POSE Season 3: Will you be watching?

Red Carpet

And Porter is dressed obnoxiously, because OF COURSE HE IS. Has he done much else on television outside of this show? Let's hope he doesn't, now that this is over.

Why Candy be dere? She dade.

Angel Bismark Curiel says he didn't know what trans meant before joining this show.

Angel Bismark Curiel

It’s been two years since the last season ended. I hope they give us a nice long recap.

POSE begins its third and final season causing most to think, "Is that thing still on?"

I imagine it might be relevant, or entertaining, but... it's a terrible show.

I found the second season really messy, so I'm not looking forward to it, to be honest. But that's typical of the Ryan Murphy project. Brilliant first season, absolutely no follow through.

They’ve exhausted all the plots the first two seasons- there’s only so much woke you can show form the 80’s and 90’s.

The only problem with Pose is that drag queens are ugly and unpleasant to look at.

Can't wait. Loved the two first seasons.

[quote] “The core journey was the same,” he says of the original pilot script, “which is that there’s a young Black boy, named Damon, who gets kicked out of his house for being gay, he moves to New York, then gets enmeshed in the ball scene, and gets caught in a war between two house mothers. But in that original draft, Damon becomes a sex worker. So he’s out in the Piers surviving, and he has a pimp. That pimp gets murdered in the pilot. And so the core narrative of the first season was much darker than what the show became. By the end of the pilot, you know who’s responsible for the murder. But it sort of becomes a cat-and-mouse narrative where you’re like, ‘Oh, no, are they going to get caught? Are they going to get arrested for this murder?'”

Sounds like a lot of major shit happened in that original pilot (I guess the pimp got murdered by one of the mothers, Blanka?)

They are all horrible actors. Or maybe it’s the script. But I find it unwatchable. I love the period and the topic - but the acting is so horrible, it ruins any potential. But perhaps the director or screenwriters can be blamed - it’s just such an unnatural feeling but not even in a soap opera good way,

Bring back Candy and the show will win Emmys

Candy Spelling?

The actor who plays Damon is devoid of any charm. Elektra isn’t a great actress but she’s stunning and funny and entirely watchable. Porter was fine in the first season but tried too hard in Season 2. Killing off Candy was a mistake.

[quote]Elektra isn’t a great actress

Elektra isn’t an actress.

Just awful. You really can't sell that on any level as acting.

I agree, Electra is NOT an actress by any stretch. Everyone else though is pretty good.

No.

Sandra Bernhard looks great. She's always had amazing personal style.

The awkwardness of Electra line readings are painful. Couldn’t they hire an acting coach or something to at least try to teach them how to read lines? I can get that kind of “performance” at the piers or at the bars on an average Friday night.

The new season is off to a rocky start. Angel, as always, was wonderfully touching. Jeremy Pope deserves better. I’m guessing he just couldn’t say no to Ryan Murphy. The show has lost much of its edge and is dissolving into soap opera storylines. Oh well, at least this will be the final season.

I'm so over trannies. Enough.

I couldn’t believe how poor the acting was. I couldn’t watch another episode.

I just finished the first episode of Season 3 - I'm gonna finish the series even if it has dropped off.

I didn't think the episode was awful, but it wasn't great. I'm guessing Pray comes out of his funk and is reborn by the end of the season.

I wanted to see Blanca meet her BF's family.

Blanca meeting the bf’s family was so been there, done that. A hostile future mother in law. How original.

R19 Bernard has only looked passable on her best day and she would be wearing a costume in the series, nothing elated to her personal style.

I’m sorry, but dumb as a brick Blanca is going to school to be a nurse, not believable, she has a level of emotional intelligence but that’s all I’ll give her. And what happened to her big dream of running nails salons, we all know what a huge economic proof business that remains in NYC.

I asked that too r27 and also... the last season she was practically on death's door. What happened?

This show is so unrealistic.

Apparently the reason Damon was written off so abruptly was because the actor (Ryan Jamaal Swain) was given time off for bereavement last year. However the show stopped filming only weeks ago so there was obviously something going on.

This whole show is a mess.

I didn’t read the threads, but Mock seemed to have had a meltdown at the premiere. Now that the dust has settle any word on what that was about?

I think they should’ve called in a few of Tyler Perry’s writers for this last season. A lot of the show comes from a modern viewpoint rather than how people would’ve acted back then so it doesn’t flow well to make sense. Everybody gained weight. How does Blanca keep such a huge apartment with only one other renter? Where’d she get the car when she has broken panes of glass in her home?

Yes, even some of the AIDS related scenes were ham handed.

I am so confused. I set my DVR for it and the DVR only recorded episode two. I went to my cable provider's on-demand menu and episode two is free but episode one costs $2.99. Freaking weird, especially since FX is a free basic cable network.

So I watched the second episode. As always, it's an Afterschool Special for adults, complete with preachy Afterschool Special dialogue and amateurish Afterschool Special-level acting. And I still like it a lot.

I find Pose really moving. I guess it taps into the era that was a backdrop to my formative years and is still embedded in my psyche in a pretty traumatic way. Growing up gay when AIDS was killing everyone really fucked me up for life in some ways, and I feel that pain in this show.

I read complaints about Elektra above. I love Elektra! She's so "extra" in a way that really amuses me. If any of the acting on the series were believable, she'd probably ruin the show, but honestly, it's all pretty bad and I find her faux-haughtiness entertaining and kind of tragic.

Like all Murphy shows, so much about Pose is style over any other kind of quality, but I do think there is substance to the issues being explored on the show. They're just poorly executed in the same way every aspect of American Horror Story is. (Except that Pose has an actual story, while AHS often is just a plotless series of interesting looking gross-out sequences.)

Looks like the cast has been eating well!

The Damon thing was so weird. First it was implied that he’s a drunk and sucking cock for booze then he’s a Buddhist then he’s off visiting a cousin and relapsed. If they write him out completely he won’t be missed.

Ratings sucked for first two episodes, which came in 35th and 38th for the evening.

The writing in episode two is really terrible. One minute they are plotting the intervention and then they move to the sitcom plot of raising the money for his rehab. So painful.

And, boy, what did Damon do to get written off (aside from his weight gain)? He was supposed to be one of the central characters at launch,.

The sister of the actor who plays Damon was murdered during shooting and I think he asked to be written off.

Very sorry to hear that. Very sad.

[quote]I asked that too [R27] and also... the last season she was practically on death's door. What happened?

The chemicals used in her salon were making her sick so she changed careers. As for her health, sometimes people were able to rally. Some people never got really sick. I myself was diagnosed in 1991 and have never had an AIDS related health issue. Took AZT for two weeks and quit because it made me sick. Which was a good thing because those that took it weren't helped by the triple-cocktail that came around in 96.

So, y'all can rag on the show for whatever reason. But for those of us who were there and went through some of the same issues, it hits right on the money emotionally. I knew a couple of people who ended up like Cubby. It was not a fun time.

Well said, R37. I watch for the emotional beats but much of the execution is painful.

I guess, in fairness, they were under pressure to involve many trans folks behind the camera for authenticity but Canals needed experienced pros to help him pull it off as he was an amateur himself pretty much. So we have relatively inexperienced directors and writers and the results don’t live up to the potential and are often quite embarrassing. God, just someone to edit the scripts!

Porter deserves lots of credit for making it work. But the writing wouldn’t work on the Young and the Restless.

And Blanca can afford a nice Volvo? (I won’t mention that she was the aggressor with her boyfriend’s mother.)

So many plot holes! In episode one, the judges didn’t have enough money to pay out the thousand dollars but this time they gave away $2,500 in prizes (conveniently, the price of Pray’s rehab... as though rehab was that cheap back in the day).

Loved when Pray’s friend was being rushed to the hospital and Blanca said she’d contacted Judy at the hospital, as though there is only one hospital in New York! Nurse Judy is single-handedly saving the LGBT community!

No matter how bad the writing is Angel always comes off well and that’s a credit to the actress who plays her. The others aren’t so lucky.

[quote]So many plot holes! In episode one, the judges didn’t have enough money to pay out the thousand dollars but this time they gave away $2,500 in prizes

Covered in the diner scene when they mentioned the children had paid their dues and they now had $5000 in the bank.

Oh, yeh, the “children” who are all scraping by had that money sitting around.

I look forward to more hilarious revisionism of AIDS activism. Previously, 'Pose' absurdly turned the vibrant ACT UP/NY meetings into a gloomy basement speakeasy, and the massive 95% white 5,000+ participant Stop the Church demo in Dec. 1989 into Pray Tell's spontaneous diva death drop in a small church aisle.

S3 starts in 1994, after ACT UP had diminished greatly, focusing on the split Treatment Action Group and Housing Works. But the S3 trailer includes a staged protest, which were far and few between by 1994.

While it's mildly admirable to include AIDS activism in the story line, creating a false narrative with no relation to reality is stupid.

Papi seems to be a minor character this season. I guess he wasn't giving Janet Mock much of a bang this season. Wonder what he was pulling in each episode if she was getting $40,000. Ryan Murphy is quite the big spender.

The time dedicated to OJ in the first two episodes is ridiculous. They're telling stories of people dropping like flies from AIDS, and somehow OJ Simpson's car chase is the B plot?

For a Ryan Murphy show, these ratings are humiliating. Maybe the TAKE 👏 MANY 👏 SEATS is alienating the audience.

How embarrassing for Mock. She destroyed her career and doesn’t even have a successful program to show for it. Karma.

Down 53% from the premiere last year means they’re even alienating the woke crowd.

