My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - Phantasm Forgiveness

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz 

Directed by Gus Van Sant 

Babe: "I never thought society would simply evaporate. What happened?"

Slim: "Everything ends. Shall we go have lunch?"

And there it was. A finale that like the previous season touched a little on the fantastical side of things. We saw the death of Truman Capote in the previous episode. This was the moments that led to his end.

Capote was determined to use Answered Prayers as a means to apologise to his beloved Swans with his own mother providing her own literary notes along the way.

For CZ, it was about sexual liberation.  Going to Mexico to trade her nude portrait for two whiskeys after Truman lied about parts of what he wrote about her. CZ was always the most likely to forgive Truman the easiest and she did.

As for Slim, it turned out that letting her get the venom out of her system and a black and white ball in her honour would be the perfect way to forgive Truman. That and meeting her last great love on the very night that honoured her certainly helped.

Lee on the other hand, giving her a book that was her own voice, something her much more famous sister couldn't take away from her would be the perfect method of forgiveness.  Oh and killing her closeted husband would be the cherry on top.

Only none of those things actually happened because between ghostly visits from Ann Woodward and Truman's own mother, Truman never got to actually write the book. He did however relive his mother's suicide while both Demi Moore and Jessica Lange finally got something to really do, material wise in this finale.

Then we went back to Joanne telling Jack about Truman's death before the final scene in the future with Capote's ashes being sold at auction. The fantastical bit being four of the Swans bemoaning the death of culture as they sashayed away into the afterlife. That's it folks.

- Jack's toyboy lover was called Nick and he was a fan of Capote's writing and big on forgiveness.

- Truman changed everyone's names in his fiction except for Lee and Ann. He called himself PB Jones.

- Of course the black Swan from the opening scene recreated was his mother. There was emphasis on two bidders that went nowhere at the end.

- Chronology: 1984 for the majority of the episode, 2016 for the last scene. We also got a flashback to Truman as a kid having to be quiet while his mother snared a man.

Phantasm Forgiveness made for a good finale. Yes, the show didn't quite hit the same heights as the previous season but it was a good second act and hopefully we won't be waiting seven years for the next season.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - Beautiful Babe

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz 

Directed by Jennifer Lynch

Jack (re Capote): "Did he say anything?"

Joanne: "He said he was cold. Mother. Mama. Then he said."

Capote: "Beautiful Babe."

All season long we've been heading towards the death of Babe Paley and for the penultimate episode, that's exactly what we got. I expected the penultimate episode to be the one to do it. The episode certainly delivered on that front.

The opening had Babe making it clear to Bill that she had six months to live and she was fairly blunt about it too. We had Babe and Bill tearing into their parenting (lack of) skills before Babe began to make preparations for her own funeral.

That meant one last scene with Slim, CZ and Lee where they talked about Capote once again. Babe never did reconcile with Truman but he certainly was the last face she saw before dying. It was a rather interesting scene with an actual Swan in the bath. Then Babe died and Capote wasn't invited to the funeral and wake, despite CZ pleading his case.

Of course, Babe wasn't the only character to meet their end in this episode. In a slight surprise turn of events, the final act of this one also had Capote himself die with Joanne looking after him after Jack finally severed ties with Truman.

Having Babe be the last person that Truman saw as he was dying, I guess it was rather fitting. Both Tom Hollander and Naomi Watts played those scenes to perfection. Yes, they laid it on thick about Babe almost being a maternal figure to Truman but it worked rather well.

As for Joanne, she was there for Truman in his last few hours of life but boy, was she rather unappreciated? The other Swans had distanced themselves from her and Truman was more fixated on Babe. I wish we had seen more of Molly Ringwald in this season because she was great with her limited screentime.

- I'm surprised that Truman didn't see his mother before he died. Did Jessica Lange only agree to appear in just two episodes?

- Jack's younger boyfriend was Sully from American Horror Story: NYC. We also saw Rick in Capote's final dream in a nice red swimming trunks.

- Jack talked about having to publish Capote's final book, which the latter admitted was mostly written in a scattered manner. 

- Chronology: 1978 again for this episode as well as 1984, covering both Babe and Capote's respectively deaths.

Beautiful Babe delivered as a penultimate episode.  Excellent performances from both Tom Hollander and Naomi Watts throughout the whole episode, though everyone brought their A game. It's gonna be interesting to see where the finale will go.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - Hats, Gloves And Effete Homosexuals

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz

Directed by Gus Van Sant

Capote: "I've gone out of style."

We're two episodes from the finale and here was an episode that largely had Truman at his most self pitying. Also at his slightly creepiest given the way things were with his ward, Katy/Kerry.

Yes, losing his Swans (not really because CZ never pulled away from him) has done enough of a number on him that he decided to try and get Kerry styled like a woman much older than her years. The thing was that everyone knew what he was doing and had no problem calling it out.

Richard Avedon was quick to get his own assistant into allowing Katy to dress how she would've preferred while Lee told her to wear her hair down. Then Katy told Truman to sober up, which he faked doing while in Palm Springs.

The most memorable part of the episode was Capote's fling with a straight air conditioner guy named Rick (Vito Schnabel). In a lot of ways, this fling felt like a parallel to Truman's former relationship with John O'Shea, albeit with a slightly different outcome.

I mean, it was a fling that didn't last and Rick went back to a fiancée he initially abandoned but it wasn't a toxic break up. Rick didn't deceive or mistreat Truman and the latter seemed to be fine by Rick leaving him. I wish Rick had lasted a bit longer but he was a charming guest character.

