TV Recommendations # 1

1. The Gilded Age Season 1 (HBO Max): This is an American drama television series set during the boom years of the 1880s in New York City created by British writer Julian Fellows, who is the man behind Downton Abbey about the clash between characters old and new money.
2. Our Flag Means Death Season 1 (HBO Max): A 1717 period comedic drama loosely based on the real-life of “Gentleman Pirate” Captain Stede Bonnet and his dysfunctional crew.
3. Suspicion Season 1 (Apple TV+): A British and American thriller co-production about five ordinary British citizens whose lives are destroyed after London police identify them as kidnapping American media mogul’s son Leonardo Newman.
4. Severance Season 1 (Apple TV +): An American science fiction psychological thriller directed by Ben Stiller about Mark Scout and his pod in Lumon Industries who went through the “severance” medical procedure that separates work memories and “leisure time” memories.
5. After Party Season 1 (Apple TV+): An American murder mystery comedy about Detective Danner trying to figure out who killed pop star Xavier during his high school reunion afterparty.

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness Season 2 Episode 3 & 4 Review

https://fandomopolis.com/2020/07/28/the-alienist-angel-of-darkness-season-2-episode-3-4-review/

Sara, Laszlo, and John figure out the murderous kidnapper is most likely a nurse who works at the “lying-in” hospital. “Lying-in” hospital is another way of saying a maternity ward.

Spoilers

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness Season Two Episode Three “The Labyrinth” and Episode Four “Gilded Cage” directed by Clare Kilner follows our three investigators as they search out the clues that lead them to the suspect nurse Libby Hatch (Rosy McEwen). The team believes that the kidnapper is a woman who had a stillbirth baby girl or a miscarriage. At first, she dotes on the surrogates. Eventually, this killer views these babies as “changelings,” then kills them. Sara Howard digs into Dr. Markoe’s “lying-in” hospital catered to needy women. Dr. Laszlo Kreizler uses hypnosis and art on Senora Linares to pull out information about who could have possibly kidnapped baby Anna. John Schuyler Moore focuses on his bachelor and engagement party with his fiancé Violet Hayward.

Both “The Labyrinth” and “Gilded Cage” did a great job peppering the episodes with red herrings, so the ending is surprising. John uses his connection to the heir of one of the hospital’s donors Auggie Gildersleeve to help Sara gain access. Sara is quietly disgusted with what she sees at the lying-in hospital.  The women in the maternity ward are treated like children or animals. The grouchy matron doesn’t care about the dignity of her patients and abuses the staff. The misogynistic Dr. Markoe dismisses Sara by stating that many young, uneducated girls often harm their unwanted babies instead of looking further into what happened to Martha Knapp. She automatically suspects the hardened matron and the patriarchal Dr. Markoe of being part of the kidnapping. The matron takes Sara to the room where Martha Knapp slept the night of the crime.

Sara connects with Libby after she witnesses the nurse being rebuked by the matron.  Meek Libby seems to care for her patients. She is a woman who’s been beaten down by a system controlled by wealthy men. When the matron leaves the room, Libby reveals that Martha slept somewhere else the day her baby girl was taken. The private detective believes the nurse could be a legitimate source of information, so Sara invites her to lunch.

Libby doesn’t give her much information, but the two connect since both their fathers committed suicide. Sara is an authority in her chosen profession because she came from a wealthy family while Libby was left with little opportunity but to be a punching bag for the matron. After lunch, the young nurse reveals that the matron kept the Linares baby sequestered.

The private detective finds the matron’s apartment with Libby’s help. Sara can’t gain access to the apartment, but the landlady reveals that the older woman has brought home babies in the past. The matron doted on the babies before she had to return them. Her forceful behavior and her desire for children convince both Sara and the audience to suspect her. Sara tells Laszlo that she thinks that the matron might simply be an unpleasant person but still warrants more attention.

“Labyrinth” ends with a creepy peek into what’s happening to baby Anna as the investigation continues. There is an out focus wide shot of a woman picking up a crying Anna from a crib as she hums a lullaby. She sits down in a rocking chair and breastfeeds the baby. This fact makes sense since the Isaacson brothers found breast milk and the poison in the Knapp baby’s stomach. The “sequence killer” the investigators are looking might be a wet nurse or recently pregnant woman.

In “Gilded Cage,” Sara sends one of her assistants Bitsy Sussman to infiltrate the “lay-in” hospital. She instructs Bitsy to spend time with the maternity assistants who were ex-patients and from the more deprived areas of New York. Sussman gains a job as one of the maternity assistants, saying she has looked after many babies. Meanwhile, Libby brings Martha Knapp’s patient folder to Sara. She is risking her job to help the private detective. Libby seems like an ally to Sara standing up to her bullies and the young women thrown away by the men who impregnated them.

Bitsy learns that Dr. Markoe has a particular research wing where he keeps pregnant mistresses of New York’s elite. They give birth, then the doctor sterilizes the women and sends their babies off somewhere. The mistresses are thrown away by these men. Dr. Markoe tells them the babies were stillborn. Dr. Markoe’s donors are wealthy men who take advantage of these poor young women and then leave them unable to have a family of their own. These mistresses are just tools of pleasure to these men.

Sara comes to suspect a maternity assistant with a vicious temper named Collen. Bitsy tries to get closer to Collen, but she clamps up whenever she asks her questions about how she lost her baby. We learn that she used to be a mistress to a New York elite, maybe even Dr. Markoe, but became pregnant. Collen is one of the lucky ones who can still have children after being a maternity patient at the hospital.

