Gypsy is excited to start over with Nick in Wisconsin, but their new life doesn't match the happily ever after she imagined, and her anxiety worsens as past transgressions begin to catch up with them.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of Hulu's The Act.
"Bonnie & Clyde" was written by Dan Dietz & Robin Veith and directed by Hannah Fidell
Gypsy truly believed that if she killed her mother then all of her problems would be solved. Dee Dee was the only obstacle standing in her way from having a fulfilling and independent life. She stuck to her convictions to go through with the murder because of the fantasy she believed in. Happily ever afters aren't as easy and simple in real life as they are in the movies. That's the mentality Gypsy has been raised on though. She believes she has found her Prince Charming. Nick will always come to rescue her. He is her knight in shining armor. And yet, it has been overwhelmingly clear to the audience that Nick suffers from his own issues and isn't capable of providing the life that Gypsy fantasizes about having. Instead, it's mostly a story about how she manipulates him into doing whatever she wants. Dee Dee was a master manipulator. She fooled the entire world into viewing her as a victim while she schemed so much from the sympathies of others. She is still a victim in all of this though because Gypsy killed her. She felt the impulse to do so and actually carried out the plan. Only now when faced with her new reality in Wisconsin is Gypsy starting to feel a little bit of remorse and guilt for her actions. She saw a perfect and happy life she could have with Nick after getting rid of her mother. Instead, it's a world where they are living with his parents who are struggling to make ends meet. Gypsy sees it as abusive that Nick's mom doesn't keep food in the house. She doesn't understand how crippling the struggle can be to provide when someone doesn't aspire to cheat and manipulate the system. Gypsy is just as manipulative as her mother. Consequences do ultimately come for her though. She suddenly started to spiral about no one ever finding her dead mother at home. She doesn't want her to be there all alone even though she stabbed her to death. She only sends alarming messages out on social media because she wants to believe in the fantasy of moving back into that house again. She can never return to Missouri though. She is guilty of murder. It's better for her to be on the run avoiding justice for as long as possible. But she also aspires to be back in the house that was built specifically for her. So many traumas and hardships occurred within those walls. And yet, that was home for her. It was a place where she didn't have to worry about the realities of the world. It's frightening to spend this time with Nick's family as they start to question her. It's so overwhelming and she doesn't have the money or the medications to get through it. Sure, she is still more than capable of putting on a performance when the police finally arrest her and Nick. It doesn't take long at all before they are tracked down. Nick is incredibly honest as well about what actually happened. He talks about his mental health condition and how Gypsy made him kill Dee Dee. Meanwhile, Gypsy wants to live in the shock and brutal emotions of this moment believing that things can still work out for her. They can't. People may have had love for her and Dee Dee at some point. But now, they are seeing Gypsy forced into the courtroom as the person she truly is. She deceived everyone. She may be a 23-year-old women who committed murder but she still sees herself as a sympathetic victim too. It's very complicated because of the nuanced relationship with her mother, who subjected her to numerous procedures and confinements she didn't need. It seems like this was the only inevitable outcome. But that's also not true at all because there were so many opportunities for them to be exposed before their lives completely fell apart.