As for the rest of the episode, Truman was also on the verge of being sued by Gore Vidal with only Lee being the one who could help him out. In the end, Lee chose not to help and Truman seemed unwilling to acknowledge his own role in her turning against him. 

- Lee also made a homophobic remark about Capote and Vidal when she wasn't setting to marry another lover.

- Babe and CZ both felt their age when a certain store no longer included a glove section. That and the article about CZ and Capote dancing at a disco made them feel out of style.

- Standout music: Last Night A DJ Saved My Life and Perfect Day.

- Chronology: 1978 for the duration of the episode. Jack also decided to remain in Switzerland.

Hats, Gloves And Effete Homosexuals might not have been a sharp as last week's episode but it had some great moments. Notably a strong guest performance from Vito Schnabel, who worked well with Tom Hollander.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - The Secret Inner Lives Of Swans

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz 

Directed by Max Winkler

Capote (to James Baldwin): "My Swans are trying to kill me."

Well, if you spend your time revealing all of your supposed friends innermost secrets, then that might be the most natural of responses. Why was it that the episode that focused the least on the Swans turned out to be the best?

Not only was it a nice episode for Tom Hollander to display some more vulnerability as Capote, the big reason why this episode hit so well was down to Chris Chalk's excellent guest performance as James Baldwin. I'd even go as far as to say, it's the best performance of the season in regards to this show.

Truman was in full self pity mode, feeling the effects of being a social outcast, due to revealing Swans. Enter James Baldwin, who insisted that Capote met him at the scene of the crime for a much needed reality check. He wouldn't put up with Capote's bullshit and the episode was all the better for him.

Effectively this episode could've been a two hander in that restaurant and it would've been perfect. However as Capote talked trash about the Swans, we cut to flashbacks of them being largely portrayed in a negative light. Truthfully this episode highlighted their foibles and hypocrisy.

We saw how the likes of Lee and Slim mistreated Ann themselves as well as their own extra marital affairs. We also how both the likes of Babe and CZ were poor mothers, not to mention a biting commentary on their classism, body shaming and covert racism. This was all the while we got some details on actual Swans themselves.

By the end of this episode, James Baldwin had snapped Capote out of his self inflicted and the latter was back to writing/trashing his former friends. Truman talked about the Swans trying to kill him, only for a certain meal by a cute waiter/chef (Will Hochman) signifying that he won't be so easily killed. He ate a fucking Swan.

- I noticed that Joanne was the only Swan that Capote didn't talk shit about and was the only one who didn't appear in the episode.

- Although they didn't actually sleep together, the chemistry between Capote and Baldwin was the best. Tom Hollander and Chris Chalk played off each other so well.

- Lee didn't hold back with her biting comments on Capote's looks at all.

- Chronology: This episode was set during 1975. 

The Secret Inner Lives Of Swans was by far the best episode of the season. Tom Hollander and Chris Chalk were on excellent form and the dialogue the most pithy as well. I think we needed more focus on Capote's thoughts on his Swans and this showed he didn't care for them at times.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - It’s Impossible

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz 

Directed by Gus Van Sant 

Capote (to Babe): "You should buy that dress anyway. So what if there's no party. Who needs parties anyway?"

We're halfway into this season and after last week's Black & White party from 1966, it was time to go back into a later period. The focus again being on both Truman and Babe's declining health and essentially the notion of forgiveness.

Babe felt like being in a forgiving mood, much to the chagrin of the somewhat hypocritical Slim this week. Capote wanted to accelerate the Swans forgiveness of him by recreating the Black & White party. It nearly worked but it didn't.

Initially it seemed like Slim was going to derail Capote with her own acts of revenge on her former friend. Blind items definitely felt like they were beneath Slim as Lee was only too quick to casually point out but this episode really highlighted Slim's own hypocrisy. Specifically Lee did it and with such style that Ryan Murphy better be lining Calista Flockhart for a future project. 

Anyways for all of Slim's anger towards Truman for exposing secrets, it was both Lee and Babe who were aware of Slim's affair with Bill. Lee called Slim out on it and rightly so while Babe chose forgiveness, which only made both Bill and Slim feel worse than they already did for deceiving Babe.

As for Truman, Jack nearly got him to take responsibility for his deteriorating health but Capote preferred booze and continuing his destructive relationship with John O'Shea until the latter decided to go back to women. The arrival of John's daughter, Katy though gave Capote a protégé he didn't want but seemingly embraced.

The last scene between Capote and Babe was the highlight of the episode. A bittersweet moment between two friends who wanted to reconcile but weren't quite there yet. I do wonder if Babe's death will be before the finale, given that the episode reinforced that she hadn't long to live. 

- The episode was dedicated to Treat Williams (1951-2023) who passed away after filming for the series. 

- Of course Truman was happy to tell both CZ and Joanne about his sexual antics while he was supposed to be getting better. Jack also went to Switzerland after Truman relapsed. Truman also gossiped about Richard Avedon's sexuality.

- Standout music: The use of Perry Como's It's Impossible throughout the episode was nicely done. It was also Babe's favourite song.

- Chronology: I'm guessing around 1977 or 1978. The episode doesn't specify though Jodie Foster is referred to as a starlet by John and Truman.

It's Impossible was a delightful episode that certainly did well on the talks of forgiveness, even if one character wasn't willing to go down that route. The last scene was my favourite but I really want more of Lee Radziwill in the second half of the season.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - Masquerade 1966

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz 

Directed by Gus Van Sant

Capote: "The fun of having a party is who you don't invite."

