Pose Season 1 Ep. 3 Recap: 'Giving and Receiving'

Photo: FX

Few things bring family to mind more than Christmas, and in its first holiday-themed episode, Pose tackles just what the season means for its characters in ways both heartrending and uplifting.

Beyond its cheeky sexual reference, "Giving and Receiving" concerns itself with the ways love is offered and accepted, with much of the concern centered on the relationship between parents and children.

For Blanca, Christmas provides a chance not only to play Santa, but to create new memories to replace her children's bad ones. And there are bad memories a plenty. Angel, who is no mood to celebrate, tells a sad story of stealing a patent leather red pump from a store while shopping with her parents when she was six, then being slapped across the face by her father when she dropped it in front of them. "He treated me different after that," she says, before walking out of the room. Her reaction is the polar opposite of Damon's, who loves Christmas because it was the one time of the year he got respite from his parents' homophobia and was allowed to be himself.

Things are going well in Damon's personal life. He and Ricky are still going strong, with him pushing Ricky to walk in his first ball (he wins first runner up as well as Billy Dee Williams comparisons from Pray Tell) and getting the greenlight from Blanca to join the House of Evangelista under two conditions: that he bring it at the all-important Snow Ball and not distract Damon from his dance studies. Damon's doing a pretty job of the latter all by himself though, showing up late to Helena St. Rogers' class when he gets caught up in choreographing the House of Evangelista's upcoming performance. His tardiness earns him a tongue lashing from Helena, and the mention of a ball gets him kicked out of her class.

Blanca goes to bat for him again, and while some feathers are initially ruffled when Helena seems to dismiss the ballroom scene, she smooths them out by saying while the balls offer Damon instant gratification, applying himself to her class is how he will truly realize his dreams. Blanca sees her point, and bans Damon from competing in any balls--including the Snow Ball--for a month until she believes he's serious about school. Damon bucks, but she stands her ground, and after the house places first runner up, they make up under the glow of the Christmas tree. Part of being a parent is doing what's best for your child, even if they may hate you for it; and part of growing up is realizing your parents (at least if they're good ones like Blanca) have your best interests at heart, even if it includes punishment. Though it might be harder to receive, tough love is still love. The arc gives Ryan Jamaal Swain a chance to show a more tempermental, brattier side to Damon, and doubles down on the idea that while she has her own ambitions, Blanca has aspirations for her kids beyond the ballroom.

The same can't be said for Elektra. During a medical consultation, she learns she's a prime candidate for gender reassignment surgery. The news is still weighing on her mind when her children Lulu and Candy stroll through the door. She even semi-apologizes after reading them and pulls together another stunt to scrounge up some Christmas cash. It's not nearly as extravagant as their previous museum caper--Lulu distacts then holds down a Salvation Army Santa, while Elektra snatches the donation bucket with a pair of bolt cutters and they run for the hills--but thanks to some expert acting and camera work, manages to be just as thrilling. The "oh no they didn't!" factor aside, the scene draws a striking contrast between Blanca and Elektra's parenting styles. While Blanca pointedly tells Ricky they are not that kind of house when he admits to stealing a coat for his first walk, Elektra's more than willing to enlist her children in illegal activity. And she's more than willing to betray their trust, taking the $2300 haul they made from the Salvation Army heist and using it as down payment for her surgery. I know part of Elektra's GIF-worthy appeal is she's an ebony goddess alpha bitch, but I would've liked to see at least a little uncertainty in her decision. She can't see the forest for the trees, and if she's not careful, Mama will be wondering in those woods alone.

"Giving and Receiving" deftly ties in the theme of giving and accepting love with the AIDS crisis. Pray Tell and Helena visit the hospital where they both know men afflicated with the virus. The short scenes of them in the elevator and signing in at the front desk are quiet but telling: each one knows why the other is there without saying a word. As a gay man and as a dance instructor, they both have front row seats to the horrors of the epidemic, along with the bigotry it has brought out in people; Helena has to take care of Tony--a former student who appears to suffering from a form of senility brought on by the disease--with no help from any of the medical staff, while Pray Tell has to take in a plate of food left outside the door of a man who could've been a potential boyfriend into his room. "How are we supposed to be invested in someone, if they can be gone a week later?" he tearfully asks Blanca. Blanca still hasn't told her kids about her own status, and her reasoning--that if they knew, they wouldn't be as receptive to her plans for them--is sad, but likely true.

Angel's holiday looks to be turning out slightly better, at least at first.  Stan shows her around what is now her apartment, and she understandably gushes (I mean it is unequivocably the shit). They end the night by sleeping together. Um....yay? I want to be happy for Angel, but since part of me still believes Stan's affections have a deadly flipside, I can't 'yaas' to them doin' the do to Janet's "Let's Wait A While." On the professional front, Stan scores a meeting with the big wigs (i.e. Trump), which gets him a vicious side eye from Matt. But this douche has more douchebaggery up his sleeve, driving to Jersey with a armful of gifts and planting the seed in Patty's mind Stan is cheating before attempting to seduce her. She rebuffs him just as Stan comes home. He forbids Matt from coming without calling first, but the aforementioned seed has already taken root. Patty confronts Stan about his infidelity the next morning, but he soothes her with lies, passes off the jewelry he bought for Angel as her gfit and all is well. Except for Angel, who sits and waits in her fabulous apartment, all dolled up but alone. Again, part of me felt awful for her, but I'm also happy she's out of Stan's orbit for now.

The ultra feels come in the last scene, when after burning the turkey, Blanca, the kids and Pray Tell go to a Chinese restaurant to eat and exchange gifts. Everyone chips in to give Blanca a heart-shaped necklace, because she's the heart of the family, and Blanca in turns gives them all gifts. The most touching one is Angel's, as she cries at the sight of the red, patent leather pumps she so wanted so badly as a child sitting in a shoe box. They aren't related by blood, but Blanca, Damon, Ricky, Papi, Angel and Pray Tell are family in the ways that matter most.

*Reaches for Kleenex, wipes away Viola Davis-level snot bubble* See y'all next week.

Other Thoughts:

• Damon and Ricky take things to the next level and have sex, a development that had me shouting "Condoms Rose!" at the screen like Bea Arthur's ghost had invaded my body. The camera cut away before we could see if either of them reached for protection, so hopefully they heeded my advice. 

• With Damon focusing more on the long-game of the dance academy and Ricky likely throwing himself into the ballroom scene given his first-time success, I wonder how their differing paths will affect their relationship.

• Judging by the preview, next week may show us a different slice of Elektra's life, one as the kept woman Angel referenced last week. Hopefully, we'll also see a softer/more vulnerable side to her personality. Plus we'll be treated to some shirtless (and possibly bottomless--fingers crossed!) Chris Meloni.

• "I can tell just by looking at you how you groom your pubic hair." Matt sure knows how to charm the ladies.

The Shade of It All/Those One Liners Tho'

• "You're stupid, but not incapable."

• "If God hath given you the eyebrows of Brooke Shields, show the motherfuckers off!"

• "Papi that's not what I choreographed. You look like a gremlin."

• "A man who knows his place might as well be a dead man."

• "Weird. You've kissed all those supermodels and beauty queens and you're still not any good at it."

• "Don't bullshit me. That offends me."

• "And if there isn't a part of the game where you pee every time you sneeze and every so-called friend disappoints you, it's a fraud." 

• "Don't go asking me for no damn Subaru."

• "I better see Bugs Bunny on your goddamn back!"

• "Fuck Barbie."