Pose Season 3, Episode 7 recap: Series Finale (Part I and II)

Pose bid farewell after three seasons with an emotionally heartbreaking series finale. In fact, I’m still in my feelings over the way the story came to an end. It was beautiful, poignant, and wrapped up the series in the most fitting of ways.

The show has always stuck to the story it set out to tell and shed a positive and empowering light on the LGBTQIA+ community. It never shied away from telling the difficult reality the community faced in the 80s with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It wasn’t a pretty moment in our history, and the creators of Pose didn’t hesitate to depict every aspect of it.

The final two episodes had a delicate balance of joy and heartbreak and gave each of its characters a proper conclusion. I didn’t feel like they left anything unsaid and gave day-one fans the closure we needed. There are simply not enough words to describe the perfection the finale was!

I highly respect the work Ryan Murphy and his fellow showrunners/co-creators have done with Pose, and to say we’ll miss it is a huge understatement. There’s a lot to discuss when it comes to the two-hour Pose Season 3, er series finale, so let’s get right into it!

Pose Season 3, Episode 7 recap: Pray Tell

Perhaps we knew it was coming, perhaps we wanted to act like things had indeed gotten better. Whatever your thought process was, the Pose series finale took you by surprise when it came to Pray Tell (Billy Porter).

The episode kicked off with Pray Tell admitting himself to the hospital due to his pneumonia. Based on how he was looking, it was clear Pray Tell didn’t have much time left. The doctor’s reports confirmed as much, and thus began the emotional heartbreak that is Pray Tell’s end.

However, things take a turn when one of Blanca’s white patient’s health dramatically improves after he’s admitted into a clinical trial for a cocktail of HIV drugs. If it worked for this guy, then maybe it’ll help Pray too, right?

Sadly, the clinical trial wasn’t exactly diverse, and barely considered people of color. Christopher (Jeremy Pope) and Judy (Sandra Bernhard) banded together to get Pray into the trial as well. It was easier said than done but with their voices along with Blanca’s (MJ Rodriguez), Pray gets into the trial. And…so does Blanca! She tested positive a while back but has been asymptomatic but they convinced her to take this opportunity anyway.

Pose Season 3, Episode 7 recap: The future is bright, sort of

Time fast forwards and I’m happy to report that we see a happy, healthy Pray Tell strutting the streets of New York. Life is good, health is good, and he’s even gotten back with Ricky (Dyllon Burnside).

The two stop by a rehearsal of the Gay Men’s Chorus where Pray reveals that when his health was deteriorating, he joined the chorus. It was his way of being a part of the movement without being a burden on Act Up. It’s a beautiful moment between the two characters, especially after all the turmoil they endured earlier on.

But while Pray’s health has been on the up and up, Ricky’s has begun to worsen. He has a lesion on his chest, which marked the end of days for those with HIV/AIDS. Pray promises to get him through it, but we don’t learn exactly how until a bit later on.

Given the hospital’s refusal to include Ricky in the trial, the group gets together to protest against their discrimination towards people of color. A huge crowd gathers with signs and chants, and despite the protest being peaceful, the cops violently respond by cuffing up some of the protestors.

Pose Season 3, Episode 7 recap: Farewell, beloved Pray Tell

Sadly and semi-unexpectedly, we were forced to bid farewell to Pray Tell. Yes, he was better and his health was improving. But after realizing that Ricky wasn’t going to get the help he needed, Pray Tell started giving Ricky his medicine and stopped taking it himself.

As time went on, Ricky’s health improved while Pray Tell’s silently declined. No one in the group was aware that Pray Tell was making this silent sacrifice until it was far too late. But before we get to that devastating moment, we get an epic ball performance with Pray and Blanca doing a duet to Diana Ross’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. It was probably the best ball scene we’ve had from the series ever, and it filled my heart with so much joy. The performance was made even more special because money was being raised for those in the LGTBQ+ community that needed help to pay for drugs and healthcare.

After a glorious night, Pray Tell went home, wiped all the makeup away, and stared at his natural self in the mirror. It’s such a poignant yet haunting scene because you become aware something isn’t right, and that something is about to go very wrong.

The next morning Ricky enters the apartment to find Pray Tell lying lifeless in his bed. It was too late to do anything but he was taken to the hospital anyway. Watching Blanca learn of Pray’s demise broke my heart into a million pieces, and it’s not a scene I think I’ll ever watch again.

R.I.P., Pray Tell, you will be greatly missed.

With Pray gone, Blanca honored all his final wishes. She read the letters he left behind for all his friends, she gave a bit of Pray Tell to each of his closest friends in the form of a locket with his ashes and even finished the AIDS quilt they had started together. The remainder of his ashes were spread on the mayor’s lawn in solidarity with others that were doing the same with their loved ones that had passed due to HIV/AIDS.

Pose Season 3, Episode 7 recap: A time jump

The series jumps ahead to 1998 and gives us the most uplifting ending to what has been a fabulous series. Blanca is officially a nurse and celebrating her four-year anniversary with Christopher, Judy is working in the maternity ward, and the rest of the girls are living their best lives. Elektra is taking her riches to help the less fortunate, Lulu is now a tax accountant, and Angel is enjoying being a mother to Beto (Jace Moses) and ready to get back into modeling.

We head back to the ballroom one last time to see Ricky taking on Pray’s legacy as a mentor as the Father of the House of Evangelista. During that night’s show, Elektra surprises Blanca with an award recognizing her legacy and her contributions to ballroom. If you didn’t have a box of tissues by your side for this scene, I don’t know how you got through it!

As the series closes out, Blanca imparts some advice on a group of people who ask how to succeed in ballroom. She simply tells them not to give up, despite any difficulties they can and will persevere and they should never let anyone or anything get them down.

Pose is going to be a series that will go down in history as one of the most iconic shows that supported and depicted the LGBTQ+ community in a different light. We got to understand this world with all its imperfections and get a glimpse of the trauma they have endured for many decades. I commend Ryan Murphy for bringing this story to life, and for giving all of us such a beautiful story to be a part of. I will miss this show very much!

Pose, you get all 10s from me!

What did you think of the Pose series finale? Tell us in the comments below!