The third and final season of Apple TV+’s biopic dramedy Dickinson has finally arrived. Emily Dickinson has entered her most prolific period of writing, making her a powerful voice for a nation at war and the rock upon which her beloved Sue and family must lean on. Season 3, Episode 1 “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers” opens with an introduction narrated by Hailee Steinfeld that sets the tone for the series last installation in the masterful retelling of the life of the greatest American poet, Emily Dickinson:
“In the years of the Civil War, Emily Dickinson reached her greatest heights as a poet. She wrote furiously in those years at a pace and intensity unmatched before or after – nearly a poem a day. Her work of this period has been called ‘a great and classic descent into a personal inferno.’ Yet, due to her life of seclusion, Dickinson has not traditionally been considered a ‘war poet.’ Most people do not think of Emily Dickinson as a voice with the power to speak for a nation.”
In the Heat of Battle | Episode 301 begins on the battlefield with Emily Dickinson (Hailee Steinfeld) dressed down in a black and blue Union uniform and armed with a rifle. Emily bravely charges towards a structure that looks suspiciously like the Dickinson home in the distance, dodging gunfire alongside other Union soldiers. Her fellow soldiers are not as lucky as she in their attempts to avoid the bullets whizzing from all directions.
Emily busts through the front door with a single kick and then makes her way up tattered stairs to the second floor. Emily forces a second door open to a bedroom… her bedroom. In a flash, Emily is back to reality. She rushes to sit at her desk and release a poem from her mind.
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No Time for an Old Woman | The Dickinson family, excluding Austin (Adrian Blake Enscoe), attend the funeral of Mrs. Dickinson’s (Jane Krakowski) beloved sister, Aunt Lavinia, in Boston. A disruption of Aunt Lavinia’s service erupts when the reverend mistakes her for one of many deceased soldiers the reverend must lay to rest that day. Frustrated, the reverend remarks that he has “no more time for the funeral of some old woman” when he has fifteen dead Union soldiers to bury. The reverend proceeds to hastily recite the “Lord’s Prayer” before moving on to the next funeral at the cemetery.
For good reason, the Dickinson family is distraught over the abrupt ending of Aunt Lavinia’s funeral. Mr. Dickinson (Toby Huss) claims he’s “going to write a letter” while Emily’s sister Lavinia (Anna Baryshnikov) and Mrs. Dickinson express their sorrow. Emily, on the other hand, is distracted by a chirping yellow bird who lands onto Aunt Lavinia’s coffin. “Everyone, look. The bird is talking to us,” Emily says. Her family brushes her off and leaves her to fetch a carriage for their journey back home to Amherst.
“I Want to be that Little Bird” | Just before Emily leaves with her family, Death (Wiz Khalifa) rolls up in his jet-black carriage and ghostly stallions to pick Emily up for a chat. “Oh, God. We have so much to catch up on,” Emily tells Death. Emily shares with Death the story of the small bird coming to her. Emily explains that the bird was a message from her aunt, telling her to “keep writing, to keep shining a light in the darkness, and to never give up hope.”
Death appears just as unamused over the bird as Emily’s family was, but it’s because he has grown bored of his job since the Civil War. Death no longer has the ability to be creative with the ways in which people are dying. Instead, Death is reaping the thousands dying in war with the same method: “Bullet, gangrene. Bullet, gangrene…” It appears that “even Death has bad days.” Death asks Emily for advice on how to stay inspired. Emily describes her desire to help and heal people with her poetry. “I want to be that little bird. That source of light in the darkness. I want to give people hope.”
“Hope” | The Dickinsons arrive home from Boston still reeling with grief over the events of Aunt Lavinia’s funeral. In an attempt to console her mother, Emily tells her that she felt Aunt Lavinia’s presence at the funeral. Emily reminds her mother that Aunt Lavinia always encouraged her loved ones to “find the light… And to move towards joy and hope.” As the word “hope” leaves Emily’s lips, she is instantaneously inspired to write.
Mr. Dickinson realizes that Austin is still nowhere to be found. Mr. Dickinson is angered by his son’s absence and vents about Austin’s recent behavior and increased drinking habit.
With a knock at the door, Emily leaves the parlor to greet their guest. At the door stands Sue Gilbert Dickinson (Ella Hunt) with a very pregnant belly. “Waddled over here like a bloody walrus,” Sue shares with Emily. Sue tells the family that Austin was unable to make it after waking up from a heavy night of drinking.
