Showtime
We knew Monica Talbot (Dawn Olivieri), Marty Kaan’s (Don Cheadle) ex-wife on House of Lies, was crazy. Like potentially homicidal crazy. But the show never really presented Monica in action at her consulting firm. In the season three premiere, Monica raged hard against her employees. After seeing her behavior, litigation should have been imminent a long time ago. Sexual harassment, near physical abuse and mental anguish are the easy lawsuits Monica could face. She hinted that a female employee should use sex to lure clients. Monica literally hit someone’s binder out of her hands. And her constant yelling and threats aren’t good for any work environment.
Despite her outrageous actions, Monica isn’t some caricature. She’s powerful, sneaky, vindictive and mentally tough enough to stand up to Marty. That last part is key. Marty is known as a top dog in the consulting industry so employees are in awe of both him and Monica. Why do people tolerate Monica in such a hostile work environment? Her firm is No. 1. But is it really worth it to put up with her bulls–t?
Unreasonable bosses have been in movies and TV forever. Monica isn’t like Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada. At no time did we ever think Miranda Priestly was capable of physically harming people. Monica has potential to do that and more. If pushed hard enough, she could kill someone, maybe even right in front of witnesses. Her beauty and charm is perfect to seduce a man into doing something he doesn’t want. She could influence a female to act unruly. We wouldn’t want to encounter Monica in an office, bedroom, party or dark alley. The result could be fatal.
