Can ‘Pose’ Stick the Landing?

Ryan Murphy’s ballroom opus airs its first season premiere tonight; will it successfully cap off a terrific season? 

There is no one more surprised by Pose‘s trajectory than me. I was skeptical about how FX wunderkind was going to tackle the 1980’s ball culture in his latest series. I didn’t think it would be gritty enough or handle the emotions in a great way. Boy was I wrong.

Pose has amassed a huge following online, and that’s attributed to Murphy’s dedication to allowing transgender actors both on screen and behind the camera. The series is emotionally engaging every week without being manipulative, and we truly care about these characters.

The season finale (“Mother Of the Year”) arrives tonight, and the promo promises that it should not be missed. Blanca (Mj Rodriguez) has found herself a new challenger in the House of Ferocity and Elektra (Dominique Jackson) thought her surgery would lead to doors opening all around her. Even the love story between Angel (the always luminous Indya Moore) and Stand (Murphy standby Evan Peters) has me on the edge of my seat.

“Mother of the Year” airs tonight at 9 PM on FX.