Episode ratings:
One: 9 Two: 8 Three: 7 Four: 7 Five: 8 Six: 10 Seven: 7 Eight: 8 Nine: 6 Ten: 6
As you see by my ratings this season has an extremely strong start. I really enjoyed the OJ season even though it was way too neutral. I think most understand what the evidence point towards so it was weird they tried to present both sides. Well, here they present one side only and present it extremely strongly at that so you won't get any unsaid stuff. Keep in mind Monica Lewinsky is a co-producer on this season which really does explain the biases we see.
Firstly, Sarah Paulson is so good as Linda Tripp in her fatsuit that you HAVE to watch this. I don't care if you hate anything about the Clinton's or refuse to watch a show about politics. This is must-watch. This is one of the best ever acting performances by any woman. This really is this good I'm not exaggerating. She's just spectacular.
Another easily 10/10 acting job is by Cobie Smulders as Ann Coulter. My god is she hilarious. She just drops joke after joke and all are so controversial they would get her cancelled in a second in 2023. She would be deleted from the internet in seconds and never get a job again - it's funny! Unfortunately it's a small role.
Then there are other good performances by Colin Hanks, Annaleigh Ashford, Margo Martindale.
The main issue is the casting of Beanie Feldstein as Monica Lewinsky. Monica Lewinsky was always elegant and conservative in how she dressed. She looked like an aristocrat and today looks even better. She's quite smashing today. She had a girl next door look and was cute and charismatic despite being a bit overweight. Watch her interviews, she's a huge flirt, very powerful and direct, and knows what she wants. She oozes charisma. Her looks got her a job in the White House and from there she was whining and shouting every time she was offered a job she didn't want like working in the Pentagon or other top government agencies in cozy and well-paid jobs. That's all shown in this show directly as they recreate the notorious tape recordings in some scenes. In this show everyone also adores her. Bill loved her and just wanted to hang out with her even. At work everyone adores her. Her parents love her. Her friends like her. Yet the actress is flat in her performance and goes from boring to sad. She's never happy or charismatic. Clive Owen as Bill Clinton is 10 times more charismatic and it makes no sense for him to risk his marriage for her. She's very plain and boring. It's also a shame she didn't try to look like Monica Lewinsky. Beanie Feldstein is decent but she just lazily speaks her lines and never becomes the person unlike all older actors. And all the historical suits also seem way off as they are not meant to be worn by women who are overweight to this degree. It just all feels fake with her as it makes no sense for a president of USA, who women think is charismatic, to throw his presidency away for such a woman with no charisma while he himself points out she is stalking him and clearly is crazy. She was obsessed with him and would wait for 5 hours in lines just to shake his hand. He did notice this in the show so she would need to be extra pretty to make up for this and she was in real life. Even her mom looks way better in this TV show. Meanwhile most other characters are more attractive than in real life here like Linda Tripp looking fairly normal. This makes the episodes about Monica quite dull and fake and it explains why the season ends a bit on a lazy note when we move away from the investigation and flashy characters to this sad dry story about suffering. She just either cries or complains in all scenes. Even when they show her make millions from her books she is sad. Watch ANY interview with her and see if you can find a single minute where she acts this way. It makes no sense to dramatise this into fakeness of her being a small confused girl and Bill being abuser. In real life she knew what she wanted and her looks made her get it and then some.
They also overblow other feminist points like fully believing all accusers like Juanita Broaddrick and Paula Jones. Keep in mind the OJ season didn't take a side. Here they are 100% in one camp. They don't present Bill as evil as they didn't want to get sued - according to statements they made. But all women besides Linda Tripp are heroic and their stories are believed. Which seems like lazy filmmaking. At least be a bit critical and mysterious about this. We don't know what really happened or who is lying so no need to act like you know the truth. Hillary is also presented as heroic and strong. Again making it a bit of a mixed bag historically wise as conservative powerhouses like Brett Kavanaugh are presented as devious childish sex obsessed maniacs. Judge Kenneth Starr is just an evil rat here. Again, you can watch interviews with all these people online and in real life this is not how they come across. The show clearly picked a side. It's not really ruining the show, but it makes you wonder what could have been just like in season 1 where 90% of the evidence was not presented because there was so much of it that it would have made OJ look 100% guilty. I do think they can fix this in time for season 4. But they should stay out of anything related to politics, gender, and race.
