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The season finale of Dickinson is named after the poem ‘You cannot put a Fire out’, which is often interpreted to be metaphoric in nature about the nature of fame or infamy, which cannot be ‘put out’:
You cannot put a Fire out —
A Thing that can ignite
Can go, itself, without a Fan —
Upon the slowest Night —
You cannot fold a Flood —
And put it in a Drawer —
Because the Winds would find it out —
And tell your Cedar Floor —
The episode is a culmination of all of the storylines, in ways both happy and sad. Papa Dickinson expresses the relevant coda of note. That perhaps Emily is not so crazy after all after he reveals a dream of the fire that set the church ablaze. The episode juxtaposes scenes from the christening with the poetic adventures of Emily up until the most extreme moment, when horror and hope intertwine.
The setup hints at danger, with Mr. Dickinson worried about the aftermath of John Brown’s failed raid of Harpers Ferry, and clear division between Austin and Sue. By this point, there is truly no love lost between them, but new loves creeps in as the old world burns down, which is a metaphor for the relationships burnt to a crisp and a portent for the fire to come when the Civil War devastates the country.
Sue cannot take it any longer when the priest explicitly asks Austin to confirm his love for Jane and his godson, but although that relationship is in flames, there is much to come out of it. Austin offers his own house for the fervent and tries to raise charity, offering the first time we’ve ever heard his mother say that she’s proud of her son. And Austin also offers forgiveness to his adopted wards, offering to hide the accidental fire starting in one of the few purely humorous moments of a pretty serious episode.
While the church still stands, Emily fights a battle both with words and eventually, with fists, as she tries to take back her poems from Sam. Sam naturally has the classic obvious responses, protesting that a woman’s emotions always get in the way of their careers and shouting ‘I am a feminist’ as he speeds away in his carriage. It’s a bit heavy-handed but there’s certainly an honesty there, a way that Sam tries to take away art from the artist.
The ‘invisible’ maid Maggie is the savior, the hidden soldier that is another parallel, this time to what we explicitly hear — Emily must be a soldier who is also a Nobody. Which is the ultimate point, we are told, of the apparitions and oddness, that Mister Nobody is the ghost of Frazar Stearns after he is killed seeking glory. It is an interesting thought, although true in a way, as Emily did indeed become somebody only after her death. Meaning that in the end, she also died to be remembered.
[IMAGE: DICKINSON-S02E10-02 Caption: Apple TV Plus]
The fire that has burned for two seasons comes back hotter than ever as Sue admits the real truth to Emily. Her affair with Sam, her attempts to push Emily on Sam in the first place, were all to avoid and protect herself from the poisonous thoughts and venomous poems that set her heart on fire. Hailee Steinfeld burns the screen with her heartbreak and sudden joy, when she can finally be with Sue again.
Sue breaks the metaphor when she tells Emily that she felt her in the library because they are always with each other — this after a series of epic verbal blows like ‘you can be as exquisitely empty as you like’ or ‘without me I don’t think you know how to have feelings’. Sue’s attempts draw out a call to the poem ‘She dealt her pretty words like Blades’.
Lavinia resolves her situation by refusing to be a Southern belle who tolerates slavery, instead calling herself a ‘shrewed Yankee witch’ which is delightful. And she refuses the words of her peers that she’s making a mistake, instead telling Ship that she’ll always be the most interesting girl he’s ever loved. It must leave a mark (just like the ridiculous joke ‘Same sheep, different day’).
The season ends with the song ‘Heaven’ by Charly Bliss as the girls mess around in petticoats and corsets, and then a quick shot of Hattie seeing an empty barn where she once danced with joyous abandon. Then we see the final stolen poem in the paper, ‘A Narrow Fellow in the Grass’, which is interpreted as using a snake to be a metaphor for fear. But Sue and Emily have seemingly left their fear behind as they promise more fervent words to each other than ever before — to be all to each other, to have only the poems for her, that is enough.
Overall, the episode wraps up the season wonderfully, pulling together all of the threads while hinting at the great inevitable tragedies still to come. The show was often very funny and at other times heartbreaking, all held up with an absurdly great performance from Haillee Steinfeld, who will be robbed at the Emmys next year. Mark my words well, although I would love to be proven otherwise.
What did you think of the finale? Start a conversation in the comments section below.
The first two seasons of Dickinson are available on Apple TV+.
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