Pose Season 2 (2019)
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Pose Season 2 Review
The second season of Pose premiered in 2019, and it is even better than the first one. This is quickly becoming one of my absolute favorite television series.
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“We fought fur our place at this table.
And that has made us stronger than you’ll ever be“
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Let’s go through this season character by character as that way I will also touch upon the overall arcs and storylines. First off, Blanca. I continue to find MJ Rodriguez’ work on this show hugely underrated, and definitely worthy of an Emmy win. She and Billy Porter carry this entire show on their great, capable shoulders through amazingly varied emotions displayed.
With that being said, I was terrified during the last episode that Blanca was going to die, but thankfully she survived, though in a very fragile state. The season does end with high stakes for the next one, but that final moment where she adopts two new tweens from the street was beautiful.
Her newfound romance in the ninth episode was simply incredibly endearing, rewarding and romantic. That entire episode with the girls going to the beach was a necessary departure for the show as it was for once an entirely joyous, irreverent excursion with a lot of humor and energy to it.
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Her conflict with her nemesis was over-the-top, but rewarding in the end and quite fun. And she remains a glorious mother figure above all else which is why the ultimate disassembling of her house was to me heartbreaking. I cried that time, and three more times, but more on that later.
Twice I cried during Pray Tell’s touching scenes with Ricky. When he said to him that he will probably be alone tomorrow was heartbreaking, and the eventual morning they shared was happy and sweet. Their relationship was to me excellent, and both hot and very well written as it made sense that they would end up together.
Which brings me to that very memorable fight. Yes, it was very entertaining drama, but it was also painful to watch near the end how incredibly realistic it was. It reminded me so much of my own familial fights that I’ve had as rarely any other show or movie before. That’s how crisp and perfect the dialogue and acting are on this show.
In particular, how they handled everyone’s reactions to those two dating was very powerful, and the eventual fight between him and Blanca was very emotional and both their points of view were truthful and thus powerful.
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But Damon became very unlikable throughout this season. I found his dancing episode with Ricky the weakest of the bunch as it was the least important for the overall arc, and his careerist attitude rubbed me the wrong way as did his lack of gratitude toward Blanca. Right now, he’s by far my least favorite character on the show, though again the realism in portraying such a person needs to be appreciated too.
But Ricky became so much more likable with his newfound relationship and him also exploring his more feminine side. I also found Angel’s modeling storyline very well handled and realistically as well. It was very engaging to follow, and her romance with Papi is very endearing. The two share such palpable chemistry, and both shine when they are together on screen.
Elektra is hugely entertaining as always. Though softened up a bit, she still has many glorious insults to direct to everyone during this season. In particular, her episode where she had to hide a dead body was very darkly amusing.
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The HIV/politics part in the first half came somewhat as a detour, but it was still very effective. The same goes for Candy’s death which came out of nowhere, but it was so heartbreaking, that episode, that it honestly made me cry a bit. The fact that this show made me cry four times goes to show how personal and emotional it is to me as I almost never cry at shows/movies.
In the end, though it has a bit of tonal inconsistency at times, the second season of Pose is mostly amazing with many instantly iconic, emotionally rewarding episodes and powerful character arcs. I simply cannot wait for the third season.
Worst Episodes: What Would Candy Do? and Love’s in Need of Love Today.
Best Episodes: Never Knew Love Like This Before, Revelations and In My Heels.
