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It’s hard to be upbeat about the conclusion of a show you love and appreciate so much, and it’s hard to type up this finale Pose recap because … I have a little something in my eye. Both eyes actually. But I’ll try.
Actually the first hour of the two-hour finale went almost the way I expected … and dreaded. It started out with a bit of foreshadowing as Blanca was doing her volunteer wokr in the hospital’s AIDS ward, doing her damnedest to give hope to a young man fearful that his time was nearly up. Telling him about new drugs that were helping people did give him hope, and when we saw him again later he was almost a new person thanks to those drugs.
On the other side of the coin, Pray Tell checked himself into the hospital without telling anyone, now suffering from pneumonia, certain his time was up. But with Blanca, Christopher, and Judy on his side, they basically forced the hospital into getting Pray into the drug trials with the threat of shaming the entire program — and getting Act Up involved — by going public with the fact that only two of the 80 people in the trial were persons of color. And Christopher demanded they offer another spot to Blanca, who didn’t think she should get the drugs over someone more ill than her but Christopher convinced her to agree. Next thing you know, Pray is almost his old self again, reconnecting with Ricky, and putting work on his AIDS quilt panel on the back burner. But while Pray is celebrating life once again, Ricky reveals that his own illness is progressing as she shows Pray a lesion on his chest. Pray tells Ricky he’s got him, but we don’t know how until later in the episode.
Pray and Blanca head back to the ballroom for a fierce performance of Diana Ross’ ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ with choreography, costume reveals and rain to emulate the infamous concert in Central Park. Pray goes home, takes off his makeup and finally sees the man in the mirror. He practically glides down the hallway to his bedroom, and the next morning Ricky lets himself in and … finds Pray dead in his bed. The news is shocking to Blanca who is told by Judy while at work and she and Ricky collapse in the hospital lobby. Later, as the House of Evangelista gathers for a dinner in remembrance of Pray, it’s revealed that inflammation of the heart is what took his life. There was concern that the HIV cocktail he, and Blanca, were and are taking was toxic, but Blanca is thriving. Ricky reveals he’s on the same drugs as Pray was … which doesn’t make sense. How did Pray get extra doses? Then it hit him — Pray was giving Ricky his drugs. It was another shattering moment.
Earlier Pray had introduced Ricky to the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus, saying it helped him find a way to be an activist. Dragging him on stage for a rehearsal, Pray instructed Ricky to turn his back to the audience. Only the men dressed in white would face forward, representing those who had survived the plague. The rest were reminders of those who were lost too soon. There were only three or four men in white out of the 40 or so members of the chorus. Later when Ricky went to perform with the chorus after Pray’s death, with their friends in the audience, there were no men in white, a stark reminder that only a privileged few were afforded the opportunity to get the drugs through a trial or could afford them on their own.
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This led to Blanca, Ricky and Judy joining Act Up to bring the situation of greedy pharmaceutical companies into the mainstream, to show the general public how people of color, members of the LGBT community and those without the funds were being denied access to lifesaving drugs. There had been protests before but now they wanted to really grab some headlines by dumping the ashes of their loved ones on the steps of the mayor’s mansion. Blanca and Ricky seemed reluctant to commit at first, but they both did. Blanca had gotten a surprise visit from Pray’s mother, who said that Blanca was as much as a mother to him as she was, maybe even more, and she needed Blanca’s help to fulfill one of Pray’s final wishes. It was a nice moment between the two of them.
So Blanca was given half of Pray’s ashes with the lockets and did as he instructed, giving each member of their family one in his memory … even Elektra. She said he was just kidding about her not getting one, and in fact she was the first person he left a final message to, read by Blanca, saying how much he admired her perseverance and success. He had personal messages for everyone except Blanca, but she said there was never anything left unsaid between them. And at the Act Up protest, she, Ricky and the others were there while Blanca released the rest of Pray’s ashes on the property in a last act of defiance. Blanca finished Pray’s quilt square, not as flamboyantly as he’d planned, but it was still a fitting tribute.
