In the penultimate episode of American Gigolo’s first season, we’re set up to confront the broader questions of the show. The premiere asked us to consider two primary things: why people have sex, and why do bad things happen to Julian Kay? Immediately, American Gigolo gave up on the first question, but the latter remained a consistent theme. Now, in the seventh episode, “Atomic,†we begin to push away from the second question, too. Bad things happen, sure, but it seems that Julian only happens to be around them. Maybe they don’t actually have anything to do with Julian, at all.
Very little of “Atomic†centers around Julian. We see plenty of him, of course, but it feels utilitarian — his presence justifies more detective work from Sunday, or allows a former client to offer up some lost clue to the puzzle, or triggers a flashback from Isabelle’s childhood. In the previous episode, we were left with the cliffhanger of Isabelle appearing somewhat menacingly inside of Julian’s apartment. Turns out, she just wanted to semi-calmly tell him not to speak with the police, and further establish the idea that the Queen had dementia and everything she did or said in the weeks prior to her death shouldn’t be taken seriously. She also tells Julian that she and Lorenzo are the only people he ought to trust, the only people who understand his life, and that moreover he needs to let go of what happened in the past. While she’s right about Julian letting go, she fails to consider that perhaps she and Lorenzo are part of that past he needs to move away from. Regardless, it’s an underwhelming conversation considering the tone that the previous episode set.
At this point, it’s unclear what exactly Isabelle’s move is. Is she really concerned for Julian, and hurt that he doesn’t seem to respect their history? Or is she just using it as a cover to protect herself? When we see flashbacks to the day Lisa died, with young Isabelle tracking blood on her dress and shoes throughout the house, the confusion only heightens. Maybe we should feel bad for her, maybe we should think it’s fucking weird that she doesn’t seem to care that she’s dragging around someone else’s blood. Once it’s further revealed that Isabelle has had some connection to the scary man that kidnapped Colin, a connection that continues to this day, all of this sympathy becomes muddled. As it stands, we don’t know what to think of Isabelle and her feelings toward Julian, but there’s something sinister at play. That suspicion might extend to Lorenzo, too. For those who have been watching and comparing the show with the original Paul Schrader film, the possibility that Lorenzo betrayed Julian has been on the table all along. While it hadn’t yet been suggested in the show, the reveal that Lorenzo was the one who gave Julian the gig at Janet Holmes’s house puts this idea into Julian’s head.
Speaking of Janet Holmes, we learn of a critical twist in the plot in this episode: that Janet Holmes and Lisa Beck were sisters. Several years following Lisa’s death, Janet was attempting to uncover something about the Queen and her business, leading her to contact several important clients and figures in the industry. This is the most likely cause for why she was killed, too — she was too close to discovering something she shouldn’t know. But, many mysteries remain. For one, we still don’t know whether Lisa killed herself or was murdered. While the latter possibility has been heavily suggested, it seems increasingly plausible that Lisa did commit suicide, unable to emotionally cope with the escorting world. Considering she was only 15, the Queen is just as guilty for Lisa’s death either way. There’s also several more gaps in the Janet Holmes story, like whether she specifically hired Julian, why she specifically hired Julian, whether Lorenzo or Michelle knew what was to happen to Janet, and whether Janet drugged Julian herself. Even with all of these questions, the reveal that Janet and Lisa were sisters begins to tie up some of the story thus far. We also learn that the scary kidnapper was also seen lurking around Janet’s house before she died, too.
On top of this crucial movement in the plot, the episode also marinates heavily on Michelle and her husband. Ready to confront the fact that Colin isn’t his, the two dissolve into one of those “we never really loved each other, you only loved me for my money/my body†conversations. It’s predictable, but somewhat salient. In a show where sex ought to be so essential, American Gigolo works hardest to prove how little it drives the motivations of its characters. From Michelle’s perspective, her husband chose her as a wife because she could fulfill the role of attractive wife. From the husband’s perspective, Michelle chose the ease of having a powerful, wealthy partner that could afford her a certain life. Both felt love was possible, and hoped Colin would facilitate that in each other. When that didn’t happen, they both chose stability and ease over passion. Even as they both confront that, they choose the same values once more, falling into the rhythm of getting each other towels and leaning against their marble countertops to eat cheese and drink wine. But, as the episode closes, Julian arrives at their mansion, and he will surely give them far more to confront.
Here, we are prepped to wrap up the final season with two main issues at hand: getting Colin back with his family, and figuring out what exactly it is that connects Isabelle, the scary man, Janet Holmes, Lisa Beck and, of course, our Julian. The challenge will be whether the show is able to both conclude these issues while also finding some sense of coherence and meaning to what this all meant for the protagonist. Will it tell us anything about masculinity? Trauma? Sex work? Sex? As the conflicts of American Gigolo draw closer to a conclusion, it’s these more nebulous themes that demand some attention.
Hustlin’
Finally we get an answer to Michelle’s wig. Apparently, she’s been wearing it ever since she got pregnant with Colin — it helps her feel more like the wife she’s supposed to be, or something. But when she takes the wig off, her hair beneath it is essentially the same as the wig. So we know “why†she wore the wig, but we still don’t know why she wore the wig.
I do hope the plot with Sunday and her potential love interest continues in the final episode. We got some progress in this one, so I’m hopeful that we will get to witness Sunday experience some happiness.