Perry Mason's Della Street and The Modern "Trinity Syndrome"

HBO's reboot of Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason uncovered a widespread fan base this summer, with over 8 million viewers eager to know how the sloppy, imperfect investigator-turned-lawyer will crack his first case. The show's success, in part, is to the modern, socially-conscious updates they made since the original show aired from 1957-1966. The casting of talented black actor Chris Chalk brought a new depth and point-of-view for the Paul Drake character, and giving split-main focus to grieving mother Emily Dodson and evangelist preacher/performer Sister Alice (played by Gale Rankin and Tatiana Manslay, respectively) brought two truly interesting, imperfect female characters to the limelight. (I am presently buying a white robe and permed bleached wig for my Sister Alice Halloween costumer this year.)

Left out of the 2020 update? Perry Mason's intellectually superior, already law-savvy secretary, Della Street. The Della Street character may be the first TV example of what would eventually be characterized as "The Trinity Syndrome." This malady of poor writing is in reference to the Trinity character from "The Matrix," wherein the female sidekick possesses all the characteristics necessary to succeed, but for whatever reason remains subservient to the white male protagonist. The "Trinity Syndrome" asks us, why couldn't Trinity be "The One"? Why is this physically superior, Matrix-savvy heroic character given nothing to do in the plot but train and explain everything to her male counterpart?

54 years after the original Perry Mason faded out and 21 years after the release of the "The Matrix", we've circled back to our next version of Trinity with a modern "feminist" twist, Della Street played by Juliet Rylance. In this series, the intelligent and put-together Della's been doing the heavy lifting for her aging boss John Lithgow. When he dies, who deserves most to take up the mantle of the law office, absorbing a client who's on death row for potentially murdering her own child? Should it be the competent, well-educated woman who's already gained the trust of this client, or the drunk private eye who can barely get his shit together long enough to barge into the law offices occasionally to piss everyone off? And as such, our Trinity was born.

So what to do with her then, beyond just periodically cutting to her mournfully staring at Perry in the court? Do what the team behind Netflix's Mindhunter did -- give the female character a secret girlfriend! That's what you wanted, right?

The character Dr. Wendy Torv from Mindhunter is nearly identical to Della Street-- both are the only female in a trio of two other male leads, both are extremely competent and observant and use their prowess to aid their male counterparts, both are played by soft-spoken actresses in a bob wig, and both have secret girlfriends. This is the modern "strong female character" ? Gently side-stepping the Trinity Syndrome and giving complexity solely by way of delving into their sex lives, barely passing the Bechdal Test by cheating off another TV show's answer sheet?

To clarify, I think LGBTQ representation in Television is a wonderful and long-overdue part of the human experience that has previously be glossed over. Showing two female characters dearly in love, portraying a positive, healthy relationship on a period TV drama is welcomed and encouraged. But what service is that doing to a community if its purpose is more for mild character device than anything else? So she's a bland secretary with seemingly no future ambition in her own field of work who has a secret, equally bland girlfriend...what else? Any else??

Here's what I would do: The Women's Legal Practitioners Act 7 of 1923 was passed just 9 years before the setting in which the show is placed. Get Della in law school and show the struggle of a woman suddenly allowed to practice law and the misogyny/bias by Judges/fellow lawyers/jurors/even clients as she co-runs the law office alongside Perry Mason.

Perry Mason has already been renewed for Season 2, so here's hoping the 5 male writers out of 7 credited writers develop Della further next year (or, COVID-pending, the year after that)? But until then, is this really the best type of TV female lead we can get?

No further questions, Your Honor.