"Hope is worth every fight."
Dickinson - Episode Highlights
Episode Highlights
I have never seen 'Volcanoes'
Emily and Sue dress as men to attend a college lecture on volcanoes. The episode perfectly captures the show's blend of rebellious feminism, queer romance, and surrealism. The experience of learning about the immense, hidden power of a volcano becomes a metaphor for Emily's own repressed genius and passion, culminating in an intimate scene with Sue.
This episode establishes the depth of Emily and Sue's bond and explicitly links Emily's poetic inspiration to her queer desire. It solidifies the show's core theme of fighting patriarchal restrictions on female knowledge and experience.
'Faith' is a fine invention
During a solar eclipse, Emily spends a final, poignant day with her literary mentor, Ben Newton, who is dying of tuberculosis. They have an "anti-marriage" ceremony, pledging to remain unbound. His death deeply affects Emily, marking a significant loss and a moment of profound artistic inspiration born from grief.
Ben's death is a major catalyst for Emily's maturation as a poet, forcing her to confront mortality in a real, rather than romanticized, way. The episode is a turning point for her emotional and creative development at the end of the first season.
Split the lark
Emily attends an opera with Sam Bowles and has a surreal vision of Sue singing her poem on stage to a captivated audience. The episode powerfully visualizes Emily's fantasy of being seen and understood, but also her fear of it. The use of Maggie Rogers' song "Light On" underscores her anxiety about public exposure.
This is a pivotal moment in Emily's struggle with fame. The fantasy sequence highlights the allure of being published, but the episode ends with her realizing that this vision of celebrity might not be what she truly wants, setting up her ultimate retreat from the public eye.
You cannot put a Fire out
In the Season 2 finale, Emily confronts Sam Bowles to reclaim her poems and ends her professional relationship with him. She also has a powerful reconciliation with Sue, who confesses her deep love and admits she can't bear for anyone else to have Emily's poems. The episode concludes with Emily embracing her private genius, choosing Sue as her only necessary audience.
This episode resolves the central conflict of the season: Emily's struggle with fame. It marks her definitive choice to prioritize her art's integrity and her relationship with Sue over public recognition, setting the stage for her life as a famously reclusive writer.
Grief is a Mouse
The penultimate episode of the series provides closure for many characters. The Dickinson family feud ends, and Mrs. Dickinson finds peace. Most importantly, it features a long, intimate, and beautifully rendered love scene between Emily and Sue, set to one of Emily's poems and ending with Taylor Swift's "Ivy." It serves as the emotional climax of their relationship.
This episode is the definitive statement on Emily and Sue's love story, giving them the happy, peaceful union that the rest of the series built toward. It solidifies their relationship as the core of the show before the finale focuses solely on Emily's poetic legacy.