There is a sequence with parallel action where the red herring is revealed, and we learn the shocking truth. When Bitsy pushes Collen too far, she attacks her violently. The undercover investigator appears to be in real danger from the killer, so she locks herself in an examination room. Bitsy turns to see Libby is inside the locked room with her. Meanwhile, days after the hypnosis, Senora Isabella Linares remembers that Libby creepily stared at her at the lay-in hospital. She spotted her again at the park before the kidnapping. The diplomat’s wife realizes Libby took her daughter.

Libby poisons Bitsy with a syringe but is scared away by the innocent Collen before she finishes the job. The nurse escapes, but thankfully the investigators rush over right in time to save Bitsy. The episode ends with the murderer stabbing the matron to death. Libby draws eyes on the matron’s eyelids with blood. We now see the anger that has been hiding underneath Libby’s submissive behavior the whole time. She is the baby kidnapper and murder.

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness Season 2 Episode 1 & 2 Review

https://fandomopolis.com/2020/07/21/the-alienist-angel-of-darkness-season-2-episode-1-2-review/

Friends Sara Howard (Dakota Fanning), Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Bruhl), and John Schuyler Moore (Luke Evans) take on two new cases. The disappearance of baby Ana Linares the daughter of the Spanish Consular, and the kidnapping of Martha Napp’s baby girl. These cases happened in 1897 when hostilities between Spain and the United States were high.

Spoilers:

The Alienist: Angel of Darkness Season Two Episode One “Ex Ore Infantium” and Episode Two “Something Wicked” directed by David Caffrey is a couple of years after the team’s first ” sequence killer” case. Sara Howard quit her job as a secretary at the NYPD and now runs her all-female detective agency, where she mostly works for dowagers who worry their servants are stealing from them. The New York Times reporter John Schuyler Moore now writes for the crime beat and is engaged to Miss. Violet Hayward, who’s the illegitimate daughter of William Randolph Hearst. Dr. Laszlo Kreizler still runs rehabilitation school for mentally troubled boys. He is trying to help Martha Napp. She was executed for the death of her baby even though a body was never found. Napp’s sick daughter was taken from her crib at a hospital. Before the execution in the electorate chair, Dr. Kreizler promises Martha that he will discover what happened to her baby girl.

” Ex Ore Infantium” and ” Something Wicked” inhabits the 19th century fully. Fantastic period dramas don’t just have realistic costumes, but the dialogue and the cadence of the performer’s voice take you back in time. All the characters from private detective Sara Howard to psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler don’t merely use old fashioned vocabulary but also have a way of speaking that captures the late 1800’s. Many sub-par historical television shows stop their audiences from buying in because they don’t take the time to create a realistic, immersive world. The Alienist cast and crew do that from their acting style to the detailed costumes of the lower and upper-level class characters, and the dark world of these three serial killer hunters. Everything on screen is cast in shadow since the team led by private detective Sara Howard goes into the dark recesses of the human brain to hunt the baby killer.

Sara Howard is the feminist hero that we all need right now. As a professional woman who owns her own business, during a time when husbands still essentially owned their wives, and most men discount women’s emotions or thoughts, Sara is the perfect person to take on Isabella Linares’ case. She is brought into the case by the famous Suffragette leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Even though Elizabeth Cady Stanton believes that women are equal to men, she still only sees Sara as a way to get to a brilliant man Dr. Kreizler who can help her friend Isabella Linares. Sara has to point out that what they broadly need is a detective who understands how to investigate crime, not just a master of criminal psychology. Unlike a man, Sara won’t just brush off Isabella because she’s emotional after her daughter was kidnapped. Isabella hires Sara for the case.

In the first two episodes of The Alienist: Angel of Darkness, Dr. Laszlo Kreizler fights against Dr. Markoe and uses all of his unusual talents to help prove that Martha Napp is innocent. Dr. Markoe locks women up against their will who become pregnant after adultery or behave outside the social norms. He is the one testified that Martha Napp had a psychotic break, then killed her baby. Kreizler blames Markoe for Martha’s execution and thinks he is a quack.

The end of “Ex Ore Infantium” shows the NYPD detectives brother team Marcus Isaacson (Douglas Smith) and Lucius Isaacson (Matthew Shear) finding a dead baby girl in a toy shop dressed like a baby doll. The brothers are like modern-day pathologists. John and Sara come to investigate to see if the death is connected to the kidnapping of the Linares baby, especially since the kidnapper left a bloody baby doll in her crib.

The dead baby has eyes drawn on her closed eyelids like the bloody doll. Sara doesn’t think the baby is Ana Linares but knows the cases are connected. The Isaacsons tell John and Sara that the cause of death was poisoning. Dr. Kreizler identifies the baby girl as Martha Knapp’s daughter. The three investigators realize that the markings remind them of Posthumous Portraiture, where parents draw eyes on their dead children’s eyelids, so they look awake in photographs. Demonstrating that the killer has some faux care for the victims. He or she objectifies the babies before harming by making them into dolls in their mind.

In “Something Wicked,” the police and the establishment want to dirty the name of the Spanish, which means that Isabella’s behavior has to be above reproach. Sara and Laszlo fight over, asking Isabella if they can hypnotize her to discover more about the kidnapping since she has blocked all memories of the event. Sara doesn’t think asking a foreign dignities wife to try such an untested method is a good idea, especially since having a woman investigator is already pushing things. Laszlo goes against her wishes, offending Isabella. Their disagreements are forgotten when they get a call informing them that the police are arresting Isabella. Thankfully Sara persuades them to let her go because Isabella has immunity as a foreign dignitary. Isabella’s name will not be all over the press.

