Loveday Writing

The job of a season finale is to wrap up the season’s story arcs and establish new ones for the next season (if there is one). I feel that this finale did a great job, with a couple of twists thrown in the mix.

I’m going to review the finale character by character.

Joyce, Doug, Tina, and Constance – The episode kicks off with a flashback to twenty years earlier, shortly after the death of Constance’s husband, Yorgi. It’s here that Constance’s ruthlessness is revealed when she discovers that her right-hand man, Archibald, betrayed her and gets her beloved dogs to “pillage” him, a throwback to when Joyce first met Constance and her dogs.

We’re then brought back to the present, specifically October 11, 1973, and it’s the night of the Minx International Gala. Joyce is rehearsing her speech in her new condo when she gets a knock on the door and finds an envelope with the pages of the bathhouse shoot, with a note from Constance asking her to fix it.

We then see Doug walking around the Bottom Dollar office depressed, offering to give away his stuff. When Joyce arrives, he offers her his booze cart, and informs her that Constance has asked him to meet with her before the Gala and he believes the axe is about to fall. When Joyce asks him where Richie is, he tells her but warns her to go easy on him as he has had a rough 36 hours, she tells him that she knows this as she spoke with Shelly.

Joyce goes to see Richie and compliments him on his photos of the raid, but also tells him that they can’t use the bathhouse photos as Minx isn’t for gay men. Richie rightfully calls her out on being happy to use his work and take money from gay readers, but not actually showcase them. When Joyce tells him that his photos will be replaced with a Minx retrospective instead, he tells her to figure out the next issue on her own, as he already put together the issue twice. Later, Joyce asks Bambi to drop the retrospective pages off to the printers, and Bambi demands upfront payment for overtime and a mileage reimbursement, also unhappy about Joyce’s and Constance’s choice to axe Richie’s bathhouse shoot.

Later, when Doug goes to see Constance, he tells her that he knows she has dissolved Bottom Dollar. Constance then tells him that she has made a lot of mistakes during their partnership, which include not publishing his science magazine and thinking that Joyce could take the company and run it at the next level. She then tells him that she sold Bottom Dollar to form a new company, PRG – Papadopoulos Renetti Global and that she is making Doug the President, with Joyce and Tina reporting to him.

Later, Constance asks to see Joyce. Joyce asks about the choices for Minx’s international editors, pointing out that not all of them were hers. Tina remarks that the majority of them were socialists and they needed at least one capitalist. Constance also tells Joyce that the Bella LaRouche piece, where Shelly has Bella comes out as a lesbian, won’t work, claiming that it won’t appeal to “women like them” and opens them up to being attacked by the entire feminist movement. Constance sends Tina off to the printers, much like her own secretary, to change the story out.

On her way out, Tina runs into Doug, who tells her about his promotion, which doesn’t make Tina any happier, as it’s no different to how things used to be.

Later, as the Gala gets underway. Joyce tells Doug that she feels like she is losing control of the magazine, pointing out that no-one showed her the mock international covers beforehand. Doug tells her that no-one gets this big without giving something up, echoing Constance’s earlier statement to her of being used to compromising to ensure Minx’s success. When Shelly arrives at the party, Joyce asks to speak with her.

When Constance calls Joyce to the stage to give her speech, she doesn’t show up, with Doug taking her place and offering to give her speech on her behalf, only to give one of his own. Meanwhile, Joyce and Shelly are making a mad rush to the printers in Doug’s car. Joyce apologises to Shelly for not seeing her as a mentor to look up to and tells her that their mother has a new family in Sacramento.

When Joyce and Shelly arrive at the printers (moments after Bambi, Richie, and Lenny), they find Tina is already there. Tina tells them that she was done with Constance when she made her views on lesbianism clear. While we don’t see the whole re-worked issue, we do see that Joyce included Richie’s bathhouse shoot combined with photos of the raid, as well as Shelly’s latest Bella LaRouche piece.

In the early hours of the following morning, everyone celebrates in the parking lot, even though they will lose their jobs over the reworked issue. When Bambi asks if Constance can stop the issue from going out, Joyce tells her that she is sending a copy to every major media outlet, along with her scorching resignation letter, and that she is essentially going to war with her own magazine. When Shelly tells her that this would make good material for her book, Joyce tells her that this is the book. Tina also tells them that she’s going to Paris, then she is going to war with them.

The episode and season ends with the reveal that Doug has slept with Constance.

Shelly, Lenny, Bambi, and Richie – Shelly and Lenny kick off their appearance in the finale by ostensibly telling their kids about their separation, only for it to be revealed that they are informing their swinger friends about it. Shelly also reveals that she is going away to Italy for a while to be with Doreen.

Meanwhile, Bambi cashes all of her pay cheques for the first time and confides in one of the printers about feeling lost and lonely. He tells her about the Peoples Temple and Jim Jones (yes that Peoples Temple). Richie also shows his aunt photographs he has taken of the food that she makes at the bakery, and he tells her that General Mills want him to direct their commercials. He’s unsure about taking the job, but his aunt points out that it is a huge opportunity for him.

When Bambi’s car runs out of gas as she drives herself and Richie to the printers, Lenny comes to their rescue. Bambi gets in the back with the kids and manages to calm them down with pranayama yoga breathing exercises, she also offers to help out Lenny with the kids whilst Shelly is away. Lenny is touched by the offer and accepts, and they share a look between them, hinting at a possible romance in the future.

Overall, I felt this was a solid season finale as Joyce has finally taken control back with the magazine, albeit by essentially staging a coup in the process, with Tina, Bambi, and Richie by her side. If the show is renewed for a third season, which I hope it is, it will be interesting to see how this plays out, with Doug essentially siding with Constance by taking the promotion and sleeping with her.

The possible other story arcs for next season include whether Richie does spread his professional wings, Bambi and Lenny’s possible romance, and Shelly’s romance with Doreen. I’m honestly looking forward to seeing how these are played out, if they are played out at all.

In terms of the season as a whole, it felt a little all over the place at the beginning, especially with the massive and unexplained time jump in the third episode. However, once the time jump happened, the season managed to find its way with Minx going on a rapid, too-rapid upward trajectory. I feel that this was a natural progression and good choice for a second season, and the finale having Joyce stage a coup and realise how far she, everyone and Minx had fallen, or at least spiralled out of control, to be a natural and solid end for the season.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed reviewing the second season of Minx and I hope it’s renewed for a third at some point in the future.

Stray Observations:

Episode title – What Joyce is called throughout the episode, especially during the Gala.

Bambi tidbit – Bambi has never cashed a pay cheque because she has managed to live off the kindness of strangers and a mysterious settlement.

-Apparently, Doug has been a 42 Regular since he was eight years old.

-Richie’s aunt refers to Minx as a “penis catalogue.”

-Bambi has earned at least $80,769 over the nine years she has worked at Bottom Dollar.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “Odd numbers in this situation are tricky, Gary, you know that.” (Lenny to Gary on Gary’s question of whether he and Shelly will still attend their swinger’s parties, albeit separately)
• “Oh no, did some of the bathhouse boys also commit momicide?” (Bambi to Joyce on the retrospective pages)
• “I look like a slutty dictator.” “I thought that’s what you were going for.” (Joyce-Doug on the photo of her from the Rolling Stone cover blown up and used at the Gala)