What I’m Watching: The First Lady (Season Finale)

The First Lady: Season 1, Episode 10 “Victory Dance” (B+)

It’s interesting to see how all three of these first ladies had a substantial impact after their husbands finished their terms in office, and given that this show has yet to be renewed, this might be the end of the entire series. Franklin dying during his fourth term was cause for national mourning, and the focus that this episode first was on how Lucy was there to say goodbye to him, something that Eleanor wasn’t happy Anna had encouraged. But ultimately it was Eleanor’s legacy as a stateswoman that enabled her to have an impact without her husband, with Robert Sean Leonard’s Truman coming to ask her to be involved with the new United Nations. After Betty was struggling with withdrawal and flashing back to formative - and painful - memories of drinking and her ballet training, she then was able to return from rehab with a new vision for the treatment center that she wanted to make to help others struggling with addiction. The post-Obama years were particularly potent because I’ve lived through them, as has anyone watching, and Malia best represented how many liberal Americans felt, desperate to do something and not simply endorse the ascension of someone like Donald Trump to the presidency. Michelle’s post-presidency work featured an unexpected reunion with her would-be college roommate, a moment that I don’t think actually happened like that but which was based on something she wrote about in her book. This series has been engaging enough but not exceptional, and I hope that a theoretical second season would be a bit more fast-paced and energizing.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford

What I’m Watching: The First Lady

The First Lady: Season 1, Episode 9 “Rift” (B+)

The structure of this episode did make some sense even if it was less strictly connected than previous installments. Each of the first ladies were in radically different stages of their time in office, with only Eleanor still married to a sitting president who wasn’t going anywhere for a while. Franklin turning to his wife to be the first one to address the nation after Pearl Harbor was a firm endorsement of her role in his life, a dramatic shift from his refusal to intervene on the behalf of the ship of Jews from Europe when she was pushing him to act. The happiness she got from being so widely praised and celebrated put her in a great mood, but unfortunately it resulted in Hick feeling abandoned and forgotten. No longer in the White House, Betty was not pleased with Susan for expressing concern with her behavior, and she reacted very angrily to the intervention that was staged to show her how worried everyone was. Her reluctant agreement to go to rehab started off shakily when she found out that she didn’t have her own room, but things seemed much better by the time she was introducing herself to the group with her new sponsor by her side. This show’s title does remain appropriate even after these women are no longer in the official position of first lady since they still retain that public persona. I have a feeling that the second season of this anthology series won’t be about Melania Trump given the admittedly relatable feeling of doom that was present as the Obama family watched the election returns in 2016. It’s unfortunately all too relevant and miserable given what has happened as a result of Trump’s Supreme Court appointees in just the last week alone, and it’s crazy to think how things could have been different if people had been more receptive to Hillary Clinton, who was not portrayed at all favorably here, as a candidate.

What I’m Watching: The First Lady

The First Lady: Season 1, Episode 8 “Punch Perfect” (B+)

This show certainly knows how to choose the powerful moments from these first ladies’ time in office where their husbands chose to take a particular position that wasn’t actually using their power to its utmost potential but instead making a calculation about what political risk was worthwhile in order to continue influencing policy. Eleanor’s may have been the most striking, since both she and Franklin were given the facts about what had happened previously when a ship carrying Jews from Europe was turned away and that it would almost certainly result in the same horrible fate. Having photos put on the plates at dinner was a bold move, one that didn’t sit well with him and which encountered expected pushback from the guests in attendance. It was definitely a shock to see that her most vocal supporter was her mother-in-law, something that hadn’t happened before, but that was still isolating and unproductive during an important era of history in which tragically little action was taken. Michelle being told by her college counselor that she wasn’t Princeton material was blunt and awful, and, years later, she used the platform she had to speak out against violence that was disproportionately affecting Black people. The quick end to her husband’s presidency didn’t diminish Betty’s cultural impact, but it’s understandable that she would feel lost within that, and we saw the beginnings of her struggles with addiction and trying to feel relevant and good without the same sense of purpose and clear influence on an entire generation.