John Schuyler Moore convinces his editor to let him write a story about the two cases if he can find proof that they are connected. The editor feels that since the babies are from different social circles, their connection is dubious. He warns John that his future father-in-law Hearst will not like him looking into the case. Hearst gathers data like the Linares’ not reporting the kidnapping to the police planning to write articles that feed into the American public’s xenophobia toward the Spanish creating “fake news.”

Next week we will continue to follow the three forward-thinking investigators fighting against sexism, xenophobia, and the underrepresented like children.

Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story Season 2 Episode 8 ” Perception is Reality” Review

Betty Broderick faces two trials for the murders of Dan Broderick and Linda Kolkena.

Spoilers

Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story Season Two Episode Eight “Perception is Reality,” directed by Maggie Kiley, documents the two trials that lead to Betty being sentenced for two counts of second-degree murder. The first trial ended with a hung jury because a couple of the jurors thought that she was pushed to the mental breaking point and can’t be legally blamed for her actions. In the second case, the prosecutor was able to show that Betty broke into Broderick’s house with the intent to shoot Dan and Linda. The jurors did not all agree it was first-degree murder, but they decided she deserved the second-degree charge meaning two consecutive 15 years to life sentences.

In the first trial, Betty became too confident that she would get away with killing Linda and Dan. She enjoys testifying in front of the court. The prosecutor Well’s questions backfire when she asks Betty how she lost all her friends because she was always complaining about Dan. The defendant explained how she quit all of her activities because all she could think about anything but the next court date. Betty muses that she doesn’t know if she lost friends or they lost her.

Meanwhile, back in the jail, Betty glows with glee with the amount of fan mail she receives from women from all over the country. Betty has zero remorse for murdering two people; instead, she giggles as she looks through letters from women who can empathize with her divorce struggles. She outright laughs as she shows other inmates a little handkerchief with the phrase ” Free Betty Broderick so She can Kill another Lawyer” stitched on. When the judge declares a mistrial because the jury is deadlocked, Betty is convinced that she won’t ever be found guilty.

“Perception is Reality” does a great job of showing why all these different jurors can’t decide a verdict. The judge asks each juror if they agree that they are hopelessly deadlocked, then there is an edit to them in front of the press explaining why. For example, Juror Number One tells the media that he doesn’t think that Betty went to the house to kill herself like the defense claims, but that she was provoked. There is an edit showing Juror Number Ten saying, “Yes, your honor,” then explaining to the press that he thought that everybody has a breaking point. There is a voice-over of the older man speaking as Betty cries tears of joy, nodding as the jurors agree that they are deadlocked. The sequence ends with Juror Number Ten, stating that he wondered what took her so long to shoot them by the end of the trial.

Betty enjoys all of the love and support from her fans too much. The rest of the episode demonstrates how mentally deranged she is throughout this process. Her lawyer Jack warns Betty not to get too confident, but she doesn’t listen. The defendant focuses on the fact that she is now receiving packages of support from all over the world. Betty thinks the next trial will end with a hung jury; then, they will let her go. She wants Jack to fight for bail, but he points out that the court will never give one to a double murderer. Betty uses Jeffrey Dahmer receiving an impossible one million dollar bail as a reason why they should fight for bail. She jokes that they would set her bail if she had eaten her victims. Betty playfully bites at her lawyer.

Press swarm around Betty for interviews because of all the true crime buzz. In the interviews, she discusses how Dan mistreated her during the end of their marriage, revealing that he was able to walk all of her because of gender disparity. I agree that Dan emotionally abused Betty, but that is not the whole story. Her behavior before and during the murder was destructive. Jack warns her about doing these interviews because he has a bad feeling about the reporters. Betty enjoys the adoration and attention, so she disregards his advice. She arrogantly thinks that the way she tells her story on the stand and in the press will gain sympathy.

When Betty speaks to the People Magazine reporter, she makes a critical mistake. The reporter flatters Betty by talking about how her supporters empathize with her plight because she is a woman “scorned.” She tells Betty that one woman near San Diego said that the shooting was a bit of “prairie justice.” The reporter asks what Betty thinks. Betty giggles into her hand, saying she can’t tell her what she thinks. She should have said no comment. There is no excuse in murdering anybody, especially Linda, who was stuck between two vindictive spouses.

In the first trial, the prosecutor Wells never asks Betty what happened in the bedroom, but she fixes that omission in the second trial. The prosecutor proves that at the very least, Betty intentionally shot Linda and Dan. The defendant states that her hand accidentally tightened around the trigger in the dark bedroom. She couldn’t even see them. Wells points out that she shot Dan and Linda several times with a revolver that required Betty to squeeze the trigger several times and aim since each of her victims were on different sides of the bed.

The finale ends with Betty sitting in prison. There is a voice-over of Betty singing her and Dan’s “song.” She hallucinates Young Dan in the cell with her. There is a sequence with scenes that show versions of past events where Dan or Betty treated each other and their family with more respect. For example, Betty doesn’t leave her kids at Dan’s house. Then Betty stares at Dan and Linda, holding each other. She is stuck in prison for the rest of her life with the couple she murdered in cold blood.

Betty wanted peace, but those twelve jurors made sure she was stuck with her victims for the rest of her life.

Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story Season 2 Episode 7 “The Shillelagh” Review

https://fandomopolis.com/2020/07/09/dirty-john-the-betty-broderick-story-season-2-episode-7-the-shillelagh-review/

Betty murders Dan and Linda after nobody takes her declining mental health seriously.

Spoilers

Dirty: John: The Betty Broderick Story Season Two Episode Seven “The Shillelagh,” directed by Alexandra Cunningham, is about the murder of Linda Kolkena and Dan Broderick. The real or fictional Betty has no real excuse for murdering two people, but the television show documents how there were many warning signs. Instead of helping Betty, both Dan and Linda played with her mind. Betty is not a victim, but she could have been stopped. Her friends only try to contain her. Dan and Linda emotionally or legally destroy Betty.

