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In a too short eight weeks, Pose ran through a calendar year and become one of, if not the best new dramas on television, breaking new ground in front of and behind the camera. I know many in the trans community were concerned about Mr. Ryan Murphy taking it upon himself to tell their stories, but he stacked the deck with the largest cast of trans actors ever assembled for a television series and had notable trans people writing, directing and producing the show as well, telling their own stories through the lens of these characters in 1987-88. The result has been nothing short of magnificent, and let’s hope the Emmy voters remember this when it comes time for the nominations next year (the series debuted outside of the consideration period for this year’s Emmys).
The last few episode of the series have been rough, as in highly emotional especially in dealing with loss. Thankfully the season finale — and there will be a second season — went out on a high note, putting just about everyone in a good place (except those bitches from the House of Ferocity who got what they had coming).
When Damon came to New York City, living on the streets after being thrown out of his home for being gay, he had the good fortune to be taken in by Blanca, who had just had a falling out with her own House Mother Elektra, and was starting her own, hopefully legendary House. Blanca showed Damon great compassion but made him abide by her House rules as well. She became a real mother to him, pushing him to do his best in dance school and not let anything, not even love, stand in the way of his goals. His reward — being cast as a dancer in an Al B. Sure! video, which also came with the offer to join a tri-state tour (and boyfriend Ricky was also hired), and being awarded a scholarship for a second year at the dance academy. Blanca wasn’t going to force him to choose because she knew he wanted to go on the tour to be with Ricky, but Damon eventually made the smart choice, to hone his craft to be the best he can be, and rely on the strength of his relationship with Ricky to weather the separation. He made his Mother very happy.
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We’ll jump ahead to the end of the episode for a minute so we can look back on everything else. The title of the episode is ‘Mother of the Year’ and that was the final category of the ball. It should come as no surprise that the winner was Blanca because she has demonstrated throughout the season that she is a real mother to her children, her friends, and even those she’s had difficulties with. Like Elektra, who has been reduced to sleeping on park benches and dancing in a booth to earn some coins. Blanca showed Elektra how a Mother should act by inviting her into her home and helping her get a job at a fancy restaurant — a job she seemed perfectly suited for as she dressed down a party that had arrived without a reservation:
We don’t cater to the bridge and tunnel crowd here. tweet
Blanca’s kindness even rubbed off on Elektra who knew Candy and Lulu had secured a stellar lineup for their House and Evangelista could never compete against them. After the girls did all they could to belittle Blanca, Elektra swooped in, fixed Blanca’s makeup, and let Candy and Lulu have it. It was the verbal smackdown of the century, and in the end she end brought Papi and two other boys back to Evangelista to help slay Ferocity on the runway. In the end, Evangelista needed a much bigger wagon to bring all their trophies home.
Blanca also finally opened up to Angel about her status, telling her that she’s the next in line to carry on, whip those children into shape and to make sure the name Evangelista becomes legendary. While Angel was still hurting from the break-up with Stan, she realized this is exactly where she is meant to be, with her family. And when Stan surprised her outside the ballroom with the news that he was leaving his wife, she told him that they were a good thing in their own minds but in reality it was never going to work. She knows where she belongs and she knows he belongs with his family (although his wife is preparing her own life without him once the children are older). The only ominous note to the episode was how Stan watched her as she went back inside with Blanca. Is he going to let her go so easily?
Blanca even got a date … for Pray Tell. She noticed the bartender at the ball was so fixated on him that he didn’t even notice she was waiting for a drink. But she got his number and made Pray Tell call the guy. He did, reluctantly because he didn’t need any more heartbreak so soon after losing Costas (not to mention the reaction he might get when he reveals his status), and the two went to the same restaurant where Elektra was hostessing. They had a great exchange with Pray Tell saying to her, “I see you’ve moved up in the world,’ to which she replied with a smile, ‘And so have you.’ And the date went well, even when Pray Tell revealed his status. It seemed like the first time Pray Tell had actually taken a breath since Costas died.
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There was also a very funny moment when Candy Ferocity got called out by Pray Tell for her ‘category dyslexia’ and she kicked off her heels and ran to the bar to grab a hammer (why was there a hammer at the bar?!) to take out the judge who mocked her, but Ferocity had no chance against Evangelista, especially with Elektra acting as an honorary member of the house. At the end, it was great to see all of Evangelista plus Pray Tell, Elektra and Damon’s dance teacher celebrating the evening, leaving us in a very happy place at season’s end. But will the new relationship between Blanca and Elektra stick in season 2? Will Damon and Ricky be able to make it work with Ricky on tour and certain to face temptation? Will Stan continue to barge into Angel’s life? Let’s not worry about any of that now. We’ll just keep the joy of the season finale in our hearts until the second season rolls around.
Posewill return for a second season on FX.
What did you think of the finale and the season? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
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