What I’m Watching: The First Lady

The First Lady: Season 1, Episode 7 “Nadir” (B+)

It’s really hard to watch this episode and see the devastation that Barack felt when he found out about the elementary school shooting in Sandy Hook and know that, ten years later, nothing has changed and this happened again. I suppose that’s one of the effective things about this show, that it will continuously be relevant. Even if segregation no longer exists and did endure long after FDR’s time in office, there is still rampant racism in our society. There are still men who call women hysterical and do nothing to try to help when there is actually a problem, instead moving to manage it and contain it so that someone more capable can step in to take the lead. Don and Dick coming over on Christmas Eve to get Betty on message was intrusive, but Dick telling Betty at James’ funeral that he had put together resumes for Nancy’s replacement was outright cruel, only confirming to her that she was thought of as expendable and insignificant. While Franklin said to his disapproving daughter that he wouldn’t be able to do anything to end segregation because then he would lose support to do anything more, Eleanor received affirmation of her decision to publicly resign from an unexpected source, her mother-in-law. I like that Tommy and Eleanor both concluded that there must have been something seriously wrong with Sara for her to deliver a compliment, an important moment of humor in an otherwise very appropriately serious episode. Ford laughing at Chevy Chase’s impression of him was also fun.

What I’m Watching: The First Lady

The First Lady: Season 1, Episode 6 “Shout Out” (B+)

This episode did a strong job of highlighting the differences in what equality meant in the three eras we’re examining, and it’s fair to say that all three men responded with controlled apathy. Franklin received information he didn’t ask for from J. Edgar Hoover, and it was good that he didn’t bring it to Eleanor in a haughty way given that he was the one who had an affair first. Seeing him broken up after he told her that he was happy for her even if he wasn’t the one who could be that person for her made sense, and I suppose it’s a good thing that he started from a position of support. Having Hick close should be a positive development for Eleanor, who can achieve more if she is able to be with someone who appreciates her for who she is and doesn’t just reduce her to her gender. Four decades later, Betty once again got herself into trouble for trying to advocate for something that she believed in, and I liked that Gerald initially expressed to his advisors that he had previously supported the ERA. Ultimately pushing her to move the group from the White House was an unfortunate step backwards, and holding prom for her daughter whose life was potentially in jeopardy didn’t really make up for it. The push for Barack to do something about same-sex marriage came more from his daughters than from Michelle, and I was thrilled to identify Lexi Underwood, a very talented actress from “Little Fires Everywhere,” as Malia. That ending scene was poignant, aided tremendously by a powerful montage of real-life celebrations of its impact.

What I’m Watching: The First Lady

The First Lady: Season 1, Episode 5 “See Saw” (B+)

It really is trippy to watch this show right after “Gaslit” each week, and to have all the Watergate content from that show summed up in just a moment as Ford made the questionable decision to go on TV and pardon Nixon, something that threatened to tie his presidency to Nixon’s wrongdoings even though they were completely unrelated. It’s interesting to imagine whether private conversations actually happened like this, and I prefer to focus on the events that are documented and the impact they have. Betty being encouraged to have a mammogram for the first time is among the most notable moments of her time as first lady, and I particularly appreciated her response to Aya Cash’s Shirley Liebowitz, who was coaching her to say everything was fine when that evidently wasn’t the case. Eleanor had an uphill battle to enable her to speak with women about issues that mattered, and after her women-only press conference idea was rejected, she cleverly got around that obstacle by passing around a recipe as a way of starting a conversation about something else entirely. In an era that wasn’t quite as oppressive, Michelle still had her battles to fight, namely with Rahm, who constantly thought that he knew better and only when he was ready to leave to pursue his next political ambitions took the time to acknowledge Michelle’s value and her sensibilities in reaching out to lawmakers to start off on a good note. Susan’s line that even Republicans have kids, as far as she’s heard, was layered and surely indicative of an even more increased ideological divide these days that finds few points of common ground.