After last week's double bill showing Capote falling out with his Swans and being a social outcast, this episode flashed back to a time where he was the belle of the ball and knew how to throw a fabulous party. Albeit one with a twist, format wise.

Nearly all in black and white, this episode had Capote and his Swans being part of a documentary by David (Yuval David) and Albert Maysles (Pawel Szajda). It was a chance to get an insight into Capote's individual relationships with each other the women as they all had their reservations about being filmed.

Mostly Babe and Slim seemed the least keen on the idea. For Babe, it was during yet another affair from Bill being revealed while Slim wasn't thrilled with the idea of her ex husband and his new partner, Pamela Harriman (Allison Wright) being at the masquerade ball. Then there was also the honoured guest plot.

Slim was absolutely convinced that her small town connection to Truman would cement her getting the honour while Babe was visibly disappointed when it was Katharine Grant who had been honoured instead. You can tell that Babe really does see herself more as Truman's best friend than the other women.

Then there was CZ, who was going through a divorce and felt self conscious being at the masquerade party while having to listen to other party goers talk shit about her. Lee on the other hand was at her scathing best, showing a skepticism to Capote over a decade before his big betrayal of the Swans. Lee certainly had his card while Joanne was more enabling of Truman. Even Jack was exhausted by Capote this week.

As for Ann Woodward, I felt so bad for her this episode. She gatecrashed the ball with her handsome son, only to be cruelly humiliated by Capote. I do think because of the pointed commentary about Ann being similar to Capote's mother, it's largely why he was so horrible to her. Saying that, Ann was somewhat prophetic in her parting choices of words to Capote. He should've been a lot nicer to her.

- There was brief appearances from Andy Warhol and Camdice Bergen during the masquerade ball.

- Jessica Lange appeared again with Capote talking to his mother during the last minute of the episode.  She's also a producer along with Naomi Watts who plays Babe.

- I had to laugh at Lee implying that her sister, Jackie Kennedy stole her man. 

- Chronology: 1966, following the release of Capote's book, In Cold Blood.

Masquerade 1966 was a solid diversion episode. I do think how the way the Swans see Capote compared to how he sees them was rather interesting to watch unfold throughout the episode. Saying that, it's a bit weaker compared to the first two episodes.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - Ice Water In Their Veins

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz

Directed by Gus Van Sant

Capote (to Lillie Mae): "I am not on your schedule. I still have a masterpiece to finish and they're waiting, they're waiting for it, so I'm not going anywhere with you."

With this double bill, things moved a bit quicker with this second episode. The fallout of Capote making the wrong enemies was certainly felt as most of his beloved swans committed to freezing him out with consequences for him. Being persona non grata definitely took its toll on Truman.

Keeping with freezing him out was definitely Slim Keith. She was the most dedicated to the idea and refused to even entertain CZ being somewhat more sympathetic to Truman's social isolation. However she wasn't entirely unforgiving when CZ did break the ranks and actually had lunch with the disgraced Capote.

Then there was Lee Radziwill (Calista Flockhart). So far, no backstory was provided but she certainly had no problem being the second in keeping Truman frozen out of society. She wasn't pleased about CZ spending time with Truman either but again, she didn't have a lot of screen time here. 

As for CZ, yes she broke ranks and spent time with Truman but she also castigated him for the article he had written and later uninvited both Truman and John from Thanksgiving, which did seem to break Capote's heart. Not to mention that John also got violent twice with him in the episode, with the latter time being the most severe.

The other Swan introduced here was Joanne Carson (Molly Ringwald) and she definitely seemed rather indulgent of Truman, even inviting him to her Thanksgiving meal and being horrified by John's attack on him. Even when isolated, Truman still had his supporters, notably ever loyal boyfriend Jack and even Bill Paley of all people.

Leading to the last bit was Babe. The one most hurt by Truman's betrayal and also wavering on whether or not to let him back into her life. This episode also focused on her cancer as she wanted to give away jewellery to her friends while encouraging Bill to learn to cook. There was also parallels to her declining health and Truman's own lingering problems, including being taunted by his dead mother, Lillie Mae (Jessica Lange).

- Truman was filming a movie but couldn't focus due to hallucinations of the women he betrayed.

- This show marked a reunion between writer/showrunner Jon Robin Baitz and Calista Flockhart as both worked together on Brothers & Sisters beforehand.

- Babe gave Slim the jewellery from Bill's affair with Happy. Slim ended up giving it to CZ. 

- Chronology: Definitely before 1978 as Babe Paley died that year. Thanksgiving 1977 perhaps?

Ice Water In Their Veins certainly didn't let up the momentum. We saw Truman at a very vulnerable time with his social disgrace and while I would've liked more screen time for Molly Ringwald and Calista Flockhart, at least both made a good impression nonetheless.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - Pilot

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz

Directed by Gus Van Sant

Capote (to Babe): "The accident was a blessing and there's something else. You have a new best friend. Now let's have a cigarette."

It's been seven years since Feud: Bette And Joan. Originally a second season was supposed to focus on Charles and Diana but something tells me that the success of The Crown might have put paid to that idea. In some respects, that's probably for the best.

Instead we've got a look at Truman Capote (Tom Hollander) and more specifically his relationship with a group of socialites that he dubbed the Swans. A relationship that started off well, until he went and ruined it by spilling secrets in a very public fashion.

In this first episode, there's a strong emphasis on two of his relationships with two particular women. The first one being Ann Woodward (Demi Moore), whose use of a certain F word had Truman embark on a campaign where he told everyone that she murdered her husband. Eventually the public reveal of this drove Ann to commit suicide, an act that would sour Truman's relationship with the other women.

