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 2 “Worth It” (B+)

I like that this season continues to be about the characters we’ve come to know and not just the epidemic that has taken so many of them, even if that remains a crucial element in the many funerals they must attend and the constant mortality facing them. That fear manifested itself in an initially unserious way, when Damon suspected that Ricky had been unfaithful to him while he was away, which resulted in Damon making an important decision about what he wants for his future even if Ricky did end up being clean. I’m thrilled about the spotlight on Blanca, who Angel rightly tried to brighten up a bit after she shared her experience not being able to pass and repeatedly being kicked out of dressing rooms. I recently finished watching “Hollywood” and therefore was not surprised to see a Ryan Murphy favorite, Patti LuPone, as the completely despicable Frederica Norman, who rented a space to Blanca on a handshake alone and then tried to kick her tenant to the curb after her son told her that she was trans (in a far cruder way, of course). I’m glad that she’s been egged on by Pray, Judy, and everyone else to maintain her squatters’ rights and fight to be able to open her salon. Elektra is a character I’ve enjoyed watching for a while, and she didn’t waste any time in pulling her “new signature move” on her new house and then forming her own, which she tried to introduce with style in the middle of someone else’s show at the ball.

What I’m Watching: Divorce

Divorce: Season 2, Episode 3 “Worth It” (B+)

It was smart that this episode didn’t focus on Frances and Robert’s kids at all, instead returning them to their home lives apart that barely interact, especially when they pass right by each other and don’t even look up to notice. I loved the look on Frances’ face when someone commented about Hastings, “Isn’t that upstate?” With a very pushy Diane trying to involve herself in the business, Frances became a bit too obsessed with tracking down the woman who painted one of the pieces that Andrew gave her from his late aunt. Approaching her while she was working at the bank was one thing, but showing up at 1am at her apartment demanding to see her work represented a bit too much aggression and enthusiasm. She’s more than ready to set boundaries in her developing relationship with Andrew but not nearly as aware of them in her own life. Diane is having considerable trouble at home with her gourmet chef husband, and stripping for a random guy watching her on the street is one way to deal with that. I was so excited to see Becki Newton, who was one of the best parts of “Ugly Betty” a decade ago when it was on and has only sporadically appeared on television since, as the realtor who lowballed Robert in a big way for his house and is now a new love interest for him, which is great save for the strange coincidence that she’s in therapy with Dallas, news of unknown but questionable meaning at the moment.