The start of Étoile functions like a two-part pilot, to be honest. It’s the overture, if you will, and it does take a bit of patience. We’re still in the thick of exposition, but we’re also finally getting to the juicy stuff. With the swapped characters settling in (or not), Étoile Season 1, Episode 2 “The Bull” sets up the dynamics that will drive the rest of the series.
Cheyenne, Queen of the Dance
Cheyenne is like a Bachelor villain: not here to make friends. She’s not interested in befriending her new NYC colleagues; rather, she takes pleasure in unnerving them. The team’s attempts to find her a partner for her gala routine … do not go well, to put it mildly. One by one, she terrifies the company’s star male dancers with a story about how a bunch of men were murdered in her grandmother’s village (a story that gets more gruesome and dramatic with each telling).
Finally, Jack intervenes and insists that she find a partner. Digging through archival videos, Cheyenne spots someone she remembers from her last NYC performance: Gael (David Alvarez). She tracks him down to the farm where he’s now working, having taken a sabbatical from dance. His “teabag” approach to dance (“you’re in, you’re out, you need to stay and steep”) is the polar opposite of hers, but she wants him, and only him, for her partner.
It would be easy for Cheyenne to be insufferable. After all, no one likes a diva, even one who can back it up with talent. But de Laâge is just so, so good. Cheyenne isn’t mean-spirited; she simply holds the world to the same lofty level she holds herself.
Holding It Together (Or Not)
Jack and Geneviève are both struggling with the fallout of the swap in Étoile Season 1, Episode 2 “The Bull.” Jack gives a truly bonkers, cringe-inducing TV interview, then herds a group of donors through a tour. It goes… not as well as he’d like.
Meanwhile, Geneviève faces the wrath of government officials over allowing Cheyenne to be swapped. Interestingly, we learn that getting Mishi back was “the entire point” of the swap, at least as far as Clea, the Minister of Culture, is concerned. And why? Mishi is her daughter! The French dancers are still threatening a strike, and the government is threatening Geneviève, with a reminder that her title is not just “General Director” of the Ballet National, but Interim General Director. Oh, and there’s a bull on the loose – more on that later. And Shamblee is in Paris “on business” and creepily buddying up to a very wary Geneviève. I genuinely think he might be the first full-time villain Sherman-Palladino has written – so deliciously slimy, spiteful, and despicable. He’s Francie from Gilmore Girls but with infinite resources and set on world domination, not high school antics.
By the end of the episode, a shared press conference kicks off the publicity blitz. And it’s a mess. There’s a bit of childish conflict between Jack and Geneviève over who gets credit for the idea. Then Shamblee crashes the videoconference (briefly uniting our bickering directors as they frantically call to figure out what’s going on). And then, Cheyenne announces publicly that Gael will be her partner – a surprise to everyone, most of all Gael! But, by the end of the episode, he’s back in a dance class. Finally, Paris’s bull gets loose and goes viral (long story)!
A Not-So-Happy Homecoming
A consummate politician, Clea wastes no time in turning Mishi’s homecoming into a press spectacle. In front of the press, she makes her grand entrance, a mother eager to see her daughter. When the cameras are off, though, she and Mishi’s father, Florent, are too busy to even ask Mishi a single question. Mishi doesn’t get any kinder of a reception at the Ballet National, where the company members stare and gossip.
Tobias is not adjusting well to Paris in Étoile Season 1, Episode 2 “The Bull.” He places a panicked call to Jack, who in turn calls Geneviève. One overly-long bread-line gag later, and he’s on his way. So far, Tobias effectively feels like Glick’s Maisel role transplanted into the modern day: weird, preternaturally gifted, yet completely inept at normal life. I really would like to see his character grow — Glick is too talented to saddle with just “the weird one” character.
That might come with a little help from Gabin. Paris’s most ambitious corps dancer interrupts Tobias as he’s “testing the floor” in the studio. He tries to impress Tobias, who already has sized him up, from the chip on his shoulder to the lingering injury in his ankle. It’s clear, though, that this is a (working?) relationship that’s just getting started. Gabin certainly thinks so. He goes straight to Geneviève and begs to be allowed to work with Tobias.
Finally, we’re starting to get out of the setup phase of the show. And not a moment too soon! The first two episodes have really felt more like a two-hour pilot. A little slow going, to be sure. But just as I said in my first recap, there’s so much promise to be uncovered in Étoile.
Curtain Call
- In the closing minutes, SuSu starts her nightly practice, only to find a new pair of shoes marked for her, clearly left by Cheyenne. Awww!
- Jack’s off-the-rails interview, once again, features some cringe comedy that’s clearly meant to be funny but instead comes across as rather off-putting. Sigh.
- Tobias’s waiting-in-line gag calls to mind the insufferable “waiting in lines article” of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.
- Tiler Peck nails that signature ASP absurdity as she rattles off Eva’s distracted-dancing incident. It’s such a gleefully ridiculous piece of slapstick, and she delivers it so perfectly.
- I need Nicholas to never say “come to daddy” again, please and thank you.
- “Let’s Shen Yun this shit!” Jack’s marketing demand just might be my favorite line of the episode. Anyone who’s ever been tormented by said show’s ubiquitous and super-creepy ads – we feel your pain. Been there.
- “What should I call you, Top Gun?” “Maverick.” Oh, Tobias has jokes! At least when Gabin pushes his buttons. I ship it already.
What did you think of Étoile Season 1, Episode 2, “The Bull”? Let us know in the comments!