Betty’s gun purchase should have been the first significant warning sign. Instead, everybody decided Betty was acting overdramatic. Betty shows her sons the handgun. She tells them never to touch the gun or tell anybody about it. Ryan informs Dan that Betty now owns a gun, but he still refuses to buy a home security system, even though Betty has threatened to kill him several times. Dan thinks that Betty is just playing mind games with him.

During his bachelor party, one of Dan’s lawyer friends asks him if he is nervous now that Betty owns a gun. Dan flippantly states that all Betty cares about is money. She would never kill the “golden goose.” Dan doesn’t realize that money is just part of why she is so crazed about the divorce. Betty wants the whole marriage back. She doesn’t know who she is without being Mrs. Broderick. She feels like Dan stole her entire identity. Betty worked hard, building the perfect family. Dan’s arrogance blinds him, and he doesn’t report her to the police. If Betty is willing to keep on leaving offensive voice messages even though it leads to her serving jail time, she is not acting logically.

Linda doesn’t help matters either. The new bride has enough after she steals her wedding guest list. Linda takes her anger out on the sons, attacking them for letting Betty into the house when she dropped them off. Dan stands up for his sons, knowing that they cannot control an adult. She and Dan fight over how they are going to get the guest list back. At the end of her rope, Linda breaks into Betty’s house while she is at her job. Betty now assists at a pre-school. She doesn’t find the guest list but steals Betty’s diary instead. Linda bumps into Betty’s cleaning woman as she leaves home.

When Betty comes back, the cleaning woman tells her that a blonde woman who is not her daughter was in the house. She knows its Linda when she can’t find her diary. Betty becomes more outraged. Back at her home, Linda shows Dan the journal telling him how she broke into Betty’s house. She doesn’t see the problem since Betty has broken into their house so many times. Dan correctly scolds Linda telling her that they don’t stoop to her level. They don’t violate laws by trespassing and stealing his ex-wife’s property. He tells Linda to return the diary.

Linda returns the journal after a judge forces Betty to fork over the guest list. If Betty didn’t, then Dan wouldn’t have to pay spousal support. But breaking back into the home to give back the diary leaves the ex-wife even more paranoid. She hallucinates Linda and Dan mocking her journal entries. “The Shillelagh” evokes Betty’s paranoia with an eerie voice-over of her internal hallucinatory dialogue as she stares obsessively at the diary.

Betty’s friends do their best to stop her from doing anything rash. They make up beeper codes to warn each other if they lose sight of her during Dan’s second wedding ceremony. Karen hangs out with Betty during the ceremony. Even though Betty continues to act up, her friends think that her not ruining Dan’s wedding means she is no longer obsessed.

I think that everybody is fooled by the fact that Betty seems to be making some progress. She is going to therapy. The therapist urges Betty to work toward getting her sons back instead of acting on her impulses. Betty looks for a new home to buy. But Dan’s happiness leads her further into manic depression.

After returning from a relaxing honeymoon in Cabo, Dan refuses to engage in any serious talks about shared custody until Betty stops leaving vile voice messages in contempt of court. Instead of changes her actions, Betty wallows in her pain. She steals keys to Dan and Linda’s house from her eldest daughter. Bringing it one step closer to the murder. If only Kim had remembered the keys or had realized she left them, then maybe there would have been no shooting. Dan could have changed the locks or finally called the police.

Betty finally snaps after Linda and Dan decide to try to conceive. Betty feels she has no real purpose after learning that Dan wants to have a child with somebody else. Betty breaks into tears, frustrated, and resentful that her son has to give up Disneyland to spend time with her. She doesn’t realize that the important thing is that her children love her more than a theme park, plus she can fight to gain more custody.

That night Betty lets her rage at Dan take control. She drives over to their house with the stolen keys. Thankfully the episode doesn’t show the actual murder. The loved ones of the victims don’t need to see the glorification of the killing. Instead, Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story shows Betty telling everybody about the shooting over the phone. “The Shillelagh” ends with Betty sitting in jail. Next week, we will see the theatrics of the trial.

Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story Season Two Episode Six “The Twelfth of Never” Review

https://fandomopolis.com/2020/07/02/dirty-john-the-betty-broderick-story-season-two-episode-six-the-twelfth-of-never-review/

Betty represents herself before the judge in the Broderick divorce court proceedings.

Spoilers

In Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story Season Two Episode Six “The Twelfth of Never,” directed by Shannon Kohli, we see what led directly to the murders of her ex-husband Dan Broderick and his fiancé Linda Kolkena. Betty decides to have Pro se legal representation to control her fate. Dan continues to use legal loopholes to gain the upper hand in choosing the terms of their divorce. Linda is the victim of the mental war that the two Broderick’s are waging against one another.

The most chilling moment in “The Twelfth of Never” is when Linda asks if she and Dan can add some security measures to their home to protect themselves from Betty, who has continuously harassed the couple. She has recorded threatening derogatory voice messages on their voicemail machine, broken into their house, and destroyed their personal property. Within the episode, Betty calls Linda a whore or slut in front of everybody, including her children. The divorced wife has even told one of her lawyers that she would rather kill Dan than become a single mother. Betty once rammed a car into their home, knowing they were inside. Dan and Linda should take the threat to their lives and property seriously.

But, Dan Broderick decides against adding a security camera or sensors to his property. He doesn’t want Betty to know that she has gotten to him. Dan’s hubris led to the murders. If only they had some security in the home, then maybe Betty would have been caught before anything happened. My heart stalled when I saw Dan arrogantly brush off the real concerns of his fiancé Linda.