The biggest emphasis however was Truman's relationship with Babe Paley (Naomi Watts), the wife of CBS president Bill Paley (Treat Williams). Babe had made the grave error of letting Truman in more than anyone else and making him too privy to Bill's infidelity with a governor's wife. As a result, Babe ended up publicly humiliated.

Between Ann's suicide and Babe's public humiliation, it was Slim Keith (Diane Lane) who decided that Truman would suffer a death of the slowest kind and she genuinely looked like she meant business with that sentiment. Going by the moody shots of Truman at the beginning and end of this pilot episode alone and his pointed looking at swans, even he realised that he messed with the wrong women here.

As for the rest of the episode, the only other Swan we met was CZ Guest (Chloe Sevigny), but she didn't have a lot to do here. There was also Truman's long suffering boyfriend and fellow writer, Jack Dunphy (Joe Mantello) who seemed done with Truman's alcoholism while the much younger John O'Shea (Russell Tovey) can definitely be blamed for Truman writing that damning piece for Esquire magazine. The Swans were right about John. 

- This season is based on the book Capote's Women: A True Story Of Love, Betrayal And A Swan Song.

- FX released the first two episodes in a double bill and I'll tackle the second part by tomorrow.

- Truman played on Babe's vulnerability over a car accident while giving a very pointed Swan speech to John about her, Slim and CZ.

- Chronology: Various times but 1955, 1968, 1975 and 1984 in New York. 

The Pilot certainly opened things on an interesting enough note. It's certainly got the camp factor but not as outrageously as the previous season did. There's still time for that though. Tom Hollander does excel as Capote and the Swans so far seems like a force to be reckoned with. 

Rating: 8 out of 10

Top 10 Ryan Murphy Shows

I was going to do this a few weeks ago but now that we're heading into the final month of 2020 and no more Murphy productions in sight (aside from The Prom), I thought I would do a run down of the ten best/most interesting shows that Ryan Murphy has done over the last two decades.

Without further ado, here goes ....

1: American Horror Story (FX, 2011-present)

I know for some people this show might not be at it's best as it was in earlier seasons but for me, while it has gotten formulaic in it's approach, it hasn't quite lost the entertainment factor either and with it's tenth season in current production along with a spin-off and three further seasons planned, this is by far Murphy's most successful production to date. Not to mention, it's done wonders in revitalising the anthologies for television and streaming alone.

2: Glee (FOX, 2009-2015)

Six seasons and no movie and a lot of controversy and a lot of musical numbers. This series started some careers and stalled others but the Ohio setting surrounding a local Glee did manage to become a worldwide phenomenon. Again, the show might have faltered in later seasons but it's definitely responsible for making Murphy into quite the power player and certain had no problem pulling in impressive guests in it's six year run.

3: Nip/Tuck (FX, 2003-2010)

Tell me what you don't like about yourself? Before both Glee and American Horror Story, there was also Nip/Tuck - a crazy plastic surgeon drama based in Miami (Seasons 1-4) and LA (Season 5&6) with one hell of a talented cast and some of the most batshit crazy antics ever. The show had a lot to say on it's subject matter and definitely delivered it in the most OTT manner.

4: Pose (FX, 2018-present)

Now, this show is more the work of Steven Canals and Janet Mock, though it's under Murphy's production company and he was involved with casting. It's arguably the most important show from Murphy's body of work, especially with the majority of the cast being transwomen and it's definitely a beautiful capturing of both the 1980s and 1990s settings in it's first two seasons. With a third season currently in production, I can't wait to see what's next for Blanca, Elektra, Angel and the gang.

5: 911 (FOX, 2018-present)

On paper, this arguably had the potential to be the tamest of shows from Ryan Murphy but three seasons in, it's also got a lot of Murphy's trademark OTTness. It's also the most heart warming of the bunch and another megahit for FOX with a spin-off also helping to build a franchise for this particular series.  With a loveable cast, top quality writing and brilliant stunts, it's hard not to enjoy this series.

6: American Crime Story (FX, 2016-present)

Ryan Murphy's love for the anthology format has certainly helped him and going down the real life crime route for this show definitely helped to get him a lot of Emmy love. The first season focusing on OJ Simpson was easily the most adored on that front but the second season focusing on Andrew Cunannan and Gianni Versace was the one for me. The upcoming third season will tackle Monica Lewinsky and the Clintons and that's going to be interesting to see unfold. 

7: Feud: Bette And Joan (FX, 2017)

Alternatively, this could've been another ongoing anthology series but fate played a bit of a cruel trick here. This only series, focusing on the infamous feud between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford was sublime, with both Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange giving career high performances as well as some nice recreations on both actresses most infamous roles and turbulent lives. 

8: Hollywood (Netflix, 2020)

Murphy's shows on Netflix haven't been quite as smooth as his ones on network and cable television but in spite of his format becoming too recognisable, they're still worthy of discussion. Hollywood decided to play around with an alternative version of 1940's Tinseltown, including an interracial relationship between Rock Hudson (Jake Picking) and writer Archie (Jeremy Pope) while also bringing about diversity in an era that wasn't best for it at the time. Suspend disbelief and it really was an enjoyable seven part series.

9: Ratched (Netflix, 2020-present)

Ryan Murphy's relationship with Sarah Paulson continues with her not only appearing in the majority of his shows but now spearheading one, also by creator Evan Romanky. This prequel series for One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest with Paulson tackling a younger version of Nurse Mildred Ratched might have felt American Horror Story lite and might not have been able to fully pull off it's themes at times, but it did make for an enjoyable romp but here's hoping the writing is sharper next season.

