Dickinson Review: A little Madness in the Spring (Season 3 Episode 6)

With only a few episodes remaining until the series finale, I was a little underwhelmed with the storyline told on Dickinson Season 3 Episode 6, “A little Madness in the Spring.” There are a lot of conflicts left to be resolved, and there wasn’t much done in 30 minutes to rectify any of it.

I was hoping for more from an episode whose logline starts with “the Dickinsons take a fun family outing to an asylum,” but it seems the main purpose of the episode was to just try and create a background story for a poem Emily wrote to Col. Higginson in the Civil War. To be fair, that does seem like it would be an engaging High School literature project.

I think it would have worked in an earlier season of Dickinson. Frankly, it’s a funny premise and one that Jane Krakowski and Anna Baryshnikov ate up. Since the institution was for women only — overeducation and being unmarried are mental illnesses in this time period — the jokes were ripe for the picking.

It just seemed like an unnecessary aside in such an important season. Maybe looking back, once all of the episodes of Dickinson Season 3 have been released, and they can be binged, it will read as a welcome reprieve from the family drama. This late in the game, it just left me wanting more.

Regardless, it did serve to bring Emily and her father closer, showing the poet that, though her father can be dismissive of her work, he does notice her dedication and is grateful for her support amidst their family turmoil. 

There was an offhand comment in Dickinson Season 3 Episode 5 that Austin made during his rage speech about how Mr. Dickinson may have hit Emily at one point. Never did that play out on screen, and I felt that the comment was way out of left field.

This week’s Mr. Dickinson and Emily bonding plot seemed like a remedy to that issue, one that never seemed like a big deal until the episode previous to this one.

Where the needle really moves on this episode is within Henry’s plot.

Once again, Col. Higginson is tasking him with dealing bad news to the South Carolina “volunteer” regiment, the all-black troop trying to fight with the Union army. Keyword: trying. I do think Dickinson is doing a good job showing the difference between equality and equitability within this subplot.

While the Volunteer troop is equal on paper to the Union soldiers, they are at an immediate disadvantage because they are not afforded the same access that the white soldiers are. For example, on this episode, Col. Higginson informs Henry that they will undergo a uniform check and will need to pass inspection.

While that may seem like an easy task, these soldiers don’t have access to the same pristine uniforms like the rest of the Union army. Instead, some of the men are missing shirt sleeves, have holes in their vests or pants, and have never been properly taught how to wear their hats.

For all that Col. Higginson claims to want to help these men, he hasn’t done much at all, and he probably doesn’t even realize it. It’s not until Henry arrives, that they have someone who is actually actively advocating for them, rather than putting them to the wayside for other matters.

I’ll give Higginson the benefit of the doubt since this was the first episode that he seemed a little more remorseful that they still hadn’t gotten any movement on trying to get their weapons. I’m sure there was bureaucratic red tape to go through, and it seemed like his bosses were holding things up.

He also seems important in Emily’s life, and doing a little research on the real-life Higginson, he did seem to be a decent activist for that time period. So we’ll see how all of that ties together by the series’ end.

Regardless, all credit should go to Henry for turning a rag-tag group of men into a semi-presentable army regiment. In the past, I’ve said Henry gives off “wannabe cool teacher” vibes, and I’ll second that again this week. He was trying to relate much more to his “students” this week and was trying really hard to make uniform inspection seem fun.

The other equally important part of Dickinson Season 3 Episode 6 were the two, albeit short, scenes with Austin. In the first, Austin and Sue have a much-needed discussion after he dropped the D-word last week. Cue (Adele’s voice) “Divorce babes, Divorce.”

Though Sue was quite sure Austin wouldn’t remember his drunken rant, the eldest Dickinson child plans to make good on his promise to start his own law firm, meaning he remembers telling his wife (and his whole family for that matter) that he plans to divorce her.

Now, this is what I found intriguing last week since history shows no evidence of Sue and Austin divorcing, and they — spoiler alert — do end up having more children together.

From their discussion this week, Sue (ever the pragmatist) reins Austin in and convinces him to drop the idea of divorce, simply by telling Austin she wants him to be more involved in their baby’s life, which is really all he’s ever seemed to want since Jane left for Vietnam.

It also might open up a way for the Dickinsons to each get a sort of happy ending. Sue and Austin seem to come to an understanding that serving as co-parents is what is best for their family (very Gwyneth/Chris Martin, conscious uncoupling of them), leaving Sue and Emily to continue their relationship.

Poor Austin, all he ever wanted was to feel wanted.

You know who wants him? The Union Army!

The twist at the end of this episode throws Dickinson right back into the middle of the Civil War, much closer to home this time. Perhaps this will bring back the “Nobody” storyline once more, just to wrap things up nicely.

Or maybe it will serve to help Austin face his own mortality, bringing him back closer to his family.

Stray Musings from this Episode:

• Mr. and Mrs. Dickinson quote of the week: “Women’s mental hygiene is a cause near and dear to my heart” – Mr. Dickinson “I’ve never heard you say this.” – Mrs. Dickinson
• Vinnie chatting with Florence in the asylum courtyard had big “drunk girls in the women’s restroom” energy
• While I was not happy to see poor Abby locked away in the asylum’s basement, I was glad the show acknowledged her lowkey feminist activities finally
• Mr. Dickinson casually forgetting Vinnie’s name????
• Poor women in the 1800s had to commit themselves to an asylum to get a little rest?? No wonder Mrs. Dickinson wants to lay in bed until the war is over!
• I’m glad they finally had Henry acknowledge why he wasn’t sending letters to his wife and daughter, and I will riot if they don’t end up back together in the end
• The soldier makeover/fashion runway montage was peak Dickinson and the group hug at the end? We love vulnerability in men!
• Speaking of the soldiers, Erasmus coming in hot again with another Michael Jordan vision: “I see special shoes in your honor”

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

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Dickinson Season 3 is available to stream on Apple TV+. New episodes premiere on Fridays.

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