Round Two: American Crime Story: Impeachment

American Crime Story: Impeachment: Season 3, Episode 2 “The President Kissed Me” (B)

I’m deeply interested in the subject matter of this show, but I’m not sure I’m too impressed with the execution. There is absolutely a demonization of President Bill Clinton in how this story is being told, and that’s not to suggest he should be let off the hook since he was in fact guilty of having an affair. But this feels a lot more like a hit job in some ways than a telling of history, and it’s taking a rather long time to get to the real meat of the story. That said, it’s good to see strong actresses taking on intriguing roles, like Judith Light as Susan Carpenter-McMillan, who managed to use the clueless and easily manipulated Paula Jones, played fantastically by Annaleigh Ashford, to her own purposes, and Cobie Smulders as Ann Coulter. It’s also great to see the performances from both Sarah Paulson and Beanie Feldstein, whose interactions are quite enlightening since they show how both people want something different from the relationship and aren’t all that interested in the other person’s priorities. Linda desperately wanting to get Monica to come antiquing with her was one such instance of that, and Monica’s obsession with sitting by the phone waiting for the president to call was a problematic habit that led to her revealing the biggest secret in Washington to the worst possible person, which we know isn’t going to turn out well for anyone. I’m eager to see more familiar faces introduced and see how this political process plays out.