‘Feud: Bette And Joan’ Episode 6 Recap: Power & Legacy In Hollywood

Episode 6 of Feud: Bette and Joan pitted all the characters against all the others in a Hollywood power struggle.

FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN RECAP

The episode as a whole focused on leaving a legacy in Hollywood, with each character worrying that their last film would be a flop. “If you think it’s twilight for us, it’s midnight for them,” said studio head Jack Warner to director Robert Aldrich.

Following Bette Davis and Joan Crawford’s Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, the actresses continued to search for work, not wanting to end their careers. Davis did a movie in which she played twins, but Crawford succeeded with Straight-Jacket, now a cult classic, as it returned Crawford to her younger days, even dressing her as she did.

Warner is jealous of the film’s success and asks Aldrich how he managed to get a hit. “You take some movie queen of yore who was once too beautiful to screw us, and you make her suffer,” he says coldly.

Now Aldrich is trying to get Crawford and Davis to star in Whatever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?, a clear knock-off of their latest success. Another subplot in this episode is the appearance of Crawford’s brother Hal. They get into a rather public spat, and Hal yells, “You were always such a show-off!” Later, he dies during surgery, but Crawford seems less than upset.<

It seems as if the Feud keeps migrating toward being told from Crawford’s POV. Jessica Lange‘s performance is fantastic, relaying such intense vulnerability and anger. Susan Sarandon is much more even-keeled and, in turn, less interesting. Despite all their troubles, Warner seemed right to say that their careers were just about over.

See next week’s episode on FC at 10 pm.