10: The Politician (Netflix, 2019-present)

Netflix's first foray into the world of Ryan Murphy saw them delving into one man's political aspirations and while Ben Platt's aspiring politician Payton Hobarth is a difficult main character to like, the show itself is often anchored by it's older cast. Specially when that cast includes the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Judith Light and Bette Midler. With the third season set to be it's last, at least the show will not be outstaying it's welcome.

So that's my rundown of shows concerning Ryan Murphy. I guess honourable mentions would go to the likes of 911: Lone Star, Scream Queens and Popular. I definitely couldn't get into the likes of The New Normal. 2021 will see the debut of American Horror Stories (FX on Hulu), Halston (Netflix), A Chorus Line (Netflix) and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix), so it looks like Murphy won't be going anywhere. 

My Review of Feud: Bette And Joan's: "You Mean All This Time We Could Have Been Friends?"

Written by Gina Welch
Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton

Joan: "I hope I made a new friend."
Bette: "Me too."

And here it is, the very end. Eight episodes into the Feud between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis and aside from a brief interaction via a dream sequence with the former, the last few years of both women's respective lives were them dealing with their own disappointments and so on.

Joan herself had moved into an apartment, adopted a cute little Shih Tzu and was basically becoming a recluse, although Mamacita had managed to come back into her life on a part time basis. The first half of this episode dealt with Joan's final movie - the critically panned Trog and a disastrous book signing that resulted in her retirement from acting for good and becoming a recluse until her death.

Cynically, this episode felt like the 'Jessica Lange for an Emmy' hour, a familiar experience given that Murphy sometimes favoured her during her time on American Horror Story too but credit given where it's due, the episode is easily Lange's strongest one to date as Joan became more and more tragic throughout the whole thing.

Of course before Joan did succumb to death, the episode gave us a rather illuminating dream sequence between herself, Bette, Hedda and Jack L. Warner as the four of them all voice what went right and wrong with Joan's career. While it's a scene that arguably wasn't needed for the episode, it is however the best scene from the episode itself.

As for Joan's death itself, it's depicted off screen and we see that the crew who have been interviewing everyone throughout the series (including Pauline, Mamacita and Victor Buono this week) were doing so during the 1978 Oscars. The moment where everyone reacted to the In Memorium bit was rather telling. Joan might have been a polarising personality but there was no denying that she did garner some respect within Hollywood itself, despite the treatment stars like her endured at the time and still do to an extent.

As for Bette, things weren't going so swimmingly for her either. Not only had her relationship with BD completely tanked at this point but she also was failing in her own health and had suffered through a string of failed television pilots as well. Like Crawford herself, Bette's days were also coming to a close, even if she had lived over a decade longer and had a few more hits before her death in 1989.

The series itself has explored the feud between Davis and Crawford at a reasonable length and the final episode did make an attempt to see Bette try to connect to Joan but ultimately she couldn't. I did like the flashback to their first day on Whatever Happened To Baby Jane where both women mused the idea of striking up a friendship. Maybe in another life, that's what would've happened between the stars.

- The episode's title comes from the last line of the movie that inspired this whole series.
- The show delved into Christina releasing her Mommie Dearest novel and made the comment of Faye Dunaway wanting to play Crawford in a picture. Oh, the irony there.
- I'm surprised the episode also didn't delve into BD's scathing memoir as well.#, especially given that the episode was longer than usual.
- Chronology: From 1969 to 1978. I'm surprised we didn't get to see Bette's death, though the end credits talked about what happened with all the significant players in the show.

You Mean All This Time We Could Have Been Friends? provided a satisfying and emotional conclusion to the series. While creative liberties were taken with both Crawford and Davis's real lives, I do think that Ryan Murphy and company gave a fairly balanced look into both actresses with both Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon doing their best to bring them to life as well. I have to admit that I'm not especially looking forward to the next installment though the casting might change my mind on that one.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Bette And Joan's: "Abandoned"

Written by Jaffe Cohen & Michael Zam
Directed by Helen Hunt

Mamacita (to Joan): "I told you the next time you throw something at my head I leave."

Joan Crawford really was becoming her own worst enemy and in this episode alone, she had virtually alienated any and every ally she could've had. The episode began with her increasingly feeling out of the loop with production of Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte in full swing and ended with even Mamacita wiping her hands off Joan.

And the thing is and maybe it's down to Lange's performance in this one, but my sympathy for Joan wasn't really there. I get that she felt left out of the buddy/ally routine that both Bette and Aldrich but the way Joan halted production and generally seemed to throw a hissy fit did her next to no favours with this particular episode.

Joan had gotten to a point where she had seriously overestimated her own clout and when Aldrich basically told her to get her act together and stop trying to make script changes of her own, it should've been a hint. However it took the threat of being examined by a studio doctor, being sued for $100,000 and being replaced by Olivia de Havilland for the lesson to really sink in.

The thing is though while Mamacita was completely justified in finally abandoning Joan, the vase wasn't strictly aimed for her head this time around. That said though aside from one revealing exchange between Joan and Bette about talent and beauty, Joan showed no real insight here and continued to make her circumstances far worse than they needed.

Not that it was plain sailing for Bette either. At different points in the episode, both Victor and Aldrich castigated her for her treatment of Joan while BD herself had managed to marry Jeremy behind Bette's back too but in the end in relation to the movie itself, Bette maintain some professionalism and took her producer role with some seriousness too.

