Dickinson Review: Forbidden Fruit a flavor has (Season 2 Episode 5)

Dickinson‘s entire sophomore season has been solid and Dickinson Season 2 Episode 5 “Forbidden Fruit a flavor has” is no exception.

While most people are buzzing about the heated love scene between Emily (Hailee Steinfeld) and Sam (Finn Jones), that’s not what stood out to me on this episode. 

Instead, I’m more intrigued by how Dickinson is using characters to personify and comment on fame (speaking of that, when is Nobody going to make an appearance again?)

More and more, Sam Bowles is shaping up to be a personification of fame itself: pretty on the outside, alluring, but ultimately fleeting and lacking substance. (Also when you consider that this is how Dickinson is using him, it helps the sex fantasy scene between him and Emily make a little more sense. It’s all a big, ole metaphor. I really don’t think what we’re seeing is anything more than that).

In Dickinson‘s freshman season, Sue (Ella Hunt) was painted with broad strokes. The apple of Emily’s eye, we mostly saw her as sad and conflicted, burdened by the loss of her family and looking to secure some comfort, consistency, and safety in her life. 

Season 2’s Sue? She’s basically the worst. Admittedly though, Sue serves an important purpose this season.

She is a stand-in for all of the people who let themselves become distorted and distracted by fame. This isn’t a revelation from this episode; there are hints throughout the first episodes of the season that this will be a focus of her story this go-round.

Every episode, however, Sue’s edges get harsher and sharper. Dickinson‘s commentary on influencers via Sue is both pointed and hilarious, managing to pack multiple punches on this episode in very little time.

Fake glasses so you’ll look smart? Check. Strategically and carefully curating your look to project a specific vibe? Check. Capitalizing on who you know to shape others’ perception of you? Check.

The last bit is particularly cringeworthy. Sue’s quick to remind everyone that she matched Emily and Sam as artist-publisher partners (okay, girl, we get it!) and her decision to invite escaped slave Henry “Box” Brown to speak at her salon doesn’t feel progressive. While she may support the freedom of Black people, this mostly feels like posturing, primarily because it’s so clear she wants to lock in her spotlight-feature in one of Bowles’ papers.

On one hand, it’s brilliant commentary on Dickinson‘s part, especially as we consider what we see play out on social media today. How often does someone share an Instagram story or retweet something social justice-oriented only for us to find it was mostly for brand-building? Sue’s basically living the 19th century version of that.

It’s well-done criticism, but it’s making me hate Sue.

In discussing this episode with a few friends, someone mentioned Sue’s pep talk to Emily, and her insistence that Emily deserved to be published. I can’t responsibly ignore that moment as a reviewer, but either there’s something disingenuous about that moment or Ella Hunt really couldn’t play the scene properly. It didn’t seem convincing at all.

The highlight of this episode is in the third act, when Hattie (Ayo Edebiri) realizes that Austin (Adrian Enscoe) has gifted the abolitionists a printing press to use for their underground newspaper.

I really haven’t discussed Edebiri enough in these reviews. Her Hattie is easily the best new addition of the season. While she’s mostly been comedic relief, this episode may be the turning point for her character on the show.

Her impassioned speech about how “Box” wasn’t a good role model for the Black community is not only interesting but it gives me hope for what’s to come on Dickinson.

I’m far more excited about how they’re going to explore the Civil War and Black liberation (and how they’ll tie those challenges to modern day trials) than I am for anything else this season. I sincerely hope Hattie’s at the center of that story.

The momentum the show’s created is incredibly promising and I’m eager to see how the rest of the season plays out.

Stray observations:

• Lolz to Vinnie’s Scarlet Letter role play. I am genuinely curious if the show is going to deviate from history and have her marry Ship, after all.
• I wonder if Sue is going to end up threatened by Emily and Sam’s relationship. Sure seems like she will.
• Emily practicing how to interact with people at the party is literally going to be all of us in a few months.
• The interplay between Emily’s conflicted feelings about fame and Henry and Hattie’s hunger for a platform to publish their writing is quite interesting. I wonder if the show is going to play on that dynamic at all.
• How ironic that the most newsworthy thing happening at Sue’s party isn’t even Sue’s party. It’s all happening just a few steps away in her barn. (Austin’s efforts to help Henry and Hattie is laudable but I’m finding him so hard to figure out this season).

What did you think of this episode of Dickinson? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Dickinson is available to stream on Apple TV+. New episodes premiere on the service on Fridays. 

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