I did like Lulu's joke about Naked Gun 33 & a 1/3rd though r44

Ouch, those are disappointing ratings r45

I was so looking forward to this final season. I sure hope they get more character driven stories as the season progresses.. The directing was awful. Did RM not participate? Big goose egg so far. Damn.

There's only five episodes left. I would expect much character driving. All drama and quips and speeches.

FX is burning it off. You don’t release two episodes in one evening when so few remain unless you’re trying to get it over with.

Murphy’s role has been reduced to collecting checks.

The show is a headache for F/X now since the tranny cast thinks they deserve Emmy nominations for their high school production-caliber performances and bitch and complain when their tranny clits don't get licked. They're jealous of Billy Porter because he got the Emmy, the praise, and still gets the meaty scenes.

Ryan Jamaal Swain is apparently a little cunt behind the scenes. He thinks he's hot shit but he has zero charisma, is a terrible dancer, and another one who thinks he's more important than he is. It must piss him off to see Dyllon Burnside get more scenes. Indya Moore is certifiably insane.

Mock is nuts and whips her dick out to whoever will suck it, Murphy sounds like he's done with the show, and Canals is probably pissed this baby is now known more for its off-screen drama than the "groundbreaking" show they keep trying to pass it off as.

I meant I "would NOT expect much character driving."

R50, what is the source re Ryan?

[quote] Electra is NOT an actress by any stretch.

No, she's not an actress but there's something about her acting attempts that works here.

Ryan Swain’s sister was murdered in real life, which is why he asked to be let off of the show and why the exit of his character was so hasty.

Most Americans get three days of bereavement leave. There’s more to that story.

Variety is predicting the show will be nominated for outstanding drama. !!!

I can't wait for this thing to be done. The out of proportion attention its gotten has been insane, given how bad it is and how small the audience is. I'm thrilled you are whatever you are or want to be. Now just shut up. Democracy is on the edge. I don't care about your constant blathering about your identity.

I like the show a lot and I find it moving, despite it being terribly written and mostly terribly acted. It deserves an award for pulling that off.

It's an adult Afterschool Special.

Blanca is probably one of my favorite TV characters over the last decade. Her selflessness and caring make her the only wholly redeemable character on the show.

I had to fast-forward thru much of the 2nd episode. There's none of the magic of the first two seasons. It's a good thing they decided to end the show with the this season because it would be cancelled for sure.

I can already tell that this season is simply a vehicle to secure another Emmy for Billy Porter, but I doubt it works this time.

And why are Pray Tell, Damon, Lil Papi or Ricky not redeemable? Don't remember them doing terrible stuff. Or Sandra Bernhard's character. Blanca constantly begs for gratitude. Doesn't work for me. Elektra is the most entertaining character. I don't know whether it's acting but it works for me too.

^She's consistently redeemable. I've never seen Blanca do downright awful things to others the way that some of the other characters have.

R60, I suspect the “magic” of season two represents a malfunction of your memory. How soon we forget the terrible storylines such as the one where a slumming Patti LuPone playing a Leona Helmsley mistakenly rents out space to Blanca for her dream nail salon then becomes obsessed with evicting her in scenes scraped off the cutting room floor from a bad soap opera.

Or Trudi Styler attempting a bad take on Eileen Ford signing Angel to a big modeling contract.

Pray Tell did have some good scenes (all credit to Billy) and we got the Candy death, which was extremely well played by angelica Ross, but otherwise it was pretty painful and sealed the show’s fate, which is why it got renewed for a half-hearted seven eps.

Billy's Porter's acting has gotten progressively worse in each season.

I enjoy Pose but it's nowhere near as good as it thinks it is.

Shark jumped.

Flared nostrils do not constitute an acting technique.

[Quote] Most Americans get three days of bereavement leave.

What America do you live in?

[Quote] I enjoy Pose but it's nowhere near as good as it thinks it is.

It’s more a guilty pleasure.

There's definitely more to the Swain story. The cast and some of the creative team do not like him.

Tonight's episode was pretty good, but some of the writing was a bit cheesy, especially when it came to characters giving speeches with all this life-affirming bullshit. People don't talk like that.

Otherwise, Dominique was actually pretty good tonight, and the actress who played her mother was very good.

Nope, I won't be watching. Black trannies hold no appeal.

If you like trans stuff, OP, just take a peek at VENENO. It's 99 times better than POSE with more sex and nudity too.

You can tell the writing is suffering this season, as if the poor suffering writers hadn't been offered to stay executive suites at hotels.

Last nights episode gave me hope that the show might actually go out on a high note. Some of it was ridiculous (if the dead body smelled that bad why did Elektra keep it in the closet where she hangs her precious clothes). But Elektra’s backstory was great and I didn’t recognize Angel at first.

Ep 3 was much improved from the first two. Canals didn’t write this one.

Loved seeing Angelica Ross again and learning more about Electra.

Lil Papi has a cute ass and would be a high in demand bottom like Armond Rizzo. Is Ryan Murphy a top? That would explain how he got cast in the first place.

Ricky's ass is better.

Lil Papi naked must be something magical!

Elektra’s acting has improved by leaps & bounds this season, she’s holding her own for a change. I almost feel bad for criticizing her in seasons 1-2, but she was really bad, spitting lines out, poor intonation, but is doing much better of late!

agree r80. She was very good last night. I thought she and the actress who played her mother did a great job of establishing a back story and relationship in two scenes.

R80 totally agree. though she already made my drag addict friends repeat her lines over and over again (I personally ain't that much interested in drag queens, no offense), already seasons 1 and 2 got me captivated with her character played by Dominique Jackson).

Having watched 3 episodes of season 3, I am not sure if it is maybe the context of her character in the show, that may draw criticism. when the story focusses on her (like the beautiful "private dancer" scene), or when she is shown out of her harsh, diva context, I am always intrigued if we were to have a spin off, focussing just only on her, where it would (especially acting wise) lead.

the combination of her with some squishy bianca and "the kidz" lines, maybe just inhibits to see the true potential of all her range?

to be honest; I mostly skip the squishy bianca and kidz, vogueing competition scenes and focus on Elektra and Pray Tell (Billy Porter) scenes. said trigger most emotional bonding as they are strong and very often raw.

I would love Dominique Jackson (Elektra) face off against Naoemi Campbell (something like in an "Empire" jealous diva battle lol)

[quote]the combination of her with some squishy bianca and "the kidz" lines, maybe just inhibits to see the true potential of all her range?

She was in "American Gods" this past season. She has no range. But she does have charisma.

R83 or runway showdown. Naoemi clearly is the queen, but Elektra sure as hell can walk too

r84 how on earth do you want to see a range in something so poorly scripted as American Gods???

r86 Pose isn't that greatly scripted either, at least they handle some important topics. American Gods is an insult to anyone's brain who isn't into fantasy.

pity she (Dominique Jackson) actually considered that job. reminds me of lady gaga in American Horror Story (spoiler alert, utterly boring and waste of screen time)

r83 or an interview. surely naomi would not be as sleepy as with the interview with the London mayor? :p

r88 guess this could never happen in NY (Muslim mayor, interviewed by a British-Caribbean Supermodel)

must see interview of Dominique Jackson (Elektra) on the Caribbean Equality Project.

now ig and raw in conversation, very inspiring

r90 the season 3 scenes with Elektra and her mother appear to be very much based on her (Dominique Jackson's) story (in the interview around 08:00 onwards)

awesome

Defining Moments with OZY: Dominique Jackson (Elektra)

r92 more of that in her acting (the emotional moments), and she may book better acting jobs

I said it after the first episode, this season is all about mothers and seeing the Billy Porter goes home tour preview I was right.

[quote]I can't wait for this thing to be done.

Are you, ya know "special"? Stop watching, problem solved.

Dominique Jackson would make a great Bond villain. She’s a lot of fun.

r96 totally agree, you can tell that she is one tough cookie

they should revive "The Face" and add her as a judge

This thread has done a hilarious 180 on Dominique/Elektra, declaring her the worst actress and worst character on TV and then celebrating her.

I've always liked her on this show. I have no idea whether she can actually act or not, but her denial-by-exotic-superiority is really amusing and also tragic.

Dom Jack is a one trick pony. She gives facial attitude better than the others.

I’ve loved Dominique from the start. She’s very unique and I love her line readings. Are there better actresses out there? Yes. But she’s made Elektra into something very special.

R101=Ms. Jackson

Meh, Dominique deserves the praise. She is putting in the work and she is fun to watch. I agree with r101.

Dominique Jackson and her fiancé in preview of their upcoming House Hunters episode:

I'm a House Hunters fanatic...I will be watching this episode, R104! thanks for the heads up 😀.

[quote]Dominique Jackson and her fiancé in preview of their upcoming House Hunters episode:

What about Andre Leon Tally's place?

I love her.

I didn't know Dominique was in a long-term relationship. I wonder how long they've been together.

House Hunters TV show? I never know if you bitches are making things up just to troll us here, but I’ve never heard of about a tenth of the tv shows and about a sixth of the people mentioned in some of these threads.

I thought last nights episode was dreadful. Badly written, badly acted and predictable. What a shame.

And I thought it was great and wonderful to see those veteran actress getting something to do.

And I think last night's episode was typical of the series: the writing was preachy and hokey, the acting was strangely amateurish for the most part, and overall it was somehow effectively heartfelt and moving, which is why I've continued to watch.

For the 100th time, the show is an Afterschool Special for grownups.

