Nolly Season 1 Episode 3 Review: A Final Bow

The series’ final hour sees Nolly taking on the stage, looking back, and taking stock of everything before she goes on an entertaining and tearful Nolly Season 1 Episode 3.

The persistent question hanging over Nolly for the last two episodes has been about her firing from Crossroads. While her final episode has long since aired, it remains a mystery that never entirely leaves her. Meanwhile, Nolly’s taking on the stage as Mama Rose in a production of Gypsy has become a daunting task for the former TV star.

Seeing her struggling to adapt to the rigorous routine of the stage is exciting and offers viewers more of the actress’s smaller, more human aspects mixed in with the outspoken moments.

The use of “Maybe This Time” playing in the background of some of these scenes is perfect. It is a subtle juxtaposition to what Nolly is going through in the first half of the hour. The way that Tom is the only person who can get through to her and offer her what she needs the most at that moment is fantastic.

The tough love and harsh words she needs to hear to face the rest of the cast and really step into her talent, energy, and effort so that she can not only do it but do it well is lovely and one of the perfect shows of strength their friendship and dynamic have.

Though her hopes for a West End transfer of the show are dashed, she doesn’t rest for too long, as she takes on dinner theater in the Far East. The whole sequence feels wildly nonsensical in that it doesn’t seem to fit in with everything else Nolly has experienced up to this point.

The dinner theater arc turns surprising when she discovers a long-awaited truth in one of the unlikeliest places. Nolly and her fellow cast members find themselves in the Bangkok jail, and she learns the whole truth behind her firing.

Though this is a more character-based exploration of this actress’s life and pioneering ways, I really appreciate that we saw a mystery hanging over all three hours. I further appreciate that we get to watch the mystery’s resolution unfold and that Nolly gets to have her sense of closure to that one chapter in her life. The discovery and sense of closure also come with a second chance at ending things on her terms.

The producer asks her to return to the show and plans to bring back her character in the grandest way possible: on location in Italy, behind a gauzy, white veil-like head scarf, waiting patiently for the reveal.

There is a sense of dreaminess and whimsy in the moment we see her in Italy that gives you pause. The scene and quick successive montage make you wonder whether this is something that happens or if it is all just a daydream or vision meant to comfort Nolly and a way for her to work through everything and process the fact that she is nearing her end.

It’s a beautiful, tear-jerking final act for a woman who saw so much change over her life and career.
It’s a look back at her life and all the good times she’s had over her long life and a celebration of what she’s accomplished in all those years.

Sometimes, you don’t need words to get the point across, and those last moments of the hour encapsulate so much of what Noele “Nolly” Gordon was like in life, at her best and worst.

What did you think of this episode of Nolly? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Nolly is available to stream on the PBS app.

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