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While I initially approach each episode with the frame of mind that more questions were being put forth than answers, this episode seemed very close to a turning point in the story. Simply put, we’re finally seeing some real shit going down.
The episode begins with the Poythresses and the Wilsons starting their respective mornings, setting up the episode to focus primarily on these two families. Tension is already slightly rearing its head this morning, as Caitlin (Jordan Kristine Seamón) leaves the house much earlier than usual to join Sarah (Chloë Sevigny) on a visit to the base’s shooting simulator. Richard (Scott Mescudi) watches the two leaving together from the window, the distrust unmistakable on his face.
Tension aside, the scene cuts to Caitlin preparing to shoot a rifle with Sarah meticulously instructing her. Caitlin proves herself to be an adept shooter, landing a headshot and two shots at the heart of her target. Sarah’s proud of her abilities and praises her so. This was probably the only positive interaction that Sarah’s had with a teenager, as Fraser (Jack Dylan Grazer) obviously doesn’t make things easy for her. It’s obvious that Caitlin and Sarah genuinely enjoy their time together and probably relate to each other more at this moment in time than they do to certain members of their own families.
Cut to Maggie (Alice Braga) meeting up with Jennifer (Faith Alabi) giving a tour to two soldiers new to the base, and you get one of the juiciest scenes this episode. The sexual tension was palpable between the two in last week’s episode, and I was 1000% certain that that would be explored in this episode. I was totally on the nose. However, I didn’t expect things to escalate to the degree that they did, especially because Jennifer seemed way more hesitant to act on the obvious tension between her and Maggie in the last episode. Once the tour is finished, Jennifer drags Maggie off to an empty residence, and they proceed to have sex on the furniture-less floor. Once the deed is done, they lovingly embrace each other, savoring each moment.
While things are going well between Jennifer and Maggie, the partners of Wilson and Poythress, respectively, do not hold each other in the same regard. Jonathan, Sarah’s assistant (Tom Mercier), fetches Richard as Sarah needs to speak with him about a serious, serious matter. Richard doesn’t even need to see her express his distaste for her. As soon as her name comes out of Jonathan’s mouth, Richard’s smile from celebrating his new truck with his Army buddies quickly dissipates. The tension isn’t lost when he finally meets with Sarah. Sarah prefaces the true matters at hand with a chat about her own truck she had in New York, getting into the specs of the vehicle. While this may seem like a topic that would excite Richard, his dislike for Sarah only seems to build during this interaction. Moreover, she asks if Richard speaks Jennifer’s native language. He doesn’t, and he doesn’t seem too happy to see through what exactly Sarah is doing in this interaction. She talks about learning her wife’s native language, slightly putting emphasis on the word ‘wife’ as if she’s letting on that she knows Richard doesn’t necessarily approve of their same-sex marriage. But that’s only one factor that comprises Richard’s dislike for Sarah. She gets straight to the point and states matter-of-factly that Richard will apologize to the owner of the pizzeria that his platoon practically destroyed during the town celebration in the last episode. Richard doesn’t get a choice in the matter, but states that his men were in the right because the opposing party “insulted America.” Sarah doesn’t take that for an excuse.
The camera situates itself right in the faces of the two individuals, displaying individual shots just inches from their faces. This emphasizes the obvious negative tension between them, but showcases how neither party is going to back down. Sarah knows that Richard never liked her from the start, and the dislike is mutual. Richard can’t accept Sarah’s authority, but he’s going to have to learn how to deal with it. It’s safe to say that they won’t be friends anytime soon, and it seems like it’ll be all downhill from here.
Remove the unhappy Poythress and Wilson from the situation, and you get the doting Poythress and Wilson. Maggie and Jennifer grab lunch together after their tryst, and we get to see just how well they get along even as friends and not only lovers. This is one of the few moments where the audience isn’t left guessing too much about what’s going on in the minds of these characters. Jennifer tells Maggie her backstory of growing up in Nigeria and eventually meeting Richard and adopting Danny (Spence Moore II). Did I mention Danny’s adopted? Big, big news. Danny business aside, Jennifer still has some of her walls up but she shows a vulnerable side to herself that Richard never sees. A slightly defensive moment is when she states matter-of-factly that she is not homosexual. Totally acceptable. Sexuality is a spectrum after all. What I like best about Maggie is that she always seems calm and collected and is patient and understanding about how Jennifer chooses to label her sexual orientation. She doesn’t press Jennifer any further about the matter. While I can’t ignore that this is a love affair and the two are married to other people, the connection they have is very real and can’t be ignored either.