Instead, Dan continues to gaslight Betty in court. Dan and his new divorce lawyer first argue that they did not know about the Epstein Credits until the divorce proceedings even though we know from earlier episodes that he did. Epstein credits are where the courts will reimburse one spouse from the community account spent on the upkeep of the other. Second and most importantly to Betty, Dan downplays how much she both financially and emotionally supported him during Medical and Law School. He scoffs at the fact that family was on food stamps, not liking to appear weak in the Law community. Dan implies that any financial support she offered was for selfish reasons. Dan forgets the fact that both he and Betty aspired to wealth.

They both enjoy living the high life. Broderick argues that Betty is greedy because she spent more and more of his money as his law practice grew. Dan disregards that much of the money Betty spent went to the children, and even before they were wealthy, he would spend so much on himself, they did not have money for food.

The only fair argument that Dan and his divorce lawyer make is that Betty is mentally imbalanced and should not gain full custody of their children. Throughout Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story, Betty has threatened Dan and Linda in multiple ways, including stalking Linda by taking photos of her at their eldest daughter Kim’s graduation. She refuses to get professional help. During the trial, she keeps on bringing up questions about Linda even though the judge warns her that they are not pertinent since California is a no-fault divorce state. The fact that Betty spends all of Kim’s high school graduation seething at Linda’s presence, intimidating her instead of celebrating her daughter, makes it evident that she should not gain custody of her minor children.

When the judge rules that Betty will only have custody of the children every other weekend and 16,000 dollars per month, she loses all hope. At the start of the episode, Betty feels empowered after meeting with HALT, a group that helps people who feel crushed by the legal system. One of the leaders encourages her to keep on fighting. Betty meets with a reporter to tell her side of the story, but Dan shuts down the publishing of the full article by threatening to sue the reporter.

During the trial, Betty believes that she has a chance of getting everything she wants. She spends a lot of time preparing for court every day. She goes through all of Dan’s paperwork that she has saved throughout their years together. Other than the questions about Linda, Betty does a great job interrogating Dan on the stand. She makes a moving closing statement about how Dan has dishonored their marriage and the sacrifices she made for their family. All Betty wants to be is a wife and mother. She already feels devastated because her parents refuse to come to support her. When Betty hears the verdict, she breaks from reality.

At home, Betty looks through the photos from Kim’s graduation, smiling away until she reaches the images that she took of Linda. She then stares up to a newspaper clipping, pinned to the wall, that she got in a mail announcing Dan and Linda’s engagement. The words, “You are a fat pig.” are scrawled across the clipping. While it is ambiguous who wrote the message, Betty believes that Linda sent the clipping. Her rage toward Linda and Dan lead her to seek revenge.

Amanda Peet does a brilliant job playing Betty Broderick at the gun store buying the murder weapon. She has a blank, confused look on her face as she purchases the gun, uttering some comments about how she used to be a marksman in high school. The scene has a voice-over of Betty talking about how she has a right to defend her family. She comments on how legally men can protect their property and family with violence, but women are not supposed to get mad. Society wants women to kill themselves instead of “bothering” anybody else.

I think Betty has a point; society privileges men over women. Especially in the 1980s, women are expected to stay passive and compliant with the men in their lives. Women should challenge how society tries to socialize us, but not by killing others. Dan takes advantage of Betty, but there is no excuse for cold-blooded murder.

Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Season Two Episode 5 ” Scream Therapy” Review

Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Season Two Episode 5 “Scream Therapy” Review

With the “help” of her ex-husband Dan, Betty Broderick destroys any civility or common sense in their divorce proceedings.

Spoilers:

In Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story Season Two Episode Five “Scream Therapy” directed by Maggie Kiley, Betty’s erratic behavior leads to her downfall. Dan Broderick is not entirely blameless in how their divorce proceedings fall apart. Broderick officially divorces Betty in court without giving her any notice knowing she doesn’t have a lawyer to defend her. Dan doesn’t allow his ex-wife to see her children or gives her any alimony. He got a bifurcated divorce from Betty, meaning they nail out all the terms after the legal separation. But Betty only hurts herself through her actions and words.

First, “Scream Therapy” successfully portrays Betty losing all high ground or sanity through a series of edits of Dan handing his secretary recorded tapes of her leaving visceral hateful messages calling Linda a “whore” and threatening their lives. The episode also uses Betty’s POV as she periodically writes in a diary to document her mental decline. She falls further into her obsession with ruining Dan’s life, devastated that he is dismantling her wealthy “housewife” fantasy. She continues to break into Broderick’s home to destroy his property, including Christmas presents and ornaments.

Betty’s friends keep questioning why her responses to Dan are so out of proportion to his actions. Dan offers to pay for Betty to take their children to their traditional skiing resort for Christmas, but she refuses to take him up on his offer. Supposedly, Dan is trying to dictate terms to her, but it is because if she goes on a Christmas trip without Dan, she will have to face that they are no longer together. Betty is correct to stand up to Dan since he has been controlling her life from the start of their marriage, but he offered an olive branch to her. Instead of taking the peace offering, Betty screams at him over the phone and defaces his property.

Dan doesn’t help Betty’s fragile mental state by starting to unofficially dox hundreds or thousands of dollars from her spousal support every time she leaves a scathing voice mail, visits the children without permission, or breaks into his property. Since they have not legally set the terms of their divorce, Dan doesn’t have to support her financially, but he has no right to penalize Betty. Betty’s penalties for one month are so bad that she owes him 1,300 dollars. Thankfully, her friend Evelyn gives her some money to survive.

