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Gaslit opens with a man, which initially feels jarring considering this is a series that focuses on a woman’s experience of the Watergate scandal, an event that has previously been covered predominantly from male perspectives. But this man (G. Gordon Liddy, a key figure in the Nixon administration at the time), who holds his hand over a flame while delivering a passionate, disturbing sermon on power, embodies the world in which Martha Mitchell, the real focus of this story, exists within. A world filled with men, lusting for power, doing everything they can to obtain more of it.
Based on the first season of acclaimed podcast Slow Burn, Gaslit (streaming on Stan) looks at the women embedded in and on the fringes of the Watergate scandal – a coverup by then-president Richard Nixon’s administration surrounding the break-in of the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters. The series has been highly anticipated thanks to the star power of Julia Roberts as Martha Mitchell, whose perspective on the events is a key focus.
In episode one, women are often seen but not heard. We meet most of them briefly, in passing – but it’s clear to us as viewers how much information they’re privy to, simply because they’re overlooked. For example, several key meetings and conversations are held in front of office secretaries – their presence so obvious to us as viewers, but completely ignored by the power players as they scheme what will eventually be the break-in. When we first meet junior counsel John Dean, he’s had a clandestine lunchtime affair with a woman who, surprisingly to him, knows quite a lot about the White House and CRP, the Committee to Re-Elect the President – which would eventually be the breeding ground for the illegal activities involved in Watergate. She knows this due to dalliances with various political figures, and, we assume, information they’ve divulged to her.
We meet a lot of people in this episode, and it’s understandable if you’re left a bit lost. But one person we get to know well is Martha Mitchell, wife of Attorney General John Mitchell. We first meet Martha as a talk show guest, where she shows exactly why she’s known as the ‘Mouth of the South’. Martha was a controversial figure in politics, a conservative with quite liberal views on the Vietnam War and other issues – views she often candidly expressed to the media. Disliked by much of the Nixon administration, we see Martha’s struggle this episode, married to the Attorney General and therefore deeply embedded in the Nixon administration by default, even though her personal views are often at odds with the president’s.
Another woman we get to know well is Maureen (Mo) Kane. Mo is an air hostess who meets John Dean via a dating service. Initially repulsed by John’s political alignment, they eventually begin dating, and via their relationship we’re privy to John’s conflicted feelings about the impending Watergate break-in. Mo is equally as sassy and outspoken as Martha, and shares similar political views, often voicing her concerns with the Nixon administration’s policies and behaviours.
The episode ends with John testing Liddy’s flame challenge. The fact he immediately removes his hand from the fire is an omen – this man is not prepared to do whatever it takes to obtain power, and without giving away the real-life events that drive this series, John definitely has a hand in the downfall of Nixon’s political career.
Gaslit is one of the few slow-release streaming series’ that has me counting the days until the next episode. Unlike The Girl From Plainville and Minx, both of which I liked, but soon forgot about due to the week-by-week episode drops, the premiere episode of Gaslit is so tightly-wound and gripping with it’s snappy dialogue and fast-paced plot, the need for more makes it the perfect week-by-week series. It’s easy to see why Julia Roberts returned to our screens for this (the actress’ last role was in tv drama Homeland back in 2018). The writing is impeccable, with the complex story of Watergate made palatable thanks to the human experiences of those involved in it, both directly and peripherally.
Where the series might fall flat is if the thrill of political intrigue peters out mid-season. While legal battles can be riveting, when a series starts with a bang (in this case, the end of episode one gives us the first glimpse of the Watergate break-in), it can be difficult to maintain focus once things head to court. The Girl From Plainville has really been affected by this – the initial tension of the first few episodes, where Michelle quickly unravels as her involvement in Conrad’s death becomes apparent, is lost when we head to court.
Still, Gaslit has promise. I’ll definitely be tuning in for episode two.
Gaslit is not streaming on Stan.
