A new season of Pose is finally here!!! Let’s get into it, shall we…

Our episode opens with Lulu (Hailie Sahar) winning a trophy for the House of Ferocity at the ball. Also, Electra (Dominique Jackson) sure knows how to turn some losers into winners, but the real surprise is finally finding out where Electra has been getting the extra money for her ever-growing fur collection–she’s become a dominatrix! After discovering that she can make more in four nights than she’s made in her entire life, Electra realizes that this is the profession for her. She can make enough money to support her expensive lifestyle in the evenings but still keep her name in the mouths of the upper class by continuing to be a hostess during the day. To drive this point home, one of her coworkers mentioned that business has been booming the past few years since AIDS started affecting the community and people started trading blow jobs for hand jobs. After a dinner that consisted of popcorn with hot sauce and a swallow of Slim Fast at the House of Ferocity, Electra realizes that it’s time for her to find a place of her own so while Donna Summer’s “Bad Girl” plays in the background we see her recruiting the new members of her house with Cartier jewelry.

After a make-over from Angel (Indya Moore), Blanca (Mj Rodriguez) meets with Ms. Norman (the legendary Patti LuPone) about renting a space for Vogue Nails. From the start, Ms. Norman seems shady. At first, she starts telling Blanca about the huge settlement she won from divorcing her husband, who she caught sleeping with the doorman of her building and she’s more concerned with gentrification bringing different people to the neighborhood than she is about making sure she and Blanca have a proper contract agreement. Which is why no one is surprised that she abruptly cancels her agreement with Blanca before she can have her first customer after her son tells her that Blanca is a man. After the encouragement of Pray Tell (Billy Porter), Blanca meets with the Commission of Human Rights and gets set up with a pro bono lawyer that encourages her to continue to set up shop until her day in court. Ms. Norman promises Blanca she’ll be hearing from her lawyers after her physical threats didn’t work. Realizing that she has so much to fight for, Blanca meets with Dr. Judy (Sandra Bernhard) and agrees to finally start taking the AZT meds she prescribed her.

Damon (Ryan Jamaal Swain) and Ricky’s (Dyllon Burnside) reunion is short-lived when another dancer from the Al B. Sure tour tells Damon that he slept with Ricky. Damon, believing that Ricky has been unfaithful admits in front of Blanca during an argument that they haven’t always practiced safe sex. After an uncomfortable dinner where everyone laughs at Blanca doing a condom demonstration with a cucumber, Angel insists that Blanca tells them all her truth. In a scene that brought me to tears, Blanca shares with her children that a couple of years of having unprotected sex with random men lead to her contracting the AIDS virus. Papi (Angel Bismark Curiel) vows to do whatever he has to do to help her fight the disease, even if it means stealing cold meds for her. After that, Damon and Ricky get tested and both receive negative results. In a moment of honesty, Damon admits to Ricky that at some point during their relationship he stopped living for himself so of course during the Eros Ball, a ball about love, Damon tells Ricky that he needs to focus on himself and breaks up with him.

The episode closes with Auntie (I was at her concert, she said it’s ‘ok’ to call her Auntie) Anita Baker’s “Giving You the Best That I Got” playing as we are treated to everyone living happily. Blanca gets her first customer, Angel is working on her angles, Damon is teaching Vogue classes, Electra is moving into her new place with plenty of closet space, and the House of Evangelista is having their weekly family dinner with Pray Tell.

Ballroom Highlights

• The Fairytale Category – Angel’s original take on Juliet and House of Ferocity’s Cinderella
• Electra’s “House of Wintour” announcement “Wintour is coming”. I LIVED.
• Candy (Angelica Ross) getting shut down at the Eros Ball AGAIN. When is she going to learn???
• To quote Pray Tell during the House of Wintour’s debut “I live for the production value.” I do too, Pray. I do too.

 

READ MORE:

‘Pose’ Renewed For Season 3 At FX

 

Photo: FX