How Mabel Mora Represents the Modern-Day Woman

Content Warning: Major spoilers for both seasons of Only Murders in the Building. Mentions of death, harassment, and violence.

A different version of this piece appears in “Cordelia Magazine.”

Upon watching the first season of Only Murders in the Building, I appreciated the character of Mabel Mora, played by the immensely talented Selena Gomez. Gomez’s portrayal allows young adults watching the show to have a point of access and relatability, especially amongst her older costars. She brings an iconic sense of style and dry, witty humor to the series, which is no surprise for those who are fans of her work on Wizards of Waverly Place. However, I didn’t expect her to be so relatable, especially given that she is trying to solve a murder, and that’s when the second season of the show truly brings out who she is.

The first episode of the first season opens with the three leads talking about living in New York. While the two men have a more classic view of the place, Mabel, a young artist on her own in the city, hits on the reality of being a woman living alone. She is independent and assertive but has moments of vulnerability and issues trusting others. When we first see her character, she is wearing a bright outfit and headphones, which allows her to stand out in a crowd but still maintain privacy. Mabel wears the headphones to be left alone with her imagination and intrusive thoughts, a raw and brutally honest aspect of her character.

“I have this recurring dream. I’m in bed, I wake up, and there’s a man standing over me. So, I kick him right in the nuts, and I grab my knitting needle, and I take him down to the bone with that thing.”

One of her more iconic lines in her beginning monologue is, “I have this recurring dream. I’m in bed, I wake up, and there’s a man standing over me. So, I kick him right in the nuts, and I grab my knitting needle, and I take him down to the bone with that thing.” This image becomes important later on, but its setup at the start is unforgettable for the graphic imagery it provokes. The audience learns a lot about Mabel at this point, who also provides a perspective into what life is like for a modern-day woman. Women, including myself, can see ourselves in her shoes with her worries and fears as we are simply trying to go about our day-to-day lives. These fears manifest from past experiences of betrayal where trust has been broken or even not having our stories believed simply because of the way women are treated in society. Mabel’s past haunts her, and she truly wants to get away from it while still being true to who she is. Many women nowadays are trying to heal from their past experiences in order to find their true selves. Mabel’s story reveals how strong women can oftentimes feel as if they are weak based on how the world treats them.

The second season opens with Mabel kneeling over a dead body with her knitting needles stabbed into it. Her fear becomes a reality…

While the first season starts with Mabel talking about her anxieties about living alone, the second season brings that what-if nightmare to life. The second season opens with Mabel kneeling over a dead body with her knitting needles stabbed into it. Her fear becomes a reality, and it stains her image in an inescapable way, addressing the modern-day problem of social media. Mabel is immediately turned into a meme called “Bloody Mabel” after she is framed for this death and is mocked relentlessly. Social media is very aggressive in jumping to conclusions and humiliating people, whether the full story has come to light or not. This aspect of becoming a meme is scarily realistic and demonstrates how there is no mercy when it comes to social media. The audience quickly finds out about Mabel’s innocence which only makes us sympathize with her character more. No one, except for Alice, a fellow artist who befriends Mabel and becomes her romantic interest in the second season, at first, comes to her protection and defense. The world becomes so much more traumatic and anxiety-inducing.

One part that especially emphasizes the extent to which Mabel is being framed and targeted is the podcast that is made about her. The podcast dramatizes her experiences and even makes her come across as a villain. In one episode, the podcast interviews a man who used to work with Mabel and who comes up with a story of how he lost a finger due to one of her outrages. He exaggerates the story to make himself look like a victim and support her framing for this murder, furthering the false narrative of her violent tendencies. The audience learns how the man actually harassed her and accidentally lost his finger when she stood up for herself. Her story is not believed over a man’s retelling, an unfortunate and frustrating reality for many women. Women are blamed for matters they did not even do because a man will be believed before a woman’s story is even heard.

Her story is not believed over a man’s retelling, an unfortunate and frustrating reality for many women.

This part of Mabel’s story explores the stereotypes of spontaneous violence associated with women. Often women do not get a chance to speak their stories, even when they are desperately fighting to be heard and to prove their innocence. It shows how women struggle all the time to have their stories acknowledged and believed, especially when they are the victim. However, the series does not place Mabel as the victim or scapegoat but rather as a woman dealing with the harsh reality that the world puts on her.

Women suffer through a myriad of problems in their daily lives and learn to navigate them in their own way. In terms of representation, it has been difficult to see a woman on screen that portrays the struggles of modern-day women in a way that is realistic and understandable. Through Mabel, young women have a character they can see themselves in that addresses issues like the impact of social media and having their voices silenced. This is also meaningful to young women who grew up watching Selena Gomez, especially in Wizards of Waverly Place as Alex Russo. Selena Gomez told Entertainment Weekly, “I feel like Mabel is an older version of Alex in a way.” Many similarities can be seen between both of her characters, especially in their sarcasm, dry wit, and outgoingness in terms of getting what they want. As countless young girls related to Alex, many young women relate to Mabel, and seeing her win and have her happiness feels like a victory for us. If there is hope for her, then there just might be hope for us too.