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Joan

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Reviewer

Sarah Rasmussen

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Episode Reviews

TV Series Review

Joan will do anything for her daughter, Kelly—including ingesting and stealing diamonds.

But before her stint as a high-end thief, Kelly lived with her husband, Gary. He may have disappeared for mysterious lengths of time, but he always returned with a new sports car or fur coat. Surely, nothing suspicious could be going on.

Unfortunately, Joan discovers that Gary’s luxurious lifestyle is funded by illegal activities. And these activities put her and Kelly in danger. It’s not long before a gang sneaks into Joan’s home in the middle of the night and threatens to kill Kelly because of Gary’s actions.

Joan flees the house with Kelly, determined to start a new life with her daughter. She temporarily places Kelly in the foster system to protect her from Gary’s enemies. Meanwhile, Joan sleeps on the streets as she starts a new job at a jewelry store. The arrangement is only temporary, and Joan hopes to earn enough money to rent an apartment so she can reunite with Kelly.

But as Joan works at the jewelry store—surrounded by millions of British pounds worth of gemstones—she hatches a new plan. While her boss is in the front of the store, Joan snoops through the storage and swallows five small diamonds.

After the jewels pass through her digestive system, Joan employs the help of an antiques dealer and thief named Boisie to sell the stolen gems. He agrees to sell them and proposes an ongoing partnership.

Joan agrees, and the two become partners in crime.

Britain’s Most Notorious Jewel Thief

The CW’s Joan is based on the true story of Joan Hannington, who similarly swallowed and sold stolen diamonds in order to be reunited with her daughter. In her memoir, Hannington states that “swallowing diamonds was my life, my buzz, my drug. It was the only thing that I really liked doing … to me, I had a gift.” This so-called “gift” earned Hannington the title of “Britain’s most notorious jewel thief.” And it also earned her a 2024 television show, which has content issues beyond its thieving throughline.

Joan is clearly in an abusive marriage with Gary, and several scenes depict domestic violence. Additionally, it is implied that Gary is cheating on Joan, and other men sexually objectify her once she leaves her abusive situation. Furthermore, Joan and other characters consistently smoke cigarettes and indulge in alcohol. And while characters don’t swear too much, there are some utterances of “h—” and “bloody.”

The reason for Joan’s thievery is ostensibly to protect and provide for her daughter, which is an honorable thing. And I don’t think the show’s producers would say they’re intentionally encouraging viewers to follow Joan’s example.

That said, the story still seems to glorify her illegal actions, at least in the context of this TV dramatization of her life. Like other heist-centered narratives in popular culture, Joan encourages its viewers to root for the thieves and hope that they get away with their crimes.

(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at [email protected], or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)

Episode Reviews

Oct. 2, 2024 – S1, E1: “Episode One”

After Gary’s criminal activities put Kelly at risk, Joan starts a new life to protect and provide for her daughter.

A character has gashes along her back, and it is implied that she experienced physical abuse. A man hits a woman across the face, causing her to bleed. He later threatens her with a gun. Gary physically abuses Joan by throwing her against walls and threatening her with knives. Additionally, his gang dealings put both his daughter and his wife in danger. A man threatens the life of a young child. Joan threatens to kill someone if he double-crosses her.

Joan’s boss at the jewelry store flirts with her and attempts to coerce her into having sex with him. He also touches her inappropriately. We see a child begin to change clothes, but the scene changes before anything is seen.

Characters occasionally use mild profanity, including “h—” and “bloody.” Impressed by Joan’s courage, one character tells her that she has “some balls.” Adults frequently smoke cigarettes. And several scenes feature adults drinking alcohol.

Joan steals a car so she can see her daughter. Later, she steals diamonds from a jewelry store.

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Sarah Rasmussen

Sarah Rasmussen is the Plugged In intern for Summer 2023.

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