'Mrs America' Finale: Sarah Paulson's once timid Alice standing up to Phyllis Schlafly celebrated by fans
Spoilers for ‘Mrs. America’ episode 9, ‘Reagan’.
Based on social media posts, the finale of ‘Mrs. America’ received mixed reactions from viewers. The FX limited series had a similar format for all the previous eight episodes of the show. It would focus on one character and her struggles with private and political beliefs and ideologies.
The finale, titled ‘Reagan’, was a slight departure in that respect. It was a mixed bag of conclusions of various arcs of the story. One particular arc that stood out for audiences was that of the slowly souring friendship of Cate Blanchett’s Phyllis Schlafly, and Sarah Paulson’s Alice Macray. When the series began, Alice was a timid housewife, happy to remain in the shadows of her confident and charismatic friend Schlafly.
But as the series progressed, we saw Alice begin to question Schlafly’s beliefs and ideologies and the very notion of the equal rights they were fighting against. In the finale, Alice confronted her and shouted at her. She called her “mean” at a gala. It was a powerful scene that charted the kind of growth Alice had experienced.
In another scene, before the ending, Alice tells Schlafly that she had gotten a job, a way to maintain her independence, further displaying her evolution. It was more than anything, a slap in the face of all that Schlafly fought for.
Whatever their opinions on the episode in general, viewers seemed to love Alice’s parts. One fan wrote on Twitter, “Alice finally going off on Phyllis on the last episode of Mrs. America is what I'm living for,” while another said, “I’m so sad Mrs. America is over, BUT I’m so happy with Alice’s ending and you better BELIEVE that she helped Pamela out of that abusive situation with her newfound independence yessir.”
Another fan further noted, “The character development of Alice in Mrs. America! I have no words... It shows how your perspective on something can change only if you open up your mind and look at real fact[s], rather than someone's false beliefs based on nothing but prejudice.”
Aside from Alice, many fans commented on the note of despair the show ends on. One wrote on Twitter, “Should have known the final episode of Mrs. America wouldn’t exactly be uplifting given the course of actual history, but I was unprepared for how much of a funk it left me in.”
More still were in praise of the final segment of the episode. After the last shot of Schlafly in the kitchen, peeling fruits while drowning in sadness, the episode launches a montage. It’s a mix of actual footage from the ‘70s, documenting the public lives of Schlafly, Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, Betty Friedan and more. It was freckled with notes on what happened to the movement thereafter, the futures of Schlafly, and the fate of the Equal Rights Amendment.
“I'm usually not a fan of epilogue-y montages and I'm still not a fan but appreciate that Mrs. America lands a mournful note while focusing on its ultimate particular, the ERA, and not feigning something bigger,” wrote a viewer of the show.