Emmy Catch-Up: Pose

Every year, I watch the six submitted episodes of every series I don’t regularly watch that’s up for one of the Emmy series prizes. This year, I’m getting a jump start to check out the entire season of some of most high-profile shows I didn’t watch when they originally aired.

Pose: Season 2, Episode 3 “Butterfly/Cocoon” (B+)

I’m not typically fond of storylines centered on accidentally killing someone and then going to crazy lengths to cover it up, but I can appreciate that this is much more nuanced. Elektra did exactly what her client requested and returned to check on him only to find that he was no longer alive, and she wanted to do the right thing but knew that there’s no way she wouldn’t be charged and prosecuted as a person of color painted as a sexual deviant because she’s trans. That she went first to Blanca was telling, and Candy was an interesting second choice since both she and Elektra are very strong personalities that have often clashed. Keeping the body in her closet was a very literal way of grappling with guilt, and it was nice that she was concerned about saying a prayer for the man when everyone else just wanted to reminisce about how terrible he was supposed to be. Elektra actually liked him, even if their relationship was based on her humiliating him. Dominique Jackson, who plays Elektra, really is one of the most underrated parts of this show. Though Angel didn’t get the top spot she was going for, she did land a pretty formidable gig in the process. Papi professing his feelings for her was sweet, and though he seemed broken by her missing their big date because she had to stay late at the photo shoot, everything melted away to pure joy when they saw her face plastered all over a Duane Reade aisle.