I decided to dig into Episode 7 “Beautiful Babe” and Episode 8 “Phantasm Forgiveness” as one post as they kind of seamlessly flow into each other. They’re both more introspective than the rest of the series. Though the series as a whole has a ton of that.

In Episode 7 we see that Babe is nearing the end of her battle with Cancer. She’s decided to stop treatment and the doctor has given her 6 months to live. She wants her children by her but we learn she is estranged from her daughter, who thought Babe cared too much for herself growing up. She says she might come home to see her “Maybe when you can hear her death rattle.”

She reveals her funeral plans to the girls at…of course…La Cote Basque. They have a fancy sounding entree for any mood. Of course Truman’s name comes up, and Babe opines that he should have been forgiven but all their damn prides have gotten in the way.

She ends up passing out in her upstate home and suddenly she’s with Truman in a sort of fancy white person limbo. They catch up. Babe realizes she’s dead or dying. At the last minute in the real world her daughter shows up. Truman reads Babe’s diary as she dies, “And they looked and they saw what they had not seen before, that she was beautiful”

Babe gets her beautiful funeral. The girls say they should get together for lunch…at a different restaurant. They can’t figure out a time or date and we get the impression that they are headed the way of many of our group chats.

Truman is on a television show black out drunk. We then see that he’s in a hospital and Jack is saying goodbye to him and says he wants him out of his life.

We then see Truman at Joanne’d house diving into a pool, collapsing and seeing Babe as he dies.

In Episode 8 we open with Truman at Babe’s grave in 1984, the year he died. It’s revealed that he wants Answered Prayers to be an apology to the swans for his wrongs. He writes a chapter of reconciliation for each and in the end we see his mother was there the entire time. Watching him, telling him to do more, to write about her suicide. The spirit of Ann Woodward says that publishing these chapters won’t bring the friendships back. This is a subconscious final gift to your mother as she never belonged, Truman never truly did either.

A nod to the first episode he goes to see the swans but this time we see that he’s brought his recent writings and he lights them on fire. We’re then back to his death and the writing pads in the pool. When Joanne calls Jack he asks her if he saved any of the writing, she states it was all gibberish.

The final coda is the auctioning of Truman’s ashes in 2016. Kate tries to buy them but looses the bidding war. The ghosts of the swans are looking on.

So what does this all mean? What are we left with as this limited series conclude? I’m left feeling no visceral feelings other than sadness. Sadness isn’t bad. I love a drama. But sadness is only an effective tool when it’s paired with happiness. In the series we only really see the ending portion of their lives not the beginning; the tenacity with which these women and Truman had to make life of their own creation. The book is effective because it goes into such detail about their lives so we care that there’s a schism.

I think Jessica Lange as Truman’s mother adds some depth to Truman’s story but I wish there had been maybe another narrator that has a bit less of a nefarious feel. Perhaps bringing Harper Lee into the mix?

The Swans never seem to elevate much beyond vapid sounding fashion plates, even Babe who is undoubtedly the crown jewel of the group.

I hope that whatever comes next in the Feud franchise can recapture the mirth and camp that the first season Bette and Joan.