Stop the presses! Let’s talk about the Minx season 2 ending, and pray to Jake Johnson’s mustache that Starz or somebody renews the show for another season. The eighth and final episode, “Woman of the Hour,” was uplifting in some ways, and kind of a bummer in other ways. The mostly aspirational comedy about the trials and tribulations of trying to run a women’s erotic magazine in the ’70s has had a roller coaster of a second season, and I am begging for more.
At the top of the season 2, Joyce shuts down Ritchie and Bambi’s bathhouse photoshoot that the former has been pushing for. She decides to run an anniversary retrospective issue of Minx instead, using old photos and pieces. Her boss Constance also nixes a piece her sister wrote under her sexy alter ego, Bella LaRoux, because of its sapphic content. Things were not looking up. Here’s what else happened in the episode and how it all played out.
Shelly and Lenny get divorced
They broke the news to their swingers party attendees. Shelly is officially with Doreen now. It’s all very matter-of-fact.
Bambi literally cashes in
Turns out, she was swimming in unpaid paychecks from Bottom Dollar Publications and is now swimming in dollar bills. She also starts asking Joyce for what she’s worth when the boss asks her to work overtime. She’s on a good path! There’s a slight hiccup, where Dan from the printer suggests she go see Pastor Jim, aka cult leader and mass murderer Jim Jones. (If you’ve ever heard the phrase “drink the Kool Aid,” that’s a reference to Jones and how he lead his followers to die by suicide after drinking poisoned juice beverage.) But she probably won’t take Dan up on that. Probably. Right?
Constance makes Doug president of the new company
If you had any doubts about Constance Papadopoulos they were confirmed at the top of the season finale in a flashback to the ’50s. Once upon a time, Constance literally set the dogs on a colleague who disappointed her. And in the present, she put Doug in charge of the magazine over Joyce and Tina. All that talk about not wanting to lose momentum in the feminist movement, and she hired a man… okay. It’s a bummer that she fucked the women over, and also a bummer that she got to Doug. He was onto her tricks!
It is also revealed at the end of the episode that Constance is sleeping with Doug, who I guess is fully broken up with Tina, to which I have only this to say: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Is he trying to take her down from within her ranks? Praying for a double cross scenario here. Maybe he was trying to distract Constance so that Joyce could get away with one last scheme, but I kind of doubt it…
The Bottom Dollar gang reunited & revolted against Minx
Well, except for Doug, that is. Joyce realizes that Minx has sacrificed their core values to go global and that she has become part of the problem by focusing on business and ignoring more radical for the ’70s feminist ideals and their gay male readership. She’s lost control of her own magazine. So instead of making a speech at Constance’s gala for Minx, the woman of the hour bolts. She grabs Shelly, Ritchie, and Bambi, who recruits Lenny.
They rush to the printer where Tina has already bought them extra time. To the sweet, sweet sounds of Jackson Brown’s “Doctor My Eyes,” the six of them work against the clock to put out one final, rebellious issue of Minx. They used Ritchie’s bathhouse photos. They used Shelly’s Bella LaRoux story about her lesbian awakening. It might end all of their careers, but it brought them together one last time and for a good reason. They have other opportunities. Ritchie has offers to direct commercials. Tina is off to Paris. Bambi is going to take care of Lenny and Shelly’s kids, and hopefully not join a death cult. Will this be enough to keep them together? If Minx returns for season 3, the characters may be scattered to the wind. But this gives me hope that they’ll find their way back.
Leah Marilla Thomas is an entertainment writer, UNC alum, and former Hasbro Toy Tester (yes, that’s a real thing) who loves The Good Place and Love Island equally. In her alleged spare time, she’s probably either at the theater, in a park, or watching basketball.