I am really struck by the way they chose to deal with Pray Tell's impending death, though. They almost completely skipped over showing any feeling of devastation. The closest they came was Sandra's cursing in the cafeteria. All the other mourning happened offscreen, and his former paramour's instant acceptance and embracing of him despite it was *really* unusual and unexpected. I'm not sure if it's bad writing or a curious conscious choice by the writers to subvert expectations.

I agree that Dominique is great. The few episodes I watched last year she was the only good thing in them.

It seemed to me that the worst thing about Dominique's acting was her strange over-enunciation—but I watched the documentary about her and it turns out that's just her normal accent from Trinidad and Tobago, not an affectation.

R112, nailed it, and made me per my pants.

[quote]hey almost completely skipped over showing any feeling of devastation.

It's already been established they buried many friends by then. Devastation was burned out a while ago. AIDS was a death sentence so it was inflatable. Sandra was pissed off about the Doctor's coldness to it.

R116 Most of the episode takes place in Pray Tell's hometown, and there would not have been such devastation burnout there given how uncommon and unacceptable it is to be gay there. It's certain that the mother and both aunts would have broken down after hearing the news, but those breakdowns took place off camera.

And call me crazy, but I would assume a closeted and repressed gay man who made the choice to live that way while longing for a man he loves finding out that that man he loves is going to die soon ostensibly as a sentence for being gay would absolutely devastate him. He didn't seem fazed. Maybe if they had made Pray up to look sickly I could assume that everyone who saw him had an idea he was dying, but there seemed to be some emotional dischord.

[quote] AIDS was a death sentence so it was inflatable

Inevitable....sorry

I thought the latest episode was great even if it crammed it a LOT of arcs about growing up in a religious home/homophobic church. The young love flashbacks got my eyes moist.

The mom and auntie story lines were on point - upholding image, not protecting kids, ignoring things. Janet Hubert's bible-beating aunt who still seems to know what's what is oh so real to me.

Man, the music, the guest stars, the message. Best episode in a while - and I'm not even a big Pray/Billy Porter fan.

The repressed pastor and his knowing wife may have been a bit much crammed in there, but it made salient points about living a compromised life and what people will do just for the chance to appear "normal" and together and how religion can be a catalyst for that. I knew Pastor Vernon wouldn't leave with Pray.

Ledisi and B. Slade!!

My only issue with last night's episode is they hired Norm Lewis, had all that music and didn't give him a duet with Pray.

I’m always surprised by how wooden an actor Norm Lewis is.

Is this a colored show ???? Are they all incontinent and wearing Pioise pads !!! I find them bulky and c certainly would not dance with them on

What is the pastor kiss pray tell so willingly on the mouth knowing pray tell has aids and he has a wife?

And have they ever explain why pray tell is named “pray tell“?

^^sorry, “would the pastor”

R123. Are you writing from 1981? You can’t get AIDS from kissing (unless you suck blood from your he guy’s gums—even, saliva would probably kill the virus). And they would have known that the time the episode took place.

[quote]And have they ever explain why pray tell is named “pray tell“?

Pray tell is an old-fashioned term used for emphasis when asking for an explanation.

"So why, pray tell, were you going through my things?"

It's derived from the character's actual name, Prayerful.

[quote]Pray Tell's hometown, and there would not have been such devastation burnout there given how uncommon and unacceptable it is to be gay there.

In Pittsburgh?

Pittsburgh is Billy Porter's hometown? Was it Pray's too; I didn't catch where he was going.

R128 The bus station says East Liberty, which is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, but there is an East Liberty in New Jersey as well. Regardless, I don’t think it was filmed in either, so I’m unsure where the hell it was suppose to be.

Billy Porter talks about being HIV +. Of course with a documentary camera crew beside him.

[quote]There has never been a moment that I’ve not been in trauma

BILLY, you're a MARY!

Seriously, though, he's been through a lot in his life. I'm glad he's found success.

I haaaaated the ep about Pray Tell. It dragged on and on and on. Too much indulgent singing moments too.

Saw Dom Jackson in a small role on American Gods. She did not pop like she does on Pose. Much the same type of attitude/energy to her character.

I wonder if they made Elektra a dominatrix because her name is Dom. That seems like a very Ryan Murphy Productions approach to storytelling.

You had to step way out of reality to believe Pray Tell's ex-boyfriend from High School is still in love with him and is willing to leave his wife, children, and profession to take up with Pray Tell who now has AIDS. Very hard to believe this storyline. Almost as hard to believe that Lil Papi is now an executive in the fashion industry, when just a few years ago he was selling drugs and hooking in the Bronx at Hunts Point. Talk about crap on a cracker for a storyline.

Lil Papi was hooking? That’s hot

So, what’s the happy ever after here, bottom surgery for everyone?

Billy’s a mess!

Seeing the story about Billy coming out as HIV positive today, I'm thinking he's going to benefit from a miracle cure on Pose. Or will they actually kill the poz-man's character with AIDS? That's kinda creepy.

It doesn't matter... IT'S ALL FOR MY SECOND EMMY, BITCHES!!

SORRY, INDYA!!!

This is the final season of Pose, so get ready for a Melanie Wilkes deathbed scene with Elektra the new Scarlet O'Hara!

I hope Lil Papi gets lots of work after this series because he is the only one with charisma, especially if he does a biopic on the life of Armond Rizzo and presents hole.

R96 Grace Jones has already played that Bond villain role. No need to have this second rate actress revamp it, poorly.

[quote]Grace Jones has already played that Bond villain role. No need to have this second rate actress revamp it, poorly.

No need to have ANOTHER rate actress revamp it, poorly. Grace Jones is no actress.

[quote] Very hard to believe this story line.

It's not a documentary. Psssssttttt....Superman doesn't really fly. Shhhhhhhhh.

Lil Papi for NYC Mayor, problems solved.

R142 Lol, as if Grace was some stunning accomplished actress herself! It would be homage, honey, an homage, like when Daniel Craig emerged from the ocean in a square cut bathing suit ala Ursula.

[quote]Or will they actually kill the poz-man's character with AIDS? That's kinda creepy.

Worse ways to go. And on network!

R146 That was a brilliant way to go. So many people fear elevators and that moment added a whole new associated fear onto people's existing anxiousness. It imprinted me as a kid. I still always hesitate to walk into an elevator after the doors open and look down to make sure there's a floor.

I assume he will die and then a host of heavenly tranny angels wearing fabulous outfits will lift him into the skies above while a godly voice says: “The Category is Life Eternal!”

You know Porter is working overtime to get his second Emmy for Pose. He'll probably get it.

Maybe it will win Best Drama and one of the trannies will be nominated so they can shut the fuck up about not being recognized, despite the fact that they are not in the league of acting as, say, Viola Davis or Allison Janney.

I do think someone will win in Best Guest category. Some good guest stars this year.

Viola should have played Billy’s mother.

None of the acting is award worthy. Like others said, it’s a giant after school special, flaring nostrils are not an acting method, and if you took the novelty of being trans out of the script the show would quickly fall apart.

The actors don’t deserve the blame. The lines they are given are frequently embarrassing and the direction is bad.

You are a bore R151.

I think Billy outed how the series will end on Tamron Hall (not that it’s a big spoiler). He said Pray missed the retroviral (?) drugs by 1 year—meaning he must’ve died. I’m not sure if he called them retroviral, but whatever drug he mentioned…

I thought "Pray Tell" was just the character's stage name, but it's his actual name? Who the fuck names their kid "Pray Tell"?????

R148, that is everything! And if it does happen, I remember that I heard here, from you first. Love it.

R155, the character's real name is Prayerful. Pray Tell is his stage/nick name.

I was on red carpets 8x a month but I'm still not comfortable going back.

Sometimes, they're great. It's fun when a celeb lights up with a smile -- oh, I remember this dude; he never screws me over when I give a quote that needs editing!

Other times, you're stuck at the end of the carpet and the celebs are OVER talking by the time they get to you ("but...but, I never screw you over!")

I'd like things to be really safe, no variants, before they open up the carpets again.

Porter does not deserve another Emmy for this shit. Prediction: he won’t get another one.

r159

he didn't deserve the 1st one either

He came out as HIV positive.

Is coming out as HIV positive lauded now, though?

I thought Millennials flipped the script from "living with HIV is brave" to "fill me up with all your STDs bro! Raw dog me with those infected loads!! What? No, I'm on PrEP! I love HIV juice! Don't be sex negative!"

[quote]Porter does not deserve another Emmy for this shit. Prediction: he won’t get another one.

You seem quite bitter.

Is tonight the finale?

[quote]...if you took the novelty of being trans out of the script the show would quickly fall apart.

Which is exactly what has happened!

[quote]Who the fuck names their kid "Pray Tell"?????

I guess the same people who name their child "Venus Extravaganza"?

Why isn't using restrain, sound judgment and ignoring braindead peer pressure to remain HIV-negative ever considered "brave"?

Just asking.

*restraint

If I don't miss a typo, I'm just not me.

Tonite’s episode really jumped the shark. Dreadful. The show has become a bad soap opera. But Dominique was fun.

Agree with r170. That was perhaps one of the worst episodes of all three seasons. Pure fantasy. At least the wedding dress owner brought the show back to some reality.

Angel and Indya are horrible actors and cannot sell this predictable story.

MJ has been given very little do other than mope about her too-perfect boyfriend and give life-affirming speeches. Boring.

Dominique is the only one who is doing anything interesting or fun this season.

The show must really, really hate Ryan Jamaal Swain. They never mention Damon.

Some fool

Not gonna lie, a bit afraid to watch based on these early reviews. And when’s Patti coming back?

Disgusting! I need Anna Marie Horsford’s wide fat ass back!!!!

