The Act season 1, episode 6 recap: A Whole New World

Jerald Raymond Pierce

The Act — “A Whole New World” – Episode 106 — While Gypsy and Nick are on the run, flashbacks to a much younger Dee Dee reveal how trauma with her own mother set her up for conflict with Gypsy. Nick Godejohn (Calum Worthy) and Gypsy Rose Blanchard (Joey King), shown. (Photo by: Brownie Harris/Hulu)

This episode of The Act gives us a glimpse into the early days of Gypsy’s life. A contentious relationship between Dee Dee and her mother, Emma, gives some insight into the life that Gypsy has been leading.

Episode six of The Act opens shortly after where the last episode left off. There are screams as Dee Dee calls out to Gypsy combined with the sounds of Dee Dee being murdered.

The Act then transitions back to 1991 and Dee Dee’s screams as she gives birth to Gypsy. During the birth, the doctors worry there’s an umbilical cord problem and then the baby isn’t crying right away after being born. Dee Dee is clearly already very, very worried about Gypsy, even though doctors continue to tell her everything is fine (the baby does start to cry after not too long).

As Dee Dee holds Gypsy, she’s so focused on her baby that she ignores (perhaps intentionally) the nurse asking for the father’s name.

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Then, Dee Dee’s mom Emma comes in and immediately takes over. Emma acts like Dee Dee doesn’t know anything and can’t possibly handle being a mother. She tells the nurse exactly what she wants to happen next (measured and weighed, then fed, then given her first bath). She won’t let Dee Dee do anything.

Present day: Nick and Gypsy leave Gypsy’s house and take a cab to the inn where Nick has been staying.

The room is a mess (apparently Victor didn’t have time to clean up). It’s the first of many signs for Gypsy that this isn’t turning into the fantasy she imagined it’d be. She sits on the couch and takes some pills to calm her nerves. Then, she looks at her suitcase and smiles.

As if trying to recapture the magic they had online, Gypsy changes into a colorful wig and grabs a camcorder. She records as she and Nick dive into a role-play and have sex.

After, the two cuddle in bed and talk about their plan to go back to Wisconsin to be where Nick lives. Gypsy asks Nick about details about Wisconsin (scenery, exciting aspects, etc.), but Nick can’t offer up more information than the fact that his boss is nice. Gypsy seems disappointed as her fantasy escape again takes a hit.

Back in 1991, Dee Dee can’t get a crying Gypsy to eat and Dee Dee is paranoid that something is wrong with Gypsy.

Emma takes the baby and Gypsy immediately calms down. Emma tells Dee Dee that there’s nothing wrong with Gypsy, she’s just feeling how agitated Dee Dee is and is awake too late at night. Dee Dee doesn’t believe her and takes Gypsy back. Dee Dee says they’re going to go to the doctor. Alone.

Cut to the doctor’s office where Emma has decided that she’ll join Dee Dee and Gypsy.

The doctor says Gypsy has “failure to thrive” but says it’s nothing to worry about. It just means Gypsy is underweight, but infants usually grow out of it. Dee Dee gets emotional, thinking she’s doing things wrong. The doctor reassures her and gives her a schedule to help Gypsy get back on track.

Well, he tries to give it to Dee Dee, but Emma keeps butting in and asserting herself as the person who does all the work with Gypsy. She keeps subtly blaming Dee Dee for any problems with Gypsy.

Back home, Dee Dee is consumed with sticking to the doctor’s schedule for Gypsy. Emma keeps trying to take over by sending Dee Dee to bed, saying she can feed Gypsy while Dee Dee rests. But Dee Dee forced Emma to leave so she can feed Gypsy by herself.

In the present, Nick and Gypsy get breakfast after checking out of their room. As they eat, two police officers come in the diner and Gypsy again panics. She reminds Nick that they still have the knife with them. Gypsy fumbles for her pills and drops them on the ground. One of the officers comes over and picks it up and gives it back to her. He walks away without much incident.

Still, Gypsy grabs her stuff hastily and says they need to leave.

After, they talk about what to do with the knife. They decide to mail it to themselves in Wisconsin so they can get rid of it later without having to have it with them at the bus station.

It’s 1993 now and Dee Dee is filming Gypsy as Dee Dee’s cousin, Janet, cooks in the background. Dee Dee is so focused on Gypsy that she doesn’t hear the knock on the door or Emma calling her name.

The police have come to arrest Dee Dee for felony check fraud (she had written a check from her grandfather’s checkbook and he’s pressing charges). As the police put Dee Dee in handcuffs, Emma, inexplicably, brings Gypsy into the room to watch her mom taken away by the police. Gypsy starts to cry.

The Act cuts straight to Dee Dee’s sentencing. She’s given six months in jail.

As Dee Dee’s being led from the courtroom, Emma condescendingly accuses Dee Dee of using Gypsy to try to get the judge to feel bad for her. Dee Dee then tries to say goodbye to Gypsy, but Emma won’t let her. Dee Dee then says that Emma could have put the money together for her bond, but wouldn’t.

Emma tells Dee Dee that “the only way out is through.”

Dee Dee, as she’s pulled from the room, begs Emma over and over again to follow the doctor’s schedule for care for Gypsy. Emma, unconvincingly, says she will.

Nick and Gypsy get to the bus station only to find out that there’s no ticket for Gypsy. Nick says he must have made a mistake and forgotten to get her one. There are no more seats on that day’s bus, so they have to wait two days for another bus to Wisconsin. Gypsy has Nick pay for tickets on that next bus as she walks away. It’s another hit to her dream.