What I’m Watching: The First Lady

The First Lady: Season 1, Episode 4 “Cracked Pot” (B+)

While the previous episode ended with joyous weddings, this hour examined the consequences of marriage and how things aren’t always as rosy as they initially seem. While he was relatively apologetic about the whole thing, Franklin’s affair with Lucy Mercer, played by Maria Dizzia, hit Eleanor hard, and it would have surely ended their marriage had Sara not gotten in the way. Her threat to cut them both off was severe and one that convinced Franklin, but Eleanor was determined not to share a bed with the man who had broken her trust, one of the only truly impactful actions she could take in that era. I’m interested to see more about her relationship with Lily Rabe’s Hick. Betty’s story in this hour was similarly devastating, but for different reasons, showing how she first became dependent on medication and alcohol and how her bond with Clara got her through some of the much tougher times. Michelle was intent on advocating for change when she saw how her education level was the only thing that got her daughter the urgent medical attention she needed, and that’s how she met Kate Mulgrew’s Susan and started her work. I have to mention the strong performance from actress Jayme Lawson as the younger Michelle, and would advise anyone who hasn’t to watch her in the film “Farewell Amor.” This entire ensemble is terrific, with Eliza Scanlen and Kristine Froseth particularly strong choices to play the younger Eleanor and Betty, respectively, with Charlie Plummer as the younger Franklin.

Take Three: The First Lady

The First Lady: Season 1, Episode 3 “Please Allow Me” (B+)

This show is about the first ladies and not the men in their lives who were arguably much more famous given the office they held, but their relationships are central to their identities even if it’s not the whole of they were and are. Giving a peek into Betty’s first marriage showed a similar devotion but the lack of the same connection, and going into a second marriage also meant that she knew what she wanted and didn’t want, regardless of whether she’d be able to achieve them. A young Betty, played by Kristine Froseth, who delivered a superb performance in the Sundance entry “Sharp Stick,” had the most memorable scene of the episode, where she told her boss how she felt about not having gotten the promotion she should have because she was likely to go get pregnant as soon as they gave it to her. Eleanor’s first meeting with her fifth cousin Franklin was overshadowed by another relative with the same last name, her uncle Teddy, who was also president and carried himself in a very confident way. I enjoyed the way that Michelle and Barack were first introduced, with Barack making a bad impression by being late and then sounding both pretentious and impressive at the same time. The depiction of Barack is particularly fun, emphasizing that he is a cone guy because it’s a container you can eat. Ending with all three weddings was a good way to tie the episode together, underlining the strength of their marriages, different as they may have been.

What I’m Watching: The First Lady

The First Lady: Season 1, Episode 2 “Voices Carry” (B+)

This show’s selection of its three protagonists was surely intentional, and so while we’re not likely to get many explicit references to more than one at the same time, like a 90-year-old Betty Ford’s letter to Michelle Obama on the occasion of her inauguration, there are still going to be connective threads tying them together. In this case, the focus seems to be on visibility and independence, and the idea in all three eras that the first lady is a job, and, as FDR put it to Eleanor when she asked, no one else was getting two appointments. Eleanor’s struggle seems to be the most uphill, though at least people aren’t paying attention to her in the same way that Betty and Michelle are under a microscope and being told constantly to behave differently. I’m glad to see some familiar faces in all three timelines, including Lily Rabe as Hick, who seems to understand and see Eleanor in a way no one else does, Judy Greer as Nancy Howe, who was able to push Betty to be heard and do what she felt was right, and Donna Lynne Champlin as Mel Winter, one of the few people who got that Michelle needed to do her own thing. I’m also always happy to see Kate Mulgrew, and it seems like Susan is here to stay and to support Michelle in carrying herself the way she wants. Donald Rumsfeld’s efforts to keep Betty out of the spotlight have failed miserably, and she knows exactly when to cite her husband’s support for something as a key to making it happen.

Pilot Review: The First Lady

Check out my one-minute take on every new pilot, which is embedded below and you can also watch by subscribing to movieswithabe on YouTube.