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| Photo: FX |
In the lead up to the premiere of its second season, Pose creator Ryan Murphy dropped a few hints of what fans could expect; the most important of these being a time jump to March 1990--when Madonna's iconic single "Vogue" dropped--and a possible story line involving the pop legend herself.
While she doesn't make an appearance, Madonna's presence, and the the effect of "Vogue" exposing the rest of America to what's been happening in the underground clubs of New York City, reverberates throughout "Acting Up."
Taking its title from the LGBT rights organization Act Up, the episode deftly juxtaposes the ways the outside world looking in could positively impact these characters' lives, while also making it clear they can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to the world's attitude toward them, which is often indifferent at best and cruel at worst.
"Acting Up" forcefully underlines the latter point in its opening scene. Pray Tell and Blanca go to Hart Island, where Pray Tell's ex has been buried. His final resting place isn't a graveyard or a mausoleum, but a pine box in an open field. This final indignity comes after dying alone in his apartment, his body only discovered after the smell of decomposition began to spread to the rest of the building.
For Blanca, it's another harsh reminder of a fate that could happen sooner rather than later. A visit to her nurse Judy doesn't go well. Her T cell count has fallen below 200, which means her diagnosis must be moved to full blown AIDS. Judy gives her a bottle of AZT to help, the meds collected from wealthy queens who have died of the disease, and tells her she'll be dead in six months if she doesn't take what HIV is doing to her body seriously.
The plague, and the spectre of death, are never far away. Pray Tell administers a quick read to Candy and Lulu for their flippant attitude at a funeral--one of hundreds he's attended--before engaging in the same gallows humor with Judy. In an effort to help him channel his grief into something productive, Judy drags Pray Tell to his first Act Up meeting, where the group is planning a Sunday protest at St. Patrick's Cathedral, a real life act of resistance that led to hundreds being arrested.
The meeting galvanizes Pray Tell, who, has no patience for Elektra and her bullshit, especially after she defies Blanca (Elektra' still bunking with her former daughter) and blows off the protest. Pray Tell blesses her with a righteous
at the next ball, and demands she and the rest of the crowd recognize they only have each other and to start fighting for their lives.
Elektra appears back in the money, gliding in late for family dinners with mink coat in tow, casually shading the kids and basically reverting to her old bitch goddess antics. Which in this case means going off on Blanca and Pray Tell when the former presses her about her new source of income, flipping a table and stlrming out to join the house of Ferocity. Well at least we'll get some sickening looks out of this rekindled rivalry.
While characters like Candy and Pray Tell--who recalls when the racist and homophobic disco backlash of the late 70's ended what appeared to be the beginnings of acceptance of homosexuality and LGBT people--aren't holding out much hope the success of "Vogue" will catapult them all to mainstream success. "Put your glass slippers away Transerella," he coolly tells Blanca.
But if we know one thing about Blanca, it's that mama is determined. She pushes Angel to leave the piers and sex work behind and concentrate on modeling. Showing a bit of her voguing skills, the agent at a modeling competition gives Angel the info for a photographer to get professional pictures taken, and pushes her through to the semi finals. Unfortunately the photographer, recognizing her from the piers, takes advantage of her, forcing her to strip naked and touch herself as payment for a session. Blanca finds out and, with Papi and Angel in tow, heads to the photog's studio to fuck his shit up. They get the negatives back and Angel advances to the top 10 in the competition.
Will the co-sign of one of the biggest pop stars on the planet translate into victories outside the ballroom, to partially quote Angel? While real-life ballroom luminaries like Jose and Luis Xtravaganza got shine from Madonna and others like Willi Ninja, Dorian Corey and Pepper Lebeija gained some status from Jennie Livingston's documentary Paris Is Burning, it wasn't necessarily the life-changing, buy-my mama-a-house, send-all-my-cousins-to-college success they, or Blanca have in mind.
But for the moment it's thrilling for them--and us to watch them--bask in the glow of a bigger spotlight. To realize, to quote a few classic lines from "Vogue": You're a superstar. Yes that's what you are. You know it.
Other Thoughts/The Shade of it All
- Timeline wise, depicting the St. Patrick's Cathedral protest doesn't add up, since it occurred in December 1989, not March 1990. But, you know, artistic license.
- Damon and Ricky are still together, with Ricky still on the road but coming home soon grom Al B. Sure's tour.
- Candy and Lulu get dissed and dismissed by the judges during a French revolution category in which their best is but peasant rags. Child...
- Blanca quits her job at the nail salon to go to the protest, setting the stage for an arc that involves her fighting to start her own business while coming up against transphobic attitudes.
- New York-based anchor Sue Simmons gets a shout out, as Blanca mentions she wants to interview Pray Tell about the ballroom scene.
- A nice meta moment: Jose Xtravaganza, a ballroom legend who of course appeared in the "Vogue" video, vogues with the rest of the kids as the track plays during the last minutes of the episode.
- "She's over here serving you trash bag realness."
- "All these candles and flaming homos, I'm surprised God doesn't burn this bitch to the ground."
- Ya'll are hard hearted hoes. Show some damn respect."
- "Look at these unquenchable hoes thirsting for dick."
- "I'm joining your house. You're welcome bitches."
- "I am not a slum rat like the rest of you whores!" Elektra will bring the capital D Drama!
- Can I have her bed?" Too soon Papi. Too soon.
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