Last night’s episode was absolute dreck. This show is so widely uneven. It’s almost like a gigantic student project, and some episodes are done by A students and some by F students. The writing is cringe. The wedding dress montage. The spa montage. Star Wars is more realistic. One positive - the music choices were killer. At least that part of the series is consistent.

[quote] Angel and Indya are horrible actors and cannot sell this predictable story.

Indya Moore plays Angel...

[quote] The writing is cringe. The wedding dress montage. The spa montage. Star Wars is more realistic. One positive - the music choices were killer. At least that part of the series is consistent.

That's the Ryan Murphy production trademark: style over substance.

In AHS, it's costume and set design, with the opening credits always being the best part of any season, and the "Story" part of the show's title being ironic since the show is really just a montage of slapped together scenes.

Visuals and music always trump story and performance in his shows. Weirdly, AHS has hired the best actors and has featured some really good acting, but the lines are always "cringe." Same with The Politician. The last season's ending really felt like the writers brainstormed each scene immediately prior to filming them.

Murphy's productions give little attention to plot, and the dialogue is always a mixture of telling to advance the plot and didactic lecturing to the audience. It's so strange. This is why I keep calling it an Afterschool Special.

Talk about jumping the shark....now the mafia?

The wedding dress montage was straight out of the SATC movie. Dreck imitating dreck.

I[quote]Tonite’s episode really jumped the shark. Dreadful. The show has become a bad soap opera. But Dominique was fun.

It was actually kinda shockingly over the top. I was waiting for one of the characters to wake up at the end in a hospital bed in a hallucinogenic fever surrounded by everyone. THAT would have made sense and been sobering instead of just stupid.

Has Billy died from the aids yet?

r176 I know dumbass. Angel Bismark Cyril plays Papi.

Hence, Angel and Indya...

Keep up.

*Curiel

[quote]The wedding dress montage was straight out of the SATC movie.

Because no movie before SATC ever did a dress montage. Gurl please. As for hokey, yes. But it was with four trans women, something never done before. The hope that Electra was talking to Papi about is just as real for those baby trans watching POSE.

Perhaps some of you are way too young, but when thirtysomething had a gay kiss and there were actual non-flitty gay people like us on television, it was hope and proof that we were the fucked up perverts people thought we were. So quit shitting on the shows last few episodes, and enjoy them as the obvious valentines to the cast to have their moments and the thank yous to the audience.

Go bitch about the size of somes dick or Helen Lawson or Friends.

r184 = Janet Mock

So is “marrying off the tranny” the new phrase for “jump the shark?”

No honey, an elder gay raised by drag queens in Tamap circa 1983-5, so the trans thing, especially the latin trans thing is not new to me at all. I knew girls from all points of transition. I've never understood it, but have always accepted it.

The part about family is true. The struggles they went through is true. So, after a fucked up year of death and disease and loss, we have just seven episodes of a ground-breaking series to say good-bye. They've made other girls feel that they can accomplish something in a non-Laverne Cox INYOURFACE attitude.

Can't it just be all light and fluffy and Disney-ish? Because unless you lived through the reality as an ADULT, you don't know how actually horrible it was.

This shows is hitting all the right emotional notes for many viewers and y'all can just go fuck yourselves if you don't enjoy it.

Forgot to add it was me, R184 in my old-age.

[quote] The awkwardness of Electra line readings are painful.

Yes it are, aren’t it?

[quote]They've made other girls feel that they can accomplish something in a non-Laverne Cox INYOURFACE attitude.

What? Joining the Mafia?

Just how big IS Helen Lawson's cock?

So is “marrying off the tranny” the new phrase for “jump the shark?”

That’s not what I meant by jumping the shark but you obviously wish I did. Jumping the shark: Mafia, Elektra having money to burn by buying out a spa for the day, Normally compassionate Angel worried that having a child in her life will threaten her sobriety yet she has no problem partying and being around alcohol. That’s jumping the shark.

Just how and why did Billy Porter get the aids? He was old enough to know better. He took it up the ass without protection? Bye gurl.

When did Dominque become Julia Sugarbaker?

And we're supposed to celebrate that all their fortunes come from the mafia???

This season is a complete mess.

Now I get why it's ending.

no way in hell would a man and a trans woman would go toe city hall to get married in 93/94???

WTF(in a show filled with them)

What do Angel and Papi think will happen when they go to City Hall? Will Elektra pay City Hall off as well? It's so delusional.

Just catch up on the latest show. Boy, it’s lost its way.

Dominique remains a hoot to watch, but boy, this is a show that veers from social commentary to cartoon comedy.

Why in the world would all the women want to wear a wedding dress to someone else’s wedding??? It’s just silly season.

Everything has transpired overnight this season (perhaps accelerated by the low episode order and the series’ end), with Blanca suddenly in a great relationship with a new career direction and Electra an overnight business mogul able to go toe-to-toe with mob bosses. And, yes, this show is very much a fairly tale by design, but moments need to be earned to feel joyous.

Like when Papi met his son. A minute into it, Papi begins to cry and the boy hugs him. Totally unearned moment.

So, is there really one episode left? Seven seems like such an odd number to end a series on. And was Porter feuding with the cast and separated with his own stand alone episode and then the rest got one of their own?

[quote[And was Porter feuding with the cast and separated with his own stand alone episode and then the rest got one of their own?

No one wanted to work with Jackee.

[quote]but moments need to be earned to feel joyous.

Yes Mommie Dearest.

2 eps left

This last episode would have been the worst ever, except Porter wasn't it it so that gave it some cred.

The Papi is now a father story is fucking lame and terrible writing.

The last episode was so bad.

The only authentic scene was the one in which Lulu told Elektra to basically fuck off and show some respect.

What’s this talk of Billy feuding with the cast? Has this been written about anywhere reputable?

R205, Apparently he's mad because another actor got more than one line, which cut into his screen time and prevented him from belting out another song.

Haven’t read any credible gossip re: billy and the cast.

They should direct their ire at the writers.

The trannies hate him because he got the Emmy and their high-school level acting didn't. Indya Moore is insane.

I'm sure Ryan Jamaal Swain dislikes him because Ryan seems to hate everything and everybody. That he is no longer on the show is no surprise (and spare me the bereavement leave excuse. Not buying it.)

None of these people could deal with a little success.

Tonight's episode was all over the place and way over the top.

Papi's singing was terrible (it must have been auto-tuned). And the constant life-affirming speeches seemed more appropriate for a Hallmark Channel TV movie.

So much fantasy.

The scene between Angel and her father was actually pretty good because it was the only scene that seemed stuck in reality. I also liked the scene of Papi telling the guys how they taught him to be a man.

God put this show out of its misery. Oh thank you. You did.

Indya Moore was veey good in her scene with Angel's father. She's a good actor.

At least they didn’t have Angel’s father walk her down the aisle because that never would have happened. Their scene together felt like it belonged in a different show. They were both wonderful and I felt sympathy for her father who wanted to be ok with everything but just couldn’t. When Pray pointed out that Blanca was losing weight I thought we might have a double death next week.

I wish Angel and Elektra could get a spinoff on HBO written and produced by an HBO vet instead of a Murphy/Fuller Afterschool Special Factory production team.

Did it end with bottom surgery for all?

In all my obsessed TV watching life and I actually broke a TV as a kid trying to watch three shows at a time when TV had dials to turn to change the channel, I have never seen a show so self destruct in two episodes like this. The Mafia one two weeks ago and this week. First, the Mafia would not have worked with a man in a dress in the middle of the AIDS crisis, no matter how hard she tried to convince them she'd make them money. Second, her throwing around money like that, weddings, apartments, furs, cars she would have ended up in the river within the month. I said it before I was waiting for a to a character to wake up from a fever dream in the hospital surrounded by everyone. Now that would have made sense. If this foolishness had been in the first season, I would have never watched again.

This show is off the motherfuckin’ rails. Stoopid with two o’s. Just an example of the whiplash this show subjects it’s viewers to - Beto goes from fantasy angel child to monster to Power Ranger thanks to Saint Blanca in 3 scenes. Are we to believe Angel and Papi will be the first legalized trans marriage in history? Wait a second... when did Lulu get a live-in boyfriend?!?? He appears out of nowhere for a triumphant “I’ve gotta love me more” scene? Hot garbage.

No explicit sex scene between Jeremy Pope and Dyllón Burnside? Missed opportunity. If only Tyler Perry was running this shit show.

And the hypocrisy of the show:

Electra: I’ll get the mob to doctor your ID!

Blanca: You cannot start your marriage with a lie.

Cut to Papi sweet-talking the clerk so she will miss the “M” on Angel’s passport.

What exactly was the difference???

I'm watching the show as an expressionist LGBT fantasy. The lack of realism doesn't bother me; it's clearly a wish fulfillment show.

I am giving it more willing suspension of disbelief than I was able to give AHS, which I gave up on after season three because it was so terribly written. Pose hits a nerve for me since I grew up gay in the 80s (kid) and 90s (teen) and was terrified of AIDS and hatred from greater society. It moves me despite really poor writing and a lot of poor acting. It's cathartic.

[quote]I'm watching the show as an expressionist LGBT fantasy. The lack of realism doesn't bother me; it's clearly a wish fulfillment show.

I have no problem with lack of realism in things either but this was an opportunity to show the world how gays suffered, not only with the disease but the discrimination because of it. No here comes the Mafia to the rescue! Now the finale will get all weepy preachy after the last two week debacle. And people thought Murphy rewriting history with the silly "Hollywood" was over the top.

