Written by Halley Feiffer
Directed by Jessica Yu
The Mirror (writing): "Don't do it, Anna."
After eleven seasons of mostly telling new stories while having some overt influences in parts, this show decided for it's twelfth to pull from a book that only released prior to this season's release. Was that a good idea? It's hard to say at the moment.
Based on Danielle Valentine's book Delicate Condition, we're in contemporary New York this time around and it's all about actress Anna Victoria Alcott (Emma Roberts). In a handful of scenes we're told about her trajectory as a regular on an old CW show to becoming an indie darling and now a potential Oscar contender. On top of that, she's also trying for a baby with husband Dex Harding (Matt Czuchry).
A good portion of this opening episode revolved around Anna's IVF treatment at the hands of Dr Andrew Hill (Denis O'Hare) and for something that should be straightforward for Anna and Dex seems to be more chaotic than it should be. It's almost as if someone or something seems to be determined for Anna not to get pregnant as the latter also contends with two followers here.
The first being the mysterious Ivy (Cara Delevingne) who Anna encounter three different times but Ivy had no dialogue with her. She also seemed to be cosplaying as Cruella for no apparent reason. However her brief scenes were enough to unsettle Anna but not as much as the second follower.
Ms Io Preecher (Julie White) was definitely more menacing. She made it clear to Anna that she was following her and even appeared cryptically in Anna's home and during the IVF treatment in one creepy sequence. Did she leave the "Don't do it, Anna." message at the end? Is this season really going down the Rosemary's Baby route? It's a bit clichéd but it's definitely giving that vibe.
As for the elephant in the room - Kim Kardashian. Her casting earlier this year certainly stoked a lot of controversy but she's surprisingly decent as PR lady Siobhan Corbyn. Her character seemingly has Anna's best interests at heart but there's also the fact that Siobhan's own failures with IVF might have their own implications down the line. Can Anna really trust her? And what's up with the overt use of spiders too?
- Dex's dead wife, Adeline and artist lady Sonia Shawcross not only look alike but both are played by Annabelle Dexter-Jones. Dex also comes across as cagey throughout the episode.
- Juliana Canfield made a lot out of her few scenes as Dex's friend, Talia. Unlike Anna, she's vehemently against having children but offering up red lipstick.
- Anna's film, The Auteur seems to be of the A24 horror variety. Nice use of Andy Cohen to get Anna to promote the movie.
- Anna not only had a doll of her role from her CW show pop up but there's also an Annihilate Anna Reddit page dedicated to hating her guts.
- Due to the current strikes, this season will be split with the second half due for 2024.
- Chronology: September 2023 and the events of the episode take place over a week.
Multiply Thy Pain opened the season off to a slow burning note. Its not as sophisticated as writer Halley Feiffer set out but it has its moments. Why the lengths to prevent Anna from getting pregnant? Is there anyone who will actually be on her side as the season progresses? Any potential links to past seasons? So far, not bad but needs some snappier dialogue.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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