8 Reasons We Can’t Wait for ‘Pose’ to Return for Season 3
FX’s recent “Pose-A-Thon” has us longing even more for its return for Season 3.
The live streamed panel in support of PRIDE was co-hosted by Pose leads Billy Porter and Mj Rodriguez and brought together the show’s cast and crew to share “stories, songs, and support of LGBTQ+ education, social change for sexual and gender minority people of color and transgender equality through legal services and policy efforts.”
Seeing the cast together in such a powerful light brought back the warmth of watching them all on our screens, creating the magic that has led Pose to its immense critical acclaim and groundbreaking success for LGBTQ+ representation in the mainstream. And the event left us wanting and ready to dive back into this amazing series with its incredible performances, spectacle and conscious storylines, but with production halted, that may not happen for some time.
Luckily, the first two seasons are available on Netflix for repeat binges. But nothing beats a fresh horizon and new ideas for a show of this caliber. Scroll down to find out the reasons why we’re so ready to take the next step in Pose‘s amazing story.
Back to the Ballroom
One of Pose’s main attractions is its extravagant balls, where the houses that make up the extended community arrive to make their mark and walk to snatch the trophies of the most coveted ballroom categories. Some of our favorite moments took place in the ballroom, like when Blanca (Rodriguez) was deservedly crowned house mother of the year or Candy (Angelica Ross) departed this world in a surreal lip sync to “Never Knew Love Like This Before” that had everyone in tears.
The ballroom is the centerpiece of Pose and the real-world ball culture (as seen on HBO Max’s exciting ballroom competition Legendary) and facilitates the community and artistic excellence that make this show so fantastic. We can’t wait to return to the ballroom floor to see who is walking for the crown in a new generation of the show’s timeline.
The Epic Soundtrack
Ballroom is nothing without the amazing tunes that bring it to life and serve as the backdrop of the vogueing and acrobatic stunts that make the balls so incredibly exciting. And Pose has done a particularly excellent job of curating a playlist worthy of its amazing sequences both within and outside of the ballroom.
With songs from dance and pop music mavens like Madonna, Sylvester, Jody Watley, Paula Abdul, and Janet Jackson, the series cements its status with an amazing vintage soundtrack, introducing a new generation of listeners to some of the most infectious anthems from the later half of the twentieth century. It will be exciting to see what classics the Pose team is able to pull out from its musical vault for Season 3.
Another Potential Time Jump
Pose is no stranger to jumping through time to progress the narrative, having moved from the mid to late ’80s to 1991 by the end of the show’s second season. This makes sense, since the series directly deals with historical subject matter like the AIDS crisis, which continued to proliferate throughout the 80s and well into the 1990s.
Co-creator Ryan Murphy has even expressed interest in ending the series sometime around 1996, when the first drugs for effective treatment of HIV/AIDS were introduced to the public. So with that in mind and the progression of the show thus far, it’s likely we can expect another jump through time in the third season. Anticipation is high to find out the fates of some of our most beloved characters as the ’90s continue to unfold.
More on Blanca's Health Journey
A potential time jump through the AIDS crisis is particularly relevant to Blanca’s storyline; she found out she was HIV positive early in the first season. While she kept that secret from her house children for quite some time, the scourge of the illness left her unable to conceal her situation and struggling to cope with her mortality given the prospects for AIDS patients at that time.
Blanca’s health continued to decline throughout the second season, landing her in the hospital with quite the health scare, before she triumphantly returned to the ballroom with a stirring lip sync of Whitney Houston’s “Star Spangled Banner” rendition. It has certainly been painful to watch our beloved Blanca endure her illness, but her inspiring spirit and perseverance thus far leave us anxious to see how she will continue to push through in the third season.
A New House of Evangelista
Throughout its second season, we began to see the first children of Blanca’s house spread their wings and seek greener pastures. While Angel (Indya Moore) pursued a modeling career as a trans woman in the 1980s and ’90s (an homage to real world innovator Tracy “Africa” Norman), Damon (Ryan Jamaal Swain) embarked on his career as a dancer in the touring company of impresario Malcolm Mclaren.
With her house children moving on, the stage is set for Blanca to curate a new House of Evangelista for an upcoming generation of LGBTQ+ youth in the 1990s. Series director and executive producer Janet Mock herself stated that she believes there will be a new House of Evangelista for the show’s third season. While nothing is quite like Blanca’s first family, it will be very interesting to see what a new generation of house children brings to the series narrative.
Elektra Abundance's Epic "Reads"
If characters Blanca and Pray Tell (Porter) bring the heart to this show, Elektra Abundance (Dominique Jackson) is certainly its soul with her statuesque physique, unparalleled fashions and quick wit. But for all of her most vibrant qualities, nothing quite beats Elektra’s penchant for “reading,” or telling others the harsh and messy truths about themselves with the full range of her exquisite vocabulary and no nonsense attitude.
Few moments in the series were as showstopping as when Elektra gave a particularly snobbish Long Island lady a vicious beatdown in words after disturbing Elektra and her daughter’s dinner to rudely expose their transgender identities. With every read, Elektra continues to make her mark on the show and related pop culture, and she certainly leaves us anticipating her most vivid orations in the third season.
Angel and Lil Papi's Love Story
One of Pose’s most heartwarming elements is the loving romantic relationship that has developed between Angel and Lil Papi (Angel Bismark Curiel), two of Blanca’s house children who find solace and comfort in one another. For much of the second season, Angel was quick to rebuff Lil Papi’s declarations of love, hoping to maintain a platonic friendship. But his immense charm and devotion to helping her modeling career take off eventually wore Angel down, and the two ended up proposing to one another in a tender moment during the season finale.
It was particularly refreshing to watch a cisgender man fall unabashedly in love with a trans woman, without it being a controversial notion or at the cost of either of their dignities. We are definitely hungry to see how their beautiful relationship continues to blossom in the next chapter.
The Amazing Production, Writing & Direction
For all of the flowers owed to Pose’s amazing cast, the series would not be as epic as it is without the creative input and innovation of the producers, writers and directors. Much of this work is a credit to showrunners and producers like Murphy, Mock and Steven Canals, whose LGBTQ+ identities allow them to approach the subject matter with a nuanced and caring eye. Mock in particular has stood out in her pioneering work as a trans woman bringing that perspective behind the camera of a critically acclaimed show, pouring her lived experiences into the direction and writing she has done for the series thus far.
It is also expected that Porter will step behind the camera into the directorial role for a third season episode, bringing his creative genius and award winning perspective to the helm of the show. It will certainly be exciting to see how the Pose team’s behind the scenes creative efforts, both old and new, continue to translate to the screen for the third season.
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