No spoilers for Season 2, please!
I just finished the first season of Pose and I had to talk about it before I fully catch my breath. I haven't been watching a lot of television the past few years, don't keep my ear to the ground, and knew nothing about this going into it. I'm glad for this because Pose was such a fun and joyful surprise. This has to be Ryan Murphy's best work by a significant margin. For those who don't know, it's about 80s ball culture and the queer scene in NYC at the time.
There is a scene early on in which a young, optimistic gay man who just got his feet under him is emerging from the ballroom and is swept off his feet by an (absurdly) handsome fella with a scoundrel's smile, who lays on some thick flirting and convinces him to accompany him around the city. They end up in the middle of an abandoned warehouse, alone, in the middle of the night, and I immediately thought...oh great here it comes. I physically tensed and prepared myself to watch this sweet kid get beaten within an inch of his life for being gay because that is just how it goes in media featuring queer people.
And it doesn't happen. It is a beautiful scene, the absurdly handsome man is genuine and kind and passionate. And they get together and I stan Damon and Ricky for life.
This seems like an intentional subversion of expectations, and it keeps happening. There are several scenes throughout the show where you expect the bad thing to happen to these characters (there is even a white cishet psycho dude on hand), and then it doesn't. That is not to say the show pulls punches. There is some tough shit in here, but the spotlight is always on the good, and the way these lovely people are able to overcome obstacles and succeed. It is so special for this reason alone. Not to say that the show isn't legitimately good...it's fantastic. But its deft avoidance of this trope left me speechless and simply grateful every time.
I have to keep kleenex handy for this show. I cried twice watching the finale just now. I'm so glad it exists. Every frame is a celebration of queer people of color and totally unapologetic for its queerness. The only thing I didn't like was Candy's descent into villainy in the last couple of episodes but it was worth it to watch Electra give her the most devastating read in television history. Praytell has to be my fave character but there are few weak spots. Also, I may have mentioned this but I have it bad for Ricky
I almost don't want to go on to the second season because the finale wraps everything up so nicely and I'm STILL waiting for the knives to come out for these characters. I don't know how much of that I can handle, I love them and don't want to watch them suffer. Is it good? Is it safe to proceed? I'm trying to avoid reading about it, I don't want to be spoiled. But I need to know if I should brace myself. =[
Finally, I must say, bless them for casting trans actors as trans characters to tell trans stories. I am not trans and cannot speak to it, but I felt the portrayal of these characters was authentic and respectful.
Can't recommend enough. Loved loved loved it. Whew.
Oh I almost forgot! I loved the subplot early on featuring the cis white gay community as the bigoted villains. It felt oddly progressive ha ha. That is going to sound weird if you haven't watched it I guess. Great stuff though. I can't think of anyone but Ryan Murphy who could have gotten away with that.
I just finished the first season of Pose and I had to talk about it before I fully catch my breath. I haven't been watching a lot of television the past few years, don't keep my ear to the ground, and knew nothing about this going into it. I'm glad for this because Pose was such a fun and joyful surprise. This has to be Ryan Murphy's best work by a significant margin. For those who don't know, it's about 80s ball culture and the queer scene in NYC at the time.
There is a scene early on in which a young, optimistic gay man who just got his feet under him is emerging from the ballroom and is swept off his feet by an (absurdly) handsome fella with a scoundrel's smile, who lays on some thick flirting and convinces him to accompany him around the city. They end up in the middle of an abandoned warehouse, alone, in the middle of the night, and I immediately thought...oh great here it comes. I physically tensed and prepared myself to watch this sweet kid get beaten within an inch of his life for being gay because that is just how it goes in media featuring queer people.
And it doesn't happen. It is a beautiful scene, the absurdly handsome man is genuine and kind and passionate. And they get together and I stan Damon and Ricky for life.
This seems like an intentional subversion of expectations, and it keeps happening. There are several scenes throughout the show where you expect the bad thing to happen to these characters (there is even a white cishet psycho dude on hand), and then it doesn't. That is not to say the show pulls punches. There is some tough shit in here, but the spotlight is always on the good, and the way these lovely people are able to overcome obstacles and succeed. It is so special for this reason alone. Not to say that the show isn't legitimately good...it's fantastic. But its deft avoidance of this trope left me speechless and simply grateful every time.
I have to keep kleenex handy for this show. I cried twice watching the finale just now. I'm so glad it exists. Every frame is a celebration of queer people of color and totally unapologetic for its queerness. The only thing I didn't like was Candy's descent into villainy in the last couple of episodes but it was worth it to watch Electra give her the most devastating read in television history. Praytell has to be my fave character but there are few weak spots. Also, I may have mentioned this but I have it bad for Ricky
I almost don't want to go on to the second season because the finale wraps everything up so nicely and I'm STILL waiting for the knives to come out for these characters. I don't know how much of that I can handle, I love them and don't want to watch them suffer. Is it good? Is it safe to proceed? I'm trying to avoid reading about it, I don't want to be spoiled. But I need to know if I should brace myself. =[
Finally, I must say, bless them for casting trans actors as trans characters to tell trans stories. I am not trans and cannot speak to it, but I felt the portrayal of these characters was authentic and respectful.
Can't recommend enough. Loved loved loved it. Whew.
Oh I almost forgot! I loved the subplot early on featuring the cis white gay community as the bigoted villains. It felt oddly progressive ha ha. That is going to sound weird if you haven't watched it I guess. Great stuff though. I can't think of anyone but Ryan Murphy who could have gotten away with that.