“Scream Therapy” explores how much Betty truly loves her children. Her friend Evelyn recommends a female lawyer named Hilary after Dan shuts her down for asking why he penalizes Betty. Hilary is tough, but fair with Betty. She uses logic to persuade Betty to attend therapy to gain custody of the children even though Betty wants one-third of Dan’s money before fighting the children. She wants to live a luxurious lifestyle with the children that they had before the divorce. Betty rightfully points out that Dan would not be the lawyer he is today without her. Hilary tells Betty that she will win the argument for more money from Dan if she first regains custody of her children.

The world seems brighter for Betty with her new divorce lawyer. The judge orders Dan and his divorce lawyer to stop filing nuisance claims against Betty. Betty visits one of her sons secretly so she can help him with a school project. Betty’s therapist points out that since Betty was the primary caretaker and Dan works such long hours, she should be able to get back custody if she attends therapy. Betty finally seems to be putting her affairs in order and acting as the wonderful mother she has always been though her stubborn mindset holds her back. She threatens Dan in front of Hilary, saying he will die before she becomes a single parent. I find this bizarre since she has been acting like a single mother most of the marriage.

When Hilary tells Betty that she will get her two younger sons for Easter, she is overjoyed. She decorates her home with all these Easter decorations and hides eggs full of treats all over the house. We can see how much Betty loves her sons when she describes the Easter Wonderland to the boys over the phone. Potentially if Betty won custody even for that weekend, maybe she could have had the mental clarity to act congenially toward Dan to gain custody of her children. But we will never know because Dan picks his sons up from school, blocking Betty access during her court-appointed time.

Betty loses any plot that she had left. One of the young sons, Ben, calls his Mom begging her to behave so they can all come home. He doesn’t like living with his Dad and Linda, but instead of listening to his concerns, Betty yells at her son. She babbles about Linda being a whore, how Dan corrupted his mind, and that she didn’t choose to be divorced. In Betty’s mind, she is still married. Ben correctly tells his Mom that only she can stop herself from acting insane.

Betty refuses to continue therapy because she is worried that if she stops being angry with Dan, she will lose all will to go on. Hilary drops Betty’s case because she isn’t being paid. Dan was willing to pay for Hilary through selling their family home, but Betty won’t go for it. Hilary shows how much she cares about her client by standing up for Betty in court one last time. The lawyer points out how Dan is finding every loophole to hoard his money. Hilary wins some battles for Betty like Linda’s voice being removed from Dan’s home voicemail to stop trigging the divorcee, but because of all the contempt charges, she has to face a few days in jail.

Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story does a great job documenting both the unfairness of society’s treatment of women who challenge men’s authority and Betty’s mental instability, which ultimately leads to the murders. Dan’s dominating behavior and legal maneuvering cannot be entirely blamed for Betty Broderick’s violently refusal to accept the divorce.

Mrs. America Episode 9 “Reagan” Review

https://fandomopolis.com/2020/05/29/mrs-america-episode-9-reagan/

By the late 1970s and early 1980s, neither the ERA movement nor the STOP ERA achieved victory.

Spoilers:

Mrs. America Episode 9 ” Reagan” ends with none of the women getting what they want. Virginia is the third state to ratify the ERA in 2020, finally, but since the Republican Controlled Senate won’t budge, we still don’t have the Equal Rights Amendment in the Constitution. Phyllis Schlafly and the STOP ERA movement may have delayed the ERA’s ratification, but Schlafly never gained the power she wanted.

The women activists unravel because their male politician’s allies turn on them. Jimmy Carter disrespects the National Advisory Commission for Women by setting a meeting two years after the National Women’s Conference. The meeting is set, so Bella Abzug and Jill Ruckelshaus can tell him about the Women’s Bill of Rights. Steinem and Jill are outraged because Carter only agreed to a fifteen-minute meeting. The Feminists point out to Bella that the meeting sounds more like a photo op. They decide to publish a press release stating that Carter is not taking the women who helped get him elected seriously.

After Abzug meets with the President, Jimmy Carter’s Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan fires Bella from her leadership position for her lack of “loyalty” and aggressive nature — the same aggressive outgoing behavior that got her the job in the first place. Bella deflates in front of our eyes as Jordan dresses her down. She begs him to fire her quietly so she can save face. Abzug asks if she can resign from the National Advisory Commission for Women, but the chief of staff snidely tells Bella that he already told the press about her firing.

Gloria Steinem, Jill Ruckelshaus, Midge, Jean O’Leary, Audrey Rowe Colom, and the rest of the women resign from the National Advisory Commission for Women in protest Carter treated one of the Mothers of the second-wave feminist movement. Gloria tells Jordan that the President can no longer expect the ERA movement to vote for him automatically. Jimmy Carter needs to give the Feminists something in the form of policy or political appointments. Both Liberal and Conservative men in authority can be sexist and disrespectful to women, especially older ones who have helped their parties for generations.

The ERA movement weathered a lot in 1979, but Phyllis Schlafly suffers a much bigger fall. At the start of “Reagan,” Phyllis feels like she is on top of the world. She has just taken the Illinois Bar Exam, meaning she no longer needs Fred to bring her legal clout.

Before her political demise, she was at her highest peak of power. Two years prior, Phyllis had hosted a successful “Pro-Family Rally” in Houston to counter-act the National Women’s Conference, so now all of the Republican Presidential Candidates want her endorsement. They know that with Schlafly’s mailing list, they could reach a significant number of potential supporters. She cannot even be brought down when her best friend Alice Macray shows up after not coming to STOP ERA meetings for a year and questions her on the factual accuracy of her newsletters. Schlafly lying about the number of attendees to her rallies reminds me of a particular Republican President.