R220 Much of the series has been about suffering, and Pray is dying and we can be sure Elektra will pay dearly for making a deal with the devil. Seeing everyone in their white outfits at the wedding made me half expect a machine gun slaughter of all the extras during the wedding since the white and red would be a typical Ryan Murphy visual extravaganza.

Something wicked is coming for Pray and Elektra.

Christ, this is the longest hour of TV and it seems like 50% of it is commercials. Who wants a hammer and cookbook on their wedding day?

It's all fantasy. Janet Mock fantasizing about herself as Angel, like this woman who all the men want. Back in 1994, though, you know Angel would still be working the piers, wondering if the next trick would beat her up.

The scenes of Angel with her father and Pray Tell at the doctor's office bring the show back to reality. But only for a few moments.

Then it's back to Dynasty weddings with Glee sing-a-longs and Janet Mock and Steven Canals jerking off to what they think is life-affirming television.

Treacle! All treacle and no substance, not even a drop.

How much do the producers hate Angel Bismark Curiel to have him sing right in the same frame with Billy Porter. No matter what you think of Porter, the man can sing.

It’s pure fantasy, but as a 52 year old that lived through a lot of similar situations I appreciated that it veered from the harsh reality of those times. I had a platonic house mother that let me live with him for years that succumbed to AIDS and there were scenes that brought back so many memories. I also worked with and had many trans friends that didn’t come out the other side of their life challenges like I did.

My absolute favorite character I identify with was Lulu because she was street smart, practical and no nonsense. That bitch kept it REAL and like myself, struggled with drugs and had to walk away from a life and the hot guy that would’ve completely destroyed her. I admire both the character and the performer.

When I married my husband, I experienced that same “suspension of belief”- as gay men really aren’t supposed to marry, my family wasn’t supportive, and it’s simply the most unbelievable moment to have all your gay family and friends gathered in a room like that. Also, taking a vow to commit to one other person is a dynamic that is SO rare and uncommon in gay life, like finding a shining jewel you weren’t looking for. I wasn’t looking to get married when I met my husband, but knew he was the right guy after dating him for two weeks. His smile melts my heart and something new opened inside me. Every other couple that we knew that married during the craze when it became legal has since broken up.

Our wedding day was like riding an amusement ride the entire day without a safety belt on and I sincerely hope every one of you jaded single queens gets to experience it!

[quote] Our wedding day was like riding an amusement ride the entire day without a safety belt on

That honestly sounds like my worst nightmare and like almost certain death.

But the rest of your post is very sweet!

R226 I'm no jaded single queen but a fabulous single guy! What I've seen in the last two episodes are four straight women living in a hetero fantasy closer to SEX AND THE CITY than to anything I've lived through in the 80s or early 90s. In the gay scenes I recall were less than a handful trans people - all transitioned to men and gay. My experiences aren't representative but they didn't care for a wedding or designer clothes. They had problems to get a job and rent an apartment. The latter would've affected the trans women the most too. If they had no work experience they would earn less than a transitioned man. Some of the topics POSE touched on but the life affirming preachiness isn't what people helped through it. Political activism helped a lot to change things but plays no role here (in a party not Act Up). Even though I'm not too much into trans topics I wondered why POSE is pushing mostly the heterosexuality of Blanca, Elektra, Angel and suddenly Lulu to their happy end after seen all gays except Pray Tell fading into the background. Where are the homosexual trans people I remember? With POSE the producers had the opportunity - after the critically lauded first season to broaden their universe - but they limited it to a heterosexual endgame. The queers are extras as wedding guests. This is why I couldn't stand the last two episodes. It felt more like one of the many soap opera weddings I've seen and not like something that could happen in real life (as Michael and Ben's Canadian low-key ceremony in QUEER AS FOLK). I'm not anti-marriage, I loved the one in SCHITT'S CREEK and as a fantasy I really loved Ryan Murphy's HOLLYWOOD.

So who was the (I’m assuming) Angel all dressed in white who crashed Papi’s pre wedding cocktail hour with his boys?

[quote]Our wedding day was like riding an amusement ride the entire day without a safety belt on

Did you sing?

R229 Cubby

R226, I’m all for wish fulfillment but it needs to feel earned and at least realistic-adjacent.

Angel becoming a supermodel overnight and going from working the streets to a fancy apartment? Damon getting a full scholarship to dance school and then landing plum assignments right away in a ridiculously competitive field? Papi becoming a big modeling agent overnight? It’s so preposterous that it takes the viewer out of it.

Honestly, if there’d been a fourth season, I have no doubt Blanca would have been accepted to Harvard medical school to become an infectious disease expert and create a cure for AIDS. (Hey, we have one episode left... it could still happen!)

There are more modest milestones that would have felt much more realistic and, therefore, much more satisfying. And nothing handed to people overnight!

I lost my rooting interest in Angel early on when she hit the (dubious) big time. It’s a shame.

I swear I saw dead people in this episode.

"I'm a woman who loves a man!"

Yay, gay pride?

[quote] With POSE the producers had the opportunity - after the critically lauded first season to broaden their universe - but they limited it to a heterosexual endgame. The queers are extras as wedding guests.

Calm down, there has been only one wedding among alllll the characters in the show. Angel and Papi got married. No one else has. The show has depicted all sorts of unconventional romantic and platonic relationships throughout its run and as of now only two heteronormative relationships. You make it sound like everyone was converted to being straight or else run off the screen.

I really wanted Evan Peter’s suburban yuppie character to show up at the wedding and object and Angel to run off with him. That is the happy ending I wanted to see.

male who chops dick to be woman who marries male = hetero-chop-ualist.

Conversion therapy via scalpel.

R237 should be banned

R238 = trans fascist. Reality sucks, hunty!

People spreading hate are the ones who suck, but they are miserable creatures, so I wouldn’t want to change places with any of you. Grow the fuck up!

Trannies get so triggered when confronted with basic facts.

Now you're a woman. You married a man. You're straight now.

Bye!

Listen, you bitches, this is MY show!! It's about me!! It's about what I can be, should be, and will be!!

It's not fantasy. IT'S MY TRUTH!!

So many men want to make love to me and to marry me. You're just jealous because nobody wants you. It angers you that men want a real WOMAN!!

Papi fucks me every night. Who's fucking you? Huh? WHO IS FUCKING YOU?????

And I wanted to add, Papi, I know I’ve been cheating on you with someone from the crew, & I was going to dump you during tonight’s speech, but since I can’t be home alone, i want to work things out. And fuck you to Ryan and fuck you to Hollywood, when I ask for a suite you damn well get me a suite! I fixed your damn show.

It seems like nearly every poster in this thread absolutely loathes the show, all its characters and its themes.

Why do you watch it? I really don't understand that. I can't stand shows like The Bachelor and superhero movies and so I just avoid them. I certainly don't watch them because I detest them and then complain about everything I hate to people who enjoy them.

This candy floss of a show was burdened with trying to represent and portray today’s attitudes and perspectives into yesteryear- always a dubious position. I genuinely liked the show but the writing was rudderless and disconnected from reality.

I would’ve liked more backstory about each character and give depth and a reason to fall in love with them rather than distracting us with extra characters, runoff subplots or trying to gin up viewership with celebrity cameos.

I actually lived a lot of the experiences shown and knew trans people going through them- and the most important difference is that life doesn’t have to make sense or be “righteous” to make a spellbinding story. There is a dearth of storytellers!

Sometimes it’s better just to tell a good BELIEVABLE story.

R245 That is always the problem with Ryan Murphy productions: great premise, great art direction, good casting, community theatre scripts.

I’m sorry, but this guy has one of the most punchable faces I’ve ever seen. I’m not even going to listen to the podcast as I have a feeling his voice would just push me over the edge. I really can’t imagine him having any career after this. I would be embarrassed to list myself as it’s creator at this point.

And yet there have been predictions that the show will be nominated for an Emmy for Best Drama, which would be a travesty.

The Emmys should create a "Best Preposterous Melodrama" category to accommodate RM productions.

[quote]It seems like nearly every poster in this thread absolutely loathes the show, all its characters and its themes.

I don't loath this show, I hated two of the last episodes, the Mafia and wedding ones.

I've enjoyed this last episode, though it was preposterous. It was still entertaining. I find it hard to watch any of the Pray Tell stuff at this point. I loved the first season over all, and hated the second. This season has been in and out for me.

We watch because of its potential... and, at this point, because it’s almost done and the season is short. I would love is this show could be great and draw people beyond our community to watch these stories.

Murphy dropped this show like a hot rock. I forget the exact timing but suspect this was green lit prior to his Netflix deal. The first episodes really drew me in. Then they squandered most of the good will they’d earned.

Billy is an outstanding actor but needs directors who can reel him in.

Can can we just say... and it’s know it’s for dramatic effect... but why is it that that the first four judges almost always give 10s and the fifth judge is the deciding vote?

Speaking as someone who loathes this season I’m only watching because I want to see how they wrap the series up.

The first season was great. It drew you in with the music, the message, the balls, the characters.

Evan Peters and Indya Moore had great chemistry and their intimate scenes drew you in. When Peters left, Moore's character became less interesting, and I find Angel's love story with Papi boring. I think Peters really strengthened Moore's acting, something Curiel cannot, and Peters and Moore brought a sense of reality to their story, whereas Angel and Papi and that god-awful wedding seems based in fantasy.

Season 2 was a mixed bag. Season 3 has been a complete mess.

I sense the show is a mess behind the scenes, which was obvious when Mock had her meltdown at the premiere. I know Ryan Jamaal Swain's sister died last year and they say they let him have time to give but the show was filming up until March. Damon's character was written off abruptly and they NEVER mention him anymore. No way Blanca would just say "Yeah, I couldn't save him, he relapsed and moved away". She would be tormented by guilt. It's obvious Swain and some of the cast/creative crew don't get along because they act like Damon's character never existed.

