The Fever

I find Pose better when it strays away from the club floor. The posing bits are shallow.

The real stories emerge in this episode. The various insecurities of the ladies, about their body image or their lifestyles.

Elektra wants to go full trans. Her boyfriend, ironically called Dick is against it. Essentially both Dick and Stan wants chicks with dick.

Angel becomes insecure and angry because Stan got aroused by a porn magazine cover featuring transsexuals. For Stan, he knows he will be in a real relationship not some fairy tale Cinderella story where Angel is the other woman satisfied that she has an apartment.

The other issue that has been haunting the series from the first episode is Aids/HIV. When Damon falls ill, Blanca fears the worst and questions him over his sex life.

As Pray Tell mentions to Blanca, Aids is seen as divine retribution to push people like them off the face of the Earth. It has to be recalled at the time, being HIV+ was seen as a death sentence.

This episode was extremely painful to watch. I immediately ordered an HIV test. I can't imagine the constant paranoia of living at the height of the epidemic, with no treatment options and friends around you all dying of the virus.