‘Hollywood’s Final Moments Threaten to Undercut the Whole Series

At its core Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Hollywood is about fantasy. Imagining that a movie that embraces diversity would be made and sweep awards during one of the least progressive times in the film industry’s lifespan is nothing short of a fairy tale. But there’s one moment that threatens to destroy all the good will, hope, and optimistic empowerment Hollywood weaves throughout its eight episodes: Henry Willson (Jim Parsons) should have never been allowed to make his dream movie.

Parsons’ portrayal of the real-life super producer is one of the most interesting elements of the limited series. In a show dominated by young people on the verge of living out their truth — whether that means openly declaring their race, or their sexuality — Henry Willson stands as part of the old guard. He’s a gay man who chooses to stay closeted in an industry he fears will abandon him otherwise. But rather than garnering sympathy, he inspires hatred.

There are a lot of arguments to be made about why Henry is the way he is, many of which revolve around the homophobic constraints around him. But there’s no denying the fact that Henry is an abuser. Rather than fight to better the industry that has entrapped him, Henry exploits it, using his position of power to prey on wide-eyed young men with dreams of stardom. Hollywood rarely shows Henry as anything more than the sexual predator that he is, a man who dangles actors’ careers before them in exchange for sex; and threatens to destroy their lives if they refuse. He’s one of this series’ undeniable villains.

Yet well after Meg sweeps the Oscars and his client Rock Hudson (Jake Picking) comes out as openly gay to the public, Henry says that he’s had a change of heart. But we never see that change happen. The nights Henry likely spent tossing and turning over his own evils, his too-raw therapy sessions, the gay acceptance group meetings he allegedly attends, we never get a glimpse of any of those marks of progress. So when Henry approaches Rock asking for his forgiveness, we see a predator trying to swindle something from his prey yet again. Only this time the thing he wants isn’t sex; it’s an apology.

To Rock’s credit, he never forgives Henry for his abuse, but Hollywood itself is far more lenient. Avis (Patti LuPone), who may or may not know of Henry’s past transgressions, greenlights Henry’s movie about the first onscreen romance between two men without asking too many questions. Rock agrees to play the lead in the project. His boyfriend Archie (Jeremy Pope) chooses to write the screenplay. And all of Rock’s friends who almost certainly know of his abuse jump onboard a project spearheaded by this man they only know as a monster. That’s the happy ending Hollywood sells us.

The making of this new movie would be a good, borderline perfect ending if it weren’t for Henry. Hollywood is a fantasy about progressiveness in an industry bound by hypocrisy and outdated, unspoken rules. The series’ end is supposed to present us with an idealized version of this town in the ’40s. And yet even in this fairy tale, a sexual predator is able to get away with his crimes. Why?

It could have been just as easy to show Henry’s reform, ask Rock for forgiveness, be denied, and retire from Hollywood with his new love interest. Even making Henry’s last on screen moments be the shocked expression he gives Rock and Archie as they walk into the premiere hand-in-hand would be more fitting. Instead this fantasy ends with another one of Hollywood’s abusers slipping back into this industry, consequence-free. There’s little that’s empowering about that.

Watch Hollywood on Netflix