Review: Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, “Phantasm Forgiveness” | Season 2, Episode 8
“It was an atmosphere of luxurious exhaustion, like a ripened, shedding rose, while all that waited outside was the failing New York afternoon”
Last week I spent some time with my old friend and fellow critic Scott Tobias; and as always happens when a couple of culture writers get together, we talked a lot of shop. Specifically we talked about episodic TV reviewing, and what it’s like to cover a show that we’re not enjoying as much as we thought we would. This has happened to me a few times in my career—Smash, Roadies, Vinyl, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, others—and generally what results is a mild case of Stockholm Syndrome, where the sheer amount of time spent watching and thinking about a show leads to a grudging understanding, bordering on respect, for what it’s trying to do.
There have been times during this Feud season when episodes have infuriated me, confounded me, bored me and exhausted me. But because we were stuck together for eight whole hours—and because I have a genuine interest in Capote vs. The Swans’ subject—I also saw flashes of the show I wanted to see, buried in this soup of tepid takes and circular storytelling.
To that point, I have to say that I almost liked Feud’s season Two finale, “Phantasm Forgiveness.” At the least I could see—and even appreciate—writer Jon Robin Baitz’s intentions with the episode, which are admirably bold if perhaps a bit hubristic.