I watched the entire first season of Unreal in a couple of days. It was an extraordinary show by virtue of revealing the behind the scenes machinations on a reality show and by featuring two women at the center of it. But the thing that was most extraordinary was that the woman at the center was so incredibly complex. Her character was reprehensible in so many ways. She’s manipulative and cruel but somehow I liked and empathized with her anyway. When things went badly for her, I pitied her and wanted things to get better, to work out, to get the guy or the job or whatever she wanted.
She may be one of the first feminist anti-heroes. Ha! Screw you like-ability trap!

It’s probably significant that this line is spoken by a character called “Gentleman.” It is often played by a servant character of Horatio – but I think the Gentleman is on purpose. Only a gentleman might find the strength and have permission to speak to the Queen this way. A servant would likely not dare to advocate for the crazy woman outside the door. A servant might be like, “Uh. The Queen says no. Get that crazy lady out of here, pronto.”
Similarly, it’s a little weird when directors have Horatio speak these lines. It makes him seem a little presumptuous and familiar with his friend’s mother – when everything Horatio actually does and says is much more measured – with a kind of distance, a remove from the whole experience. He has a foreigner’s reserve – so to have him plead Ophelia’s case is weird.
This line is a Gentleman’s job.