The Party’s Over
Episode 4 of Halston sees the beginning of the end for our enigmatic designer as Halston continues to party and take cocaine. This montage eventually paves way for Halston being taken up to Montauk, a gorgeous quaint house that used to be an old fishing compound. This is Halston’s new retreat, as our fashion designer continues to party hard. Liza however, suddenly collapses and she’s rushed to hospital. It turns out she was dehydrated and on the back of this, Studio 54 is raided. Stevie is arrested for tax evasion, fraud, drug possession and a whole slew of other charges. Halston is shocked and given they’ll be shut down for a while, the dead body in the vents is the tipping point. Especially as she was wearing Calvin Klein jeans. David sits down and talks to Joe about the Halston brand on the back of this. The sales figures are not looking good and David demands Joe speak to Halston. If he doesn’t deliver something in the next three months then everything will come crashing down. This is especially telling given he knows Halston has been frequenting Studio 54 and doing drugs. Back at his retreat, Joe speaks to Halston about the company’s lack of growth. With him unwilling to delegate and Calvin Klein nipping at his heels, Joe is genuinely concerned. He senses Halston has lost interest in the brand and he needs to snap out of it before it’s too late. This snarkiness spills over to a hostile dinner, as Elsa and Halston come to blows. He claims her creativity was sparked from him and she loses her temper. Elsa walks away from the complex. Halston wonders whether the cocaine is making him hostile but Victor – ever the bad influence – convinces him to keep on. All of this comes crashing down when Halston receives a call from home. He collapses, sobbing uncontrollably before the scene suddenly cuts. It’s his Mum, and she’s passed away. Halston heads up, places flowers on the open coffin and eventually leaves. Halston eventually decides to make the new jeans but it’s too late. His window has gone and the beginning of the end is here. David senses this too and he intends to sell off his stocks before the ship sinks. Well, that ship hits an iceberg when Halston arrives and confronts Elsa, demanding to know why she didn’t show at the funeral. She didn’t know, of course, but it eventually ends with them both trading verbal blows. Elsa curses him out, eventually seeing her fur coat (a Halston design) on the floor and covered in alcohol and broken glass. It’s a nice metaphor to show how far Halston has fallen. With no one else to turn to, Halston tries to ring Liza but it’s a bad connection. Of course, this means Halston turns back to drugs again. Joe eventually confronts him about his addiction and how the fashion designs have gotten worse over time. Halston lashes out and calls the illustrator his beta and how he’ll always be in his shadow. Struggling to hold back tears, Joe walks away. Halston heads up to see Liza, who’s leaving for rehab. He claims he doesn’t have a problem but with Studio 54 closed down, she tries to convince him gently to join her but it’s no good. As the bad news continues to come in, Victor arrives at the hospital and learns that he’s HIV positive. Meanwhile, Halston speaks to David who suggests he become the in-house designer for JC Penney. Well, he does just this, with the allure of money and fame just too much. This, of course, is all part of David’s plan, as a sleazy guy called Carl Epstein takes over in running his division. Halston immediately heads up to see David, who admits that he’s been outbid and has been kicked out the company. Halston questions David over his broken promise. “It’s just business Halston,” He replies.
The Episode Review
Business indeed. Halston’s penultimate episode bows out with a sobering reminder that Halston’s fame and fortune comes at a cost. David has been outbid and with the whole JC Penney shindig finally realized by Halston for the ruse that it is, it leaves him all alone. Of course, Halston does also have Victor by his side but he’s obviously a bad influence. With Liza moving on with her life and our designer having pushed both Ed and Joe away, his personal and professional life have both started to crumble. It’s just a pity that this mini-series hasn’t really bothered to dive into the personal trauma that much. This episode, for example, could have spent a considerable amount of time with Halston and his Mother. Instead, we cut straight past that to continue hitting the big plot points of Halston’s life. This is ultimately the biggest problem with this mini-series, which is a shame because there’s definitely some positive aspects of this show. With the finale up next, everything looks set for a dramatic conclusion to this miniseries to follow.