During the Pro-Family Gala honoring Phyllis, we witness how much she has morally compromised herself so she could have so many supporters. Schlafly has Rosemary Thompson and another STOP ERA member dressing up as Abzug and Steinem to do a satirical dance and song number kicking the two Feminists while they are down. Phyllis gives an inflammatory, sexist, religious, pro-life, and homophobic speech catered to please the Evangelical Christians. Alice Macray silently judges her friend for shifting from merely trying to protect stay-at-home homemakers to pandering to the hateful majority.

When Ronald Reagan’s campaign advisors wish to talk to her, Schlafly has won the political clout that she had always craved. Schlafly endorses Ronald Reagan thinking she would be the first woman to get a Presidential Cabinet appointment. She gives him her whole mailing list. She believes she would finally earn a seat at the table.

In 1981, Ronald Reagan won the election. Phyllis is ecstatic, especially when Reagan calls her personally. Reagan graciously thanks her for the mailing list, saying he would have never succeeded without her, but that he cannot appoint her to any Cabinet positions. The political battle that got her a phone call from the President-Elect made her too polarizing. The Feminist movement would go after him if Phyllis were in the administration. Instead, a Pro-ERA Republican named Jeanne Kirkpatrick became the first woman to serve as a U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.

The series ends with Phyllis Schlafly stiffly telling her husband that she will make dinner. All of her moral comprises, and hard work did not earn her the respect of the men in Washington, D.C. Schlafly walks to the kitchen puts on an apron and starts to make an apple pie. Phyllis transforms back to being a powerless housewife, something that she fought the “right” to be an ironic punishment for a conservative, traditional woman who wants to be in the boy’s club.

As the finale end titles state, the legacy of the 1970’s ERA fight is a polarized country split between Liberals and Conservatives. The genuinely hopeful part of Mrs. America is when Republican and Democratic women work together for the common good. Hopefully, one day we all find a way to all respect one another no matter our political beliefs because we can agree on what is morally right.

Mrs. America Episode 8 “Houston” Review

Mrs. America Episode 8 “Houston” Review

In 1977, Alice Macray, Pamela, and Rosemary Thompson went to the National Women’s Conference. Alice starts reconsidering her hardline position after spending time among the “enemy.”

Spoilers:

Mrs. America Episode 8 “Houston” focuses almost entirely on Alice Macray’s perspective during the National Women’s Conference. “Houston” is one of the most reflective episodes since we spend the whole-time following Alice. For those who do not know, Sarah Paulson’s character is not based on one particular person. Alice Macray represents an array of Phyllis Schlafly’s friends.

For the last seven episodes, I was wondering why Sarah Paulson would sign up for Mrs. America. The role of Alice Macray has been minor. After watching “Houston,” I have my answer. Alice went through such a significant character transformation in just one episode. She grew agency right in front of us. She shifts from seeing the ERA as evil to being open to hearing their point of view.

At the start of the episode, Macray criticizes her friend Pamela for attending the National Women’s Conferences without her husband’s permission. She learns about her friend’s “rebellion” when they had to drive to Houston because Pamela does not know how to buy a plane ticket, which does not seem to faze her.

Macray transformation starts after one disastrous national interview about why STOP ERA opposes extending the deadline for ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Alice has a hard time reading, so she memorizes the speech that she is going to give at the Women’s National Conference. During an interview, Rosemary Thompson reveals that Macray is the one giving the STOP ERA address. The reporters shift their attention to Alice, who is at first flattered by all the attention, but then struggles to answer the questions without repeating the speech she memorized.

When a reporter tells her the majority of women to support the ERA, Alice is flustered and can only parrot what Phyllis Schlafly has told her. After the interview, Macray finds solace, alone at a hotel bar. Alice connects with an older Christian Southern Woman. She prays for Alice to find the strength to go on with her fight. The two discuss their husbands and children. Macray confides with her new friend that she met Phyllis at a PTA meeting and latched on to her beauty and knowledge. She explains that Schlafly brought her into political awareness. Then the Southern older woman reveals that she supports the ERA, which freaks Alice out. How could a Southern homemaker be a “Libber” Feminist?

Alice, now drunk and reeling from befriending a Feminist, finds herself wandering the halls looking for food. We see this Female Progressive utopia the way she does, as a hallway of nightmares. Soon her viewpoint shifts from a nightmare hells-cape to a safe space.

Alice wanders into a church where a nun is giving a sermon about how Christianity initially let women be leaders in the church. She comes up for a blessing from the nun. Alice questions the nun about her ability to give a Catholic sacrament but accepts the “blood of Christ” and the Eucharist.

This scene is followed by a montage of Alice attending all these Feminist gatherings and taking part, including singing with a group of Lesbians while having dinner. The night ends with Alice finally finding Pamela back at their shared hotel room. They are sharing the room with Black Feminist Republican Activist Audrey Rowe Colom (Melissa Joyner) and her daughter since the hotel was overbooked. While Pamela and Alice bicker about losing each other, Gloria Steinem strolls up. Phyllis Schlafly had instructed them to attack Steinem when they see her verbally, but neither woman says a word.

When Gloria, Pamela, and Alice arrive at the room, Audrey explains that she and the other feminists she’s meeting with have to keep working. Drunk, Alice stares at Gloria in shock as it sinks in that she’s sharing a room with her enemy. Steinem compliments her, saying the color of her blouse suits her. Alice smiles. She is charmed. Later on, pajama-clad Alice watches the ERA women discuss issues.  She witnesses what a real political movement looks like where all viewpoints are considered instead of the tyranny of one voice.

During a STOP ERA meeting, Alice questions why they need to vote against everything the Feminists are proposing. She argues they should not vote against proposals just to be stubborn, especially since she agrees with some of their platforms. She points out that they are not under attack. They ignore all of her arguments. Then during the voting portion of the Women’s National Conference, Alice wavers in her past held beliefs.

