Dickinson (2019)
Review of the Apple TV+ television series Dickinson (2019).
As an American poet myself, it would be such a sin to not know about Emily Dickinson. And so when I heard that Apple TV+ was having a series about her, I was originally so ecstatic. A poet, having their own television show? Unheard of! But then I realized that it was only on Apple TV+, which was a paid streaming platform. And so I tucked away my thoughts of watching it until I bought an iPad in August of 2021, and, suddenly, I was being granted free access to Apple TV+ for three months because of that purchase. So I pencilled in the day on my calendar that I needed to cancel it by, since I sure as heck was not going to be paying for this, and immediately started watching Dickinson.
Another key reason I wanted to watch it is because the show has Ella Hunt in it. My freshman year of college I actually met Ella Hunt at the NYC premiere of Anna and the Apocalypse, which is the zombie Christmas musical that every human needs to see. Ella was a lovely person to meet in real life, and so I became a fan naturally. And boy did we get a lot of Ella Hunt action in this show, specifically with the romance between her and Hallie Steinfeld’s Emily Dickinson. That’s right y’all: this is a gay romance in some ways. But, like many gay romances, there’s the intermissions where one character decides they are straight and not bisexual.
I’ve said too much! I will note before we begin, however, that this review is being written as of the second season ending.
Content
This series is a pretty modern take on the life of Emily Dickinson. Yes, it’s set in the 1850s and 1860s, but we have to remember this: inserting Death as a character (which, he is played by Wiz Khalifa. I find that so entertaining) and then spoiling Emily’s future to her is a bit much. So is inserting modern humor, such as horoscopes and moon signs and all of that. And, if we’re going to continue this rant, so is inserting rap music into the narrative. There was a lot of frustration on my end because I wanted historical accuracy but the show was equipped to ease a person new into the era it was set in by accommodating to modern ideas. Not a fan of that.
Besides that, what’s interesting about this series to me is how it focuses on a little-known part of Emily Dickinson’s life: the letters she exchanged with Sue, her brother’s wife. There definitely was a homoerotic element to some of those letters, and the series plays it up to the max. While the series tends to imply that the two were friends for a long time (the vibe I got was since childhood), the relationship between Sue and Emily actually started in 1850, when Emily’s brother and she started to court. While she is an orphan with no family at all in the series, in actuality she did have an aunt and her sister did not die as young as stated in the show. Got to ramp up that dramatic effect, am I right?
There’s a lot of good humor in this show, especially with Emily’s sister, herself, and the people in the town. I found the depiction of Thoreau to be absolutely hilarious, which was topped off by the experience of being played by John Mulaney. We see a revolving cast of writers that were active and/or about to die during that era, which isn’t very historically accurate, but draws attention to the fact that all of these great minds were alive during the same era.
One thing I found to be interesting as well was how this is a coming-of-age story, so tender, humorous, with a lot of horny moments. We don’t see a shadow of the Dickinson we know: recluse, always wears white. Emily is depicted as weird by everyone around her, which doesn’t demoralize her, but we don’t see the recluse Emily Dickinson.This Emily is winning baking competitions and traveling to Concord by train, sleeping with a literary publisher. I did quite enjoy the insert of Dickinson quotes during these moments, but I felt that it captured the spirit of Emily in a way that wasn’t as truthful. We don’t even see much of her writing, they just come to her. And I doubt that’s how she wrote. Writing is a very contemplative practice.
Overall Thoughts
This is fairly entertaining to watch, especially if you’re into the mid-1800s or into literature or writing in any capacity. It’s a fictional spin based on real events in the life of Emily Dickinson, and while we can’t expect completely historical accuracy, I found myself frustrated with the insertion of contemporary music and ideologies into the storyline when they wouldn’t have been there originally. But if you don’t think too hard about it, it’s fine. The acting is also pretty good in this show, it could’ve really been hindered with terrible acting, but it isn’t too shabby in this one. I’d watch it again, especially since the episodes are so short (they’re only thirty minutes, it’s my dream right there to have such short episodes).
