‘Godless’: Why Netflix’s Western Marks An Awesome Shift For Merritt Wever

Godless, a female-driven Western from Steven Soderbergh and Scott Frank, made its Netflix premiere today. The beautifully shot, seven-episode season follows Roy Goode (Jack O’Connell), an outlaw who stumbles upon a small mining town almost entirely devoid of men. Within the pilot’s first ten minutes, we’re thrust into the world of the women-led town and are introduced to a large cast of characters that, in true Western style, all play a pivotal role in the show’s arc.

While it’s often hard for an actor to stand out in such a large ensemble cast, Merritt Wever, who plays the widowed Mary Agnes, does so with ease. When we first meet Mary Agnes, she’s wearing her husband’s clothes and cleaning his gun because “someone’s gotta look after things,” and her cowardly brother, Sheriff Bill McNue (Scoot McNairy) certainly certainly isn’t up to the task. By the second episode, Wever’s character is standing up to powerful men, wrestling with town politics, and eschewing the “child bearing and caregiving” ways of her fellow women.

In Godless, Wever plays a badass heroine who’s no longer willing to be pushed around. She plays the role of Mary Agnes so convincingly that it’s hard to believe she hasn’t been playing tough-as-nails women for her entire career. In fact, Wever has traditionally played the gentle, easily swayed supporting characters that Godless‘ Mary Agnes refuses to become.

Wever is best known for her role as Zoey Barkow, a peppy nurse who acts as the foil to foul-mouthed Jackie (Edie Falco) in Showtime‘s Nurse Jackie. No matter how bad a patient’s trauma or how many insults Jackie hurls at her, Zoey remains bubbly and optimistic. While Wever inserts some depth into what could easily become a one note character—she won an Emmy for her work on the series in 2013—Zoey acts as the hospital’s resident doormat, and much of the show’s comedy comes from her unfailing willingness (and even eagerness) to put up with the awful things going on around her.

Despite appearing in countless other roles, including Birdman and The Walking Dead, Wever hasn’t been able to shake off her “good girl” image. Enter: Godless. No longer is Wever taking other people’s shit, either in the role or reality. After spending years as a supporting actress, Wever is finally given must-deserved top billing, and much like Mary Agnes, she’s not going to let anything get in the way of what she wants.

As our own Jade Budowski said in her review of the series, “Godless effortlessly allows these females to control their own narratives… kick ass, take names, and build a world of their own.” If life imitates art, we can certainly hope that, going forward, the same will be true for the incomparably talented Merritt Wever.

Stream Godless on Netflix