Probably literally and metaphorically 😪

If a good sountrack wins me over then everything else will follow suit. The writing, the shots, the aesthetics, everything had the right amount of eye candy that just clicked for me almost instantly. I also ADORE Angel no spoilers from me just sharing my impressions as a first time viewer. This is the only show I'll be binge watching until I finish the whole thing.

I even cried during one of the eps, LMAO!

I already got so emotionally invested, there's no going back.

I'm just mad it took me this long to find this hidden gem of a show. \o/

So I'm rewatching season two and along with crying my eyes out multiple times pretty much every episode, I can't stop thinking about Candy and the way her ghost was used.

I know this isn't new here as a discussion point and I'm years behind maybe anyone wanting to talk about it again lol, I just have complicated feelings about her surprise death and I'm writing it out to get it out of my system, I guess?

It did feel heartbreakingly realistic, as in yes, it could (and did) happen out of nowhere and the interactions with men who hate women like her can absolutely be fatal. It was jarring but that's how death comes at you. So that made sense to me. It also made sense that it brought her real community together. And people can and do of course take deep personal meaning from the death of a loved one, of family. All of that feels correct.

But there's just something about the particular scenes with her ghost that made it seem like they were saying "sure it was sad that she died but look there was something deeper and meaningful about her death for other people that there couldn't have been in her life", and I fundamentally disagree with that message and the presentation of it. Like the trope of fridging the wife, it gives meaning to the characters left behind but disrespects the autonomy of the woman. Only this felt almost more egregious because they'd already written that in life her character was so determined, so focused, so present in the world.

It made me angry, like hammer-waving angry, that any of it should have been presented as anything other than a deep injustice. And I feel like her actual death was but her ghost self was so... soft? She was violently murdered and I do understand wanting to show the characters being soft and kind to in response to each other, but their pretend version of her was so compliant in death, so forgiving.

In death someone can become whatever you want them to be, a beatific calm, ultimately easy version of themselves that tells you what you want to hear. But I LOVED that she wasn't calm or easy to love or even be around sometimes in life, because sometimes people just aren't, but they're family and you love them anyway. That she was written to be more pleasant and accommodating in death made me feel sick.

To have everyone having imaginary scenes with her ghost, getting to forgive themselves about treating her so shittily, in their own minds, I hated it so much. She literally says "Time's gonna heal us in a way it never could if I was still alive" and that is nothing her actual character would have said.

I don't know. It felt disrespectful. Maybe it was the intention of the writers to highlight that this is what people do sometimes with death, is turn the dead into the version they found most agreeable all along. But if that's so, I just don't know why. I don't know how to put it into the right words but I tried my best lol

***

I also get that her manifesting to Pray Tell was him having hallucinations, but I do think it would have been better if those scenes had played out without her involvement as a character. I think he's a strong enough actor that we would easily be able to see that he's tempted by suicide and chooses against it.

It really cheapened her death even more imo to have her character return as a temptress for death, as it was so against her actual personality. Just felt like a "wouldn't this be fun and/or cool and/or impactful moment" in the writers room, without them thinking about the consequences or what it actually meant in relation to her character

***

Okay, thanks for reading if you're here. And if you disagree, I'd legit love to hear it because I would love to have a perspective on this that doesn't sting.

edited to add formatting back in and a bracketed aside

A pose ran throughout the generation

For those that don't know, a 'compliment sandwich' is a three-part critique. It's criticism framed by compliments, so the flow would go... Compliment - Criticism - Compliment... What you liked - What you didn't like - What you liked.

I have two sandwiches.

First, I think the costuming is some of the best I've seen in a series, ever. One point that I noticed is that some of the cast rotated their outfits. I saw Lulu wearing a dress in one episode, and the next it was on an extra in another scene. It's realistic. Clothes are traded, borrowed, and given frequently in ballroom, and I appreciate these details - The show doesn't really seem to care much about its structure from season-to-season. Where we leave off in Season 1 has very little effect on Season 2. Same for the end of Season 2, it doesn't matter at all for Season 3. I was really excited to see developing dynamics between the main and side cast, but what develops just doesn't have a whole lot of impact. - I appreciate the presence and importance of lesbians in the show. With everything else going on it would have been easy to fill the air time with something else. They committed to the respect. The lesbian community was vital during the AIDS crisis. The 'L' comes first for a reason.

Second, even though I don't like how Candy was treated I'm glad they wrote her story the way they did. I feel like a big part of her character is getting the audience to realize, 'hey this isn't okay the way they're speaking to this girl'. She was never the punchline outside of the script, she was always someone they made sure to show the human for. It's a nod to the people watching to check themselves. - I don't really enjoy the monologues, especially as the series develops. It's just too much, and it's a lot... Sometimes multiple times each episode. For example, I was really waiting for the shoe to drop with Fredrika's (landlady) final speech, but then the music started up and it just felt like foolishness with all the other given context. The more the series goes on, while there are genuine moments, by Season 3 you're like 'alright, let's go, let's wrap 'er up come on THE MIC CUTS OFF AFTER TWO MINUTES--' - Season 1 had such a raw, gritty feel to it. I feel like it was the most authentic, almost, in that way. The atmosphere was just so darkly... Human. There were moments when I was genuinely scared for characters (Angel in particular), and that isn't something I feel often with television. And it looked, in my opinion, marginally better than S2 or S3. The lighting, the set design, all of it.

