What I’m Watching: Dickinson

Dickinson: Season 3, Episode 2 “It feels a shame to be Alive” (B+)

It’s nice to see that, even if the Dickinson family is falling apart, Emily and Lavinia are closer than they’ve ever been. Since their father didn’t die, they had to grapple with the fact that Lavinia does hold him responsible to a degree for how she’s ended up alone. I liked that they had a nice moment of bonding which resulted in trying to think about happier things after they were abandoned for all the excitement of the birth. Mrs. Dickinson was ready to spring into action when she heard about something that was well-suited to her skills, though her collection of farm instruments and her bedside manner were much more terrifying than soothing. Before she went into labor, Sue shared an interesting perspective supporting Austin’s conclusion that the Dickinson family has serious unsolvable problems, which she saw evidenced by their treatment of Emily. Requesting that Emily not leave her side and saying that she didn’t need Austin were indicative of how much more authentic her relationship with Emily is than with her husband, strange and complicated as that may be. Austin’s new attitude is extremely unpleasant, and he didn’t react well to June telling him that she was going to marry someone else. The most powerful scenes of the episode were those with Emily and Frazar, since he really does see her for the person that she is. Concluding that she wasn’t crazy but the world was insane was a great way of putting it, though I imagine this may be the last we’ll see of Frazar because of the fate we know will befall Nobody.