The First Lady Review: Voices Carry (Season 1 Episode 2)

Light on the drama, The First Lady‘s second outing does some settling in on Season 1 Episode 2, “Voices Carry.”

The first episode, “That White House,” was full of the tension of the looming presidencies while setting up the kind of behind-the-scenes glimpse the dramatized series will offer. With “Voices Carry,” the narrative loses some of that initial momentum and seems sluggish at times. 

The link between the three women in their three different timelines started out strong on Episode 1—the stories and tones flowed easily into one another. Unfortunately, “Voices Carry” does not carry over that strength of structure.

Even the direct link with Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer) personally writing to Michelle Obama (Viola Davis) welcoming her into the First Ladies club lacks both poetic parallels and cinematic connection. 

The true stories of these women are anything but simple, so when the material is presented in such a simplistic way, it feels clumsy and unfitting for the legends the show celebrates as well as the legends who play them. 

These weaknesses, though, are compensated for, buttressed by those strong performances and the strong pull to see these particular actors’ interpretation of these particular roles.

Their star power draws you in but it’s their talent that keeps you there—even through the duller bits. And that’s what Episode 2, “Voices Carry,” consists mostly of, dull bits. 

Sure, there’s the drama of the curve-ball State dinner scramble sprung on poor Betty. But that part doesn’t have nearly as much punch as scenes between Pfeiffer and Judy Greer as Nancy Howe.

It doesn’t matter that they’re talking about the State dinner—they could be discussing anything—it’s captivating just to watch incredible talent at work. That’s entertaining in and of itself.

Imagine if they had more to work with. 

This is an example where keeping things simple can be detrimental to the overall. Gillian Anderson, Pfeiffer, and Davis can handle anything thrown at them, and “Voices Carry” feels like cautiously lobbing in a softball. 

The performances are benefitted by a physical likeness or naturally-convincing mimicry, but that’s not the soul of the character. The soul is a creation of the artist, how they interpret this real-life person to behave or think or feel based on their research as well as their own personal experiences. 

Anderson’s Eleanor Roosevelt is a standout even though she’s sidelined, story-wise, on this episode. The scene with her and the unemployed man is terribly moving and played terribly well by Anderson.

Reading about Eleanor Roosevelt is to learn of her incredible achievements and contributions to society as well as her fierce humanitarianism. Watching a master of their craft portray all of that on a deeply human level is a whole other experience. 

We have to wait until Episode 2 to see Eleanor and Hick (Lily Rabe) together and it feels like crumbs. I want more! It’s there in the actors’ glances and body language and the delivery of their lines, but the cinematic component isn’t matching the caliber of acting.

And, sadly, it results in ho-hum drama with some great performances. 

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

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The First Lady airs Sundays at 9/8c on Showtime.

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