'Pose' Season 2 is TV's most joyful celebration of life

Pose’s first season was revolutionary television for a number of reasons. Its cast and creative team had a record-setting number of queer and trans people of color, and its fantastically glittering portrayal of New York’s ballroom scene served as the backdrop for stories that rarely, if ever, get told with any level of authenticity on television.

In its second season, Pose is back with the continued stories of Blanca, Angel, Pray Tell, Elektra, and more — and it’s still must-see TV.

Even though Season 1 ended with the fairy-tale ending trans women of color rarely get, Season 2 wastes no time in shaking up the characters and reminding its audience that Pose takes place in a time of crisis for the queer community.

The specter of HIV looms heavily over the first episodes of Season 2, as Pray Tell and Blanca visit the unmarked graves and ceaseless funerals of their fallen brothers and sisters. There’s power in these scenes that highlight just how much the American government failed and continues to fail its most vulnerable people, but Pose’s strength is in portraying that reality while never losing sight of the beautiful lives its characters live.

And what lives! The Season 2 shakeup also brings Pray Tell and Blanca into a more active role in the fight against HIV/AIDS, having them join up with real-life organization ACT UP, where they fight for their lives and those of Blanca’s children. Angel is more than over her Season 1 boyfriend Stan and moving forward with her dreams of being a model, while Ricky and Damon reunite in House Evangelista after a summer apart. As for Elektra, her season finale redemption moments lasts about as long as a 10-dollar manicure, and it doesn’t take long for her to reclaim her title as the hell-diva to end all hell-divas.

Season 2 additionally brings returning characters like Lil Papi and Judy Kubrack to the forefront of several new plots while introducing knockout guest stars like Patti Freaking LuPone as Frederica Norman. Papi’s extra screen time is a gift to the plot and he emerges as a romantic hero whose intense heart was overshadowed by his dancing in Season 1. Judy works well as Pray Tell’s tie to the ACT UP activists, and is one of the only characters whose wit can sync with Pray Tell’s legendary motormouth. Patti LuPone is Patti LuPone. And she’s on Pose now. Why aren’t you watching already?

There are many reasons to tune into Pose on FX. Its cast is unique and compelling, its emotional arcs are beyond satisfying, and the production value (especially in the ballroom scenes) is gorgeous, but at its core the show is about what it’s like to live a full life in the face of a world that to this day struggles to acknowledge one’s humanity. Even as its characters face the possibility of illness and death, Pose manages to be about life, love, and family. Its tagline couldn’t be more apt: Live. Work. Pose.