One: 9 Two: 8 Three: 7 Four: 7 Five: 8 Six: 10 Seven: 7 Eight: 8 Nine: 6 Ten: 6
As you see by my ratings this season has an extremely strong start. I really enjoyed the OJ season even though it was way too neutral. I think most understand what the evidence point towards so it was weird they tried to present both sides. Well, here they present one side only and present it extremely strongly at that so you won't get any unsaid stuff. Keep in mind Monica Lewinsky is a co-producer on this season which really does explain the biases we see.
Firstly, Sarah Paulson is so good as Linda Tripp in her fatsuit that you HAVE to watch this. I don't care if you hate anything about the Clinton's or refuse to watch a show about politics. This is must-watch. This is one of the best ever acting performances by any woman. This really is this good I'm not exaggerating. She's just spectacular.
Another easily 10/10 acting job is by Cobie Smulders as Ann Coulter. My god is she hilarious. She just drops joke after joke and all are so controversial they would get her cancelled in a second in 2023. She would be deleted from the internet in seconds and never get a job again - it's funny! Unfortunately it's a small role.
Then there are other good performances by Colin Hanks, Annaleigh Ashford, Margo Martindale.
The main issue is the casting of Beanie Feldstein as Monica Lewinsky. Monica Lewinsky was always elegant and conservative in how she dressed. She looked like an aristocrat and today looks even better. She's quite smashing today. She had a girl next door look and was cute and charismatic despite being a bit overweight. Watch her interviews, she's a huge flirt, very powerful and direct, and knows what she wants. She oozes charisma. Her looks got her a job in the White House and from there she was whining and shouting every time she was offered a job she didn't want like working in the Pentagon or other top government agencies in cozy and well-paid jobs. That's all shown in this show directly as they recreate the notorious tape recordings in some scenes. In this show everyone also adores her. Bill loved her and just wanted to hang out with her even. At work everyone adores her. Her parents love her. Her friends like her. Yet the actress is flat in her performance and goes from boring to sad. She's never happy or charismatic. Clive Owen as Bill Clinton is 10 times more charismatic and it makes no sense for him to risk his marriage for her. She's very plain and boring. It's also a shame she didn't try to look like Monica Lewinsky. Beanie Feldstein is decent but she just lazily speaks her lines and never becomes the person unlike all older actors. And all the historical suits also seem way off as they are not meant to be worn by women who are overweight to this degree. It just all feels fake with her as it makes no sense for a president of USA, who women think is charismatic, to throw his presidency away for such a woman with no charisma while he himself points out she is stalking him and clearly is crazy. She was obsessed with him and would wait for 5 hours in lines just to shake his hand. He did notice this in the show so she would need to be extra pretty to make up for this and she was in real life. Even her mom looks way better in this TV show. Meanwhile most other characters are more attractive than in real life here like Linda Tripp looking fairly normal. This makes the episodes about Monica quite dull and fake and it explains why the season ends a bit on a lazy note when we move away from the investigation and flashy characters to this sad dry story about suffering. She just either cries or complains in all scenes. Even when they show her make millions from her books she is sad. Watch ANY interview with her and see if you can find a single minute where she acts this way. It makes no sense to dramatise this into fakeness of her being a small confused girl and Bill being abuser. In real life she knew what she wanted and her looks made her get it and then some.
They also overblow other feminist points like fully believing all accusers like Juanita Broaddrick and Paula Jones. Keep in mind the OJ season didn't take a side. Here they are 100% in one camp. They don't present Bill as evil as they didn't want to get sued - according to statements they made. But all women besides Linda Tripp are heroic and their stories are believed. Which seems like lazy filmmaking. At least be a bit critical and mysterious about this. We don't know what really happened or who is lying so no need to act like you know the truth. Hillary is also presented as heroic and strong. Again making it a bit of a mixed bag historically wise as conservative powerhouses like Brett Kavanaugh are presented as devious childish sex obsessed maniacs. Judge Kenneth Starr is just an evil rat here. Again, you can watch interviews with all these people online and in real life this is not how they come across. The show clearly picked a side. It's not really ruining the show, but it makes you wonder what could have been just like in season 1 where 90% of the evidence was not presented because there was so much of it that it would have made OJ look 100% guilty. I do think they can fix this in time for season 4. But they should stay out of anything related to politics, gender, and race.