I also sense a power struggle between Canals and Mock despite their friendliness on social media. And their writing tends to indulge too much in sentimentality and mawkishness.

I think it's the classic story of the first season being a success that it went to their heads. I remember Billy Porter was really friendly and unassuming on social media when the show first started. But then the buzz and the Emmy win just seemed to turn him into a publicity whore.

R254, so well said.

And I want to stand up for Canals. I’ve trashed the show lately. The fact that he brought the show to life is an amazing thing. Great and important idea and no one wanted it.

The crime is that no one competent is helping execute.

Was fist bumping a thing in the mid-90s That I missed? I found it out of place when Papi fist bumped his son.

R256 They use a lot of anachronous dialogue. There were several contemporary clichés in the last episode, including "you're my ride or die." It didn't become a colloquial phrase until the 2000s.

Damon isn’t missed.

Well, I for one hope they burn down the house in the finale, literally, they set Pray Tell’s house on fire as a giant funeral pyre when he dies and hold a Vogue ball illuminated by the dancing flames of the conflagration to honor him. Meanwhile, as I have mentioned before, beautiful tranny angels lift him to heaven. Anything less then this will be a disappointment.

Much of the context, several plot lines and even a few characters were appropriated and lifted cleanly from “Paris Is Burning” and if the writer was a white guy there would’ve been an uproar over this fact. Aspirational has a place in a storyline, but it was clear from the three slipshod seasons that there was NO overarching plot line and they didn’t plan three years out. Someone seasoned with more experience could’ve fleshed out 4-5 seasons after the first season’s clear success- but they had to be trans- and that’s limiting.

At issue is they tried to tie a neat red bow of an ending to characters modeled after a documentary- where pretty much everyone was murdered or died from HIV, or left penniless. Perhaps they should’ve modeled more after REAL people like Willy Ninja and the wild success INSIDE their lives rather than a fairy tale ending.

R260 I always think of Paris Is Burning while watching Pose and it's one of the reasons I like the show. I saw Paris back in college about 20 years ago and I can't find it on any streaming service, so my memory of it is hazy, but I remember it being tragic and interesting, and Pose has invented a lot of details that give me at least some idea of what the people in the documentary went through re homelessness, sex work, inability to get jobs, to form stable romantic relationships at times and so on.

Pose is my favorite Murphy show overall because it covers such an interesting period of our recent history and even though it's fantastical it feels emotionally true to me at its core. It's a slow burn of devastation for most of the characters.

But of course I have to like it while making a lot of excuses for it. I loved Glee at first and then suddenly after the first season I found it hard to watch. I loved AHS at first and then during and after the third season I found it impossible to watch. I liked The Politician a lot and then during the second season I wanted to throw my TV out the window.

I love the premises of most of his shows, like Feud, and then the indulgent execution makes me cringe and call out expletives. Susan Sarandon was great as Bette Davis but Jessica Lange neither looked nor sounded nor moved anything like Joan Crawford and the writing was (as always) didactic and preachy and about empowerment, and the show was confounding overall.

I've watched some old sitcoms like Frasier and Roseanne recently and they just seem so much better, so much more fully realized tonally than today's offerings from Ryan Murphy, Netflix, Hulu, etc., which always have a heavy (I have to say it again) Afterschool Special vibe, like they were written by agoraphobic Millennial activists over Zoom in between complaints about the patriarchy and while stoned. There's just something really wooden about a lot of today's shows, with thematic subtext having given way to sociopolitical lectures in dialogue, and I think Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy are the reasons for it.

But hey, it's a new era and you have to accept changes as they happen. Scripts write down to audiences now and tell them how to feel. It's the norm now.

"Don't you know how that makes me feel, Pray?! It makes me feel less than, like my voice as a woman doesn't matter! It makes me feel like you aren't hearing me!"

"I hear you!"

"Do you? Or are you part of the patriarchy without knowing it, Pray? YOU THINK ABOUT THAT!"

So The Hollywood Reporter has some special issue honoring actresses.

Gillian Anderson, Elizabeth Olsen, Cynthia Erivo, Sarah Paulson, Anya Taylor Joy.......

And MJ Rodriguez

What’s wrong with this picture?

I say something to the affect of 5 out of 6 ain’t bad. And now I’m accused of being transphobic.

First of all, they assume the odd woman out, so that’s interesting.

But yes, seriously, if you think that MJ is in the same acting caliber as Cynthia or Gillian, then you have a fucking hole in your head

This show shit all over Paris is Burning and should hang it’s head in shame for dragging the name of that phenomenal awarding documentary down into the gutter.

I'd like to see all the actors from Pose in other shows or movies. The stilted acting is pretty consistent throughout the series (although Indya Moore gives realistic performances in some scenes), including Sandra Bernhardt, who we know is capable of better. This says that they are directed to come across this way. I can't judge the actors' abilities without seeing them in other productions because the acting is consistently poor throughout this series. There's something very off about the tone, as if everyone is doing their first table read during the scenes that make it to the televised show.

MJ has a new project with Maya Rudolph.

R265 That could be interesting. They could be sisters or cousins. Rudolph is very strong with improv comedy and so playing against her will definitely test MJ's performance abilities.

I really think it's unfair to judge actors by Murphy productions. I didn't see anything in Evan Peters on AHS other than some arguably cute stock player with blond hair, but he proved on Mare that he is really talented. He was on par with Kate Winselet, who is one of the best actors alive. Murphy is the guy who gives people lines like "Stu is...stew!!!"

R261 Lange captured Joan perfectly. Clips like this always prove that:

I think Dominique and MJ have the chops to improve. They already have improved though MJ has been saddled with bad writing this season.

Dominique is one of the worst actresses I’ve ever seen on screen. She just is.

Where at R248? The show has zero buzz other than mocks tantrum.

You know the trannies will scream transphobia if the last season is not nominated.

You know Anjelica has already filmed her rant in anticipation.

R265 and Indya is in the new Escape zoom sequel, quite possibly playing cis

*Escape Room. But ugh yes let’s escape Zoom calls also

Just watched ep 6. Fun wish fulfillment. Indiya Moore did a great job. The fact that they keep bringing Candy back shows you they realize how much the show needs her.

But we are supposed to believe Papi and Angel are the couple of the century when she’s been portrayed as so unstable and flighty up until the end. This marriage might last a month.

(So many inconsistencies. Angel bringing her dad cash when last we knew she couldn’t get booked, as though she’s collecting residuals on her early work. Pray Tell losing most of his sight then standing at the poorly lit altar, reading his lines for the ceremony. !!!)

Who knew Candy would become Hamlet’s father?

Let’s get this dogs and pony show on the road and over with now.

I loved season one and couldn't wait for each new episode.

Thank God this show is being put out of its misery. This season has been horrible and it seems to get worse with each episode - and there's only seven!

Also, I am thankful I won't have to read Steven Canals and Janet Mock's jerk-off posts about how groundbreaking their writing and directing are. They're hacks who couldn't even write a decent afterschool special episode. Those have less cliches than what Canals and Mock revert to.

Writing your fantasies is not necessarily good writing for a weekly dramatic TV series.

[quote]Was fist bumping a thing in the mid-90s That I missed? I found it out of place when Papi fist bumped his son.

Sweetie, go watch a few boxing movies. Or the end of Pat Benatar's1983 hit Love is a Battlefield.

2 HOUR FINALE TONITE!

[quote]and I can't find it on any streaming service.

Volia, R261

^sorry about the spanish captions. first one on the list.

This finale is dreadful. Who wrote this shit? Sorry Billy but no more Emmys for you.

He is getting Emmy 2 whether you like it or not, he has had some great scenes this season, so relax.

R283 is delusional. He’s not getting shit.

He doesn't deserve it for this season. It was such pandering and overacting. It just reeked of desperation for another one.

These are characters I cared about in Season 1 and now they’re dying and I’m just rolling my eyes.

This finale is dreadful. All over the place and way too much sentimentality. Canals and Mock are terrible writers. Mawkish, sentimental, too on the nose.

Some of the acting has been awful too.

That scene where Blanca and Ricky embraced and fell onto the floor in tears in the hospital waiting room was POWERFUL.

Christopher had more chemistry with Ricky.

Everyone who insists on calling POSE "groundbreaking" is straight, white, works for the show, doesn't know any black people, doesn't know any gay people, or has NEVER MET a trans person, and thinks "Black Trans Women started Stonewall"!

No wonder they think it's groundbreaking, because to them it is. What's really groundbreaking is that such effusive praise and wonderment is bestowed upon this bizarre, historically inaccurate shit show. That's groundbreaking!

Pepper LaBeija wouldn't sit through POSE.

The last hour is even worse than the first.

So the balls turned into a Halloween pageant?

They’re playing Janet’s Go Deep!

God bless Anna Maria Horsford for the only genuine moments in the show.

Linda Evangelist should sue for defamation of character.

MJ Rodrigues IS the new Audrey Hepburn!

That was absolute shit. Everything was so predictable. You just knew when they jumped to 1998 they were going to trash Sex and the City and it wasn't even funny.

And the reference to Damon was weird. When Elektra said "He found a sugar daddy" it seemed like shade towards Ryan Jamaal Swain.

You negative Nancys sicken me. And that fade out scene was perfect.

Who is RJS’s sugar daddy?

Blanca gives way to much unsolicited medical advice for someone with no credentials.