(first post hello everyone)

I sincerely hope you don't mind me borrowing your control of facial features, mom. <3

at least blanca’s sister came around in the end and redeemed herself but i still don’t like her lol

I don’t like this show because every episode or two makes me fucking cry. All I’m doing is crying over these fictional characters with heartbreaking stories that make me so emotional. Now I’m crying over Candy’s funeral. Over her speaking to each character as her final words. Maybe it’s the way a good friend of mine passed away this summer so it hits harder. Either way I’m not very happy yall…

I'm sure this has likely been asked before but I searched the subreddit and couldn't find a post about it. I just finished Pose and loved it so much, sad I finished it. Wondering if anybody can suggest some shows or even movies that are similar to Pose, looking for queer, trans, LGBTQ+ media and I also really liked the standing up for what's right and advocacy kind of aspect of Pose, there was lots of this with Blanca especially, so I'd like to see something similar in another show. Thanks!!

I don't have the talent to put either of these together and I have yet to find them if they exist.

1. A collage of any of the characters (but definitely Angel and Papi) dancing to "Don't stop the music" by Rihanna (honestly surprised this doesn't exist already)

2. A collage of Stan cheating on his wife with Angel to the song "unfaithful" by Rihanna

Tell me what y'all think of these ideas lol Does anyone else have edits they'd like to see?

I DON'T SUPPORT the new season of AHS, because there was already an instance where Emma Roberts showed her bigotry and hatred YEARS AGO, I been stopped watching AHS, and I was a TRUE FAN, mind you the creator of AHS is a WHITE GAY MALE, so for him to still be casting Emma after her TRANSPHOBIA towards Angelica Ross, is a bit telling, it's rooted in not only RACISM, but COLORISM, (Also mind you I'm a light-skinned black trans woman, a bit on the browner side), but I wanna speak on why I feel like this shit is COLORIST, I believe most TRANSPHOBIA is rooted more so towards darker skinned trans women and even CIS dark skinned women, cuz dark skinned has always been seen as more MASCULINE (I SWEAR I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP, THERE'S RESEARCH ON THIS, LOOK IT UP), but dark skinned has always be diminished as "less beautiful" because it was always seen as MASCULINE, rather than FEMININE, which is why alot of dark skinned ppl go thru more RACISM, more DISCRIMINATION, more HATRED, SYSTEMATIC injustices, and also even more TRANSPHOBIA!

So NO, I DON'T SUPPORT MEDIA that demonizes DARK SKINNED BLACK TRANS WOMEN like Angelica Ross, who to ME is a gorgeous black trans woman, I actually didn't know she was trans at first when I saw her in Pose, I thought they put one cis woman cuz I figured she was queer, but they started discussing her character in the show more and i found out, (last mind you, but tthe creator of AHS also ironically made Pose) you'd think someone who made a series like that would understand what dark skinned trans women go thru, but he also kind of wrote Pose POORLY, AS MUCH AS I LOVED THE SHOW YALL, he really has no business making Candys death that traumatic, and i think it was also rooted in anti-blackness and based on how she was like the darkest skinned trans woman in the show, I DO NOT LIKE RYAN MURPHY, honestly and I DON'T CARE if Emma Roberts issued an apology, she can KICK ROCKS, DISRESPECTFULLY!

im up to prey and blanca singing together and omfg this show is so much more beautiful than i initially thought, ive only seen clips on instagram or tiktok, but this show is SO peak

Pose is definitely emotional roller coaster but holy SHIT. Elektra is HILARIOUS! Especially in season two! The amount of comebacks, reads, and just funny lines she has is amazing!! Idk how I missed some of these the first time!!

“PLEASE TELL ME YOU’RE NOT STILL SPEAKING OF BLACK HASSLEHOFF”

Absolutely ROLLING!

BRO BRO, this show is SOOO good. I saw some clips on YouTube shorts, of Blanca of course and I was really drawn to her, so I gave the show a watch and fucking hell, tell me why this shit had me hooked. Also the angel and stan story line? Fucking hell, I loved the music and cinematography of it all. Also Damon :((. And papi? Fuck Everytime he cries I cry. And Elektra? I LOVE her energy. Tbh I love all the characters, even though some of them are kinda bitches but whatever. Where has this show been all my life.

I loved watching the show & I raved about it on this sub many times. I know the creators intended the show to be only 3 seasons & I totally get why it was the way it way.

That said, this show 100% deserves a reboot! The OG Pose is set in 1987–98 & I would TOTALLY love to see where all the characters are 10-15yrs later.

They can call it Pose, Epilogue