'Mrs America' Episode 5 Preview: Phylis and her husband to participate in TV debate against feminist couple
The FX biographical miniseries ‘Mrs. America’ is about to hit the mid-season mark. So far, the series has set the stage for the battle between the feminists and the antifeminists to reach biblical proportions. Set in the 1970s, the show chronicles second-wave feminists like Bella Abzug (Margo Martindale), Gloria Steinem (Rose Bryne), Betty Friedan (Tracey Ullman), and more on one side, and the severe and successful opposition they received over the Equal Rights Amendment from the Christian conservative Phylis Schlafly (Cate Blanchett) on the other.
Episode 4 dramatized the life of Betty Friedan, the author of the famous book ‘The Feminine Mystique’, her bitter rivalry with Steinem, and her infamous debate with Schlafly where she called the conservative housewife a witch and said she would have her burnt at the stake. The debate, owing to Friedan’s fame, pushed Schlafly and her cohort of conservative housewives further into the media spotlight, adding to their fast-gaining momentum against the ERA.
So, what lies ahead? Episode 5, titled ‘Phyllis & Fred & Brenda & Marc’, per IMDB will see Phyllis and her husband Fred Schlafly (John Slattery), a wealthy attorney from Illinois, debate the feminist couple Brenda (Ari Graynor) and Marc Feigen-Fasteau (Adam Brody) on television.
This appears to be the first episode in the limited series that does not revolve around a specific person. Instead, it revolves around four. We have already been thoroughly made familiar with Phylis and Fred and their personal dynamics. They share six children and a seemingly-happy marriage. Underneath the perfect picture, however, is a man, who though no doubt is devoted to making his wife succeed in her quest, also still believes her first priority should always be towards the family.
It is likely that this episode will further explore these dynamics. We've already seen in the show's trailers that Phylis' rise in power leads to conflicts at her home.
Brenda and Marc, on the other hand, have not been introduced as of yet. Brenda is a feminist activist, lawyer, and filmmaker who became the National Legislative Vice President for the National Organization for Women. She also co-founded Ms. Magazine along with Steinem. And in 1972, she joined Ruth Bader Ginsburg in co-directing the newly formed American Civil Liberties Union's Women's Rights Project. Feigen believed that “in order to get women on a par with men, we needed the Equal Rights Amendment.”
The episode promises a fiery debate. Whether it will be as exciting as the debate in the previous episode, only time will tell. But the fact that it is a television debate only goes to show that Phylis' movement was gaining more and more traction with each passing day.
'Mrs. America' drops new episodes weekly every Wednesday only on Hulu.