Photo by Eric Liebowitz
Your new TV obsession, Fosse/Verdon was back this week with an exciting second episode. Last we saw, Gwen Verdon joined her husband Bob Fosse on set in Germany. This episode picked right back up on her arriving back from running an errand for him, only to find him in bed with the infamous translator. Or so we thought. Gwen actually joined her friend, the wife of Neil Simon, on vacation. Presumably after finding him in bed with another woman, since her friend mentioned the marriage was on the rocks.
We are then transported back in time and back to New York City. This is the first time Gwen and Bob meet, roughly 263 days since Gwen won her first Tony. We learn that both of them were dating other people at the time. Bob teaches her a little routine and we watch the very obvious sexual tension play through, or maybe it was just the fact it what he was teaching her is a strip tease. Then we get some incredible visuals of the whole team working on the choreo for the show, paired with some awkward moments of Bob with his wife and also him cheating on her with Gwen. Yikes! Especially because his wife is clearly sick.
Fast forward back to Bob and Gwen on the beach. Bob seems to think this is a romantic getaway, meanwhile Gwen clarifies that he threatened to kill himself if she didn’t come see him. Gwen plays their dramatic moment like she’s directing a scene and it kills Bob, which made me love it more. Bob admits that he is in love with the translator, right there on the beach, while also claiming it doesn’t change the way he feels about her. Excuse me? He wants to see another woman and then come home to his wife?
We’re then taken back in time to that first show they worked on together, Damn Yankees. Bob and Gwen discuss the fact that he is married and Gwen had no idea his wife was so sick to the point where she couldn’t walk. Bob says the only thing he wants to do is be with her and that he is in love with her. Clearly, this man has some womanizing issues he needs to take care of. Regardless, Gwen marries him and watches him pull the same stunt again, this time she is on the receiving end of the betrayal. It got even worse when Gwen meets Bob’s wife in the bathroom and learns he was married prior to her and left that wife for her. She clearly knew about their affair. There was also some storyline about Bob’s struggle to get a solid piece of choreography down for Damn Yankees, but that seemed like background noise amidst the drama.
Cut to Bob’s wife Joan leaving him in the midst of Gwen’s dramatic montage of moments with Bob. Gwen follows suit, leaving Bob at the beach. Her montage continues as the car drives away from Bob, who attempted to stop it.
Wow, this episode was an emotional rollercoaster. What did you all think of it? Feel free to sound off with your thoughts on the show in the comments below! See you next week as we watch Gwen make her return to the stage!