Are You In or Out of This Friendship?

Debbie isn’t having a good day. On the car ride to a social event, her husband informs her that he wants a divorce. She gets plastered at the event while her husband goes off mingling with fellow guests as if nothing happened. While feeling sorry for herself, her best friend Judith grabs her and runs. Debbie is confused about why Judith is even there and why she is so much in a hurry. Suddenly, gunshots are being fired at the two. That’s when Debbie finds out two incredible details: Her best friend of 20 years is a spy. Meanwhile, her husband swindled local crime lords, and they want their money back, even if Debbie has to pay the price. Will Debbie survive not only the target on her back, but also the greatest betrayal of the people she loved the most?

I love the show because it gives insight into how men discard the women who had helped uplift them for a long period of time. Debbie’s husband wants a divorce even though she is the main reason why his political career got started and continued to thrive. He didn’t care about Debbie’s contribution to his success and believed that he could do things on his own without her input anymore. It is like a slap in the face to Debbie because she put all of her heart and soul into the career, and at the end of the day she has nothing to show for it. Her contribution to her husband’s career never gets praised or lauded. Her husband takes all the credit for her achievements. It makes her question why she stayed with him so long if he just saw her as a tool. 

Debbie isn’t the only discarded character in the show. When women reach a certain age, they start getting fewer opportunities in their careers. For example, in Hollywood, there are not a lot of female-centered roles. When there are, the gatekeepers in society try to mock the girls and keep them down, like Milly Alcock in Supergirl or Brie Larson in Captain Marvel. The two actresses got bullied and harassed in the public eye because a lot of misogynists can’t stand women having power.

That is exactly what it is like for Judith in Ride or Die. Her assassin agency is trying to push her out because she is in her 50s. It is a shock to Judith because she not only performs her missions extremely well, but she can fight better than assassins decades younger than her. She gave her life to the director of the agency, and he just saw her as an old burden despite her exemplary performance. As Judith tries to fight her way back into the agency’s good graces, she begins to wonder if sacrificing her relationships, especially with Debbie, is worth the risk. 

One of the harder things to watch in the show is that Debbie didn’t have a chance to process and grieve about the betrayal that happened with her two favorite people. She is angry at Judith and doesn’t want to be her friend anymore. However, she realizes her precarious situation won’t allow that. She doesn’t want to be killed, so she compartmentalizes her issues with Judith while they run for their lives. Debbie knows that Judith is the best person to protect her. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the show. It explored the adventures and chaos of older women, which we don’t see much of in the media. I also love that they displayed the ups and downs of true friendship. They never gloss over the fact that Judith lied to Debbie for so many years. We got to see the raw emotion of Debbie trying to figure out if she could ever trust Judith again, and we see how Judith fears that she lost one of the longest-lasting relationships because of her job. Friendships are never easy, but I think viewers will enjoy riding along with Debbie and Judith as they cross multiple countries and try to discover if they can be true friends again. Friendships can grow despite hardships and lead to a better relationship.