Summary
The Act Episode 7, “Bonnie & Clyde”, shows the reality of Gypsy and Nick’s actions, in a chapter that reveals just how tragic the situation is.
Hulu Original Series The Act is a seasonal anthology series that details strange true crime stories. The first season follows Gypsy Blanchard, a young girl who appears to have a range of medical issues, trying to remove herself from her toxic relationship with her overprotective, abusive mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. Her persistence for independence leads to darker secrets, and ultimately, murder. This review of Episode 7, “Bonnie & Clyde”, contains spoilers. You can read the review of the previous episode by clicking these words.
The Act Episode 7, “Bonnie & Clyde”, shows how much Dee Dee (Patricia Arquette) brainwashed her child, to the point where she is displaced from reality, not knowing how the real world works. The penultimate episode reveals Gypsy’s (Joey King) expectations and her skewed view of reality, whereas Nick shows his true mental condition.
“Bonnie & Clyde” is the big moment; Gypsy and Nick finally get that coach to Wisconsin to live a life of happiness. They have lied to Nick’s parents about Gypsy’s conditions, and they believe she was living in a homeless shelter. Gypsy does not seem impressed by Nick’s home, or his family – she immediately questions how cluttered his room is, and the lack of food in the fridge; putting aside the horrific scenario and her upbringing, I was fuming at her ridiculously high expectations from someone she has met on the internet.
Food is low, so Gypsy does what she and her mother did best – steal. They go to a supermarket, and at this point, she controls Nick to steal and distract staff members and customers. When they return home, Nick’s mum wants Gypsy to reconnect with her mother, and this is where the problems start – Gypsy misses her deceased mother.
And this is where the reality sinks in, and we see just how skewed Nick and Gypsy’s vision of the world is; Gypsy wants to go home – she’s upset that they have left her dead, so Nick thinks of the dumbest idea ever; they post from Gypsy and Dee Dee’s Facebook account, hinting murder, hoping their neighbors worry something has happened. It works, and the police immediately investigate. Gypsy forgets to turn off the location on her Facebook.
In a moment of random, surprising comedy, while Nick tries to calm down Gypsy, his mother gets the whole family a bucket of fried chicken; the parcel they sent to the house with the murder weapon arrives, which panics Gypsy, and she wants her and Nick to deal with it straight away. But Nick is more worried about his fried chicken, worried that it will go cold and soggy. At that moment, I could feel his pain, having to choose to run after the woman he loved or eating that freshly cooked fried chicken from a bucket. I know what I’d want.
Anyway, Nick is useless as always, even having to write a routine to-do list to keep Gypsy happy. The police quickly figure out the location of them both after finding Dee Dee’s body, and Nick and Gypsy believe they can hide in a cupboard from a SWAT team. What a sad, sad situation.
Episode 7, “Bonnie & Clyde”, enters the real world, where the police soon realize that Gypsy is not disabled and has none of the medical conditions that her mother vowed she had all her life.
When getting questioned by the police, Gypsy lies to the police in “Bonnie & Clyde”, stating that Nick murdered her mother, and she had no involvement. On the other hand, Nick is ridiculously transparent, believing that he was a hero for saving Gypsy; scenes before, Gypsy convinced him that he saved her and the police will take their side. Nick’s mother reveals that he has the brain of a 15-year-old.
Episode 7 ends with swooshing dramatic curtains, as the neighbors see Gypsy walking in court on television. As the State Lawyer reads out the proposed conviction and possible sentences, Gypsy breaks down in uncontrollable tears.
You can read our review of the seventh episode by clicking these words.