The Act then briefly shows Dee Dee in prison. She’s sending letters to Gypsy, but she hasn’t received anything back.

Quickly, The Act moves on to Dee Dee being released from prison and picked up by Janet. When they get home, Gypsy starts crying as soon as she sees Dee Dee. Emma says Gypsy will need to readjust to Dee Dee being there.

Dee Dee then gets mad at Emma because, according to the schedule, this should be Gypsy’s nap time. Instead, Gypsy is playing outside. Emma says Gypsy is happy and now, they do things differently.

Later, Dee Dee is worried that Gypsy is sick, despite Emma saying Gypsy is fine (and throwing in the jab that Gypsy has been fine ever since Dee Dee left). This sets Dee Dee off. She says that Gypsy is obviously sick and Emma is just trying to prove that she’s a better mom than Dee Dee is.

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Emma, coldly, just smiles and says she could have told the cops that Dee Dee wasn’t there when they came looking for her. But, she knew Dee Dee needed to learn. She then says that, from the day Gypsy was born, she knew that Gypsy was better with her than with Dee Dee.

Emma then turns and leaves.

Back at the inn, Nick and Gypsy check back in. Their previous room was taken, so they’re given a smaller room with two twin beds. Time passes as Gypsy sits in a constant state of unhappiness (through talking with Nick, watching television and even having sex). This isn’t the fairytale she’d signed up for.

It’s now their last night before finally going to Wisconsin. Gypsy gets mad at Nick because he won’t take her pills with her. He doesn’t like taking drugs. But Gypsy says they’re supposed to do everything together like Cinderella and Prince Charming.

Angry, she leaves to get a snack from the vending machine.

It’s 1997 now and Dee Dee is laying out pills in a weekly organizer. Emma calls out from the other room, but Dee Dee ignores her. Gypsy asks her mom if she can go play on the trampoline, but she won’t let her.

Dee Dee finally goes to check on Emma. Emma is in a wheelchair now and very sick. Dee Dee seems worried about her, but Emma refuses to be put in hospice care. Instead, Emma asks Dee Dee to just give her her Percocet and some Ensure.

Dee Dee gives her the Percocet but says they’re out of Ensure. She looks at Emma and simply says, “the only way out is through.”

Dee Dee turns to leave, but Emma says she needs Dee Dee. Dee Dee then gets Gypsy and they both climb into bed with Emma.

Later, Gypsy watches television while a doctor talks to Dee Dee about Emma. Apparently, Emma’s tolerance to pain medication has made it so the IV of morphine she’s been getting isn’t working anymore. When asked, Dee Dee lies and says Emma hasn’t had any other pain medications on top of the IV.

The doctor says Emma only has a few days to live because her body is shutting down. He then calls Dee Dee a saint for taking care of Emma and Gypsy.

After the doctor leaves, Dee Dee sits to watch television with Gypsy. Emma calls out to her, but Dee Dee just turns up the volume on the tv.

The Act transitions to Emma in bed struggling to breathe. Dee Dee tells her mom that she loves her and she knows Emma always tried her best. Hoarsely, Emma says that Dee Dee made it impossible for her.

Disgusted, Dee Dee leaves the room and goes to Gypsy. Crying, she tells Gypsy that she has a mom who loves her.

Jump to a new day. Janet is coming to help Dee Dee pack up the house since Dee Dee can’t afford to buy Emma’s house herself. Gypsy asks to go play on the trampoline, but Dee Dee won’t let her. Dee Dee won’t even let Gypsy go outside. Gypsy, frustrated, walks away.

Janet then comes in and gives Dee Dee a stack of letters she’s found. It’s all of the letters Dee Dee had sent Gypsy from prison. None of them are open.

Dee Dee then calls out to Gypsy. She finds her outside playing on the trampoline. As a terrified Dee Dee gets outside, Gypsy takes a bad fall and lands hard on the ground. She’s barely moving as Dee Dee holds her. Janet goes off to call 911.

Back in the present, Gypsy stands in line at the vending machine behind a mother and her daughter. The daughter keeps calling out to her mother which is clearly starting to get on the woman’s nerves.

Hearing this, Gypsy gets emotional and walks back to the room.

Inside, she finally lets loose all of her frustrations. They’re supposed to be in Wisconsin by now. She blames Nick for not thinking and not doing things the right way. She angrily says she can’t keep doing everything for him. She yells at him to start thinking.

Nick apologizes. He says he will never leave Gypsy because he loves her. That also means he’ll do anything for her. He wants her to have her happily ever after. He apologizes again and the two hug.

Dee Dee, returning from the doctor’s visit with Gypsy, carries Gypsy into the house from the car. Gypsy tries to say she can walk, but Dee Dee insists she’s too weak and needs rest.

Once inside, Dee Dee gets Emma’s old wheelchair and puts Gypsy in it. She says it’ll just be until Gypsy feels better. Gypsy says nothing. She seems resigned to be in the wheelchair.

This episode of The Act wraps up with Nick and Gypsy finally on the bus. For the first time in a while, Gypsy smiles. Her dreams are back on track.

What do you think of this episode of The Act? Is it just me or was sending a murder weapon through the mail a bad choice? Let us know all of your thoughts on Gypsy, Dee Dee and The Act in the comments.

Jerald Raymond Pierce

Jerald Raymond Pierce is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in American Theatre magazine, the Seattle Times, the Charleston Post and Courier and the Syracuse Post-Standard. He has his BFA in Acting from Ohio University and MA in Arts Journalism from Syracuse University.