Unlike Joan, Bette was the one who tried to keep production going and in the end, Joan was traded in for a less demanding actress with Havilland. Heck, the episode even ended a little with a not so subtle 'screw you' to Joan as Bette, Olivia and Aldrich posed with a certain drink for photographers while Joan's health ended up taking an actual hit by the time the closing credits emerged.

- History wise, Mamacita might have left Joan a lot later than what this episode indicated she did. However I don't blame her for finally having enough.
- Much as I've enjoyed seeing Kathy Bates as Joan Blondell in the series, has she really been necessary though?
- Nice use of Sweet Charlotte towards the end of the episode as well.
- Chronology: I guess 1963/1964 considering the production of the movie in question.

Abandoned stumbles a bit as a penultimate episode but it's still got some great moments though. The obvious highlight is the beauty vs. talent conversation between Crawford and Davis along with the former losing ally after ally. Just one more episode to go now.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Bette And Joan's: "Hagsploitation"

Written by Tim Minear & Gina Welch
Directed by Tim Minear

Jack L. Warner (to Aldrich, re Bette/Joan): "If you think it's Twilight for us, it is Midnight for them."

Much as I do loathe the Jack Warners of the world, there's no denying that his words, unpleasant as they were also happened to be true. All of them needed another big hit on their hands. Warner and Aldrich needed a hit. Joan wanted another movie that could give her proper buzz and Bette probably wanted more than television spot.

The answer to all their possible problems - a movie called Whatever Happened To Cousin Charlotte (later named Sweet Charlotte) following into a genre that goes by the unflattering name of hagsploitation, which Jack seemed taken with as it meant that he could 'degrade' actresses on their last line, career wise.

Getting both Joan and Bette to agree to the project was down to Aldrich, who had to persuade both of them to put their differences aside to work with each other again while also making their own demands (Bette wanted some creative control, Joan to be paid upfront). Aldrich also later made some of his own demands to Warner while his marriage to Harriet was falling apart behind the scenes during this episode as well.

Of course when Joan wasn't working on this new project with Bette and trying to present  united front with her rival (half assed Oscar apology, matches as a symbolic gesture), she also had two other plotlines in an episode that was heavily focused on her.

First of all we saw her on the road promoting her movie, Strait Jacket with the director William Castle, which was a fun way of opening the episode and then there was the threat of a sex tape that her brother Hal was threatening to leak. The latter gave us more of an insight into Joan's family history while also revealing that the tape wasn't real.

Another interesting point of this episode was seeing the cracks in Joan's relationship with Mamacita as well. The latter has always been Joan's only real ally (especially as Hedda showed her true colours this week) but even her limits were tested this week when she threatened to leave Joan if the latter threw anything else at her head again. Going by next week, it seems she'll make good on that threat too.

- Having John Walters as William Castle was a nice bit of guest casting. Murphy managed to keep that one under his hat.
- Hedda was dying in this episode and even then the episode managed to make her horrible as possible. It was nice to see Pauline and Victor Buono again though.
- If you want to know more about the genre of Hagsploitation, here you go .... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho-biddy
- Chronology: 1964 going by the release of Joan's movie and production on Sweet Charlotte.

Hagsploitation was another suitably strong episode. As the series comes closer to it's end along with both Bette and Joan's careers on the decline, this episode showed the desperation from both to have another major hit but history shows us, only one of them stuck out their would be second venture together.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Bette And Joan's: "And The Winner Is (The Oscars Of 1963)"

Written And Directed by Ryan Murphy

Geraldine Page (re Joan): "Well, she needs it and besides, Hollywood should be forced to look at what they've done to her."

And this one was a fucking doozy and a half. It's Oscars time and Joan Crawford is clearly a woman who will find a way of attaining the limelight, even when it's not all about her. Smarting over Bette Davis getting the Oscar nomination over her and having Hedda chewing her ear (loving the performance, detesting the woman with every passing episode though), Joan resorted to some tactics to get one over on Davis yet again.

This time it included a bit of casual bad mouthing through Hedda spreading her usual poison via certain phone calls but also Crawford herself going after some of the other Best Actress nominees as well. This included somewhat belittling Geraldine Page's confidence til the woman actress to let Joan collect the award for her.

Sarah Paulson only got about three minutes of screen time and once again, proved why she's become one of those actors that Ryan Murphy will call upon for whatever part he can get for her. Page's comment to her partner about Hollywood having to look at what they created with Joan and boy, did this episode demonstrate that. Geraldine saw through Joan's desperation as did everyone else in Hollywood during this Oscar season.

Speaking of the desperation, you could see that Anne Bancroft herself, who was putting her theatre work over attending the event could see the desperation in Joan wanting to accept her win for her. I thought Serinda Swan was excellent casting as Bancroft and certainly held her own with Jessica Lange in the one scene they shared together.

As for Bette Davis, we saw her worry a little about being nominated and we saw her anger when Crawford accepted the award on Bancroft's behalf and made sure to rub it in but unlike Joan, she had the better support system with Olivia de Havilland being her champion for the majority of the episode. It was nice to see a bit more of Olivia in this one too and I like the rapport between her and Bette too.

As for Joan, she got one up on Bette but it was a victory that felt hollow. After all, she accepted another woman's award but at the same time, she publicly exposed her own pettiness and came home to an empty house. As horrible as Joan's actions were in this episode and there was no justifying them, even I felt a little sympathy for her. Not much though.

- The episode delved a little into Olivia's own feud with her sister. I can't help thinking that would make a better second season than the one we're getting for this show.
- No Pauline or Aldrich in this episode.
- Joan's silvery look for the Oscars was a little weird to be honest. Bette had the better look, to be honest.
- Chronology: Early 1963, Oscar season of course.

