Tales of the City Review: Done Being Erased (Season 1 Episodes 6-10)
Tales of the City Season 1 Episodes 1-5 left us with many questions. The second half answers those questions with beautiful and dramatic storytelling.
There is only the truth.
That is the final message we are left with as the stories come full circle. We started with a celebration of life in the form of Anna Madrigal’s 90th birthday, and it ends with a celebration of life in the wake of her death and truths revealed.
I’d like to begin this review by focusing on Tales of the City Season 1 Episode 8, “Days of Small Surrenders.” It’s a standout of the season, not only for its 1960s timeframe but for its reveal of the biggest question on the show: Anna’s secret.
“Show, don’t tell” is a technique paramount to good storytelling, and Tales of the City utilizes this episode to show us Anna’s history, not just tell us about it. And we get what is like a mini period film to boot.
I love this episode so much.
The 60s aesthetic, the superb acting (trans actors playing trans characters), the timely relevancy—it really has a lot going for it. Sometimes doing an isolated flashback episode like this isn’t so successful. We are leaving characters that we have become invested in and are introduced to new ones late in the game.
It has to be really well done to keep the viewers’ interest.
Tales of the City Season 1 Episode 8, “Days of Small Surrenders” achieves this. I am obviously interested in the story of young Anna (Jen Richards) and her arrival in San Francisco because I’ve just spent the last seven episodes trying to figure out her secret. But, I am also instantly drawn into the lives of these new characters, Ysela (Daniela Vega) and Lily (Eve Lindley) in particular.
The performances are powerful. Their stories are powerful. The show gives them this beautiful episode to show (not tell) their story, and, in turn, the power and the weight of it are felt by the audience.
It’s what stories like this deserve—stories that are not talked about, that are hidden away out of shame or fear or ignorance. “Done being erased” becomes the chant at the protest on Tales of the City Season 1 Episode 10, “Three of Cups,” and it’s perfect because the past can’t and should not be erased, no matter who wants it to and for what reasons.
Once we find out what Anna’s been hiding, the mystery of who is blackmailing her remains. This reveal is also incredibly well done.
I knew something was up with Claire from the first five episodes. In my review of Tales of the City Season 1 Episodes 1-5, I called her an inconsistent narrator with her own issues that flits in and out of the narrative while moving the story of others along.
I have to give myself a pat on the back for my read of her character. Her documentarian god complex brings so much to this revelation, and her subsequent downfall is an enjoyable spectacle.
Claire: The truth is irrelevant. I can edit all of you out of this. I can make this story whatever I want it to be.
Ida: All right, Evita.
Lay-la: Girl, haven’t you heard? We are done being erased.
This scene is so fantastic.
Claire’s “art” and the truth collide. Anna asks her “if you’ve manipulated the truth, is it the truth anymore?” in another incredible scene that precedes Claire’s balcony confession. Both Olympia Dukakis and Zosia Mamet give emotional performances with words so vital to the story and the message of the show.
Anna finally allows herself to remove the burden she’s carried for so long—she is done erasing her past and her mistakes. Claire sees the repercussions of hiding the truth, but instead of embracing it she just sees an opportunity to mold it to fit the story she wants to tell.
That was Anna’s initial mistake back in 1966. Ysela told her then, “You survive because you are spineless.” Claire calls her a “spineless liar.”
Anna acknowledges this. Her years have made her wise and she shows Claire the power of redemption and owning one’s faults.
Claire: You’re an incredible hypocrite, Anna Madrigal. Pretending to be this wise, magnanimous fairy godmother to all when, really, you’re a spineless liar.
Anna: Is there not room for a person to be both of those things?
Anna simplistically boils it down. People are complex, they contain multitudes and contradictions, but “it’s never too late to change the ending of your story.” There is always room to right wrongs.
All of this starts off the final episode, and it feels like an ending, but there is much more to play out. The culmination of Anna’s story is gripping and moving. The lead-up and all the surrounding subplots are as well. No story, no matter how peripheral, is lacking.
The attempts of the characters to save Barbary Lane bring as much to that storyline as they do their own individual ones.
Brian and Mary Ann team up. Michael gets recently estranged Ben to go all Jessica Fletcher with him. Shawna goes to search for her own truth. Jake and Margot figure out how to be in each other’s lives.
Every one of these plots adds to the overall theme of the show while still being fully fleshed out and poignant on their own. Not many ensembles can pull this off with such grace.
What did you think of the second half of Season 1 of Tales of the City? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Tales of the City Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.
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Erin Allen
Erin is a former script supervisor for film and television. She's an avid fan of middle aged actresses, dark dramas, and irreverent comedies. She loves to read actual books and X-Files fan fiction. Her other passions include pointing out feminist issues, shipping Mulder and Scully, and collecting pop culture mugs.
One thought on “Tales of the City Review: Done Being Erased (Season 1 Episodes 6-10)”
My favourite episode indeed, and my favourite scene, the end when Ysela confronts Anna, I think it’s the most powerful scene in the whole series
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