There’s a vacancy to the popular presentations of the millennial woman that haunts me. Take the two characters often compared: Julie and Marianne from normal people. Both are white, middle-to-upper class, effortlessly beautiful and completely directionless. Not that this is a problem on its own, but the trend of beautiful women who let their lives happen to them rather than doing anything for themselves continues to leave a sour taste in my mouth. I understand the argument - what has feminism wrought? Is it the freedom to exploit others? To be narcissistic? Maybe you aren’t changing the landscape or subverting expectations. Maybe all you’ll leave behind is a sea of microplastics and fading memories. But there is more to it than that. When I cried during this, it was due to Aksel’s arc. I just wish Julie was awarded the same brevity of existence.