Fast forward to Caitlin and Fraser chilling at home, Caitlin becomes more bold with her exploration of her gender identity. While Fraser is urinating, Caitlin watches and even asks to hold his penis while he’s peeing. He reluctantly agrees, and she enjoys the process the entire time, even calling it “wonderful.” She then attempts to fabricate a mustache by applying some cut strands of her hair to her upper lip, which Fraser helps her do but not entirely to her liking.
Our ideas of masculinity and femininity are often linked to our bodies, what they look like, and what we can do with them. Fraser brings this idea to light when he asks Caitlin “Do you think that being male means knowing how to shoot guns, and pee standing up, and have shitty facial hair?” For Caitlin, those physical characteristics and abilities are the only ways she knows how to explore her gender identity right now. Now here’s the turning point. Caitlin is finally fed up with her hair, a characteristic that many people have expressed on several occasions that they adore about her. With the help of Fraser, she shaves her head bald. Hair has so much more importance than what people only see on the outside. Hair can define identities. By shaving her head, a new identity emerges from Cailtin. Perhaps something that’s been there all along. Caitlin expresses her gratitude, saying that she’ll be grateful for the rest of her life.
With newfound confidence, Caitlin meets with Giulia (Nicole Celpan) and they end their night together passionately making out. But the night is ruined once Giulia reveals that she knew Caitlin, or Harper (the name Caitlin gave Giulia upon their first meeting) to be a girl all along. But she’s not fazed, and she seems to genuinely like Caitlin. However, Caitlin’s pissed off and runs off into the night. Since her head shaving moment, Caitlin was operating under the notion that she was finally being the male figure she’s wanted to be. The fantasy is broken. It’s a difficult road to navigate considering that Caitlin doesn’t mind using her female given name and being referred to with female pronouns. Either way, she was living the dream with her new look. Couldn’t Giulia have just went along it a little while longer?
Moving onto other complicated characters. Danny seems to be onto Maggie and Jennifer, much to his anger as he doesn’t believe the Wilsons to be “good people.” Although Danny and Richard never seemed to have a close father-son relationship, the similarities between the two characters are uncanny. They both distrust the Wilsons, albeit Richard’s reasons for doing so are a bit clearer than Danny’s. And they both especially have no qualms about putting their two cents in about where they believe Jennifer should be. Like father, like son.
A defining moment for Jennifer is when she cries in the middle of intercourse with Richard, as he calls her by her real name, Lubabah. She states that he hasn’t called her that in 16 years, and cries and pleads with him not to call her that. It’s too hard to face what she’s been trying to suppress all these years for the sake of her family. Jennifer had practically spent her days attempting to uphold this image of the American dream within her own household, all while contending with her Nigerian roots and feelings for Maggie as we now see. But she still can’t seem to win the total approval of her husband and son.
Things come to a head when Richard discovers that Caitlin has shaved her head and chalks it up to Fraser coercing her into doing so. He blames the Wilson family as a whole and commands Caitlin to never speak to them ever again. He states that she’s “just a little girl and doesn’t know a fucking thing.” He never considers that Caitlin made this decision entirely of her own free will. Throughout all the division we’ve been seeing among family members and friends within the past couple of episodes, Caitlin draws the line at losing her father. She breaks down in tears and embraces him. Aside from her internal conflict with her own gender identity and trying to fulfill the image she wants for herself, she can’t bear to lose his father even if his conservative views directly come into conflict with her true desires. It’s tough to have to battle with yourself and the person you love.
At this point in the show, the pieces of the puzzle are finally being put together. And we can expect that to continue to happen for the rest of the season, which is why you should watch it every Monday night at 10pm ET on HBO.
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