Last week’s episode of Pose was so good! However, I am sure I am not alone in missing Pray Tell on my screen. Imagine my excitement when I saw this week’s episode expanded on his storyline! I lost that excitement quickly, though.
Pray is one of the show’s most beloved characters. It’s been hard to watch him struggle through addiction and loss. The bad news keeps coming for Pray, as we see him get diagnosed with lymphoma due to his AIDS battle. He does not have the immune system to be treated safely. Chemotherapy could easily kill him. It was heartbreaking to hear he had at most six months to live. Nurse Jackie and Blanca were there to help him navigate his emotions. He said there were people he loved and they needed to hear that from him.
The next time we saw Pray, he was on a bus. He ended up at his mom’s house where he had dinner with her and his aunts. He broke the news to them that he has AIDS and was dying. His mom was devastated, his aunt got preachy, it was a lot. He began reliving his past traumas caused by the church he grew up in. One of his aunts was incredibly supportive, the other encouraged him to go back to that very church, and he did.
After enjoying some gospel music, he met with the pastor. The pastor turned out to be someone he once dated. He was “converted” into a straight man, now married to Pray’s high school best friend. He opened up about the pain the church caused him and when told to just get on his knees, Pray responded with the quote of the episode, “trust me, I’ve been on my knees and received many blessings from many men.” Iconic!
Pray returned to his home and talked to his mom. She shared that at one point she was too depressed to get out of bed worrying about Pray’s soul. This conversation turned into a discussion about how her husband sexually assaulted Pray when he was a kid. She told him to get over it and let the past die. That was difficult to watch.
Pray joins his ex-turned-pastor and his wife for dinner. His kids were reciting memorized bible verses, which seemed a bit much but go off, I guess. The pastor took off, so he got to catch up with his old best friend. He’s shocked that she ended up married to his ex. It started out cute, but got sad. She asked Pray how she could pleasure her husband, wanting to make him happy. Clearly, she knows he is gay, but she believes in this marriage. He tried to explain to her that she would be much better off ending the marriage, but she wasn’t hearing it.
The pastor returned home and asked Pray to join him on a walk. They relived memories from their teenage years, the pastor shared how much he missed him. Actually, he said he never stopped loving him. Pray made a mock prayer, calling to Jesus for help. The pastor started going off about how Pray awakened something in him. He wanted to be with Pray again. They kissed! He didn’t care that Pray didn’t have much time left. Pray is the love of his life.
Pray returned home and had a heart-to-heart with his mom. He wanted her to admit that she stood by while he was abused and that she kicked him out because she chose church over her son. She admitted she was wrong, there was nothing wrong with Pray, and that she wanted another chance. It was a moving scene of mother and son love. She asked him to go to church with her one more time and he agreed.
Pray and his mama walked into church in their Sunday best. Of course, the pastor was there. His aunt called him to sing with her choir. How he was ready to perform on the spot is beyond me, but I’m sure his pastor boyfriend enjoyed it. Actually, the whole church loved it.
The episode ended with a cute lunch between Pray and his sweet aunt. She planned to come to New York once the end was near and gave him paperwork to make sure his final wishes would be executed perfectly. He wants to be cremated, ashes put in heart lockets, and given to all his friends and family. His aunt was so supportive and wonderful. I’m not crying, you’re crying.
Pray left town, the pastor never came to say goodbye like he promised. Wow, what an episode. Let us know what you thought of it in the comments below!
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