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The series finale of Dickinson is appropriately called ‘This was a Poet’ after the self-referential (aren’t they all?) poem:
This was a Poet – It is That
Distills amazing sense
From ordinary Meanings –
And Attar so immense
From the familiar species
That perished by the Door –
We wonder it was not Ourselves
Arrested it – before –
Of Pictures, the Discloser –
The Poet – it is He –
Entitles Us – by Contrast –
To ceaseless Poverty –
Of portion – so unconscious –
The Robbing – could not harm –
Himself – to Him – a Fortune –
Exterior – to Time
This final episode combined the ‘real’ and the ‘flexibly real’ in a wrapper that rejects the sad ending Emily’s Wikipedia entry might suggest. Very little is really known about Emily’s inner world, but we do know that she did not perish due to self-harm, but illness at age 55, after years of suffering many deaths in her family. She was buried in a white coffin, a mirror (unintentionally or not) to a famed white dress that is the only piece of clothing we still have from her life.
But Dickinson has never been about the popular narrative — this season we had the explicit refutation of that when Emily and Lavinia magically met Sylvia Plath who had all manner of perspectives, including calling her the original ‘sad girl’. Instead the show from the start has focused on her vibrancy and passion, her desire to change the world for the better and above all, her deep connection with Sue.
In a shout out to that dress, the episode starts with Emily meeting Death who is himself styling a new white outfit and inspires Emily to find a new style too. They dance to the first episode music drop of ‘Hell N Back’ by Bakar, but this is just a prelude for what’s to come. Emily is literally dancing with Death, but there’s nothing sad about it — it’s Death as inspiration instead of the lack of inhalation, if you will.
This is the little joke Emily makes about wanting a new outfit, free from a corset because ‘inspiration means inhalation’. She mentions that writing is the thing that keeps her alive, which could be a sad omen — but she doesn’t say this in a melancholy way at all. While Emily plots her new style, Austin and Emily show up as a pseudo-happy family — they are happy enough with each other, even if they are clearly no longer a romantic couple.
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Austin has taken the lessons of the show to the final stage — he wants to make a difference. He references the real life story of Angeline Palmer, a free black woman who was kidnapped to be sold as a slave. Here the show explicitly subverts history, as in the real world Edward Dickinson actually defended Angeline’s abductors in court — and he was able to get the one white criminal of four acquitted. Instead the show counters that narrative for narrative’s sake, because the show has never been about pure reality or historical accuracy.
This is one of those subtle things, something likely to be missed by many watching it, but it represents how the show refuses to accept the common story. It’s hope in a place that seems hopeless, as the show does not choose historical references by accident. Instead this is a positive moment for Edward and Austin in a way that seems impossible, but in this show it works — as Austin says, seasons change and so do societies. We can choose to claw onto the old or embrace the new, but it is still our choice.
A confluence of events occurs as Betty shows up and agrees to help Emily with her dress idea and at the time, Colonel Higginson arrives seeking Emily out. In real life they actually did meet once and he wrote later that she unnerved him more than anyone he had ever met before. Here the Colonel rapturously describes how Emily describes the darkest truths and experience of war and these compliments do seem to make Sue happy. The best joke of the episode is the deadpan moment after he asks the family when they realized Emily was a genius — I had to replay that one.
As Emily describes wanting a uniform to write in, a dress of pure shapelessness and pockets, she finds out about the Colonel and freaks out — also worrying about Sue, but as we know, that’s a pointless concern. In the meantime Mama Dickinson connects to Sue and it is mentioned that Emily is the crazy one in the family, while the rest are pretty normal. This is so far from the truth that it feels like it’s own sort of mixed reality joke.
But as Higginson waits, he realizes who Betty is and delivers the many unsent letters from Henry — and touchingly says that great writing finds a way to reach its audience. In this same vein, Emily insists that she will never stop writing, even if no one ever cares, even if she can’t change the world. By this juxtaposition, the show argues that they do and she did in ways that she perhaps could never fathom.
In the final moments we watch the seasons change (and societies too, naturally) as Emily writes in her room, experiencing life through her poems instead of going outside. Yet the impact is as though she did when we see the very last scene and hear the very last poem, which starts:
I started Early – Took my Dog –
And visited the Sea –
The Mermaids in the Basement
Came out to look at me –
Emily did have a dog, but she never saw the ocean — instead we see a final scene of life in her imagination, but that is reality nonetheless. Emily walks to the beach and sees a lone boat, and in the distance, a rock with mermaids calling out to her — there certainly seems to be a sapphic nature to it, if not just an inspirational one. Her final line is to ‘wait for me, I’m coming’ — another refutation of the poem, which has Emily looking back as she walks away from the ocean.
Thus the show ends by embracing the controversial sexuality of Emily in a way that insists that the reality we thought we knew was wrong the entire time — that Emily was someone we have all gotten wrong. And thus ends a show that is certainly one of my favorites in recent memory — it was funny, heart-wrenching, and clever — and I read a lot more poetry than normal just writing these reviews.
Naturally Hailee Steinfeld was always amazing throughout the entire show, which was one of the reasons I wanted to watch this show in the first place. Just simply add to the list of “awards worthy Hailee Steinfeld performances that will likely be frustratingly overlooked” and be done with it. The rest of the cast was very good too, with the older established actors providing great comedy and drama moments, letting the younger ones really get into it too.
Sure, Emily’s friends really were mainly used as comedic relief, but that was one of the consistently fun parts of the show. And the show really did handle the ‘flexible reality’ better than most that try, even if sometimes it could be a bit confusing. Still, although I have enjoyed the show (and will miss the twisty, messy romance), better to have it end where showrunner Alena Smith wants instead of dragging things out.
What’s next for these people? Who knows? Hailee Steinfeld is already enmeshed in the Marvel machine for years to come, but I’m sure she has plenty more interesting roles in her otherwise. But I’m happy to see any of these people come back. The final moments of the show end with more pain, of course, in the bittersweet variety — the final music drop, ‘Your Light’ by all-female group The Big Moon. Perhaps I will miss all those new music recommendations most of all.
What did you think of the finale? Start a conversation in the comments section below.
All episodes of Dickinson are available to stream on Apple TV+.
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