The second hour jumped from 1996 to 1998 with Blanca having completed her nursing degree and working at a different hospital, celebrating her fourth anniversary with Christopher. She even paid a visit to Judy who is now working in a maternity ward because the new HIV drugs have reduced the number of rooms needed for patients. Judy always said she never became a nurse to help people die, and now she gets to be with newborn babies. Blanca then had a Sex and the City lunch moment with Elektra, Angel and Lulu, all sharing their bright futures. Elektra is now so wealthy thanks to web cams, which took the place of her phone sex operation, that she can drop a thousand dollars in the street and not bother to pick it up. Angel is actually enjoying being a full-time mom to Beto, and Papi is getting her back in the modeling game with a new ad campaign. And Lulu has gotten a promotion at her job to tax accountant, offering to help Elektra do the taxes on the money she does declare to the government. It was also revealed that Elektra was using her money to pay it forward, paying for surgeries and making charitable donations. Blanca even gave a shout out to Damon, now living in Chicago, in a new relationship with a man who owns three dance studios, with Damon teaching at all of them. It was a lovely moment for all of them, but when Blanca brought up a special event at the ballroom they all made excuses about not being able to come. But they’d all do lunch again.
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At the ballroom, Ricky was the new Father of the House of Evangelista, whipping his children into shape and not allowing them to sass their Grandmother Blanca. He is carrying the torch and imparting the lessons he learned from Pray Tell — that family is everything. After their performance, scoring tens across the board, a special guest was announced: Mother Elektra, in the ballroom to bestow the honor of Legendary Mother on her daughter Blanca. Blanca was further surprised when Papi, Angel and Lulu also showed up to celebrate her night. Earlier at her job, Blanca invited a newly diagnosed HIV patient to the ball, and was happy to see that she did show up. The young woman suddenly found herself with a new family and was surprised to learn she was about to walk in her first ball.
After the ball, Blanca remained in the room, savoring the moment, missing Pray, hearing his voice briefly, and made her exit. Outside, another House was complaining about never snatching any trophies and asked the Legend what they had to do to win. Blanca’s words to them were intercut with the first time Pray Tell had words for the baby Evangelistas from the first episode who were then in the same boat. She told them as Pray told her children, ‘just keep trying.’ She said to the House Mother, ‘Ain’t no secrets or shortcuts to success. You want a reason to continue? It’s standing right there in front of you,’ referring to her children. ‘And they’re going to keep coming to New York City sure as the sun rises. So what you’ve got to do is reach higher and dream big until you triumph.’
And with that, Blanca walked off into the night, reminding us one last time was Pose has always been about — family. Whether it’s the one you’re given, or the one you’ve chosen, family are the people who will always have your back, through the highs and lows of life. It’s a lesson we should all take to heart. The show will always be remembered for its groundbreaking inclusivity, with the largest regular cast of trans actors on a mainstream television series, and at the time the only representation of ballroom culture on TV (and now that honor goes to the HBO Max ballroom competition series Legendary, which probably would not exist were it not for Pose). The show has been a gateway for the average TV viewer to experience a different culture, and most importantly to see these characters, these actors, as human beings through all of their foibles. Pose has been not just about family, but visibility for a community often disregarded — and still looked down upon today with the shocking number of murders of Black trans women reported each year. The greatest lesson we can all take away from Pose is love yourself and love others as well. We’re all just trying to make our way in this world, whatever our station in life, whatever our gender identity, whoever we love. Let’s honor the legacy of Pose and let people be who they want to be, and love them for that.
Thank you to Ryan Murphy, Steven Canals, Janet Mock, Our Lady J, the FX Network and everyone else who labored behind the scenes to bring this show into our living rooms, and thank you to Mj Rodriguez, Billy Porter, Dominique Jackson, Indya Moore, Angel Bismark Curiel, Hallie Sahar, Dyllon Burnside, Angelica Ross, Sandra Bernhard, Ryan Jamaal Swain and the rest of the cast to breathing life into these character who will have a lasting impact on our culture. Thank you, Pose, you will be missed but you shall live on for new generations of children looking to find their places in the world.
What did you think of this episode? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
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