Feud: Bette and Joan. "Mommie Dearest"

Previously
Ch. 1 "Pilot"
Ch. 2 "The Other Woman" 

Feud's writing team is nothing if not devoted to playing to a single theme per episode. All but a couple of scenes in chapter 3 of Feud are devoted to the notion of mothering (though Victor Buono's more generous notion of "legacy" might have been a smarter move for retroactive potency). Or at least the show spends this hour playing with our pre-conceptions of the mothering skills of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. That's evident in the way it pulls the episode title from the infamous Christina Crawford memoir that damned Joan forever in the public eye as a psychopath and child abuser. In one of the earliest scenes we even get a potent reminder of this memoir as Joan pretends she's not going to send Christina a card congratulating her on the opening of a play until she reads reviews, but then signs the card "Mommie Dearest," as soon as two of her other children are out of sight.

I know what you think of my mothering...

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Feud: Bette and Joan. "The Other Woman"

Previously on episode 1

On the second episode, Bette and Joan fight for the affections of Robert Aldrich, Hedda Hopper has a feud of her own, and Kiernan Shipka goes full Sally Draper. Here's Jorge Molina...

Your autograph please Ms Crawford

For both of his latest anthologies, Ryan Murphy has tried to focus every episode on a different aspect of the overall theme of the series in question. With People vs. OJ, we got racism and sexism-centric episodes. On Feud it seems we'll be exploring different sides of the destructive Hollywood machinery. This week that's how women in the industry are pitted against each other for monetary and publicity gain.

The second episode also gives us an excuse to call Stanley Tucci "Big Daddy." Not that we needed one...

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The Links with the Feuding Stars, Too

Baby Jane Mania
EW Ryan Murphy talks about the first season of Feud. He's already casting the second and hints that a lot of people want to be Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Hmmm. Didn't anyone see Diana with Naomi Watts. That's dangerous ground!
Boy Culture searches for any living actors from Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

Get Out
AV Club Jordan Peele (Get Out) has made history with the first $100 million grossing debut from a black filmmaker...
Vanity Fair Did you hear that Samuel L Jackson criticized the movie for casting a British actor in the lead? More on this and a great quote from the British star Daniel Kaluuya after the jump...

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Feud: Bette and Joan. "Pilot"

by Nathaniel R

The title sequence for Feud, really couldn't be better. The Saul Bass inspired graphics cut-outs act out both the iconic beats in hagsploitation classic Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962) and Joan Crawford and Bette Davis's own rivalry as stars while alluding to their embattled natures (the hearts as tears is a particular fine move) within Hollywood where both had been wildly successful but not without their backs up and claws out, as it were.

When the action kicks off in Feud though we're in 1961 and both were now "has been" at least in terms of A list leading lady roles at 55 (Crawford) and 53 (Davis). Feud: Bette and Joan casts much older actresses to play them with Jessica Lange (67) and Susan Sarandon (70) which is maybe the most unintentionally positive takeaway of the show; it takes much longer to be considered "old" in Hollywood now!

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Feud - Titles & Trailer

Feud: Bette and Joan is just 18 days away.

We're almost more excited about it than the Oscars despite reservations about the casting and tone. Indie Wire loves what they've seen of it so far. They even love that Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange read more like themselves rather than as mimics of Bette & Joan though I personally worry about this very thing. But we shall see. Anything that reminds contemporary audiences to seek out cultural knowledge of classics is something to be at least a little bit excited about. 

Trailer and opening credit sequence are after the jump...

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