Pose Season 3 (2021)
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Pose Season 3 Review
The third season of Pose was a solid conclusion to a great show that came off as disappointing, but still serviceable.
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“Why mess with perfection?“
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Yes, it happened unfortunately. Pose has been one of my favorite shows thanks to an amazing first season and a heartfelt second installment, but now that reputation has been tarnished a bit due to this last season’s underwhelming quality. Clearly, they should have ended with the second season and that beautiful ending, but they wanted to give closure to each and every character, which was problematic as it felt like wish fulfillment for the most part.
Going through each character, I have to first congratulate the show for handling Pray Tell’s AIDS situation in the best way possible. Everything in this particular arc was tremendous and incredibly touching, though it did feel awfully brutal to the guy when he was the only one who had to go through this of the main characters while everybody else got their dream endings.
Of the two flashback episodes of the season, the better one was the one where Pray goes to his hometown and the present scenes are mixed with the past flourishes. That was beautifully realized and surprisingly enough this episode felt very spiritual and traditional. The show cleverly juxtapositions religion and homosexuality, but finds common ground between the two. The same is true for families in general as the episode positively portrays Pray’s family, which stands in stark contrast to the portrayal of the families in this year’s ‘It’s a Sin’.
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The ending was incredibly heartbreaking and the twist where he saved Ricky’s life definitely worked as it made the penultimate episode super powerful. But the addiction storyline was also well done and the scene that personally made me cry a bit was the breakup between these two, which was super hard to watch. Ricky did come across a bit selfish throughout the show, but the choice to basically make him the successor to Pray in the finale paid off wonderfully.
The second flashback episode and that one was spent in the past a bit more belonged to Elektra’s origin story. It’s nothing particularly original, but nonetheless it was so well executed and the result was super charming and inspirational. Elektra by now has become an inspiring figure from the villain that she had been before, but the transition works as she is still arrogant and funny enough. Dominique Jackson’s performance reached greatness here.
Blanca is amazing per usual and it’s a shame that MJ Rodriguez did not get her Emmy when she is the heart and soul of the show along with Billy Porter, who was per usual incredible. But Rodriguez carried a lot of this season on her capable shoulders as Blanca’s becoming a nurse storyline was inspiring and her relationship troubles were also very well handled.
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Damon was cut from this season in the most frustrating manner possible, but Angel and Papi are super cute in their romance and I love the two. However, their wedding felt overly grandiose and the son of Papi’s storyline felt soapy and abrupt as is this whole season. Lulu got more to do, but still her development felt rushed.
Overall, I did like this last season of Pose and it was definitely emotional saying goodbye to all of these wonderful people. I just with some plot developments did not feel as rushed and that the wish fulfillment wasn’t as present because at one point or another the show became full fantasy, which was in contrast to the rest of this grounded show. Pray Tell, Blanca and Elektra were the highlights here while all the others were underutilized.
Worst Episodes: On the Run and Something Old, Something New.
Best Episodes: The Trunk and Take Me to Church.