I swear this show is getting better and better. And The Winner Is (The Oscars Of 1963) easily surpassed last week's excellent episode and it seems like the next one is going to be another gem too. I am really enjoying this show the more and more it goes on.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Bette And Joan's: "More, Or Less"

Written by Gina Welch & Tim Minear
Directed by Liza Johnson

Joan: "This is just like 1937 again."
Mamacita: "When Hitler took over Austria?"
Joan: "No, when they labelled me box office poison."

And we're out of the filming process for Whatever Happened To Baby Jane and into the awards and public release side of things. This movie was supposed to be the ticket into reviving both Bette and Joan's respective careers but as this episode demonstrated, that wasn't quite the reality here.

In fact, we saw both Bette and Joan struggle here. Joan started the episode by firing her agents, who were making no effort to secure any lucrative work, rejected a role from an inexperienced would be female director and lost her shit when she didn't get the Oscar nomination that she was setting herself up for getting.

I actually found myself not greatly feeling bad for Joan in this one. While I don't blame her for sacking her agents, I think she cut her nose off to spite her face by rejecting Pauline's offer, even if she raised points about Hollywood's antagonism towards ambitious women. To be honest, the more this miniseries continues, the more I find myself on Team Bette to be honest.

Bette in question got herself a cute little agent at the start of the episode and even put an ad in the paper for herself to try and secure more work. She even an old idea to Aldrich, which he rejected but at the same we saw her doing a television job and some variety gigs along with more publicity work. Even Bette wasn't always the easiest of people to get along with, I definitely admired her determination and Sarandon has been getting better in the role too.

However while Bette and Joan had their moments, neither of them were actually the highlight of the episodes. Nope, instead the honour goes to both Aldrich's assistant, Pauline and Mamacita, both of whom got some brilliant moments in this episode. I loved the pairing of the two and I loved their scene in the cafe where they were both discussing their lots in life and wanting more.

As for Aldrich, he had his moments in this one. I hated that he snapped at Pauline but I did enjoy his scenes with Bette and Jack (Stanley Tucci really throwing in a good performance for a truly detestable character) while also having to deal with Sinatra's temperament as well during production of his Western movie. Not to mention there seemed to be some foreshadowing with his wife's comments too.

- Bette's Baby Jane song was hysterical along with her giving dolls to the audience. She also guest starred in Perry Mason with a dodgy hairdo/wig thing.
- Pauline's script was The Black Slipper. I would've so watched that movie had it been made.
- Anyone else feel bad for Victor Buono and that poor assistant when Sinatra was having a strop on set?
- Chronology: A couple of weeks since filming for Whatever Happened To Baby Jane.

More, Or Less certainly delivered more great stuff than less of it. While Bette and Joan are still the focus of things, it was nice to see the likes of Aldrich, Pauline and Mamacita come more into the spotlight and again, I enjoyed seeing both Olivia De Havilland and Joan Blondell's comments again on both Crawford and Davis.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Bette And Joan's: "Mommie Dearest"

Written by Tim Minear
Directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton

Joan (to Aldrich): "She did that on purpose!"
Bette: "I barely touched her."

And that's a wrap. Not for the series mind because there's five episodes left to go but for Whatever Happened To Baby Jane as Bette and Joan up their game in more ways than one for their final days of shooting their only movie together.

Before all that though, there's a moment in the episode where both women go out for drinks and reveal some of their childhood memories to each other. It's a striking moment in an episode full of them as both women get a further understanding of the other. I have to admit seeing the way Joan talked about her stepfather particularly shocked me even though I already some of the details. I think Bette's reaction summed it up pretty well.

Along with the drinks revelation, the other thing I liked about this episode was the exploration on the women's mothering skills. Joan found herself signing a card for Christina while also keep a firm grip on her twins and despairing when she was denied the right to adopt another kid. The dynamic between her and maid Mamacita was also given some nice focus on too.

Then there was Bette. She tried her hardest to shield BD from some of the criticisms of the latter's performance as the neighbour on the movie while also opening up to Victor Buono about her other child, Margo. whom we later saw Bette trying to reconnect with during a phone call. Another surprise moment was the maternal streak she showed towards Buono, which also included her getting him out of a very sticky situation with the police.

However back to the rivalry stuff and once again, any moment of civility between Crawford and Davis got put to one side as the two upped their game in antagonising one another, with the likes of Hedda shit stirring on the side. The look both women gave each other though as production wrapped up on the film was rather telling.

- Along with the sexual abuse Joan suffered at the hands of her stepfather, this episode only made the smallest allusions to her own relationship with adopted daughter, Christina.
- Loved seeing Bette calling Hedda out on her role in the feud that she was having with Joan in this episode.
- No Joan Blondell or Oliva de Havilland this week. Hopefully they're back soon though.
- Chronology: During the final few days of filming Whatever Happened To Baby Jane.

Easily the best episode of the bunch so far. Mommie Dearest might not have given us the biggest details on that particular aspect of Crawford's life but the episode succeeded in covering both Joan and Bette's style of parenting as well as showing us that both women really could've been friends had things been different for them too.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Bette And Joan's: "The Other Woman"

Written by Jaffe Cohen & Michael Zam & Tim Minear
Directed by Ryan Murphy

Joan Blondell: "No matter how liberated. Women will what they always do when cornered: eat their own."

And as this episode proves, that also happens with said women also being pitted against one another too. Yes, the hatred that Bette and Joan might have been chemical but as we saw for a brief moment in this episode, they were also banding together as professionals with this movie as well. Then we had Jack Warner and Robert Aldrich dramatically change that.

