Pose Season 1 Ep. 7 Recap: 'Pink Slip'

Photo: JoJo Whilden/FX

Mmph. Well wasn't that an hour of rude awakenings. As the end of the season approaches, Pose decides to pull out the rug out from under its characters, with dramatically satisfying results.

Like any good penultimate episode, "Pink Slip" explodes several ticking plot bombs, starting with Lil' Papi's illegal side hustle. Blanca's antennae start to go up about his foray into street pharmaceuticals when he leaves his pager behind. She puts two and two together and grills him about selling drugs. He denies it, but she leaves him with this sick burn of a warning: "If you get caught doing anything illegal, don't make me your one phone call." Blanca then turns prosecutor on the rest of her kids until Ricky, scared he'll be kicked out and thus homeless again, drops the dime. She confronts Papi at his dealing spot, and their argument ends with her telling him to be gone by the morning. On his way out, Papi tries to the play the "you wasn't real card" with Ricky for telling Blanca. Oh Papi. I like you, but if you were really a friend you wouldn't have put your people in position to have to lie for you in the first place. Ricky doesn't take kindly to that, or being repeatedly called a punk, so things descend into a brawl and end with Papi storming out the door.

Papi slips further into the drug game, selling crack for a local dealer before getting hemmed up by the cops and spending a night in jail. It's all enough to scare him straight. But instead of coming back to Blanca, he becomes one of the children of the House of Ferocity. Dayum. Time will tell if Papi realizes Blanca really has his best interest at heart, but for now he'll be getting beverages and ironing fits for Candy and Lulu. Chile, how are you gonna put up with 'cho job! But I digress.

"Pink Slip" checks in on Elektra, who's still basking in the afterglow of her surgery. However, the glow quickly fades when she welcomes Dick home and informs him she won't have to tuck anymore. As you might have guessed, Dick is not pleased, calling her decision selfish and stupid. "I'm not ruined, I'm reborn," Elektra tells him, but he'll hear none of it. Tragically, Elektra forgot that for whatever tenderness he displayed, her relationship with Dick was always one-sided; theirs was a bond based on her playing the part of a fetishized, exotic creature he could possess on his time and with his dime. She has destroyed the fantasy, and is unceremoniously kicked out of her penthouse apartment and cut off financially.

Things get more perilous when an eviction notice arrives at her children's apartment and they proceed to clock her tea. They know she's been dumped and is now pennliess. Those facts, on top of her yuletide betrayal and overall stank ass attitude are what lead them to walk out. Perhaps if she opened up to her kids and asked for their help in getting through an understandably difficult time, things would have turned out differently. But since Elektra still hasn't grasped the concept that vulnerability and compassion can be strengths, thems the brakes. Later, a promising meeting with a potential sugar daddy goes south when she reveals she is a full woman. To paraphrase Pepper Lebeija, a vagina does not a fabulous life make. For Elektra, it looks like it might in fact be worse, as she finds herself caught in a sort of purgatory; too real to snag a man like Dick or Joe, but not real enough to fully integrate into the straight world the way a cisgender woman like Patty can. But Elektra is a survivor, and if that means working the booth at Show World, she'll do it. However the final sequence, set to Tina Turner's "Private Dancer," underscores how tedious and soul-crushing that work can be.

Angel's bubble also bursts this week. With Stan's secret finally out, they're free to spend all their time together, which ironically leads to their undoing. Stan asks to accompany her to ball, but instead of a a warm welcome, he's viewed as a gawking tourist or a potential trick by working girls like Summer. He doesn't fit in, and while Angel tries to smooth things over by minimizing the role of the balls in her life, Stan knows better. Like the other denizens who side eyed him, the ballroom scene is one of the few places where Angel can fully and freely be herself. Stan also realizes his job and his kids are a big part of his world, a world he has never had to consider if Angel fits into until now. In other words, Stan is scared shitless. He ain't 'bout this "being your authenic self" life, which is why Angel later comes home to find the apartment cleaned out, save for a bag of clothes and a note. Ultimately, men like Stan and Dick have the ability step back into mainstream society, as well as the ability to send women like Angel and Elektra back to the fringes. Such is the power of privilege.

The clock has struck midnight, and the carriage has turned back into a pumpkin. It's time for these Cinderellas to save themselves.

Other Thoughts:

• Candy and Lulu aren't as fleshed out as Blanca and Elektra, but their decision to be co-mothers will probably provide plently of laughs (the actresses have great chemistry) and potential for further character development. However, their laundry list of chores for Papi reveals they've learned nothing from Elektra's terrible example of motherhood.

• I loved how Blanca shut down Papi when he tried to equate his selling drugs to Angel being a sex worker, affirming her right to do what she wants with her body while sliding in a quick read about how Papi's side business is destroying his community. Bloop!

• The scene between Blanca and Helena didn't advance the plot, but was nice to watch. As self-confident as Blanca is, she's not much older than her kids, and it's good she has found someone to lean on.

• If you ain't up on thangs, Pose has been officially renewed for SEASON 2! 

The Shade of It All/Those One Liners Tho'

• "The theme is bizarre. Not Halloween."

• Elektra: "I have fingers in many pots around this city." Candy: "Is that what they call being a slut now?"

• "Go inside and fetch me a beverage. I need to hydrate before I read this bitch."

• "Quarter grape fruit, quarter ginger bread and totally out of his mind!"

• "The all seeing, all knowing, twisted licorice realness on top!"

• Angel: "Did you get fired for beating that guy's ass?" Stan: "No I didn't. Apparently that kind of expression of manliness is encouraged there."