Two Mothers | Emily takes Sue upstairs so that Sue can rest for a moment before the funeral reception. Together, they lay in Emily’s bed discussing the approaching birth of Sue and Austin’s baby. A tension is revealed within the “EmiSue”-ship. Emily is hesitant to kiss Sue because Sue is about to give birth to her brother’s child, but Sue reassures Emily that she only loves her. Sue would like nothing more than to have a little home with Emily and raise the baby with her. “I wish this baby was yours… Why can’t a baby have two mothers?”
Emily deflects with a joke about already having so many children of her own – her poems. Emily expresses that she is worried that Sue will no longer have time for Emily’s poems, but once again, Sue reassures Emily. Sue tells her that she will always have time for her poems even after the baby is born. With one more request for her kiss, Emily finally leans into Sue and kisses her lovingly.
The “Perfect” Son | Mrs. Dickinson’s “perfect” son Austin finally arrives at the Dickinson home hungover and disheveled. Austin earns his mother’s forgiveness with a messy bouquet of flowers, but Mr. Dickinson won’t be won over so easily. Mr. Dickinson asks Austin to speak with him in his office. Mr. Dickinson is very concerned with Austin’s excessive drinking and womanizing, especially because Austin will soon be a father. Austin’s behavior reminds Mr. Dickinson of his father’s struggle with alcoholism, but Austin dismisses his father’s concerns. As Austin leaves the office, Mr. Dickinson experiences pain in his chest but it quickly dissipates.
“Brighter Days are on the Horizon” | Betty (Amanda Warren), the local seamstress, arrives with Mrs. Dickinson’s new funeral bonnet and Emily shares her experience with connecting with Aunt Lavinia at the funeral service. Emily learns that Betty and her daughter Helen haven’t received a letter from her husband Henry (Chinaza Uche) for over a month since he’s left. Emily is hopeful that Henry will write his daughter. “Henry will be okay… Brighter days are on the horizon,” Emily tells Betty, but Betty isn’t optimistic.
“A Widow 1000 Times Over” | The first guests to arrive for the funeral reception is Amherst’s fierce foursome: Jane Humphreys (Gus Birney), Abiah Root (Allegra Heart), Abby (Sophie Zucker), and Toshiaki (Kevin Yee). The popular topic of discussion among the group is the ongoing Civil War. Jane informs Lavinia that her ex-boyfriend, Joseph Lyman, was killed in a battle in New Orleans. Lavinia’s heart breaks as she realizes that every boy she ever kissed has died.
A Bona Fide Spinster | Mr. Ithamar Conkey (Robert Picardo), Mr. Dickinson’s colleague and friend, arrives at the Dickinson, not really to give his condolences to Mrs. Dickinson and her family, but to propose to Emily. Mr. Conkey asks Emily to join him on the back porch to talk. Much to Emily’s surprise, Mr. Conkey pulls a pillow out of his top hat like an awkward magician and gets down on one knee to ask for her hand in marriage. Emily rejects his proposal without a second to spare. Mr. Conkey is disappointed and expresses that he no longer has hope to be wedded, sparking the first line in the poem about “hope” that has been fluttering around in her mind since Aunt Lavinia sent the little yellow bird to her at the cemetery: “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers.” Lucky for Emily, Betty intervenes and gives Emily an excuse to leave a very uncomfortable situation.
A String of Bad Days | The Dickinsons end the day of mourning Aunt Lavinia with a family dinner. Mr. Dickinson gives a heartfelt speech regarding the years of war they have been living through and the many more years of war that may follow. Mr. Dickinson likens America to a family that no longer sees the good in each other, and he reminds his own family that they must remember to see the good in each other for the sake of Sue and Austin’s child. Emily follows Mr. Dickinson’s speech with her own. Emily tells her family that Aunt Lavinia’s death has reminded her that nothing matters more to her than her family.
Emily intends on being “a source of joy and light” for them while they live through the darkest times they’ve ever experienced. Drunk again, Austin interrupts the loving moment being shared among the Dickinson family to express his hatred for his father. Austin blames Mr. Dickinson for his misery and the rest of the family’s. Enraged by Austin’s belligerence, Mr. Dickinson falls to the floor with what appears to be a sudden heart attack. Emily rushes to his side and finds that he’s still breathing. Austin is unfazed by his father’s collapse and exclaims that he is succeeding from the family.
Emily’s bird reappears in the midst of the chaos flying frantically around the room and she’s gifted with more of her rising poem:
“’Hope’ is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all – “
Dickinson Season 3 is now available to stream on Apple TV+.
