She’s brave, she’s tough, she’s smart, she’s logical—and she’s the TV Mom of the Millennium.
While Chloe “The Detective” Decker juggles many things in her life, including a sometimes-dangerous job as well as a budding relationship with the devil himself, she still always manages to make time for her daughter Trixie. As a detective working for the LAPD, Chloe (almost) constantly exhibits rationality and self-reflection in her work, backed up by a powerful compassion for others and a desire to see justice served—all traits that also come in handy with her work as a single parent.
While we can argue that compassion comes easily to a loving mother, the addition of Chloe’s other traits culminates in the impressive ability to simply treat Trixie like a fellow human being, no matter how old she is over the course of the series. We see this conveyed in the multiple scenes where she talks one on one with her daughter, not only opening up about her own feelings, but also about her own mistakes. From disciplining Trixie through the use of a swear jar “without explaining things,” to admitting outright that “Mom doesn’t always feel so strong inside,” Chloe approaches her role as a parent with humility and grace, providing room for Trixie to grow into her own person, without the illusion of a completely infallible adult hanging over her head. In other words, sometimes it is Trixie who saves Mom, instead of the other way around—and that’s okay. It does not make Chloe a bad parent, and it also doesn’t put all the responsibility for her own growth onto Trixie’s shoulders. Instead, mother and daughter get to grow together.
Chloe Decker is a fantastic detective, a caring partner, and a dedicated friend, who never shies away from confronting problems at work as well as at home, or striving to find solutions. But it is in her role as a mother where she shines the brightest, taking everything she learned in her own life and thoughtfully applying it toward giving Trixie the best childhood she could possibly have. When it comes to TV Moms, Chloe Decker is truly one for the ages!
Night Owls, what is your favorite Chloe Decker moment?
