This post contains spoilers for the Pose series finale.
The precedent-setting FX drama Pose has never shied away from tragedy, even as it insists on showcasing the joy and resilience that can still flourish amid queer pain. Indeed, one of the show’s great strengths was treating happiness and sorrow not as diametrically opposed forces in the lives of Blanca, Pray Tell, Angel and others in the ballroom scene of 1980s New York but as mutually intertwined experiences that were sharpened by their contrast with each other. Winning a ball meant more when you were struggling with an HIV diagnosis, and the death of a friend cut deeper when it was someone you had competed alongside.
The series finale, directed by creator Steven Canals, stayed true to that ethos: In its most gut-wrenching moments, the episode reveals that Pray Tell, played by Emmy-winner Billy Porter, started giving his drug cocktail to Ricky (Dyllón Burnside) instead of taking it himself when he learned that his lover was also living with HIV. After Pray passed away, his loved ones scattered his ashes on the White House lawn, a scene that paralleled actual ACT UP demonstrations from 1992 and 1996.
But at its most reaffirming and life-giving, the finale gave us a glimpse of Blanca (Mj Rodriguez), Elektra (Dominique Jackson), Angel (Indya Moore), and Lulu (Hailie Sahar) happy and thriving in 1998, with the original House of Evangelista crew even performing together one last time.
It’s no surprise that such a powerful episode would elicit strong reactions, especially because it is the last we will ever see. Viewers and cast members alike reacted live to the finale on social media.
Writer and activist Raquel Willis reflected on how different the TV landscape looked when Pose first aired in 2018 — and how far we’ve come today.
All Boys Aren’t Blue author George M. Johnson noted the wide disparity in white and Black HIV infection rates during the early years of the AIDS crisis.
But Johnson also took joy in the fact that Elektra who, lest we forget, accidentally killed a client in season two, ended the series scot-free.
CNN commentator and former White House aide Keith Boykin reflected on having lived through the time period of Pose, thanking the show’s creators for telling the stories of those he lost along the way.
Hollywood actor Jeremy Pope, who joined the cast in season three, tweeted out a group selfie, simply captioning it “Family.”
Angelica Ross, who played Candy, shared an image of a locket Dyllón Burnside had gifted her.
For his part, Burnside posted a tearful selfie with the first trophy Ricky won on the show.
But it was fittingly Steven Canals himself who gave us the most moving reaction to Pose’s final frames, letting us know that he intended it to be an inspiration for anyone who walks in Blanca’s footsteps today.
“My intention with this last scene, seeing Blanca walk off down the NYC street, was to let our audience know that life continues,” he wrote. “We Black and Latin and Queer and Trans people continue to walk, to press on, to persist, in the face of all adversity.”
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