Along with Hedda Hopper (great performance from Judy Davis, but Hedda is irritating), whatever little truce that Bette and Joan might have had came to a swift end this week. Aldrich had Hopper print a "quote" from Davis about Crawford's cleavage while Joan herself retaliated by going to a rival gossip rag and commenting on Bette being old enough to be her mother.

As horrible as it was to see both Warner and Aldrich (the former with glee, the latter with some reluctance) pit both Bette and Joan against one another, there was a joy seeing both Sarandon and Lange really going at it with this episode though. The dig at Pepsi being pure vodka being the icing on the cake along with Joan's manipulation of both Aldrich and Hedda at different points in the episode.

However two episodes in and I have to admit, it's Sarandon who's pulling me in a lot more. Okay the rehearsal scene during Bette's "Letter To Daddy" song wasn't her strongest performance but the rest of the episode, especially when given some home truths by BD and that last scene with Robert should certainly give Joan more venom in the next one.

Speaking of Joan though, I do think Lange is doing a good job in highlighting her insecurities well enough. We saw in the first episode how she was able to get Bette on side to help manipulate Robert into firing the young actress who would've played the neighbour's daughter and she definitely seemed stung when Aldrich didn't succumb to her advances either. The moment though where she decided to "recast" her husband however was pretty priceless.

Like last week (and I assume for a few more episodes), we saw some more filming for Whatever Happened To Baby Jane along with Joan completely ruining one of Bette's scenes with her outbursts as well. Whatever your stance is about who was the best performer for that movie, seeing the way both actresses try to get into their characters has been a strong point of this series so far.

- Bette's reaction to meeting her "love interest" Victor Buono (Dominic Burgess) was priceless. He's always going to be King Tut from Batman 66 to me though.
- Delving into Bette and Joan's past works we saw bits from Above Suspicion, The Little Foxes, Mildred Pierce and Beyond The Forest.
- Joan Blondell and Olivia de Havilland certainly had similar and differing viewpoints on how women treat each other in the industry.
- Chronology: Not long from where the Pilot episode left off.

Not as strong as the opening episode but saying that, I do think The Other Woman kept things moving along nicely. I suppose watching this show is a good reminder than in some respects things haven't completely changed as Bette and Joan's rivalry was exploited by the studio and media alike.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Bette And Joan's: "Pilot"

Written by Jaffe Cohen & Michael Zam & Ryan Murphy
Directed by Ryan Murphy

Olivia de Havilland: "Feuds are never about hate. Feuds are about pain."

It seems that in the last six years that Ryan Murphy has really found himself fond of the anthology route for his shows. American Horror Story has grown within it's success while The People V. OJ Simpson was a successful move for the American Crime Story series. Now, it's time for a good old Feud, featuring two former Hollywood icons and that one movie they made back in 1962.

Reunited with Murphy, Jessica Lange steps back into the television as ageing Joan Crawford while Susan Sarandon also steps into the Murphy television fold as Bette Davis and while neither actress attempts to take on the accents of the infamous women they're portraying, there is a lot of fun to be had within the first episode of this eight part series.

Largely told from the points of views of two other actresses - Olivia de Havilland (Catherine Zeta Jones) and Joan Blondell (Kathy Bates), the rivalry between Joan and Bette is pretty legendary that if it weren't for their lagging careers, they probably would've never agreed to have done cult favourite, Whatever Happened To Baby Jane with Robert Aldrich (Alfred Molina) agreeing to directing the movie with the warring pair.

A large part of the feud that's implied with the pairing seemed to be how the other was perceived by Hollywood. Davis was seen as something of a character actor while Crawford had to work a little harder for the same recognition. Within the first few minutes of the movie, Crawford is fairly scornful of the sex symbol status afforded to Marilyn Monroe while she struggled to find a compelling role for an older woman before pitching Baby Jane to Aldrich.

Having Joan also be the one to get Bette interested in the role (the latter finding her career stagnating in a Broadway production) was an interesting move along with the women doing the initial publicity and contract signings for their respective roles before actually working on the movie. I also got a bit of a laugh seeing the pair mutually antagonise one another on the set of the movie as well, though Bette clearly is better at getting one over on her co-star.

One of the best scenes of the first episode was the little dinner scene at the end. Seeing Hedda Hopper (Judy Davis) trying to goad the pair into trashing each other and having Bette and Joan refuse to take the bait was a nice way of showing the somewhat complex side of the pair's rivalry. Even if the pair loathed each other as individuals, they did seem to have some respect for each other as professionals.

- The title sequence appropriately enough takes in plenty of moments from Whatever Happened To Baby Jane. I love that Bette wore one of Joan's old wigs for the movie.
- Other characters who got a little screen time in this episode included Stanley Tucci's horribly sexist executive Jack L. Warner as well as Bette's daughter, B.D Hyman (Kiernan Shipka) and Joan's maid Mamacita (Jackie Hoffman).
- We saw some moments from All About Eve (Davis) and Autumn Leaves (Crawford) at different points in the episode. Not to mention the fact that Joan had connections to Pepsi Cola.
- Chronology: 1962, considering the movie the ladies were filming and the time it took to make said film.

A strong pilot episode for what clearly is being set up as a campy if tragic miniseries. Both Jessica Lange and Susan Surandon seem to have gotten the basic ticks for the women they're portraying (if not the voices, but I can gloss over that) and they're backed up by a great supporting cast too. Whether this premise is sustainable for eight episodes will be fun to find out too as so far, it's off to a delightfully bitchy start.

Rating: 8 out of 10