When the convention delegates vote on “Supporting Lesbian Women,” Alice joins her group and turns her back in protest against the majority who support placing it on the Bill of Women’s Rights. She looks back with longing as the Feminists celebrate their victory. She even stands to cheer for the resolution that women would be connected in sisterhood forever. She holds hands with Pamela, who stands with her. Macray promises to help her friend deal with her abusive husband.

Alice transforms from a stubborn Conservative woman who believes that wives should do everything that their husbands want to somebody who has compassion for her friend’s suffering. The episode’s last scene in the National Woman’s Conference is Bella, Gloria, Betty, Brenda, Jill, and the rest of the women we have been following holding hands while they sing “We Shall Overcome.” Watching these powerful Feminist Women celebrate is empowering.

Mrs. America Episode 7 Review

https://fandomopolis.com/2020/05/14/mrs-america-episode-7-bella-review/

In 1977, on behalf of President Jimmy Carter, Bella Abzug led the National Women’s Conference. Phyllis Schlafly, with the support of the Eagle Forum, does everything she can to take over the conference.

Spoilers:

Bella Abzug, played by Margo Martindale (FX’s The Americans), is appointed by Jimmy Carter as leader of the National Women’s Conference. She receives the appointment because her ex-assistant Margaret “Midge” Costanza (Annie Parisse), now works for Carter. However, her fearless nature made her the perfect woman to push for a more progressive agenda. Bella hosts conventions in all fifty states where women nominate delegates to attend the National Women’s Conference. Bella’s conferences will vote on various platforms like equal pay for equal work and LGBTQ rights. Midge and her girlfriend, Jean O’Leary (Anna Douglas), prominent gay rights activist, want Abzug to push to put “sexual preference” as part of the agenda and not involve homophobic Betty Friedan in the conference. The only problem is Phyllis Schlafly, and the Eagle Forum infiltrates the state conferences. These Christian women receive enough votes to become delegates.

Margo Martindale steps up in a big way as the star of Mrs. America Episode Eight “Bella.” At the start, Bella feels down because she was not elected to the Senate after her successful tenure as a US Representative. But Abzug peps right up after Gloria Steinem, and Midge Constanza tells her about her appointment as leader of the National Women’s Conference. We get to see a window into Bella’s personal life. She feeds the skinny Gloria and Midge, a spread of Jewish and Italian Deli meats, cheeses, and bread. Abzug kisses her Italian American husband, Martin, who chats about how he is taking Bella back to Italy. We see Abzug’s sweet side before her brash nature takes over as she sets her sights on her new primary goal for the movement.

My favorite part of this episode is Bella’s struggle with being considered part of the mainstream after being radical for so long. Abzug used to be able to fight dirty when she was on the margins of society. Now that she is so established that the United States president even supports her, Bella has to follow all the rules.  Now it’s Phyllis who is on the fridge using Bella’s own tactics against her.

After Abzug realizes the Eagle Forum has infiltrated her conventions, she becomes more cautious. She pressures the younger leaders of the ERA Movement to be less radical and compromise their goals. Gloria Steinem is furious at Bella for allowing conservative women to win seats at the national conference. For Abzug, the act of rebellion is speaking to those who do not agree with you, but Gloria is tired of speaking in front of “bloodied baby dolls.”

Bella wants to remove the “sexual preference” agenda from the National Women’s Conference because it would be controversial amongst the conservative women and would make it harder for them to pass everything else on their platform. Jean and Midge feel betrayed and storm off the committee.

The most engaging scene of “Bella” is when Abzug comes to speak at the Illinois State Women’s Convention. Phyllis Schlafly, who is supposed to present at the convention, doesn’t go because she has a breakdown after her daughter changes her name from Phyllis Jr to Eliza. Eliza says her mother is an embarrassment for her at Princeton University since it’s a Liberal college. Rosemary Thompson (Melanie Lynskey) is left on her own without a plan.

Rosemary, Pamela, and Alice sneak backstage to record Bella’s speech and protest. Abzug pops up right behind them. She recognizes them as Phyllis’s minions, and lectures them on the fact that Schlafly is the biggest hypocrite ever, is taking advantage of the Eagle Forum, and is, in fact, a Feminist.  They stand up for Phyllis, stating smugly that she is their savior. They do not want to be “working girls.” Bella explains that by virtue of all the skills Schlafly has taught them and the work they now do, they have become “working women.” They will even be paid for being elected leaders of the National Women’s Convention. The women are left speechless, forgetting to record Bella’s lecture.

Bella has Schlafly’s number. She understands how Phyllis is the “most liberated woman ever.” All Phyllis cares about is gaining more power and respect in the public eye. She won’t take on anything that she can’t win, which means that she will do anything to save face. Rosemary and Alice inform Phyllis that Lottie Beth Hobbs has brought the KKK into their fight against the “Libbers.” They tell her that the Eagle Forum fronted by Lottie should release a press conference disavowing the KKK and the John Birch Society. Alice agrees that the perception that they are racist will tarnish their cause.

Instead, Schlafly allies with Lottie Beth Hobbs, saying that they need to do whatever it takes to beat the ERA movement. Phyllis suggests that to stop any rumors about the KKK groups who come to help should not have any buses or shirts labeled with any particular “organization.” Phyllis will get in bed with any evil, immoral, or hateful groups in order to win.

Abzug ends the episode by allowing everybody to come to the National Women’s Conference, including Jill Ruckelshaus, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Phyllis Schlafly, Rosemary Thompson, etc. Next episode, we will see where all the pieces land.