smthinsmthin this not long after the whole "oh noooooo i simply cannot be in relationships because uh.. the Work! it is bad for relationships for Reasons. danger Reasons. this is very well-reasoned (ofc it is, Joan is nothing if not reasonable at all times), but also it lets me off the hook for more romantic relationships. oh drat. I guess."
and me linking the growing wardrobe switch from "I am a professional but very attractive, conventional (promise), yet highly tasteful dresser who thinks very much about how I come off to others as a woman in this kind of field who doesn't want to close off my Prospects, because I know it seems flighty (as she says to Andrew's father), but I swear I'm a well put-together person! look how beautifully this dress drapes!" to "actually I wear ties a lot now. I like ties. I like shirts. (when she gets braver she's in all-suit outfits)." (also if I were more observant/had energy I'd make a spreadsheet of all the clothes she wears to see signs of these more "considered masculine" forms of dress as early as s1, because I think they were there... but alas, not this time)
it's such a subtle gender shift in her from performing some kind of Womanhood that balances out the "oddness" of her life, with embracing what this life means for her as an individual who doesn't have to perform the role of traditional Womanhood at the same time (similar to how she wants a child, but doesn't feel the need to have a partner to do so -- s1 Joan would never have been able to do that), and I was wondering how soon after Andrew's death we'd start seeing wardrobe shifting clues... turns out within the very same season
interesting
like she is going from Woman (performative/uncomfortable in her skin/unsure how to balance the paradoxes within herself/wishing to please her mother/trying to be what a woman Should Be) to woman (tailored suits)
and from what I remember this shift simply happens gradually, it's never commented on how dramatically and eventually permanently (if I remember correctly) her wardrobe changes. it's such a Choice and I don't know if it was meant to link to this "embracing the person she actually is (a detective aromantic)" but it certainly does in the timeline...












