he loves the guy.

In the next episode, Trish’s mother, the soul-crushing python as Griffin put it, also keeps pressuring her about the radio show, and tells her that she needs to marry Griffin in order to stay relevant. As if Trish isn’t capable of being someone important enough on her own.

In order to get information about IGH, Trish visits Max, a 40 year old man who used her when she was a 15 year old girl. She threatens to go public with it if he doesn’t help her. For once, Trish has leverage. And despite this… Nothing. He shrugs it off and threatens to call security on her.

To add salt to the wound, he decides to inform her that she is nothing special.

You know this rips her apart from the inside. Trish, who has already been told by both her boss and her mother that she isn’t enough, that she needs Griffin to be anything, that she can’t focus on what she is interested in (people with a superpower) and has to focus on what everyone else wants her to be interested in (the superficial), being told that she is commonplace by yet another person who is in a position of power.

Towards the end of Episode 2, when Trish manages to capture Simpson, Jessica is confused as to why Trish didn’t call her for help when she was being followed. Trish proclaims she has it all under control and that she is not a damsel in distress. Because Trish wants to prove she can do things by herself. She doesn’t want to be dependent on Griffin, or Jessica, or anyone. She wants to prove to her boss, her mother, Max, and everyone else, that they are wrong.

The gun is not as useful as expected, however. because Simpson barely felt the first bullet, due to the effects of the inhaler.

Something notable about this is that Trish keeps the inhaler, even when Simpson goes to fight Alisa. She hands him the gun to protect himself with, not the inhaler.

It’s not an error by the writers either, because we clearly see Trish taking the inhaler out of her pocket at the start of Episode 3.



And so Trish’s desire to surpass the ones around her, to become special, to become powerful, begins to grow.

More talk about this in Part 2, which I’ll write up during my rewatch.