Well, at least out of all the many, many contender for worst Ryan Murphy production going off the rails we not have a lifetime contender. I get the feeling he completely washed his hands of this before this season and just told them to rubber stamp his approval without even looking at any of it.

I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s corny sometimes but Pose is feel good tv and I like it.

The music was good and ending on Whitney was a nice touch. Also glad Ricky didn't die.

But the writing was terrible. So many awkward speeches and affirmations, it felt like I was watching a motivational speech for two hours.

That didn’t even vaguely resemble Gracie Mansion, it’s not like we don’t know what the Mayor’s home looks like.

My opinion of Sandra has fallen with her involvement in this monstrosity.

Sandra looked embarrassed.

Sandra's crying scene was embarrassing.

Same with Ricky's.

Some really horrible acting tonight.

Indya is not good at acting

R308 They did seem to give her as little as possible to do this season outside of a family emergency that would have taken her off screen.

Indya was only good with Evan Peters. Sorry but it's true. Their story was interesting and he helped carry her in those scenes. Their chemistry worked. And that story felt authentic, not the Dynasty fantasies of season 3.

R310. I could see Jill Clayburgh in the role. Otherwise it was probably the usual suspects (Fonda, Dunaway)

Was that meant for the Goodbar thread r311?

Finale Part 1 - still hackneyed, still corny - but I found it very moving and sad. Loved the Diana Ross ballroom scene.

I was meh about the finale, I thought it would be more emotional. Candy’s death episode wrecked me. Even thinking about it yesterday brought tears to my eyes. This didn’t. At all. Went out with a whimper.

Surprised the couldn't or didn't get Ryan Jamaal Swain back for the funeral.

I am watching last night's finane right now so I skipped the commentary above, but I feel a need to bitch about the really poor writing before I resume the show.

Blanca doesn't want to do a clinical trial because she distrusts the authorities that operate it. "Ain't you ever heard of the Tuskegee study?" she says.

"Of course I have," he says, "This isn't either of those situations. This is a genuine, robust scientific trial of a drug by a publicly traded pharmaceutical company in conjunction with the CDC."

This is a super pet peeve of mine. It suggests that Tuskegee was perpetrated clandestinely by monsters in a dark lab and was illegitimate.

It was immoral and unconscionable and evil, but it was valid scientifically. And it was carried out in plain view of the public for FIFTY YEARS. Two studies were published in public medical journals during its time that described the study. It was funded by the US Public Health Service, which about halfway through the study's timeline became the CDC.

Making a case that any trial is safe because it's carried out by the CDC is like making a case that you'd sleep well in the care of German Nazis.

And suggesting a study of human beings is sound because it's being done by "a publicly traded pharmaceutical company"?! Good God. Pharmaceutical companies only ever have profit in mind and they will kill any number of people they need to kill to make their profits, and the US government will support them in doing it.

It's kind of funny that this episode makes a dig at the FDA for being a barrier to access to drugs like AZT—which it did—because although the FDA is corrupt in a lot of ways, the agency was doing its job by holding up drug access because it's supposed to verify safety and efficacy before approving drugs and medical devices and often fails to do that because of relationships with drug companies. (But in cases like AIDS and COVID, it should be humane and make exceptions to try to save lives as long as patients consent; this can be its own form of public clinical trial.)

Anyway, I'm just some white guy, lest anyone assume I'm coming from a racial bias by calling the show's writing terrible by dismissing Tuskegee as it did and suggesting the CDC and pharmaceutical companies can't be trusted. They can't be trusted. CDC is not a scientific research institution many believe it is; it is a 100 percent political policymaking agency that operates at the whims of the president, and it has a long history of failing the public. Even in a show like this, it shouldn't be implied that involvement of the CDC legitimizes research. The CDC *was* the Tuskegee study, and just because it ran from 1932-1972 doesn't mean the agency would not do equally evil things in 1992 or 2022.

Holy crap, right after my rant above, a full minute-long commercial from Pharmaceutical company Lilly about how much they care about people.

Call me cynical, but I feel like rewatching this series to see how much of it is product placement for PHRMA. I wonder how much FX has been paid by Rx companies during the run of this show.

I wonder how much Sandra Beenhardt has bitched privately about how hard it is to make such preachy writing interesting.

Probably a lot r318. But she quiets down when the direct deposit arrives.

Are all of the characters based largely on the actors' real lives?

Billy is older and survived the AIDS epidemic and is HIV positive (and coincidentally admitted it publicly just as the series was finishing its run).

Indya was a young fashion model who became an outspoken transgender activist like Angel.

Dominique's relationship with her mother seems to be the basis of Elektra's back story with her mother.

"Coincidentally" ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Ha ha ha ha.

Ha.

When a talent asks you for a suite, you give them a suite because they need it

They disposed of Pray Tell efficiently.

Would anyone on DL wear a cheap looking locket with someone’s ashes inside? I think not. You know Elektra tossed that shit in the nearest trash can.

[quote]Would anyone on DL wear a cheap looking locket with someone’s ashes inside? I think not. You know Elektra tossed that shit in the nearest trash can.

You don't really wear it, you tuck it away. Do you have any friends and do they realize you don't love them?

I’m glad people came to bury Pose, not praise it.

[quote]Call me cynical, but I feel like rewatching this series to see how much of it is product placement for PHRMA. I wonder how much FX has been paid by Rx companies during the run of this show.

Honey, do you have a tin foil purse and shoes to match your hat?

Lame now. Lost interest

Preachy writing is an apt description of this season. So many fucking life affirmations which replaced dialogue.

I agree with r314 that Candy’s death was touching. This finale felt hollow to me.

It was bad. Pray's death was dealt with tidily, and then it turned into a docudrama about ACT UP anf then the characters' lives were wrapped up and then it just ended. That was a sad and pitiful sendoff for a show that was supposed to have been a landmark.

I understand when a series peters out after 7 or 8 seasons with little else to say, but this show was three short seasons long. Why was it so poorly written and executed?

[quote] docudrama about ACT UP

completely fictional, anachronistic tall tale, just like their absurd depiction of the 5,000+ outside, 111+ inside Stop the Church protest, which 'Pose' reduced to Pray Tell leading a pew-side diva death drop.

R325 yes and yes

It was just awful. They were trying to do so much:

AIDS Action! The cocktail! Black people being medically ignored! Pray Tell is dying! No, wait, it's Ricky! Oops it IS Pray Tell!! And now that Pray Tell is dead, let's throw in an extremely awkward scene between Anna Maria Horsford and MJ Rodriguez where Pray Tell's mom is like, "Yeah, he's dead but he left you these weird gifts - can you distribute them to your tranny friends? Thanks. Gotta go. Reuben!!!" Blanca's a nurse! Blanca's got a good man! Blanca's a legendary housemother! Blanca's perfect! Sex and the City was about privileged white women so to counter that, here are four black trannies having REAL drinks! Damon is living in Chicago and running dance studios but REALLY we hate Ryan so essentially it should read: Damon slept with some rich guy and is living off his sugar daddy! SHADE! Angel's a full-time mother but occasionally she appears on cans of hairspray!! See, trannies, dreams DO come true!!

[quote]Blanca doesn't want to do a clinical trial because she distrusts the authorities that operate it. "Ain't you ever heard of the Tuskegee study?" she says.

Ohmygawd! As IF even one actual pier queen, ballwalker, or black tranny you'll ever find can explain in any manner the Tuskegee study, or even knows the slightest bit about it! Hilarious.

The show is pure fantasy.

And as much as I like MJ, they turned Blanca from house mother to Earth Mother who knows everything. It got so sickly sweet.

R333 if you ever decide to do a TV show recap blog or vlog, keep us apprised, I’d definitely visit.

No comment on Elektra's Pepe Le Pew gray streak in her hair to represent she's old?

And the horrible Diana Ross Central Park salute with horrible outfits, bad wigs and sucky lip sync. The real rain was jumping the tranny shark.

Yeah, they needed to be electrocuted with that horrible Central Park performance. It was terrible.

Elektra might have been better in that number.

I'm pretty sure that it would have been Damon as the new house father at the end. If Ryan had stayed, I wonder if Ricky would have been killed off.

It seemed a bit odd to see Blanca and Ricky sitting together near the end because they never seemed to have one-on-one scenes together, so it was pretty telling that was meant for Damon.

It sounds like they had to quickly rewrite stuff when Ryan left.

Sadly, I think this was the end of all of their acting careers, including Sandra Bernhard. Billy is the only one who may still get the occasional acting job now that the show has wrapped.

[quote]Sadly, I think this was the end of all of their acting careers

IMDB says otherwise.

Actors aren't responsible for poor writing.

would they have let Pray into the study if he already had developed AIDS and was sick?

As someone diagnosed in 1991 who went on AZT for two weeks then stopped, I was put on the cocktail in 1995 when my t-ce;;s were arpimd 125 and a viral load of 350,000. I also had KS lesions (one in the same spot as Ricky). Thanks to the cocktail and experimental treatment on my lesions, they went away never to return and I'm here 30 years after my diagnosis to read a bunch bullshit by people who probably weren't around during that time and have no clue as to the reality of the situations.

Pose pretty much checked all the boxes for capturing the frustrations, hopes and emotions of the era.

So lay the fuck off, bitches.

I think it became obvious to everyone involved that Dyllón Burnside had a lot more star power than Ryan Jamaal and the show pivoted accordingly. Ricky took on more importance and got the bulk of story. He should’ve been cast as Damon in the first place.

Thank god this shitty show is out of its misery!

Wish we could say the same for you.

Finally watching part 2 of the finale.

