Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for MobLand.

Mafia television is back in fashion. With heading the Harrigan family as Conrad, and as their right-hand man, Harry Da Souza, shines with incredible performances. Its supporting cast is unbelievably good, plus littered with women. It’s rare for a show about crime life to step so far outside typical male archetypes, but MobLand writes about women with specificity and complexity. Where even prestige crime shows like see women largely confined by gender roles,

’s unhinged portrayal of Maeve Harrigan would give Lady Macbeth and Cersei Lannister nightmares. Every escalation in the rivalry between the Harrigans and the London-based Stevensons is in her hands. Eddie (), the heir-apparent to the Harrigan family, is Maeve's grandson, whom she favors; when , Tommy (), his death and subsequent dismemberment devastate his father and crime lord, Richie ().

Living vicariously through Eddie — and using him as her preferred weapon — is only the start of Maeve’s meddling. Part-humiliation ritual, part-olive branch, the Harrigans go to poor Tommy’s funeral and console Richie, per her request. There, Maeve is both drunk and passive-aggressive, as well as looking for a fight. When she gets one, from the much younger Stevenson matriarch, Vron (), the mask of heady recklessness drops. and position in the family. She handles it by planting a bomb in Vron’s car, killing her the next day.

Naturally, this escalates things further between the Harrigans and Stevensons, but Maeve thrives on the chaos and the bloodshed. Overplaying her hand, she contacts Richie to let him know that her son, Brendan (), and Conrad’s daughter through an affair, Seraphina (), are doing a deal in Antwerp. The more Maeve gets away with, the higher she is on her own supply. This isn’t 4D chess. There’s no cool, cunning behind Maeve’s actions. She gets Brendan killed, but Seraphina survives, the opposite outcome of her original hope that her husband's love child would end up on the chopping block. Maeve is arguably bad at this, but . If she’s this out of control and risk-prone when times are good, what will she become when things get tough?

As for Seraphina, she not only threatens Maeve as a living consequence of one of Conrad’s many affairs, but . Whereas Brendan scrambles for Conrad’s love, Seraphina has it; where Maeve pushes Eddie to earn the criminal underbelly's respect, Seraphina has that, too. Through the sale and trade of diamonds, Seraphina has taken the acclaim that being a Harrigan gives her and expanded her contacts. The financial profit and international ties are obvious, but diamonds are historically great cover for money laundering, and crucial to the illicit dealings of a crime family.

But Seraphina isn’t a cliché of the cold, practical businesswoman. As much as she gives her brothers a hard time, she only takes the deal in Antwerp to help Brendan. She’s also easily persuaded to take on a bit of a challenge in the process. It’s the one trait she seems to have inherited from her father. When Conrad speaks of his glory days, . It’s certainly not visible in Brendan or the easily manipulated Eddie. It’s not even visible in Kevin, who seems like he could take or leave the lifestyle entirely.

While there are still expectations around homemaking and motherhood, MobLand takes no shots at women who choose another path, try to do it all, or find themselves isolated and miserable in domesticity. . A homemaker and mother to their daughter, Gina (), Jan isn’t painted as a nag. She’s fully in the mix of the Harrington’s mess, finding herself coddled, disrespected, and even subtly threatened by Conrad for going to a therapist. Grounding the domestic strife from Jan’s perspective offers a clear picture of the isolation she feels in her marriage and her by-proxy in-laws.

. With the help of her therapist, she identifies as demisexual – meaning she only feels attraction from a strong emotional bond – and knows that her growing disinterest in Harry is because his dedication to Conrad always outweighs his dedication to her. Without making Harry violent towards his wife and child, MobLand explores how neglectful he is as a partner by the nature of his position. So while it’s somewhat foolish for Jan to open up to a new friend she’s known for a very short time, Alice (), it’s clear that she’s being exploited through little fault of her own.

Married into the Harrigans more directly, Kevin's wife Bella () seems to have a romantic past with Harry, causing additional tension for Jan. Largely absent as a wife and mother, she is Jan's foil, and her motivations and past are still unclear save for a rather complicated introduction to the family as a whole as Conrad's mistress. What MobLand makes clear is that . With an implied powerful family lineage and an ongoing deal involving government favors, Bella seems interested in grabbing more power — and taking more risks — than Kevin. Given Jan’s situation, it’s hard to blame her for wanting to make her name away from the Harrigans. She’s putting herself in danger, but as Conrad and Maeve continue to melt down, risk is unavoidable.

With only a few episodes remaining in its first season, it's clear that . Harry and Jan's daughter, Gina, is both academically gifted and blessed with her father's perception and instincts. Her time in the Cotswolds with the Harrigans has opened her up to new dynamics with Conrad and Eddie. To save Seraphina's life, Harry calls in a favor from Kat McAllister (), who is evidently powerful enough to stop the cartel, and she didn't hesitate to tell Harry he owes her. All the way down to supporting characters like Harrigan family attorney O'Hara () and Harry's right-hand, Zosia (), MobLand has plenty of opportunities to make us love these women — or hate them — beyond the wonderfully wide scope we already have.