Minx Review: The Magazine Hits Some Trouble (Season 1 Episodes 3 and 4)
Things are getting groovy over on Minx as Joyce tries to have a one-night stand, Doug tries some under-the-table deals, and so many people are trying to pull out … of the magazine!
These two episodes — Minx Season 1 Episode 3 and 4, “Norman Mailer, Samantha Shortcake / An exciting new chapter in the annals of erotica,” give us more insight into the business of running an erotic magazine.
From police raids to press conferences to seedy politics, we face the first true hurdles of the business.
It is interesting to see the older employees of Bottom Dollar Publications not bat an eye at the police raid. But it seems like they had a good relationship with the last local politician that helped things run smoothly.
You can’t help but roll your eyes at the new conservative politician they now have to deal with spouting on about bringing family values back to the Valley.
Obviously, we are rooting for our Minx crew so seeing a politician NOT take a bribe is hard! But, it left me wondering how the magazine would work around her? Especially when she stopped Doug’s second attempt to get his stuff back from the storehouse woman, Carole.
If they can’t get by on “above board” bribes and political partnerships, will that lead to under-the-table connections, i.e. the mob, to keep some of their power?
Now Joyce still hasn’t let go of her true dream, or the standard she wants to hold the magazine to.
This has her holding tight to the reigns of the pretentious titles and hyper academic vibes. I honestly thought after the whole advertiser debacle of Episode 2 and her deciding to go all-in on Minx as a concept that some of the pretension would ease back.
Joyce gets annoying but in a way that the show knows she is annoying. Doug frequently calls her out for it.
That is one of the biggest things I have enjoyed about Minx so far. While you can’t help but root for the main duo, Doug and Joyce are not the best people.
We have gotten to see them walk in this grey area that is more like real life than many so-called likable TV characters. They both live in the grey area where they are allowed to be these complex people, do unsavory things, and still, at the end of it, be who we want to see succeed.
Just like on Minx Season 1 Episode 1 and 2, “Not Like A Shvantz Right In The Face / Au revoir, le double dong,” Joyce has to go through the process of loosening her grasp on what she sees as right for Minx. Even though she has to go through a breakdown and meet the awful conservative politician Doug goes against to relax her hold a bit.
Again, it’s easy to understand because this is her passion project since she was a child, but that doesn’t mean it’s fun to watch her demean her friends for giving the opinions she asked for.
As she loosens up and starts to accept that teamwork is something she needs to lean into for the magazine’s success, we get a subtle subversion of the girl boss trope.
Technically you could say Joyce is a “girl boss.” She is an editor of a magazine, but she does not reflect other traditional girl bosses we have seen in media.
She is learning where her strengths and weaknesses lie and not steamrolling her team but asking for help to put together the best magazine they can. She takes her team’s words to heart and really takes a second look at what she is trying to put together for the magazine.
We start to get to know Doug’s secretary, Tina ( Idara Victor), during these episodes. She seems to be the most responsible person on the Minx team, and her relationship with Doug definitely seems deeper than just a secretary.
It is not obvious exactly what their relationship is yet, but in truth, they seem more like partners in the business (and possibly life?)
I personally loved the little touch at the end of Episode 3 where Doug orders a daiquiri and a whiskey, giving the whiskey to Tina and keeping the daiquiri for himself.
Minx has given us good scenes where characters get their own biases checked.
Shelley, who seemed like the chiller of the sisters, freaks out at the porn models gathering around her 13-year-old son in the lobby because obviously, only inappropriate things could be going on.
When it turns out they were comforting him and listening to his friend’s problems, she has to stop to realize she judged them.
Minx is out here trying to subvert preconceived notions about the porn industry because sex workers are people too.
We see an interesting gender-flipped situation between Shane and Joyce during Episode 4 when Joyce is prepping him for the first press conference. She is the one in a position of power who ends up sleeping with the sexy talent, and when she tries to establish boundaries and say that it’s all “just fun” he responds by falling in love with her.
It’s a story we’ve seen 100 times. However, gender-flipped, it really stands out.
Shane is also just a sweet character. He really learns a lot from his lessons with Joyce and you can tell he is proud of it. He self-corrects when he says girls to women multiple times and tries to show off all he’s learned.
He tries to “educate” his fireman buddies while they are teasing him for being in the magazine.
Shane: You’re victims, victims of something called the patri-archie.
Overall, it seems like there is stuff percolating underneath for the Minx characters, but the two episodes feel a bit repetitive.
Both episodes’ major issues fall within people wanting to pull out of the magazine — writers in the first episode because of the raid, and Shane in the second after he feels used by Joyce.
Stray Observations:
- Joyce needs a push out of the nest to stop second-guessing herself and the magazine, she gets this when Doug is preoccupied with the politician.
- Is Doug jealous of Joyce and Shane? Does he have a thing for Tina? I can’t see him being a one-woman man, but we have not gotten any hint of a personal life outside his work yet.
- Joyce’s high moral standard is probably going to be a huge issue for the magazine’s success. But unfortunately, morals and business can’t always work together and Doug and her will butt heads more for this.
- Joyce’s ex, Glenn, reaching out a hand by asking a thoughtful question during her mess of a press conference was sweet.
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What did you think of these episodes of Minx? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New episodes of Minx air Thursdays on HBO Max.
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Julia Dolinish
Julia is a business owner and a writer who loves all things pop culture. From classic sitcoms to period pieces of any time period, she is TV obsessed. She is down to talk about her new TV binge to anyone who will listen.