Steven Prusakowski
When Linda Cardellini appears in her comically large umpire gear for DTF St. Louis, it’s easy to laugh at how she looks in it. It is a choice for sure, but if you think it is just there for a laugh, as Carol would say, “No way, José!”, there is much more to it. The incredibly bulky uniform serves as a metaphor for both armor and a burden for her character, Carol, a physical barrier shielding a woman carrying the weight of her family while craving something more as well as the extent she is willing to go for it.
During Cardellini’s episode of TV Topics, she expanded on this dynamic, noting, “I think that umpire outfit represents a lot of the weight that she’s carrying in terms like… she carries this weight of the family and trying to make ends meet because Floyd doesn’t really fulfill the end of the bargain that they had together.” Cardellini continued, “She’s wearing this thing. She’s doing it for the family. She’s earning extra money. And yet that’s the thing that he finds least attractive about her. And I think that’s something that umpire outfit is funny. It’s bizarre, but it’s also heartbreaking… the whole umpire thing can be silly, it can be quirky, but it’s also the catalyst for the change in the relationship.”
Throughout the series about three interconnected lives that spiral into chaos, we peek behind the armor and find a very faceted performance from the actress who has a career of providing an array of different characters over the years. From the angsty Lindsay on Freaks and Geeks to the deceptive sister Meg on Bloodline, the iconic Velma in Scooby-Doo, and the fiercely protective Judy on Dead to Me (which earned her two of her three Emmy nominations), Cardellini has delivered plenty of memorable performances before. With Carol, she may have delivered her most complex and layered character to date, one that is on the surface so easy to judge but ultimately deeply misunderstood.
DTF St. Louis tells the story of a trio of people going through middle age malaise: unhappy suburban weatherman Clark (Jason Bateman), an enthusiastic ASL interpreter and endless underachiever Floyd (David Harbour), and Carol, Floyd’s wife, the hard-working mother and part-time little league umpire. Their seemingly ordinary lives are not what they want them to be, filled with holes including lost intimacy, desperation, financial strains, and unfulfilled hopes. Like much of the series, the more we watch the more we realize we do not know the full story.
What begins as a story of disconnection and a three-way affair soon turns into a murder mystery as Floyd ends up dead and the other two sides of the romantic triangle are our main suspects. For the audience, it is at times easy to see how Carol could be the culprit. She is not always the easiest person to like. She’s direct, sometimes rude, heavily guarded, and makes choices that invite judgment when the whole story is not revealed. On the surface she is not a perfect person, but as Cardellini revealed on TV Topics, there’s far more simmering beneath.
In the TV Topics podcast conversation, Cardellini opened up about what the core of the series was to her, “More than anything, it’s about intimacy, whether you do the things that they do in a relationship or not. I think everybody longs for some kind of intimacy. That’s really what’s happening… these people losing their intimate connections with each other and trying to figure out how to feel that way again, either with somebody else or with the person that they’re with.”
This reframes the narrative, not as just infidelity or betrayal, but as a desperate search for reconnection, as actions that shift to being tragically human, rather than condemning. Carol puts up her guard to protect herself, and more importantly, others, in an attempt to hold her family together. Her affair is more than about sex; it is about feeling alive and her putting herself first for once after years of being the backbone of the family. Cardellini brings remarkable empathy and nuance to the role, refusing to let Carol be reduced to simple labels, even as much of the audience had pinned Carol for the murder of Floyd.
The actress discussed initial perceptions of the character, “I found that the men were much easier to suss out in the beginning. You can understand what kind of humans they are, but she was less revealed in the beginning, and I found that fascinating about her. I found myself reading all the scripts and thinking that she was one thing and being pleasantly surprised that I was wrong.”
The depth of the storytelling and the character actions is something Cardellini praised. The brilliance of Steven Conrad’s writing and how it keeps viewers shifting feelings about Carol not only makes for a good mystery, but allows viewers to process all of the layers in a non-linear fashion. Cardellini’s performance helps keep the audience engaged, holding out hope that Carol is not what our assumption makes of her. She’s happy to be hit on by Clark, excited by novelty, yet tired in her marriage; someone not quite sure she deserves better, but who quietly wants it anyway. A person with contradictions, fiercely protective of her son Richard (Arlan Ruf), celebrating something as simple as new bedsheets, while turning down jewelry from her husband because her life has become relentlessly mundane until an affair with Clark injects excitement.
On the affair with Clark, Jason Bateman, Cardellini noted: “Her tryst with Clark, even though people see it as selfish and manipulative, does fill something up in her, an excitement that she’s lacking, and a sort of need.” She added, “She is looking for a way to feel in control. So much of her life has felt out of control, and her best-laid plans have not come to fruition.”
The role pushed Cardellini out of her comfort zone, particularly with the bold, often awkward sex scenes which land somewhere between intimate and silly. She revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live that her very first shot of the series required her to literally sit on Bateman’s face. Quite the icebreaker. Still, the shoot itself was fun, and the actress found lots of humor in her scenes with Bateman, especially the sex robot.
By the time the finale concludes, we realize Carol is not who we thought she was. Any accusations that she is simply greedy and chasing life insurance money fade completely as her true heart is exposed.
“She did something bad for good purposes. What’s more important than taking care of your family?,” asked Cardellini. “And what’s more vulnerable than stealing toilet paper? That of all things. She’s not stealing lipstick. She’s not stealing anything for herself. She’s literally something that she and her family really need. I thought that was such a beautiful reveal.” It is echoed through other aspects of Carol as well, shifting opinions perhaps permanently.
Cardellini’s performance covers the entire emotional gamut, offering so many facets that it becomes impossible to define her in a single word. By fully embracing these contradictions, she captures the core of a woman who is neither strictly a hero nor a villain. Carol is real, relatable, and quietly resilient, leaves a mark on viewers long after the final credits roll.
Watch all of Linda’s work on DTF St. Louis on HBO Max and her entire episode of TV Topics below. In addition to diving into her work it is a fun and engaging conversation filled with laughs and insights about the TV that she loves and shaped her. From Game of Thrones to Spongebob Squarepants, Boardwalk Empire to Days of Our Lives, her TV watching is a diverse as her work.
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