Before I got my eye put out
Episode 1 of Dickinson Season 2 begins with “Wild, Wild Woman” playing as we see a montage of notes being written to Sue by Emily. Emily has problems of her own though when she receives an eye examination. It’s touch and go for a few moments but eventually learns that she’s not going blind. She does have iritis though, which is inflammation of the iris, and is told to return 6 months later for a further check-up. On the train home, Edward bemoans the amount of money he’s had to spend on Austin. This, of course, seems to be a subtle nod toward the wedding. Realizing his daughter is silent, Edward soon turns his attention to poetry instead and tries to strike common ground with the girl. While Edward heads out the carriage momentarily, a weird stranger approaches Emily. When he fails to disclose his name, he walks away leaving Emily slightly uneasy. Emily eventually heads home and straight upstairs to write more poetry. Austin encourages his sister to head over and party but Emily is less than enthused about that idea. While everyone parties, Emily continues to write poetry. Only, it’s difficult for her to focus given Shipley and the others are playing loud music and enjoying each others’ company next door. Well, apart from the kids of course who all continue to act like… well… teenagers. An inky Emily eventually shows up at the party. She takes Sue aside and talks to her about the poems she’s been sending. Sue admits she loves her poetry but admits that her writing transcends beyond simple words on the page. “It makes me feel things I don’t want to feel” She admits, going on to mention the loss of her baby. Given she hasn’t told Austin about this, she asks Emily not to say anything. However, the real reason Sue has invited Emily lies solely with the fact Sam Bowles, the editor in chief of The Springfield Republican, is due to make an appearance. This could be just the ticket she needs for her poems to be published. And just like that, Sam Bowles shows up and admits that he’s interested. In fact, he’s so interested he makes her recite a poem out loud in front of the entire party. Thanks to a returning apparition visit from the train ghost called “Nobody”, Emily has second thoughts and walks away.
The Episode Review
Dickinson is a very specific show for a very specific audience. Given the vanilla flavour to a lot of the content on Apple TV, Dickinson is the real marmite of the bunch – you’ll either love it or hate it. Dickinson undeniably has a lot of charm though – with the right audience of course – but it’s also a series that knows exactly how to alienate period drama lovers. This first episode essentially serves to ease us back into proceedings, introducing Emily Dickinson and the rest of the gang as they exude their anachronistic phrases, ideas and dialogue. The story, of course, centers around Dickinson and her poetry. Will she succumb to fate and allow Sam Bowles to hear her beautiful words? We’ll have to wait and see!
