Linda Holmes worries that 30 Rock has infantilized Liz Lemon:
Over the course of six seasons, Jack has been fully transformed into a condescending, all-knowing daddy, and Liz has been fully transformed into a needy little girl who is eternally terrified of displeasing him. She’s always had a grudging respect for him, but now she simply reveres him and trusts his judgment more than hers. She was once frazzled but smart, harried but competent, capable of wrangling a bunch of crazy people and then slumping at the end of the day, exhausted but minimally victorious. Now, she’s just dumb, incapable of making her own decisions, and her relationship with Jack is entirely out of balance.
I disagree. Holmes is cherry-picking her Liz/Jack moments to make her case.
While there’s always been a paternal dynamic to their relationship, over the last season or two we’ve seen Jack relying on Liz for emotional support while dealing with corporate changes and marriage. He’s stopped referring to her as a mentee and started calling her a friend.
Is their friendship weird? Sure. But he’s her boss, and that’s comedy.
This season’s fifth episode centered on contract negotiations between Liz and Jack:
JACK
(crying into his hand)
I want to be a baby again!
LIZ
No, no, no! Look, you won! I’ll sign whatever! Just don’t cry. Daddy doesn’t cry.
JACK
Do you know why I lost earlier? Because of our friendship. I want you to have everything, and that made me make a mistake. In other words, I lost because of emotion, which I always thought was a weakness, but now I’ve learned can also be a weapon.
[...]
LIZ
Wow. After six years, there’s still room for growth in this friendship.
That last line was delivered with a wink and a nod to camera, as if Fey had already read Holmes’ critique. (Or a set of network notes.)
Rewatch the pilot. It’s not great, as Tiny Fey is happy to point out. 30 Rock only found its groove once they committed to the fact Liz wasn’t the nice, normal girl surrounded by crazy people. She’s deeply odd herself, and not just in flashbacks.
Still: We want good things to happen for Liz Lemon, because we like her. But she’s not Mary Tyler Moore. The question isn’t whether she’s going to make it after all — partly because it’s not at all clear what “making it” would entail. The healthiest thing for the character would be to run far, far away.
But then there wouldn’t be a show.