I disagree! Good discussion.

I sound so so negative in my post, which is partly I think in reaction to how almost completely positive this review was (the show is dealing complexly with issues around addiction???? *REALLY*? :P ) Because I definitely got some of the same joy of just seeing everyone back on screen again, and normally would let at…

Yes, you basically make my point but in a few short sentences LOL--so I appreciate that.  And yeah, that’s exactly it--Pose has always suffered from that type of storytelling to some extent, but it really seemed to be emphasized watching these two episodes back to back.  I have, since, glanced at some reviews and…

LMAO I totally forgot James Van Der Beek was in S1 and if that man can do nothing else he sure does know how to play rich frat boy CEO. Yup I remember Ricky was getting into the sauce a little bit in the previous seasons.

You wish a straight white man made a series about black trans and gay people?

why would MJ fill out the application form on the steps of the college? lol, the show’s writing is so stupid and clumsy that we are lucky when POSE gets it right. the only true A rated episode was the one from last season where they all had a big argument.

I remember Ricky having more of the substance abuse story, but I’m a bit embarrassed I don’t really remember. Still, of course Damon could have become an alcoholic in the 3 years between seasons (I believe the end of season 2 was a flash forward to 1991). But it seems a weird message to give that the character who…

Yeah I think his sister was killed during production, which is why he’s firmly in episode one then is all of a sudden gone. I’m not sure why it couldn’t have been idk called away on another dance tour (which he’d done before). Maybe that’s also because I have no recollection of him being an alcoholic so the alcoholism…

Thanks so much for explaining that--I should have done some research before blaming the writers (although the show before has set up storylines--as it seemed like they were between Damon and Pray Tell which could have been especially interesting if they become closer, given the Ricky angle--and then dropping them). …

I like how the show is fleshing out more minor characters (Cubby in the premiere, then Castle in the second episode) and giving the actors a chance to show off their skills. While the Cubby scene was a little clunky, the actor was great, and the stuff in the second episode with Castle was just heartbreaking.

Steven Canals explained that Ryan Jamaal Swain (who portrays Damon) had to leave suddenly due to a tragic death in his family. It’s really sad, just that he experienced such a loss. It also means that what seemed like a setup for Damon to help guide Pray through sobriety, which would’ve given Damon (and the actor)…

It’s genuinely nice to see this cast back, and a part of me just had fun watching them. But man these episodes were rough, showing some of Pose’s worst tendencies back to back (and Ryan Murphy’s name wasn’t on either script so I can’t even blame him, like I usually do). Just so many... wha moments.

I think Damon became…

I think one reason (aside from the obvious reason of ignorance) is because I believe it was around 1995 when highly active antiretroviral therapy(HAART) and other treatments were introduced that within 2 years caused death by complications from HIV to plummet. But of course it is a good point that most of the dramas…

Same. So much of pop culture around the AIDS epidemic centers the 80s (most recently, for instance, It’s a Sin, but honestly, pick any AIDS drama); you tend to get the impression that the problem was mostly “solved” by the mid-90s.

I missed this show so much. Glad to have it back, even just one season.

Sharon Carter was bouncing things off those shipping containers and into goons’ heads like she was Matt freakin’ Murdock.

Thanks. Yeah, the speech was, unfortunately, a mess.  So little of the show was actually about the racial issues the speech touched upon, it was mostly about pure nonsense, so trying to marry the two together proved disastrous. 

Only 2 bad episodes, the 3rd one...and this finale. I have to believe COVID played a part in this. I have to.

Ok, a couple things:

The monologue was Sorkian-bad, sorry. Not your fault Mackie, you were awesome as always.