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 9 “Life’s a Beach” (B+)

Many of this show’s episodes really feel like a true immersion in these characters, and I appreciated the opportunity to spend time with just the women in this installment. I figured after the opening with Blanca’s salon being burned down by a vindictive Frederica that this would be a depressing focus on how she always gets knocked down after trying so hard, and I was pleasantly surprised at the positivity here. I got nervous that Elektra’s client asked to be left alone overnight, and I’m glad that she wasn’t about to do that again after what happened last time. Ignoring the fact that the heat was making the body in her closet begin to smell was a good idea, and the trip to the beach house was quite serene. I love that Elektra is a bad driver who bought a license from the bodega when she rented a car from Hertz (good publicity for the now-bankrupt company), and that she wasn’t happy with Blanca’s modest swimsuit. Blanca needing to be saved by the lifeguard was very dramatic, and how wonderful that Adrian turned out to be a fantastic guy who was genuinely interested in her and not scared off by a secret she didn’t have to tell him. The four of them did stand out when they went to a local restaurant, and I love that Elektra had a brutal takedown prepared for the woman who came over to complain about their grating voices and try to out them. After telling her client that he had the luxury of choosing loneliness when so many others were just forced to accept it as their fate, it was heartwarming to see Elektra comforted by the sight of Candy in the backseat during their dance party on the ride home.