The Sex and the City reference is throwing me for a loop. I guess there's a time jump I didn't see. I figured it was 1996 since that's the date of Pray's death on his quilt and there's all the scenes of dealing with his death. But, I guess when the girls are at lunch and reference the "Sex and the City effect" - it's a few years after all of that?

Also, it's sort of lame that they felt the need to go off on the SATC, though DLers have done it for decades.

Maybe as a random snarky aside if the series was continuing, but in the series finale? I guess "Pose is the anti-SATC" was an important message to drive home.

[quote] Where’d she get the car when she has broken panes of glass in her home?

[quote] And Blanca can afford a nice Volvo?

I just assumed it belonged to her doctor boyfriend Christopher, and moved on - did not lose any sleep over that one. Their enormous apartments - regardless of location - were much more of a concern. Ball people were lucky if they lived two and three to a cramped studio.

The scenes between the lady from Amen (who played Pray’s mother) and Porter were laid on very thick, Not a set left to be chewed. It was like watching Saturday Night Live when Ellen Claighorn and Tim Meadows would do “The Overacted Negro Ensemble Theatre.”

They all actin a fool

Best thing was the Gay Mens Choir and that song they sang

I defended aspects of the show that were criticized here until the end, but that sure as hell was a disappointment of a finale. It felt like no one cared anymore and the writers just wanted to get it over with.

[quote] You had to step way out of reality to believe Pray Tell's ex-boyfriend from High School is still in love with him and is willing to leave his wife, children, and profession to take up with Pray Tell who now has AIDS. Very hard to believe this storyline.

Some men will say anything when they’re horny and want to bang someone. That’s how I took it - knew he was gonna be a no-show. Again, list no sleep over that one. But THE SIZE OF THEIR APARTMENTS ... with no roommates chipping in!! During that same era, I was lucky to afford a small one-bedroom in midtown Manhattan and I had a decent job.

That Amen actress has a HUGE ass! My god, she must weigh 300. Wow!

[quote]You had to step way out of reality to believe Pray Tell's ex-boyfriend from High School is still in love with him and is willing to leave his wife, children, and profession to take up with Pray Tell who now has AIDS. Very hard to believe this storyline.

I thought that was very realistic. He was living a lie and dreamed of a different life and he used his memories of Pray all those years to get thru , imaging what he would do if he returned. Pray was probably the only guy he had ever been with and clung to it. Of course he was never going to show up and he knew it too..

Bye Pose. The subject is: Cancelled!!!!

The show is hackneyed, corny, over-the top, preachy, and scenery-chewing to the end. You really have to accept it and lean into that if you're going to enjoy it - which I did for the most part - except a few episodes in seasons 2 and 3.

Part 2 of the finale felt a little incomplete. I was caught off guard when Blanca was talking to the younger people and then walks away - I realized after the pause had gone on for a few seconds that it was the end. Glad they did one last ball scene even if it was far from the best ones in the series.

It should have ended with Season 2. In the final scene Blanca meets two homeless teens and invites them to join her house. It was sweet without going overboard.

I’ll be pissed if they give Billy Porter an Emmy! Just NO!

The finale was shit. Something happened behind the scenes because the whole season was a mess. I think Mock got too much power and she doesn’t have the talent. Neither does Canals. They turned Pose into their fantasy land which may be good for them but torture for us viewers.

Pose was better when it didn’t try so hard or go too broad.

These are women who want to have their own voice and not be copies of anyone else so what do they do? Dress like the SATC gals and order Cosmo’s.

I actually found the ending pretty satisfying, and I’ve been a big critic of this season. Part 1 was far superior, and Billy and MJ had many powerful moments, but I was willing to go with Part 2 and overlook the preachiness and it got to me.

But the afterschool specialness of it all makes me roll my eyes periodically, such as when Blanca, Judy and Chris confronted the hospital administrator about getting Pray into the study and threatened to bring bad publicity to the hospital. Yeah, a lowly nursing aide who is black and transgender and knows how hard it is for people like her to get and keep decent jobs is going to create that situation where she’d surely be fired. They couldn’t take a few extra minutes to come up with a remotely believable way of achieving their goal? It’s like Brady Bunch level plotting at every turn. (“I’m so proud of you, Marcia. You stuck to your guns and made that hospital think again!”)

And the new generation of Evangelistas were pretty lackluster at the ball but earned 10s across the board... and we didn’t need for them to score well as they seemed to being having fun and happy in their community. It’s those little touches that really cut against the show.

But we stayed for wish fulfillment and we got it. And I reflect on how this makes young transgender and queer kids of color feel. For all the unrestrained preaching, there’s something noble in trying to convince their younger folks that there is a place for them somewhere.

And Billy really knocked it out of the park. As OTT as he can be at times (theater actors are prone to that), he was commanding in the big moments. But he can only win the Emmy if we don’t have to listen to his speech!

[quote] I’ll be pissed if they give Billy Porter an Emmy! Just NO!

Get'cha some Depends Deary, It's already engraved.

"These are women who want to have their own voice and not be copies of anyone else so what do they do? Dress like the SATC gals and order Cosmo’s. "

They never order cosmos. They make a point of NOT ordering cosmos and ordering a "real drink" because of SATC.. Elektra orders everyone a Johnny Walker straight - "blue if you have it."

After the wild success of the first season, they should’ve pulled in a more solid writing team and could’ve written five seasons that delved into each character a bit more. The story arc simply wasn’t there and there were too many disparate threads and plots that didn’t make sense. Or they simply dropped while chasing the next shiny distraction. The issue was that ego got in the way. I too rooted for it and there were parts that rang true. When I watched the show, I had this dawning realization that ANY gay man that walked through those decades unscathed and came out the other side is very lucky. The transposing of today’s preachy ideals and politics- or trying to “correct” the past- really gets in the way of it being a great story because it’s not letting the viewer make their OWN judgment- they keep hitting you over the head with the same woke verbiage and catch phases. How can you be woke AND be gladly involved with the mafia? This is but one example where there were holes in the message.

I’m guessing coronavirus restrictions got in the way of filming and scheduling. I also missed Damian and wow I feel bad for the actor to have dropped out of a once in a lifetime opportunity.

My house mother was just like Pray Tell, so I expected over the top, I also knew a lot of people like Angel that helped me along the way and yes, there was a Halloween night I debuted in full drag regalia at Roxy in clothes donated by my house. I’m just glad the show got made even if it fell a little short, it opens the doors for more shows like it.

[quote]ANY gay man that walked through those decades unscathed and came out the other side is very lucky.

Amen.

They made such a point in trashing Sex and the City yet that show was pretty groundbreaking during its time. And SATC was better written and acted than Pose. It also had too many elements of fantasy but with better writing, they could sell it. Pose couldn't sell this shit.

The wild success of the first season? I thought the shit was super low rated, woke Emmy or no woke Emmy.

[quote]They made such a point in trashing Sex and the City yet that show was pretty groundbreaking during its time. And SATC was better written and acted than Pose.

And there was no person of color in their lexicon until the movie.

I enjoyed the Diana Ross Central Park Tribute !!!!!

[quote]I enjoyed the Diana Ross Central Park Tribute !!!!!

Me too.

Suzanne Sugarbaker did a better job, and in blackface.

Candy's funeral scene always makes me cry.

I know, "Mary!"

There’s a juvenile tone to the writing and screenplay that overpowers it. The haughtiness, preaching and pushback is a bit much. More than a few times the actors seem to be shouting their lines and there’s no nuanced acting- it’s shrill and in your face the entire time. Also, all of them lost the precociousness they had the first season and none of them actually stood out this one.

Exhausting.

[quote] shouting their lines

They’re playing the balcony, r377. Like I said before, they are now sounding like an SNL spoof starring Tim Meadows and Ellen Claighorne, of the Dramatic Negro Ensemble Theatre Company.

Programming note!

Dominique Jackson and Indya Moore are both on tonight’s episode of The $100,000 Pyramid (second half-hour) on ABC. 9 to 10pm.

Just bingewatched the final season and loved it, because I loved that these characters, for the most part, got fairy tale endings.

Some haters and critics somehow willingly ignore that the Trans community doesn't have a lot of entertainment with fairy tale endings. And whether that was intentional or not, all I see is people hiding being "reality" to declare that Trans characters on a fictional show don't deserve fairy tale endings. Fictional characters get fairy tale endings all the time. Why not Trans characters?

Fairytale endings fuelled by mob money! Angel's wedding, Blanca's furniture, the crack addict's apartment, Papi's car, Electra's lifestyle.

And why did ugly Candy keep appearing as a ghost?

Why was the category always Work! Live! Pose!

I finally got around to watching the final season. I agree with others here about lots of speechifying and wish-fulfillment; that said, it was pleasant enough and I'm glad they were able to have their wrap-up, even if it wasn't the most satisfying dramatically.

Where is this streaming? I recently got netflix back and they only have seasons 1 or 2.

I know I'm suuuuper-late to the party, but I finally got around to watching the first episode of the third season.

Wow.

WHAT happened to this once-great show?!

I *loved* season one, thought season two was disappointing, but could barely get through the season-three premiere. I thought perhaps posters in this thread had been exaggerating about how bad it was, but no.

Does S3 get better as it goes? Is it worth riding it out to get narrative closure? Or should I just live with the fond memories of S1 and pretend everything that followed never happened?

Dunno why, but I had to exhaust anything partly viewable on Nutlix before I watched this series. Turned out to be a really great show.

Season 3 will be mostly funerals. Downer.

I decided to keep going with S3 and am glad I did. It does get better as it goes along. Still not as great as S1, but definitely better than S2.