Things come to a head for Erica and she reaches out to Anna for support. Acting, direction, and writing are as strong as I've come to expect from this series. This episode ties up Erica and Anna's story. The tone is bleak, the world hard, and love is nowhere to be found. Such is the experience of those who provide the girlfriend experience.
This series is compelling in it's honest portrayal of sexual politics and sexual power. For anyone who's ever felt under the spell of that power, it's fascinating. There is quite a bit of graphic sex portrayed, but it's never gratuitous. The sex makes a point. Characters are either mesmerized by it, or using it to manipulate others. And at the top of all the games are the escorts, professional sex workers who spin fantasy like a narrative with their words, their appearance, and their bodies. And, they bring up to $1,500 an hour for the service they offer. One character refers to it as "so easy it's like walking up to an ATM".
But, everyone in this world needs something. Love, power, companionship, money, something. The economy of it is not all sexual, but the series explores the sexual side of it most deeply. Sex is a means to an end in this universe of high-adrenaline, high stakes living. What's most fascinating about it is the almost satirical commentary on the bankruptness of sex for sex sake. No one in this series is happy. No one is respectable. And things seem to get worse and worse for everyone.
This series is compelling in it's honest portrayal of sexual politics and sexual power. For anyone who's ever felt under the spell of that power, it's fascinating. There is quite a bit of graphic sex portrayed, but it's never gratuitous. The sex makes a point. Characters are either mesmerized by it, or using it to manipulate others. And at the top of all the games are the escorts, professional sex workers who spin fantasy like a narrative with their words, their appearance, and their bodies. And, they bring up to $1,500 an hour for the service they offer. One character refers to it as "so easy it's like walking up to an ATM".
But, everyone in this world needs something. Love, power, companionship, money, something. The economy of it is not all sexual, but the series explores the sexual side of it most deeply. Sex is a means to an end in this universe of high-adrenaline, high stakes living. What's most fascinating about it is the almost satirical commentary on the bankruptness of sex for sex sake. No one in this series is happy. No one is respectable. And things seem to get worse and worse for everyone.
